Talk Like a Pilot

The NATO phonetic alphabet, as spoken on the radio

Talk like a pilot.

Spell your name, tail number or booking code the way pilots and air traffic controllers do, and hear how it sounds on the radio.

  1. ThemAnd the last name?
  2. Brown.
  3. ThemCan you spell that?
  4. B…
  5. ThemV?
  6. B as in Bravo!

Practice

Sixty-second drill

A letter appears. Type its code word. The next one shows up the moment you get it right. How many can you call in a minute?

Time 60.0sScore 0Streak 0
J
Press Start, then type the code word for each letter.
0Best, letters
0Best, flags
0Rounds played

How it works

  1. Spelling is forgiving: Alpha and Alfa both count, so do Juliet and X-ray.
  2. Press Enter or Skip to pass. The answer flashes so you learn it.
  3. Flags mode shows only the maritime signal flag. Name the word it stands for.

Letters that tripped you up

None yet

Reference

The whole alphabet

Tap a letter to hear it and see what its signal flag means when a ship flies it alone.

Why these words

Built to survive static

The 26 words were chosen to be understood over a bad radio link by people whose first language might be English, French or Spanish.

  1. 1940s

    Allied forces spell with Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog. It works for English speakers and badly for almost everyone else.

  2. 1951

    The International Civil Aviation Organization publishes a new alphabet, developed with linguists and tested on speakers of several languages.

  3. 1956

    After more testing, a revised set (the one in use today) takes effect. NATO adopts it too, which is where the popular name comes from.

  4. Today

    Airlines, air traffic control, the military, police, ships, call centers and anyone reading a confirmation code over the phone.

Alfa, not Alpha

Speakers of some languages don't read "ph" as an F. Spelling it Alfa removes the doubt.

Juliett with two Ts

French speakers might treat a single final T as silent. The double T keeps it audible.

Tree, fife, niner

On the radio, three is said "tree", five is "fife" and nine is "niner", so the numbers stay distinct through noise.

Every word is a flag

The same 26 words name the flags of the International Code of Signals. A ship flying Oscar alone is reporting someone overboard.

The full history on Wikipedia →