Number formatting on the radio
Default: digit by digit. Whole thousands: thousands digits + "thousand" (11 000 = "one one thousand", RIC-21 5.4).
By quantity:
| Quantity | Spoken form | Example | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude (above sea level) | Thousands + hundreds, whole number words | 2 700 = "two thousand seven hundred" | RIC-21 5.4 |
| Flight level | Digit by digit after "Flight Level" | FL180 = "Flight Level One Eight Zero" | RIC-21 5.4 |
| Heading | 3-digit group, digit by digit after "Heading" | 005 = "Heading Zero Zero Five" | RIC-21 5.4 |
| Time | 4-figure group, digit by digit, ends "Zulu" | 1700Z = "One Seven Zero Zero Zulu" | RIC-21 5.2 / NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology |
| Date with time | 6 figures: day of month (first 2) + time (last 4) | n/a | RIC-21 5.2 |
| Decimal (altimeter settings, frequencies) | Digit by digit, point = "decimal" | 121.5 = "One Two One Decimal Five" | RIC-21 5.4 |
| Distance | Digit by digit + "Miles"; DME distance adds "D M E" | 25 nm = "Two Five Miles" | NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology |
| Speed | "Speed", digit by digit, "Knots" | 110 kt = "Speed One One Zero Knots" | NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology |
| Aerodrome elevation | Feet, prefixed "field elevation" | n/a | RIC-21 5.4 |
Extras:
- Heading: Southern Domestic Airspace = magnetic, no suffix. Northern Domestic Airspace = true, add "True" (RIC-21 5.4).
- Time alone (no hour figures): 2-digit time = minutes. "09" = "nine minutes past the hour" (RIC-21 5.4).
- Decimal: word "decimal" may be dropped, 121.5 = "One Two One Five" (NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology).
Grouped as whole number word (exception list):
- Aircraft type numbers
- Flight numbers
- Wind speed
- Cloud height
- Vertical visibility
- 12-hour-clock traffic direction
Notes:
- NAV CANADA: these "may" be grouped. BKN035 = "Thirty Five Hundred Broken". Wind 270 at 10 = "Two Seven Zero at Ten" (direction stays digit by digit).
- RIC-21 5.4 also calls them group forms, but its own wind example reads digit by digit ("one zero knots").
Trap: grouping a heading or distance ("Heading Three Fifty" instead of "Heading Three Five Zero"), or dropping "True" on a Northern Domestic Airspace heading.
References
- RIC-21 5.2
- RIC-21 5.4
- NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology, Numbers
- NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology, Number Groups