Pre-flight and radio check
Radio check
Confirm your radio transmits and receives clearly before you rely on it.
Original SkyRT lesson (pending instructor review)readabilitytest
When you use it
Before taxi, after a radio fault, or whenever you suspect a problem with your set.
Example exchange
You
Vindhya Ground, VT-SKA, radio check 121.9
ATCVindhya Ground
VT-SKA, Vindhya Ground, read you five
Required information
- Station called
- Your call sign
- The words RADIO CHECK
- Frequency being used
Expected sequence
- Station called
- Own call sign
- RADIO CHECK
- Frequency
Why it works this way
The reply uses the readability scale: 1 unreadable, 2 readable now and then, 3 readable but with difficulty, 4 readable, 5 perfectly readable. A reply does not need to be acknowledged unless you have a problem to report.
Common errors
- Counting “one, two, three” instead of using RADIO CHECK
- Leaving out the frequency
- Using CHECK on its own — CHECK means examine a system or procedure
References
- ICAO Doc 9432, Manual of Radiotelephony (4th ed., 2007), §2.8.4 — Test procedures
Practise it: Radio check and departure information
Run the related simulator scenario and get item-by-item feedback on your transmissions.
Open the scenario