Pre-brief
- Aircraft: Airbus A320
- Callsign: Shamrock 164 (Aer Lingus)
- Route: Dublin (EIDW) to London Heathrow (EGLL)
- Current state: On stand, before pushback, ready to copy your IFR clearance. The Captain is the Pilot Flying; you are working the radio.
- Your role: First Officer, working the radio (Pilot Monitoring)
Before you listen, predict what the controller will give you and the order you’ll read it back.
How this works
This is a phraseology read-back exercise. An instructor introduces the activity in her own voice, then the controller’s first transmission begins. Every radio transmission — controller or pilot — ends with a short roger beep, the cue that the speaker has finished. After each controller transmission, the instructor tells you what to read back and reminds you that you have eight seconds. Read the clearance back aloud — completely and correctly, every element, with your callsign last; recording yourself on a phone voice memo makes review easier. You’ll then hear the correct read-back to compare with yours. Take notes while you listen if it helps.
Comprehension questions
What was Shamrock 164 cleared to?
Delivery said “cleared to London Heathrow” — the clearance limit.
What squawk code did Delivery give?
“Squawk 6411” — read each digit, “six fower one one.”
After the full clearance, which is the correct read-back?
A clearance is read back in full — every element in order, callsign last. “Roger” or a partial read-back is never enough.
The controller says “readback correct.” What do you do with that?
“Readback correct” is the controller confirming you got it right — you do not read it back.
Before you read each model back, say your own — then check you included every element the controller issued, and dropped none.
| Instructor cue | Correct read-back | Elements (in order, callsign last) |
|---|---|---|
| Read back your full airways clearance — destination, departure, runway, climb and squawk. | Cleared to London Heathrow, NIGIT 1S departure, runway 28, climb altitude 5000 feet, squawk 6411, Shamrock 164. | The whole clearance, every element in the order given, callsign last. A clearance is always read back in full. |
| Read back the QNH. | QNH 1019, Shamrock 164. | The pressure setting + callsign. “Readback correct” is the controller confirming your clearance — not something you read back. |
| Read back the frequency for Dublin Ground. | Dublin Ground, 121.8, Shamrock 164. | The frequency change + callsign. |
Notice how each read-back stays crisp and even on the numbers and falls at the end — a finished transmission.
- Delivery: Shamrock 164, Dublin Delivery. Cleared to London Heathrow, NIGIT 1S departure, runway 28. Climb altitude 5000 feet, squawk 6411.
- Pilot: Cleared to London Heathrow, NIGIT 1S departure, runway 28, climb altitude 5000 feet, squawk 6411, Shamrock 164.
- Delivery: Shamrock 164, readback correct. QNH 1019.
- Pilot: QNH 1019, Shamrock 164.
- Delivery: Shamrock 164, contact Dublin Ground 121.8 for push and start.
- Pilot: Dublin Ground, 121.8, Shamrock 164.
| Phrase | What it means / how to say it |
|---|---|
| cleared to (+ destination) | The clearance limit — how far you are cleared to fly, here all the way to London Heathrow. Read it back in full. Stress: CLEARED to. |
| NIGIT 1S departure | A Standard Instrument Departure (SID) — a published routing off the runway. Read the designator back exactly. (The SID name here is illustrative.) Say it “NIGIT One Sierra.” |
| climb altitude 5000 feet | Your initial climb limit. Read it back as part of the clearance. Say “altitude fife thousand feet.” |
| squawk 6411 | The transponder code. Read each digit: “squawk six fower one one.” Never “sixty-four eleven.” |
| QNH 1019 | The pressure setting for altitude. Read each digit: “QNH one zero one niner.” Read back in full. |
| readback correct | The controller confirming your read-back was right. It is information for you — you do not read it back. |
| contact (+ unit + frequency) | An instruction to change frequency. Read back the frequency and your callsign: “Dublin Ground, 121.8, Shamrock 164.” |
| decimal | The word for the point in a frequency — 121.8 is “one two one decimal eight.” Never “point.” |
Now you fly it
Play the audio again and read every clearance back from memory, with the transcript closed.
Record yourself on a phone voice memo and play it back. Compare each read-back with the model — a correct read-back repeats every element the controller issued (runway, heading, level, frequency, squawk as relevant), in order, with your callsign last. Then read every clearance back once more from memory, transcript closed, and record both takes to compare. Use the self-review checklist below.
Rate each line Yes / Almost / Not yet, then re-record to lift the weakest.
- Structure (completeness & order) — did I read back every element the controller issued, in the right order, with my callsign last? Did I drop nothing and add nothing?
- Pronunciation (numbers) — were my numbers crisp and distinct (“two eight,” “niner,” “decimal”)?
- Comprehension — did I catch what to read back versus what was just information?
- Fluency — did the read-back come out in one smooth, even transmission, falling at the end?
CEFR Level B1 / ICAO Level 4
Ready for the next step? You’ve copied your clearance — next comes pushing back and taxiing out, then lining up for departure. Build the whole flight one read-back at a time: browse the Standard Phraseology drills.