ShareThisBy Thomas B. Haines
via www.aopa.org
Interesting program! I thankfully didn't have much issue with the radio and became very comfortable, very quickly. It's helped on the fire side as well in terms of communicating on our radios. The only negative I've carried over from aviation radio comm's to the fire side is I tend to talk fast, a little too fast sometimes, and have to repeat myself. Learning to fly in an environment with a LOT of flight training, mixed in with corporate aviation as well as international 747's, 767's etc. leads to a an ability to communicate with ATC at a very quick pace. Follow that up with flying in the Chicago area, and well, you learn to talk and listen at an even faster pace.
Still, this will be a great addition to many flight schools (though the costs seem a bit high, and with dwindling student pilot numbers, I don't see this entering wide-spread usage, at least not yet.) Student pilots, especially at high traffic airports, can establish a certain comfort level before actually engaging ATC in really life. Less errors and less repetition of clearances, etc. will lead to better, more efficient operations at airports with a lot of training aircraft.
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