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Radio practice for the UK FRTOL practical test

roger, wilco.

A Cessna 172 climbing out over the English coast at dawn, printed as a navy halftone. Image to come
Roger
I have received your last transmission.
Wilco
I understand your message and will comply with it.

The name is both. We aim to earn the second.

The FRTOL practical test is a flight you talk your way through, with a person answering back. Roger Wilco is where you practise it aloud: hold push-to-talk, make your call, and a simulated station answers.

Start the 48-hour trial Read a sample exchange

No card needed. Price announced at launch.

  • Built on CAP413Every lesson and every correction cites its paragraph in CAP413 Edition 24, the CAA's radiotelephony manual.
  • Approved phraseologyThe station can say only what is built from CAP413. It cannot improvise.
  • Mapped to the syllabusLessons follow the SRG1171 FRTOL syllabus item by item: 49 of 56 so far.
  • Independent, and says soNot approved by the CAA. Content is draft until an aviation instructor signs it off.

The exam

it's hard because it's live.

The practical test is a simulated VFR flight between two aerodromes, with at least one turning point. You sit in one room. The examiner sits in another and plays whoever you would be talking to, for roughly 30 minutes to an hour.

Reading CAP413 teaches you the words. The hard part is saying them aloud, in order, to a person who answers back and then waits for you.

An urgency call, in the order CAP413 sets out

PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN, Milthorpe Tower, G-ABCD, Cessna 172, engine running rough, intend to land at Milthorpe Airfield, 10 miles south of Littletown, altitude 2500 feet, heading 360 degrees, PPL no instrument qualification, 1 POB

At least one emergency is examined. The examiner might tell you the engine is running rough. The call must be made in full, in the correct order, and started within about 30 seconds.

so rehearse it live, before it counts.

This is what Roger Wilco is for. You say the call aloud, a station answers and waits for you, and you are told exactly what to fix, with the CAP413 paragraph beside it. Do it until the words come without thinking, and the test stops being the first time you have done it live.

See how it works

How it works

you speak.
the station answers.

Hold push-to-talk and make your call, as you would in the aircraft. A simulated station replies aloud in a British voice, and it can only say approved phraseology built from CAP413.

Then comes the verdict: feedback on every call, citing the CAP413 paragraph it comes from. “Say again” and “speak slower” work, as they do on a real frequency.

The exchange shown is CAP413's own example.

it listens. it is not a recording.

  • It hears what you saidYour own voice is turned into text and checked against CAP413. There is nothing to click and no script to follow.
  • It answers that callRead back the wrong QNH and the station says “negative” and corrects it. Leave something out and it asks you to read it back.
  • Every reply is spoken freshReplies are built from your callsign, your station and the values in play, then spoken aloud. They are not pre-recorded clips.
Requesting a Basic Service
  1. You

    Westbury Approach, G-ABCD, request Basic Service

  2. Station

    G-ABCD, Westbury Approach, pass your message

  3. You

    G-ABCD, Cessna 172, from Borton to Walden, 15 miles south of Westbury, altitude 2500 feet, VFR, tracking to Wells

  4. Station

    G-CD, Basic Service, squawk 6512, QNH 1008

  5. You

    Basic Service, squawk 6512, QNH 1008, G-CD

Readback correctService, squawk and QNH all read back, callsign last.

And when a readback goes wrong
  1. You

    QNH 1013, G-CD

  2. Station

    G-CD, negative, QNH 1008

  3. You

    QNH 1008, G-CD

Incorrect QNH in readback. You said 1013; it was 1008.CAP413 2.71

What you train

six sections, sixteen lessons.

49 of 56 syllabus items covered

Roger Wilco follows the SRG1171 FRTOL syllabus. Its 16 lessons cover 49 of the 56 items, and each one runs the same way: explain, hear a demonstration, check, then practise.

  1. Aircraft radio equipment

    Selecting and changing frequencies, and transmitting technique.

  2. General phraseology

    Readbacks, standard phrases, the phonetic alphabet and saying numbers.

  3. Departure

    Test transmissions, taxi and “ready for departure”.

  4. Arrival and circuit

    Joining procedures, the circuit and going around.

  5. En route

    The initial call, UK Flight Information Services, MATZ and ATZ penetration.

  6. Emergencies

    Distress (MAYDAY), urgency (PAN PAN) and SSR emergency codes.

* Seven items are not covered yet. Roger Wilco only teaches what it can cite to CAP413. Four of the seven are about handling the equipment and the radio licence, which CAP413 does not cover. The other three, on radio failure and VDF position fixing, are still being written and checked. Progress is tracked across all 56, so you can always see what is left.

The radio

a radio you actually tune.

In the test you work a radio, so in Roger Wilco you work one too. Told to change frequency? Read it back, then select it. Given a squawk? Read it back, then set it. A correct readback does not set the radio for you.

  • Westbury Approach122.375
  • Borton Tower118.725
  • Wrayton Control129.125

Call CAP413's own fictional stations, or any of 165 Tower, Information and Radio units from the Southern England and Wales frequency card. The card is a frozen training snapshot, not for real-world use.

The habit

a little, often.

Roger Wilco is made to be picked up for a few calls and put down again. Nothing in it is a test, and nobody is listening but the simulator.

Dawn over the Lake District from the cockpit, a wingtip in frame, printed as a navy halftone. Image to come
short drills
A radio check. A taxi request. A Basic Service, from the first call to the readback. A frequency or a squawk to read back and set.
model answers
Not sure how a call should sound? “Hear a model answer” plays the ideal one, then it is your turn.
progress, kept
All 56 syllabus items are tracked, so you can see what has settled and what wants another go.
no judgement
Get a readback wrong and the station corrects you, as a real one would. You hear why, and try again.

Free trial

forty-eight hours, free.

Try Roger Wilco for 48 hours without a card. If it has not made the radio feel more familiar by then, you have lost nothing.

Start the 48-hour trial See the syllabus

Price announced at launch. All you need is a browser and a microphone.

A Cessna on final approach over the Solent in evening light, printed as a navy halftone. Image to come

FAQ

questions, answered.

Is Roger Wilco approved by the CAA?

No. Roger Wilco is independent. It follows CAP413, the CAA's radiotelephony manual, and cites it paragraph by paragraph, but nobody official has approved it.

What do I need?

A browser and a microphone. There is nothing to install. Typed calls are available as an accessibility fallback.

Is my voice recorded?

No. We do not store your voice on our servers. Audio leaves your device only while push-to-talk is held, and it is used for one thing: speech recognition, to turn the call into text. Roger Wilco keeps the text, not the recording.

Does it cover the whole syllabus?

Not yet. The 16 lessons cover 49 of the 56 items on the SRG1171 FRTOL syllabus, and progress is tracked across all 56.

Can I fly with the station list?

No. The 165 stations are a frozen training snapshot of the Southern England and Wales frequency card. It is not for real-world use.

What does it cost?

The price is not set and will be announced at launch. The plan is a 48-hour free trial with no card.