Phrases & Expressions

Said on the radio to mean that a transmission is perfectly clear (readability 5).

• Pilot: "Tower, read you five by five."
• "Radio check, how do you read?" "I read you five."

To fly back to the airfield or base the aircraft took off from, often because of a problem.

• The flight had to return to base.
• An engine warning forced the helicopter to return to base.

A short talk given to a group about safety rules and procedures.

• We had a safety briefing before starting work.
• The safety briefing covered emergency exits.

Applying the brakes gently to stop a vehicle without sudden movement.

• Practice smooth braking to avoid jerky stops.
• The driver used smooth braking on the wet road.

To make a brief stop on the way to another place.

• Let's stop off at the shop on the way home.
• We stopped off in Paris for two days on our way to Rome.

A trip or holiday focused on a specific subject, like history or food, visiting related places.

• We booked a history theme tour in Rome.
• She loves art, so a museum theme tour is perfect.

Said by the flight crew to ground staff to confirm that the aircraft's brakes are applied.

• When the pushback was complete, the captain confirmed "brakes on" to the ground engineer.
• The ground crew must hear "brakes on" before they disconnect the tow bar.

An ATC instruction telling a pilot to stop following radar vectors and navigate independently again.

• After the vectors, the controller told us to resume own navigation.
• Resume own navigation, direct to the next waypoint.

To climb following the published level and speed restrictions of a departure route (SID).

• Climb via SID to flight level one five zero.
• The pilot must climb via the SID.

A report from the cabin crew that the cabin is ready for takeoff or landing.

• The purser called the flight deck to report "cabin secure" before takeoff.
• Once all bags were stowed, the crew reported cabin secure for landing.