I have flown around/over both but didn’t notice anything incomprehensible in the ATC English 
I did have a window fitter who was from NI (long vanished of course, like they all do) and I would agree re him. But he was not in ATC.
MedEwok wrote:
A related question, only applicable to non-native English speakers, would be whether you use English or your native language when flying to ATC controlled airports in your home country.Generally, in Sweden IFR traffic speak English and VFR traffic speak Swedish, except at small airports where Swedish is the norm also for IFR. But English is acceptable everywhere.
MedEwok wrote:
Average German pilots are often afraid of R/T at the big airports even in German
You haven’t flown with many average pilots, have you?
On topic: formal language can make sense, if communication is required to resolve a situation, that is not represented in formal r/t groups. On a pilot-controlled airfield it is important, that the message is understood. Standardisation of language helps, but not always.
I am sure some % of PPLs in all countries are scared of “big” airports. If you want to do a PPL in the cheapest way possible, the usual route will be training at the smallest airport possible The obvious solution here (training at a grass strip in the middle of nowhere) used to be possible but is either legally impossible or is very difficult to do in terms of ATO organisation. However, some significant % of PPLs totally avoid anything resembling a “controlled” airport, anyway… I know of pilots with thousands of hours who did it almost totally on the grass strip scene (in this case I count Popham as a grass strip ).
I agree regarding the use of conversational [insert your favourite language] being effective when you need to explain something nontrivial, but what do you do when you need to do that in another country, where you probably need to do it in English (I say “probably” because e.g. Austria speaks German) and either you can’t speak English well enough or the ATCO is right on the limit of his/her ELP? That problem will never be solved.
Peter wrote:
I am sure some % of PPLs in all countries are scared of “big” airports.
Obviously. But as FI, I have now flown with many people and the average doesn’t seem to be half as bad as the average EuroGA-User gives them credit for. Especially by someone who joined recently as flight student, I found this claim to be rather arrogant. Of course everyone has his stories or knows a handful aweful pilots. But they don’t make the numbers. Often you have like ten pilots sharing stories from two pilots and mutually agree, that all other pilots are hammer throwers. Doesn’t add up.
