Aviation English · in development
Say it clearly when it isn't routine.
A structured path for international pilots and air traffic controllers working toward ICAO Operational Level 4, and staying there. Books with produced radio audio, online lessons and an AI radio partner for speaking practice, built by a former airline pilot and a qualified language teacher.
Working title: 'Say Again: Aviation English for Pilots and Controllers'. Confirm title, co-author and launch date before publishing.
THE LEVEL 4 RULE
Your level is your lowest score.
ICAO rates six criteria: pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interactions. The final level is the lowest of the six, never an average. So every lesson and every practice report shows all six side by side and points to the weakest.
Overview video
How the course works.
The Level 4 rule, plain English for non-routine events, the AI radio partner and the three tracks.
- Why your lowest score sets your level
- Pilot and controller versions, many accents
- The AI radio partner and the three tracks
01 · SPEAKING AND LISTENING
Trained the way you're tested
Radio work and the proficiency tests are about listening and speaking, so every unit is built around audio and voice-only practice, with text supporting the audio rather than replacing it.
02 · PLAIN ENGLISH, NOT JUST PHRASEOLOGY
For the moment the script runs out
Standard phraseology is a few hundred words. Each unit pairs the routine calls for a phase of flight with a non-routine event that forces plain English: a bird strike, a medical emergency, a runway incursion.
03 · PILOT AND CONTROLLER VERSIONS
You always speak as yourself
Listening, vocabulary and grammar are shared, but every role-play, interview and picture task has a pilot version and a controller version.
04 · MANY ACCENTS
Understand the other station
Every unit uses at least three English accents from around the world, with radio noise, because understanding other non-native speakers is part of the job and the test.
05 · ICAO FIRST, FAA DIFFERENCES FLAGGED
One course for a global audience
ICAO standard phraseology throughout, with a clear box wherever US practice differs.
06 · HONEST HOURS
A structured path, not a shortcut
Moving from upper Level 3 to Level 4 takes on the order of a couple of hundred hours of practice for many learners. The Operational track is built to provide about that much guided study and speaking practice. No "Level 4 in 30 days".
Three tracks
Start where you are. A free placement check tells you which.
| Track | From → to | Units | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Level 2 → 3 | 10 | Book 1 with online audio, online lessons, AI speaking practice |
| Operational (first release) | Level 3 → 4 | 12 + test readiness | Book 2 with online audio, online lessons, practice tests, AI speaking practice |
| Maintain | Level 4 → retest or Level 5 | 6 refreshers + 3 practice tests | Short course or subscription for the next proficiency check |
The Operational track ships first; the Foundation track follows on the same platform. Pricing is a test hypothesis in the blueprint; publish prices only after the pricing test.
Operational track
A flight from gate to gate, one complication at a time.
| # | Unit | Non-routine events you'll handle in plain English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radio basics | Blocked transmission, wrong callsign |
| 2 | On the ground | Vehicle on the taxiway, lost on the airport |
| 3 | Departure | Rejected takeoff, bird strike |
| 4 | En route | Weather deviation, unable request |
| 5 | Weather hazards | Turbulence injuries, icing, windshear |
| 6 | Technical problems | Hydraulic, electrical, pressurization, smoke |
| 7 | People on board | Medical emergency, unruly passenger |
| 8 | Traffic and airspace | Resolution advisory, airspace infringement |
| 9 | Arrival and approach | Go-around, unstable approach |
| 10 | On the runway | Runway incursion, blown tire |
| 11 | Emergencies and diversions | Diversion, fuel emergency |
| 12 | Security and system failures | Radar failure, radio failure |
| 13 | Test readiness | Mixed scenarios in common test task formats |
Working unit map; subject to the language co-author's review.
How every unit works
Eight steps, the same in the book, the audio, the lesson and the radio partner.
- Picture warm-up. Describe the situation aloud for 60 seconds.
- Listen. Produced radio exchanges in several accents: catch the numbers, report the message, spot the readback error.
- Phraseology focus. The routine calls for that phase of flight, ICAO first.
- Plain-English focus. The words and grammar the non-routine event needs.
- Pronunciation spot. One sound or stress pattern, with read-aloud drills.
- Radio role-play. Play pilot or controller against the AI radio partner, with a scripted complication.
- Test-format task. An interview question, picture task or "report the message" task in common test formats.
- Self-check. All six criteria side by side; your weakest one sets the next drill.
The AI radio partner
Practice the radio as often as you like. People check the standard.
Press to talk, and an AI pilot or controller answers in an accented voice, through radio noise, with branching complications and a "say again / speak slower" button. After each session you get a practice report across all six criteria, with quotes from what you said and one drill to do next.
It is a practice tool, not an examiner. Scores read "Practice estimate — not an official ICAO rating" and show as ranges, never a single level. The partner is calibrated against samples rated by a qualified ICAO rater, and you can ask a human rater to review a recorded session. That's what "built by people, helped by tools" means here.
Who builds it
Aviation expertise and language expertise, both named.
Aviation content: David Tushin, former airline pilot and CFI, FAA Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor and FAA Aircraft Dispatcher. Scenarios, phraseology and accuracy.
Language: a TESOL-qualified co-author with aviation English experience, and an ICAO-trained rater for calibration and human reviews. Name both once contracted.
Audio: original scripts only, voiced by regional voice talent and checked by ear. No recordings of real ATC are used.
Free · placement check at launch
Get the free placement check when it opens.
A short listening task and three spoken answers recommend your track. Join the list to be told first.
Questions
Before you sign up
Will this give me an ICAO Level 4?
No course can. Only a test approved by your licensing authority can rate you. The course prepares you for ICAO Level 4 assessments and is aligned with the ICAO Language Proficiency Rating Scale (Doc 9835). It never issues a level.
Which test does it prepare me for?
Each authority approves its own tests. The course trains to the ICAO rating criteria and to the task types most tests use: listening to radio messages, voice-only role-play with a complication, picture description and an interview. Practice tests are format practice, not copies of any test.
Is it for controllers too?
Yes. Every speaking task has a controller version, so a controller always speaks as a controller.
Is this affiliated with ICAO or the FAA?
No. Blackridge Press is not affiliated with or endorsed by ICAO, the FAA, EUROCONTROL or any test provider.