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RTR(A) Part 2 viva: real scenarios and what examiners ask

AviationGrade editorial team Phraseology from CAR Section 9 & ICAO Annex 10 Updated 10 September 2026 14 min read

Example calls use fictitious callsigns and frequencies. Learn the structure, not the numbers.

On this page
RTR(A) Part 2 at a glance
Format
Practical + oral viva
Examiner plays
ATC / FIS
Covers
Start-up to shutdown
Key skills
Readback, phraseology, emergencies
Fail triggers
Non-standard phrasing, weak readback
Reference
CAR Section 9; ICAO Annex 10 Vol II
Content per CAR Section 9 Series and ICAO Doc 9432 (Manual of Radiotelephony). Confirm the exam pattern on current DGCA notices.

Part 2 is where most RTR(A) attempts are won or lost. The knowledge is not deep, it is the same phraseology you learn for Part 1, but you have to produce it cleanly, in the right order, with correct readback, while the examiner deliberately puts pressure on the exchange. This guide runs the practical the way it actually happens, then works through the viva questions that come up most.

Every call below follows the standard structure: who you are calling, who you are, where you are, what you want. Get that skeleton automatic and the rest is detail.

How Part 2 runs

There are three elements, usually in this order:

  1. Transmission technique. You read a printed passage aloud on the microphone. The examiner is listening for pace, clarity, correct pronunciation of the phonetic alphabet and numbers, and microphone discipline.
  2. Simulated flight exchange. The examiner briefs a short cross-country (departure aerodrome, destination, aircraft type, a route and level) and then plays every ground station. You fly it on the radio from the request for start-up to blocks in at the destination, including at least one non-normal event.
  3. Oral viva. Questions on procedures, Q-codes, the phonetic alphabet, light signals, distress and urgency, radio failure, and the regulations behind them.

Transmission technique

Marks are lost here for rushing. Standard guidance is to speak at a rate that could be written down by hand, roughly 100 words per minute, keep a constant volume, and pause slightly before and after transmitting so you never clip your own message. Numbers are spoken digit by digit, with these pronunciations tested specifically:

WrittenSpokenWrittenSpoken
3TREE9NINER
4FOWER1000TOU-SAND
5FIFE100HUN-DRED
7SEV-EN.DAY-SEE-MAL

Frequency 121.5 is "one two one decimal five". Altitude 8,500 ft is "eight thousand five hundred feet". A heading of 090 is "heading zero niner zero".

The simulated flight, phase by phase

Assume: Cessna 172, callsign VT-ABC, departing Aerodrome A for Aerodrome B, requesting a VFR cross-country at 6,500 ft. The examiner will give real local details; the structure does not change.

1: Start-up and ATC clearance
VT-ABC:  A Ground, VT-ABC.
GROUND:  VT-ABC, A Ground, pass your message.
VT-ABC:  VT-ABC, Cessna 172 at the apron, request start-up
         and VFR clearance to Aerodrome B via [route], cruising
         six thousand five hundred feet, information Bravo.
GROUND:  VT-ABC, cleared to Aerodrome B via [route], climb
         initially two thousand feet, squawk 4271, start-up approved.
VT-ABC:  Cleared to Aerodrome B via [route], climb two thousand
         feet, squawk 4271, start-up approved, VT-ABC.

Readback carries the route, the level, the squawk and the approval. Miss any of those and the examiner will prompt you once, then mark it.

2: Taxi
VT-ABC:  A Ground, VT-ABC, request taxi.
GROUND:  VT-ABC, taxi to holding point runway 27 via taxiway
         Alpha, QNH 1013.
VT-ABC:  Taxi to holding point runway 27 via Alpha, QNH 1013, VT-ABC.

Runway, holding point and QNH are all mandatory readback items.

3: Line-up and take-off
VT-ABC:  A Tower, VT-ABC, holding point runway 27, ready for departure.
TOWER:   VT-ABC, runway 27, wind 260 degrees 8 knots, cleared for take-off.
VT-ABC:  Runway 27, cleared for take-off, VT-ABC.
 ... after departure ...
TOWER:   VT-ABC, contact A Approach 124 decimal 35.
VT-ABC:  124 decimal 35, VT-ABC.

"Cleared for take-off" and the frequency are read back in full. Never abbreviate a take-off or landing clearance.

4: Climb, cruise and a frequency change
VT-ABC:  A Approach, VT-ABC, passing two thousand feet, climbing
         six thousand five hundred feet.
APP:     VT-ABC, identified, climb six thousand five hundred feet,
         report reaching.
VT-ABC:  Climb six thousand five hundred feet, wilco, VT-ABC.
 ... level ...
VT-ABC:  A Approach, VT-ABC, reaching six thousand five hundred feet.
APP:     VT-ABC, roger, contact A Information 126 decimal 7.
VT-ABC:  126 decimal 7, VT-ABC.
5: Position reporting to FIS
VT-ABC:  A Information, VT-ABC.
FIS:     VT-ABC, A Information, pass your message.
VT-ABC:  VT-ABC, Cessna 172, [position] at time 42, six thousand
         five hundred feet, VFR to Aerodrome B, estimating [reporting
         point] at time 05.
FIS:     VT-ABC, roger, [traffic / weather information].

A full position report is identification, position, time, level, next point and estimate. Practise it as one flowing sentence.

6: Arrival, approach and landing
VT-ABC:  B Tower, VT-ABC, [position], six thousand five hundred feet,
         inbound to land, information Charlie.
TOWER:   VT-ABC, join left downwind runway 09, QNH 1011, report downwind.
VT-ABC:  Join left downwind runway 09, QNH 1011, wilco, VT-ABC.
 ... downwind ...
VT-ABC:  VT-ABC, downwind runway 09.
TOWER:   VT-ABC, number one, cleared to land runway 09, wind 100 degrees 6 knots.
VT-ABC:  Cleared to land runway 09, VT-ABC.
 ... after landing ...
TOWER:   VT-ABC, vacate next left, contact Ground 121 decimal 9.
VT-ABC:  Vacate next left, Ground 121 decimal 9, VT-ABC.

Distress and urgency, the part they will test

The examiner will inject at least one abnormal event. The two you must have word-perfect are the distress (MAYDAY) and urgency (PAN PAN) calls.

MAYDAY: engine failure
VT-ABC:  MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, A Approach, VT-ABC,
         engine failure, six thousand five hundred feet,
         [position], gliding, will attempt forced landing
         [place], four persons on board, VT-ABC.
APP:     VT-ABC, A Approach, roger MAYDAY, [QDM / nearest field],
         [wind], emergency services alerted.
VT-ABC:  [readback of essential items], VT-ABC.

Structure: MAYDAY x3, station addressed, callsign, nature of emergency, intentions, position and level, persons on board. Then fly the aircraft, the examiner wants to see aviate before communicate.

PAN PAN: unsure of position / sick passenger
VT-ABC:  PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN, A Information, VT-ABC,
         Cessna 172, uncertain of position, last known [point]
         at time 30, six thousand five hundred feet, heading 090,
         request assistance, VT-ABC.
FIS:     VT-ABC, A Information, roger, steer 070 for radar
         identification, [instructions].
VT-ABC:  Steer 070, VT-ABC.
Radio failure
Actions to quote:
1  Squawk 7600.
2  Continue on last assigned clearance / published lost-comm procedure.
3  Transmit blind: "VT-ABC transmitting blind due radio failure,
   [position], [level], [intentions], VT-ABC", repeat at intervals.
4  Listen out on last assigned frequency and 121.5.
5  On arrival, look for light signals from the tower.

Viva questions with model answers

Open each one after you have answered it out loud.

1What does a steady green light signal from the control tower mean to an aircraft in flight, and on the ground?Show answer
In flight: cleared to land. On the ground: cleared for take-off.
Steady red in flight = give way to other aircraft and continue circling; on the ground = stop. Series of green flashes in flight = return for landing (clearance to land will follow); on the ground = cleared to taxi. Red flashes = aerodrome unsafe, do not land / taxi clear of landing area. White flashes = land at this aerodrome and proceed to apron (in flight) / return to starting point (on ground).
2Give the phonetic alphabet for the letters in "QFE" and tell me what QFE means.Show answer
QUEBEC FOXTROT ECHO. QFE is the pressure setting that makes the altimeter read zero (or runway threshold elevation) at the aerodrome, it shows height above the aerodrome.
Compare: QNH set makes the altimeter read altitude above mean sea level; with QNH set on the ground the altimeter shows aerodrome elevation. QNE refers to reading on the standard setting 1013.25 hPa. Examiners often follow up by asking which you would use for circuit work at a small field (QFE) versus en-route (QNH, then standard above the transition altitude).
3Which items must always be read back?Show answer
Route clearances; level instructions; heading and speed instructions; altimeter settings; SSR codes; the runway-in-use; and any clearance or instruction to enter, land on, take off from, backtrack, cross, or hold short of any runway; plus the frequency on a transfer.
If in doubt, read it back. An incomplete readback of a runway clearance is one of the fastest ways to fail Part 2, because it is a real-world runway-incursion risk.
4You hear "VT-ABC, standby". Are you cleared to do anything? What do you reply?Show answer
No. "Standby" means wait and I will call you; it is not a clearance and not an instruction to do anything. Reply "standby, VT-ABC" or simply wait.
Contrast with "roger" (I have received all your last transmission), "wilco" (I understand and will comply) and "affirm" / "negative". Mixing these up is a common viva trip.
5Define the distress and urgency frequencies and when RTR(A) privileges let you transmit on them.Show answer
121.5 MHz is the aeronautical emergency frequency. In a distress or urgency condition you may transmit on any frequency to get help, including 121.5, and a distress call has absolute priority over all other transmissions.
Also expect: the requirement to maintain secrecy of correspondence, the prohibition on transmitting false or deceptive signals, and the rule that the aircraft in distress controls the distress traffic and may impose silence ("STOP TRANSMITTING MAYDAY").
6What is "blind transmission" and when is it used?Show answer
A transmission made when you cannot establish two-way contact but believe the station may still receive you, for example after receiver failure. You prefix the message "transmitting blind" and send your position, level and intentions.
If you know your receiver has failed, add "transmitting blind due receiver failure" and state the time of your next transmission so ATC can plan around you.

How to drill this before the exam

  • Write out the standard call for every phase above on one sheet. Read the sheet aloud twice a day until you do not need it.
  • Record yourself flying a full sortie on the radio and listen back for pace, clipped words and missed readback items.
  • Have someone throw one emergency at you per practice run, unannounced.
  • Work the RTR(A) Part 2 question bank for the viva content, then the Part 1 bank for the regulations behind it.

FAQ

Does the examiner expect perfect phraseology or just clear communication?
Standard phraseology first, plain language only where no standard phrase exists. Consistent non-standard phrasing ("okay", "copy that", "we're good") is marked down even when the meaning is clear.
How long is the Part 2 practical?
Typically 15 to 30 minutes per candidate across the reading, the simulated flight and the viva. It varies with the examiner and how the exchange goes.
Can I use notes in the practical?
You may be allowed a phraseology reference for the simulated flight, but the viva is closed-book and the aim is fluency. Do not plan to read calls off a sheet in the exam.
What if I freeze mid-exchange?
Say "standby" to buy a moment, collect the call structure, who, who, where, what, then transmit. A short pause is far better than a rushed, wrong call.
AviationGrade
AviationGrade editorial team
Phraseology cross-checked against CAR Section 9 and ICAO Doc 9432

We run the RTR(A) Part 1 and Part 2 question banks and write these guides from the same source material. Corrections welcome and credited.

Sources & references

  • CAR Section 9, Air Space and Air Traffic Management; radiotelephony phraseology series
  • ICAO Annex 10 Volume II, Communication Procedures
  • ICAO Doc 9432, Manual of Radiotelephony
  • AIP India, light signals and lost-communication procedures

Phraseology and procedures are set by the DGCA and ICAO and are revised periodically. Confirm the current RTR(A) exam pattern on egca.gov.in and DGCA notices. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.

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Question bank

Rehearse the viva, then lock down the regulations

The Part 2 bank drills the oral content, light signals, Q-codes, distress and urgency. The Part 1 bank covers the regulations and equipment theory behind every answer.

RTR(A) Part 2 RTR(A) Part 1