8 March 2016
If you fancy flying in France, you should be aware that French is spoken over the radio at smaller airfields. English is common at bigger airports and with Air Traffic Control but since it’s the smaller airfields which are most interesting, it’s a good idea to be prepared with a few key phrases.
James Emery of Bespoke Language Solutions runs courses for UK pilots intending to fly in France. He’s a qualified professional translator and interpreter, and also a private pilot. James earned his PPL entirely in French at a French flying club, and holds a DGAC licence with level 6 proficiency, so he’s well qualified for the role.
“I run the course with the help of a French flight instructor from my club near Bordeaux,” says James. “We split the teaching between the two of us to have a good mix of purely linguistic and technical aviation-related input. I also run a busy website helping French pilots improve their English as well as a language-related YouTube channel.
“The aim of the course is not to teach people to speak French over a weekend, which would be unrealistic, but to teach people enough phraseology to make themselves understood in these situations,” continues James.
“There is a particular emphasis on giving and understanding position reports at uncontrolled airfields as this is the key to good situational awareness. The phraseology taught is a grammatically simplified version of what French pilots use on the radio.”
The next course is being held at Halfpenny Green (Wolverhampton) Airport on 9-10 April, at the Flightpath flying school. Cost is £350 per person for the weekend, including 12 hours of training and lunch each day. Overnight accommodation is not included but James can recommend places.
Contact James by email or telephone: 02392 162173
