1 Rules 27 items 2 Clearance 41 items 3 Taxi 36 items 4 Departure 26 items 5 En route 162 items 6 Arrival 57 items 7 Emergency 123 items By topic Weather62 Radio failure51 Diversion22 1. Request a QDM or direction finding bearing 2. Transponder codes (7500 / 7600 / 7700) 3. Transmitting blind 4. Light signals from the tower 5. No reply in the climb 6. No reply from Tower after departure 7. Negative contact during descent 8. Relaying a message for another aircraft 1. Someone is calling Ahmadabad, take message and relay (NDB not coding) 2. Someone is calling Ahmadabad, take message and relay (position report) 3. Someone is calling Delhi, relay 4. Ask for descent, no contact with Charlie Control, contact Srinagar Tower 5. Bad weather, no contact with controller, deviate on own 6. Engine failure, no ground controller responding 7. Auto altitude control failed, no ground controller responding 8. Slow decrease in cabin pressure, no ground controller responding 9. Communication failure VHF, transmitting blind 10. RCF during climb 11. Communication lost with JP, announce plan to continue flight 12. Mumbai ATC goes off air, no HF 13. While descending experience RCF, plan ILS approach 14. Experiencing RCF, approach 15. Communication failure VHF, about to land 16. Cleared to carry out ILS, lose contact with ATC 17. Communication back to normal, decide to change route to A474 18. Communication failure, HF primary and secondary 19. Communication failure at FIR, HF 20. Communication difficult, reach BAVOX 21. After getting airborne from Bhopal, no contact with Bhopal Tower 22. After getting airborne from Bhopal, no contact with Nagpur Control 23. After getting airborne from Jodhpur, no contact with Jodhpur Tower 24. Descending from FL 70 to FL 50, lose contact with Approach 25. Climbing from FL 70 to FL 100, lose contact with Approach 26. Climbing from 3500 to FL 70, lose contact with Tower 27. Climbing from FL 90, lose contact with LLK 28. Delhi fails to pass details, Delhi is not responding 29. Ahmadabad ATC goes off air, flood relief 30. Kanpur unable to get clearance 31. Jaipur unable to get ATC clearance 32. Point to point communication, Delhi not working 33. Intercom failure with Tower, obtain further clearance on your own 34. Delhi fails to co-ordinate 35. Receiver failure, transmitting blind due to receiver failure 36. Receiver failure at FIR 37. Receiver failure on VHF, continuing the approach 38. Receiver failure in the circuit, watching for light signals 39. Direction finding, homing (QDM) 40. Direction finding, true bearing (QTE) 41. Direction finding, series of homing (QDM) 42. Direction finding, series of true bearing (QTE) 43. Direction finding, true bearing from two stations
Topic Radio failure No reply from ATC, transmitting blind, relays, receiver failure, squawk 7600, light signals and direction finding.
Phrases 8
1 Request a QDM or direction finding bearing 2 Transponder codes (7500 / 7600 / 7700) 3 Transmitting blind 4 Light signals from the tower 5 No reply in the climb 6 No reply from Tower after departure 7 Negative contact during descent 8 Relaying a message for another aircraft Worked calls 43
1 Someone is calling Ahmadabad, take message and relay (NDB not coding) 2 Someone is calling Ahmadabad, take message and relay (position report) 3 Someone is calling Delhi, relay 4 Ask for descent, no contact with Charlie Control, contact Srinagar Tower 5 Bad weather, no contact with controller, deviate on own 6 Engine failure, no ground controller responding 7 Auto altitude control failed, no ground controller responding 8 Slow decrease in cabin pressure, no ground controller responding 9 Communication failure VHF, transmitting blind 10 RCF during climb 11 Communication lost with JP, announce plan to continue flight 12 Mumbai ATC goes off air, no HF 13 While descending experience RCF, plan ILS approach 14 Experiencing RCF, approach 15 Communication failure VHF, about to land 16 Cleared to carry out ILS, lose contact with ATC 17 Communication back to normal, decide to change route to A474 18 Communication failure, HF primary and secondary 19 Communication failure at FIR, HF 20 Communication difficult, reach BAVOX 21 After getting airborne from Bhopal, no contact with Bhopal Tower 22 After getting airborne from Bhopal, no contact with Nagpur Control 23 After getting airborne from Jodhpur, no contact with Jodhpur Tower 24 Descending from FL 70 to FL 50, lose contact with Approach 25 Climbing from FL 70 to FL 100, lose contact with Approach 26 Climbing from 3500 to FL 70, lose contact with Tower 27 Climbing from FL 90, lose contact with LLK 28 Delhi fails to pass details, Delhi is not responding 29 Ahmadabad ATC goes off air, flood relief 30 Kanpur unable to get clearance 31 Jaipur unable to get ATC clearance 32 Point to point communication, Delhi not working 33 Intercom failure with Tower, obtain further clearance on your own 34 Delhi fails to co-ordinate 35 Receiver failure, transmitting blind due to receiver failure 36 Receiver failure at FIR 37 Receiver failure on VHF, continuing the approach 38 Receiver failure in the circuit, watching for light signals 39 Direction finding, homing (QDM) 40 Direction finding, true bearing (QTE) 41 Direction finding, series of homing (QDM) 42 Direction finding, series of true bearing (QTE) 43 Direction finding, true bearing from two stations Phrase 1 of 8 Radio failure
Request a QDM or direction finding bearing Ask for a QDM when you are unsure of your position and want a magnetic heading to steer towards the station. The ground station measures your transmission and gives you the figure, so you keep your microphone keyed long enough for them to take it.
The pattern You say station , callsign , request QDM, callsign
ATC says callsign , QDM three digits
Remember ✓ QDM is the magnetic heading to steer to reach the station in zero wind. QDR is the magnetic bearing from the station, and QTE is the true bearing from the station. ✓ QDM and QDR are reciprocals of each other. A QDM of 095 is a QDR of 275. ✓ Read the bearing back in three digits. The reply is only good for the moment it was taken, so ask again if you have been drifting. ✓ Direction finding is a station by station service, not something every tower has. A ground station provides it only where the aerodrome's AIP entry AD 2.19 lists a VDF, and the large Indian aerodromes list VOR, DME, ILS and NDB rather than VDF. Treat a QDM as a service to ask for and be told about, not one to plan on. ✓ Learn the call and the read-back even at an aerodrome that cannot give you one. It is standard ICAO phraseology and the fallback when you are lost with a working radio. ✓ Source: ICAO Doc 9432 Manual of Radiotelephony, direction finding, and the AD 2.19 radio navigation and landing aids table of each aerodrome in the Indian AIP.