lionel wrote:
you can send in a written oath stating this and they send you back a written authorisation to use radio in French in French airspace
That seems like a lot of work for a problem that in practice doesn’t exist!
I’ve been ramp checked (Biarritz, of course), and no one cared. For Out of hours Toussus LFPN exemptions (time during which french is mandatory), they don’t ask any sort of certificate either. Just to declare that you speak french.
Bordeaux_Jim wrote:
My opinion is that if English were to be imposed, it should only be in class A airspace (where almost all pilots will be English proficient anyway) and on tower frequencies at busy international fields where loss of situational awareness due to dual language use can lead to serious near misses, and indeed have caused collisions in the past.
I do not see any reason for the authorities to impose anything. What could be done relatively painlessly is for the DGAC to agree with the French airlines and air charter operators that their operational procedures impose the use of English for all RT. That would take care of 99% of the “problem” and keep everybody happy, including private pilots with IR which would be a small minority to speak French in class A airspace.
What I find bizarre is that a while back, when Air France tried to impose English RT for communications also in French airspace, the AF pilots were in uproar although many of them spend most of their flying time outside France and are perfectly capable of it.
I always use French RT when flying IFR in France and only use French when VFR. I have never had any problem with that except that controllers have a tendency to address me in French even when N-reg. Depending on my mood I will either ask “say again”, or read back in English.
Noe wrote:
There are countless examples of it NOT being appliedThe law allows French pilots to use English “for training purposes” anyway. A French GA pilot can with a straight face say that he was using English on this flight to keep up his English phraseology currency, and that’s “training purposes”.
Seriously, what is the big deal?
In Sweden all PPLs do English and Swedish language & R/T tests. If you don’t pass English you are not allowed to fly abroad, but I know of nobody that didn’t pass English. In the local field we usually speak Swedish. When we have a foreign pilot approaching we all switch to English so there is no misunderstanding. We cannot expect everybody to learn Swedish. Same applies to France or any other country in the world. English in aviation is a tool, not something to argue whether you should learn or not.
I personally speak English to FIS and at international airports, a nice way to keep my phraseology up to date. I had multiple times ATC call my callsign using Swedish phonetic alphabet (Sigurd Erik …), since it is a local A/C and they recognize it, only for me to reply using the NATO phonetic alphabet (Sierra Echo …). No that I don’t understand Swedish, I have a 6 in both languages on my licence, but I believe in an environment where 90% of the traffic speaks English (FIS) I should also try to blend in.
A couple of times that I flew in Greece I used English. Greek is my mother tongue but since I don’t have a Greek endorstment on my license I will never speak it. In fact a Greek endorsment does not exist and to my personal belief nodoby should use Greek for R/T calls. Greek R/T calls that I’ve heard are a mix of Greek/English where they use words like “standby” or “go-around” in English, a terrible mess.
Fun fact: Once someone I know did local R/T calls in a small Danish airfield in Swedish by accident. There was no problem for the locals to understand :P
PS: Swedish has helped me a lot understanding German R/T calls while talking to FIS over there.
Aviathor wrote:
I always use French RT when flying IFR in France and only use French when VFR.
I use German for VFR in Germany and Austria and for non clearance related R/T during IFR (German is not allowed for IFR, ICAO was created in 1944 without us). Why shouldn’t I? Why should the French have to speak English, I see no reason to coerce anybody. It sounds really stupid to hear a German speak English to a German FIS with his level 4. Everybody on the ground should be able to communicate in English level 4 or higher but in the air, I hope we keep diversity.
I wrote:
Only that there is no such thing as a standalone French R/T rating (except in Switzerland). The French get it as part of their PPL. It is not a separate exam or paper.
@lionel wrote:
It can be. The French DGAC (CAA) organises exams, in several exam centres scattered around France and overseas territories, or at the very least, used to.
No. I was writing about an R/T rating, not a language proficiency exam. The two are not the same thing, as pilots from Germany or Switzerland will confirm to you. In those countries, you have one R/T licence (from a separate exam) which has nothing to do with your pilots licence (and the LP is entered on the pilots licence).
What the DGAC will give you is a confirmation that you have taken their LP exam – something which is completely worthless if it is not on your PPL. They haven’t understood a thing about the systematics of LP actually.
There is no specific radio telephony exam for French licence holders, it is simply assessed as part of your flight test.
I had to pass an exam to get my level 6 English, but I was given level 6 French with no formal assessment.
Bordeaux_Jim wrote:
There is no specific radio telephony exam for French licence holders, it is simply assessed as part of your flight test.
Exactly what I keep saying.
I heard recently that the French law mandating that French pilots speak French to French ATC has been repealed recently.
I don’t know if anyone has the reference.
First I’ve heard of it.
I’ll try and find out.
