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Listening exercise · ~3 min a run · free

Radio Comprehension

Pull the squawk, runway, QNH or callsign out of a noisy radio call.

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Air traffic control, ATIS broadcasts and crew calls arrive over a noisy VHF channel, where a single mis-heard digit can send you to the wrong flight level, runway or frequency. This exercise plays a short, original transmission with realistic radio static and squelch, then asks you to pick out one value from it: a squawk code, a runway, the QNH, the surface wind, a callsign, a cleared level, a heading or a frequency. Unlike Clearance Recall, it is not a memory test, so you can replay the clip as often as you like and reveal a transcript. It trains listening accuracy under interference rather than working memory. Choose Easy, Medium or Hard to raise the noise, quicken the speech and make the wrong options sound more like the right one.

About this test

What this test measures

This measures listening accuracy under radio interference: how reliably you pull one exact value, a squawk, a runway, a pressure setting or a callsign, out of a spoken transmission degraded by static, while similar-sounding values compete for your ear. It is the perceptual half of accurate readback, and a common failure point when candidates first meet real, noisy R/T.

How to improve your score

  • Read the question before you play the clip, so you are listening for one named value rather than trying to catch the whole call.
  • Use what the format tells you: squawk codes only use the digits zero to seven, headings and runways are read digit by digit, and the QNH is a pressure in hectopascals.
  • When two options sound alike, replay once and read the value back to yourself, the same habit that catches a mishearing on a live frequency.

Good to know

  • Technique tip: listen for one value, then confirm

    In real radio work, pilots read every clearance back so the controller can catch a mishearing. Practise the same discipline here: fix on the single value the question asks for and hold it as you would in a readback, rather than trying to keep the whole call. Two facts help you rule options out under static: squawk codes only ever use the digits zero to seven, and headings and runways are always read digit by digit.

  • What good performance looks like

    As a rough guide, in our testing an accuracy above 80 percent on Medium means you are reliably separating confusable calls under noise. Callsigns and the QNH tend to trip people up first, because a phonetic letter or a single pressure digit is easy to lose in static. If those are your weak spots, slow down, replay once, and read the item back to yourself before you choose.

Frequently asked questions

What does this exercise measure?

Listening accuracy and speech comprehension under radio interference. It trains the everyday flight-deck skill of catching one exact value, a squawk, a runway, a pressure setting, from a spoken call on a poor-quality channel, which is what accurate readback depends on.

Is this exercise affiliated with any airline selection test or testing company?

No. This is an original SkyStudy exercise. Every transmission, voice and question is generated by us, and it is not affiliated with any test publisher, airline or assessment centre, nor does it predict the outcome of a real selection.

Why is there radio static, and can I turn it down?

Real radio calls are degraded, and the skill being trained is telling apart values that sound alike under noise, such as five and nine or left and right. The static and the confusable answer options recreate that. Easy uses less noise and slower speech, and Lite mode removes the noise entirely if you prefer a clean voice.

I cannot hear anything. Can I still do it?

Yes. Playback uses your browser's built-in speech. If that is unavailable, the written transcript is shown automatically so you can read the call instead. You can reveal the transcript at any time, and the whole exercise works with the keyboard using the number keys 1 to 4.

How is it scored?

Your score is the percentage of the ten transmissions whose queried value you identified correctly, from 0 to 100. Replaying a clip never costs points, though the number of replays you used is shown at the end so you can track how much you leaned on them.

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