IFR Radiotelephony

What you will learn

The IFR radio procedures as short videos: the clearance, departure and vectors, en route and holding, the approach, and what to do when things go wrong.

Who this course is for

• Pilots working towards an instrument rating
• Pilots preparing for an IFR radiotelephony exam
• VFR pilots who want to follow the IFR calls on the frequency
• Flight-sim pilots who fly IFR with live controllers online

Course content

6 video lections · 17 videos · 45 min

1. 1

   Under control: the IFR clearance

   3 videos · 8 min

   Why an IFR flight is always under control, the clearance element by element, its readback and how it changes.

   • Always under control: the IFR chain of stations Free

     Under IFR, air traffic control is with you from the clearance to the taxi-in. You follow a flight from Salzburg to Munich through its chain of stations and hear how every handoff, readback and hearback works.

     2:35

   • The IFR clearance, element by element

     You ask Salzburg Delivery for an IFR clearance and copy it as it comes. You see each element in the order ICAO sets, and read it all back with your callsign last.

     2:12

   • Pre-departure clearance and changes

     A clearance can arrive by datalink or by voice, and it can change before take-off. You see a SID change at Salzburg, hear what climb via SID means, and catch the classic mistakes before you read back.

     2:48
2. 2

   Departure and radar vectors

   3 videos · 8 min

   The take-off, the first call to departure, then headings, levels and speed, and how to read them back.

   • Take-off, departure and radar contact

     You fly the calls from the runway at Salzburg to radar contact: the take-off clearance and its readback, your first call to Salzburg Radar with the SID and your levels, and what identified means.

     2:35

   • Radar vectors and level changes

     On radar, ATC steers you with headings and levels. You hear vectors and how they end, descents to flight levels and altitudes, and conditions like when ready, cross at or below and expedite.

     2:39

   • Speed control

     ATC keeps arrivals evenly spaced with speed. You hear Mach numbers and knots, speed with a level change, how ATC cancels its limits, the 250 kt limit below 10,000 ft and where speed control ends on final.

     2:45
3. 3

   En route and holding

   3 videos · 7 min

   Handoffs, direct routings and position reports, then the holding clearance, its readback and the three entries.

   • Handoffs, direct routings and position reports

     You fly the en-route part from Salzburg to Munich: the handoff across the border to München Radar, a direct routing, traffic information, a position report without radar and the start of the descent.

     2:46

   • The holding clearance

     When ATC cannot clear you any further yet, it holds you over a fix. You hear a published and a detailed holding clearance, the order of its elements, the speed limits, the time to expect and how you leave the hold.

     2:45

   • Holding entries

     You rarely reach a holding fix on the inbound track. You see the three sectors around the fix, the direct, parallel and offset entries, and how your heading to the fix tells you which one to fly.

     1:39
4. 4

   Approach and missed approach

   3 videos · 7 min

   From vectors to the final approach, the minimums, and the missed approach when you cannot land.

   • From vectors to the final approach

     The end of an IFR flight into Munich, from the first call to approach to cleared to land. You hear the vectors onto the ILS, the approach clearance, the glide path descent, the landing clearance and a visual approach.

     2:47

   • Approach minimums

     Every instrument approach has minimums: how low you may go, and how far you must see. You see the decision altitude on an ILS, the minimum descent altitude on a non-precision approach, and the visibility that comes with them.

     1:21

   • Missed approach and cancelling IFR

     No runway in sight at the minimums in Munich. You fly the published missed approach, make the call, give ATC your plan, land and vacate, and see when and how you cancel IFR.

     2:33
5. 5

   Special IFR situations

   4 videos · 8 min

   Radio failure, fuel, TCAS and weather deviations.

   • IFR radio failure

     When the radio fails under IFR, you fly a fixed procedure and ATC protects the airspace around it. You try every way to get through, transmit blind, and fly on to Munich in IMC or land nearby in VMC.

     2:44

   • Minimum fuel and fuel emergencies

     Two fuel calls with very different meanings. Holding for Munich, you see when to call minimum fuel, what ATC does with it, and when your fuel state becomes a Mayday.

     1:44

   • TCAS

     TCAS is the last line of defence against a mid-air collision. You see how it tracks nearby transponders, the traffic and resolution advisories in a head-on encounter, the radio calls and the rules for following it.

     1:26

   • Weather deviations

     A thunderstorm sits on your route to Munich. You ask ATC for a weather deviation, hear what to do when ATC cannot clear you or there is no time to wait, and report turbulence and icing.

     2:35
6. 6

   A complete IFR flight

   1 video · 7 min

   Every call of one IFR flight, from clearance delivery to the apron.

   • A complete IFR flight on the radio

     You hear every call of one IFR flight from Salzburg to Munich, from the clearance to the apron. Then you see the readback errors and exam traps to avoid.

     6:49

7. Knowledge test at the end

   20 questions. Pass with 70 % to finish the course, or to skip videos you already know.