Wed Mar 03, 2010 7:41 pm
#840164
I recall an AEF pilot (from the side-by-side, Bulldog & Tutor, not Chippie, era) who liked to give the Cadets verbatim instructions for transmissions, and let them do it; local RAF controllers were used to it. On 1st sortie this would typically be only the '[callsign] ready for departure' call; for the more experienced cadets it could be more complex, eg the rejoin call and readback.
He claimed that he wanted the Cadet to become confident about the PTT and controller voice so that, if he collapsed, the Cadet would be calm enough to accept directions (eg QDMs), or communication with a chase aircraft pilot. He never had to put it to the test for real, but I reckon it could have made an interesting exercise. Could lead to saving of 2 lives and a slightly damaged airframe; better than Cadet abandoning aircraft ..