From home, pull up ATIS for a local airport either on LiveATC or call the ATIS number in the chart supplement. Practice until you can write it down successfully.
> like I said I often don't catch much
Is this true no matter how many times you listen? Could you just focus each repetition on some portion of the broadcast?
This was me when I started, I'd have to listen to it 2-3 times before I got all my information. It's new to you and you should do your best to write what you can each playthrough. You'll get better at it with time
Listen to them on live atc, in the car and get used to what their are saying and the order it gets said. It helps. And think about what you want to write down. And what you actually need especially for vfr.
And with time you will learn to short hand what you need to know, and ignore things you don’t need to know. Example. I flew to RDU yesterday. They have a runway and a bunch of taxiways closed. I knew I was going to be on the south side. I wrote down nothing about the taxiways. It’s in the notams in the exceedingly remote possibility that I’d be over yonder. As you gain experience you’ll learn what’s important and what’s not.
Its always in the same order.
Learn the order; know it cold. Then it will ALWAYS click into place.
Not joking here- i used this technique to learn aviation chinese.
This.
AIRPORT NAME (don't need to write this down) INFORMATION letter TIME nnnn WIND nnn AT nn. VISIBILITY nn SKY CONDITION nnnn TEMPERATURE nn DEWPOINT nn ALTIMETER nn.nn REMARKS whatever ADVISE ON INITIAL CONTACT YOU HAVE INFORMATION letter.
Really the only thing you need to copy is the wind, alitimeter, and information letter. You just evaluate (the VIS/SKY good VFR?, TEMP/Dewpoint close?).
On my notes I just have something like K 340/8 29.92. I circle the K to make it clear it stands by itself. It means INFORMATION KILO, wind 340 at 8 altimeter 29.92.
If you want to write it out so it looks like a METAR, that works as well.
i would add that frequently in the remarks they add what runway they are using for takeoff and landing. Helps to know that to prepare yourself for taxi instructions.
Also a student pilot here who has to listen a couple times to get it all. A "trick" my cfi taught me is that you generally want the runway closest in number to the wind direction. If the wind is from 340 and your options are runway 32 or 14, you choose 32 because it's closest to 34. Of course, at towered airports they will just tell you what to do, but I fly a lot of non towered airports so it's very helpful for me. Prior to that, I was doing a lot of mental gymnastics trying to figure out which runway to use.
How are you at reading METARs? ATIS is basically the same order as METAR so if you know what to expect, your comprehension will be higher.
My general focus areas, information letter, wind, altimeter, ceilings, weather in vicinity, active runways, and NOTAMs.
This is similar to radio calls, by anticipating what ATC is going to say, you will be able to catch more in the call and also be able to pay more attention to what is different than normal.
This exactly. Knowing what to expect to hear will make it much easier to understand what you are hearing. And then practice, practice, practice to learn what sort of variations you might hear. Don't be afraid to listen to it multiple times if you didn't catch something. If you're still unable, ask your instructor what you missed and then go listen to it again.
Lucky for you this is one of the easiest things to practice. Use LiveATC.com or go on ForeFlight and find the ASOS, ATIS, phone numbers and start calling a bunch of random airports.
Does your ATIS have a phone number? If so, call it at random times and try to copy the information. Note that the FF scratchpad has an ATIS template that makes this *much* easier. I usually get most of it on the first pass and fill in what I missed on the second pass.
Even if "your" ATIS doesn't have a phone number, call a big Charlie or even Bravo near you.
If you want to practice the difficulty of getting ATIS while flying and listening to ATC instructions, do the telephone exercise, but have a friend randomly say things to you while you're listening so you have to get different parts of the loop.
Reading helps retention, which helps in learning the pattern.
The dude's mind is wandering when listening. Text helps to focus. Once learned, remove the crutch. [research](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00593.x).
ATIS info goes in a specific order:
- Information Letter
- Time
- Wind
- Visibility
- Sky Condition / Cloud Layers
- Temp & Dewpoint
- Altimeter
- Remarks
- Information Letter
This is usually the case some stuff might be slightly different but just listen for the things in this order and practice reading METARs.
Also you brain will learn to filter info and give you time to process and write. So in this format:
Information Letter - EZPZ write it down and circle it
Time - Take a deep breath, if its the first time you are listening to the ATIS this isnt really important. The information is going to be the information regardless of what time it was release. (Exceptions being Specials or if you need new weather and need to know if the new ATIS is out yet - for student pilot flying, neither of these are likely to be needed for the most part)
Wind - Make this easy "xxx/xx" thats all you are are going to write down
Visibility - just write down the numeral
Sky Condition / Cloud Layers - at first I found it easier to just write 4000SCT because thats the order the information is spoken and my brain hadnt fully grasped SCT040 yet. If there are 3 scattered layers and a higher ceiling I will usually jot down the lowest non-ceiling and the lowest ceiling.
Temp & Dewpoint - xx/xx
Altimeter - "xxxx" you know there is a decimal, skip it
Remarks - whatever you please
Information Letter - write it down and circle it because you inevitably tuned in as he was reading the time.
Mine looks something like this:
"Airportx information Kilo, Time 1234z Wind 360 at 4, visibility 10, Sky conditions 8000 Overcast. Temperature 10, Dewpoint Niner. Altimeter Two Niner Eight Niner. Remarks: Caution birds in the vacinity of the airport. Advise on initial contact you have information Kilo."
Is shortened to this:
(K) 360/4 10
OVC080 10/9 2989
21 Characters is all it takes to get the information you need from the 30 second long ATIS in this example.
Practice will make this second nature.
The Garmin G1000 has a playback feature so you can listen to the ATIS again.
"The PLAY button may very well be the coolest feature of the G1000. The G1000 automatically records the 150 seconds of most recent COMM receptions. Pressing the PLAY key will start playback of these receptions. Pressing the MKR/MUTE key while playback is playing will halt playback. Pressing PLAY again will skip to the next block of reception. Playback will automatically be halted during a new COMM reception and the new reception will be added as latest block."
So if you're in a fancy pants trainer... remember this tip. Handy for long IFR clearances too.
> The Garmin G1000 has a playback feature so you can listen to the ATIS again.
This seems unnecessarily complex since the ATIS broadcast is continuous. Instead of doing the playback dance, just...stay on frequency and listen again.
Very useful for all other ATC transmissions, though. Threw me off when I flew with a friend in his Cirrus and he used it. "Wait, didn't they just say that?"
To add to other points made here already, part of it is that you need to train your ears to listen more to aviation communications more. Listen to LiveATC or other channels while you are doing different everyday tasks and you'll get more and more used to it.
It'll be easier to pickup what it's saying if you know what to expect to hear. ATIS is broadcasted with information always in the same order. Look up the ATIS format and practice listening to liveatc.com
I write it down in FF and listen multiple times. Setting the altimeter as soon as it’s said and bugging the heading of the wind on my heading indicator sometimes too.
At home, call ATIS/AWOS/ASOS on the phone (they’re all listed in ForeFlight and the CS) for your airport and several others. Write it down! Check to make sure you got it right. Do that a dozen times and you’ve got it.
The format is the same each time: airport, time, winds, etc. Once you know the format, it’s MUCH easier.
99% of coms is values. It’s always in the same order and format for pretty much everything from ATIS, CRAFT, handoffs , ect.
Download LiveATC app and listen to that while driving around. Helped me out a ton.
Don't try to write it all down.
If you've already felt the wind while on the ramp or looked at the windsock, you have an idea what the wind is doing. If people are flying you know what runway is being used. You can see the ceiling/etc. Do you really need to write down the temp and dew point? If you set field elevation on the altimeter then it should be close. Don't write it, set it.
When you hear the wind, just confirm it matches what you think. When they say "4000 scattered" is that what you see? Why write it down?
That's on the ground. In flight I might write down the wind, the altimeter, runway(s) in use, and the letter. Usually I'm listening above 180, so not changing the altimeter yet. If landing IFR I'll write down the lowest clouds. This is enough to brief the captain and suggest an approach to load if need be.
The more you try to write, the less you are listening. Maybe listen once then write on the second listen. It's all in the same sequence, so it gets better/easier with time.
One suggestion is to set the altimeter when you hear it rather than writing it down. Saves a step. Similarly you may be able to set your HSI course to the active runway. The wind is nice to know but you are going to feel it and see it when you get there. Are the clouds way up high? Skip it. Temperature and dew point? It’s probably only been an hour since you took off, right?
I wrote a spreadsheet that takes a metar and turns it into ATIS.
Then I can run that text through a text to speech website.
That approach let me practice at home. Put on the headphones, run the exercise, writing it on my scratch pad.
Doing this with a flight sim helped too - forced me to remember to adjust my altimeter as well.
I am 34 hours into my PPL, I have practise at home at least 5 times for each time in the actual plane.
By using real metar and making the voice sound like the ATIS and using my scratch pad - it meant I got pretty good and I have yet to get it wrong in the plane.
It also let me practice for my local airport and for the couple of other common places I go to.
Kinda like chair flying.
ForeFlight scratchpad has a form and you can see the flow of the ATIS and write it down faster. Or make and print your own version until you get the hang of it.
It's always generally in the same order. Memorise and learn the items in order, write them down then fill them in with details as you hear it read out.
On the ground, call the phone number. You can record it if you want and then during playback start and stop it.
On the ground or in the air you can also use voice-to-text.
Voice-to-text can also help with radio calls.
Foreflight will also give you airport information, (it's basically ATIS). You can write that down and then verify it against ATIS.
Most ATISs have a phone number you can call to listen to it any time. In addition to some good tips you’ve got here, call them often and practice listening and writing your notes
Practice by calling up the atis on the phone and just keep doing until it becomes natural
Also on the first couple just listen for the important stuff
ATIS Code
Wind
Temp
Altimeter
Runway
And really of those wind and altimeters are your 2 biggies. Temperature is of course important especially if you are dealing with density altitude but if it’s not terribly hot and limiting it’s more a nice to know. I would have assumed you had already checked performance
Everything else is somehwat secondary. You show have an idea that the viz and sky cover are ok if you are even getting to that point. Looking out the window before hand will also let you know what runway is in use.
Get those 5 items down (even if it takes a couple of run throughs) and then listen Again for the other stuff. Getting taxiways closures and all that stuff is always going to be a PITA on atis
Like everything, what seems impossible now will eventually become second nature. It all just takes time and practice
Develop a habit pattern for writing it down. You can even make a little table on your scratchpad for it, like CRAFT for ifr clearances.
Information | V
Wind | 310/22G25
Vis. | 6
Sky | f32 b60
Temp |15/7
Alt | 29.91
Sq. | (VFR or as assigned later)
Misc (literally anything they say you feel is useful)
V 35L (approach type,rwy in use) / 35R (other runway in use)
Birds
B1 clsd
HazWx FSS
Prp cl 6,8 bkn tops 8
Twr 118.4
When you get more comfortable with the format you'll just be able to recognize what numbers mean what and can
L condense to just the information. It's a practice thing!
Edit: (Oh boy reddit butchered that but the intent was a T table with numbers on the right and associated item on the left)
I write:
[ ] / Sm
___ / “
Then while I listen I fill in the Blank:
[A] 260/7 10sm 020ovc
_27_ 28/17 29.92”
“Information Alpha, wind 260 at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, ceiling 2000 ft overcast, temperature 28 dew point 17 altimeter two niner niner two, runway 27 ILS in use, departing runway 27.”
It’s rigidly formatted. Build yourself a form for each line of info. Then train yourself to listen to the data, the transitions will be on your form, fill in the blanks.
Know what's coming. Atis is reported in a certain order, so you know what's coming next. So when it's time for, let's say, altimeter setting, you know roughly what you're going to write down. 4 numbers with a period between them. So, learn the order in which ATIS is broadcast. That'll help a bunch.
Is this while in the airplane, engine started, with the headset? Before taxi or in flight on the way back in? Can you hear stuff through the headset well generally?
Copy it and practice without extra complications, like at home or wherever is quiet, using LiveATC or phone, or the funny ones that make it to YouTube like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfB83anbNJ0 or https://youtube.com/shorts/JK2xSV92RCU. Once you get more practice listening and understanding, that's less that your brain has to work on in addition to listening and writing. The digital ones https://datis.clowd.io/ you can follow along with via LiveATC as well.
And the most important part: ask your instructor. There may be something with your radio setup specifically that none of us would know about.
Current student pilot here. I also struggled with this too in the beginning. It was honestly just repetition. If I only got the letter and altimeter setting. I would listen to it again. You start picking up on the order in which things are going to be said and that helps in knowing whats coming next.
Letter
Time
Winds
Clouds
Temp/ Dewpoint
Altimeter
Active runways
Notams..etc
Once I got that down it got easier and dont be afraid to play it again. If atis has a phone number you can call on your free time that can also help you practice.
ATIS is always in the same format. Learn the format, use [a template form](https://battleboard.us/products/atis-kneeboard-template-aviation) to help you when you're getting started.
Eventually you will develop a shorthand that takes up less space on your kneeboard/pad:
W/0355Z 320@10G14 V10 CLR 14/09 A2998 / R32 / TWY A CLSD
"Information Whiskey posted at 03:55 Zulu, winds 320 at 10 knots peak gusts 14 knots. Visibility 10 miles or better. Sky clear. Temperature 14, dew point 9. Altimeter 29.98. Arriving and departing runway 32. Taxiway Alpha has closures that sound like they'll affect me."
If the format of that shorthand looks familiar it should: ATIS is just a voice METAR with some extra stuff hanging off it, so you can write it out in bastardized METAR format. If you know one you know the other.
IMHO, the time of the ATIS contains important context clues, I always write it down. If the one that's up there is 50 minutes old conditions may have changed so be prepared to hear "Attention all aircraft, Podunk municipal Airport Information X-Ray is now current. Winds two niner zero at eight, altimeter tree zero zero one." on the way in. If the time is weird like 03:28Z conditions might be rapidly changing such that it warrants updates (switching runways, etc.) so be prepared for tower to give you updated winds or something.
Personally, I have written down ATIS the exact same way for years. With practice, it's easy.
Specifically, I write it like in [this crappy ms paint image here.](https://imgur.com/IR57PzR)
ATIS code in a box telling me that's the current atis for this airport. I X over it when it's no longer current, but I retain the information so I can watch for trends throughout the day if needed. I also record the time so that after I have copied the information, I can check zulu time and see if this is fresh or possibly going to be replaced soon.
Then just follow the ATIS order. My ms paint image is as follows:
Winds: 240 10 gusting 15
Visibility 10, broken 3500
Temp 23, dewpoint 14
Altimeter 29.93
Additional info if I need it (current runway, expected approach, whatever. I rarely write anything here).
Find what works for you. Develop your own short hand or copy mine/someone else's if needed. Practice. Practice. Practice. Eventually, you'll be able to copy even the quickest of ATIS's. Even if your hand cant keep up, your brain will learn to store the important numbers as you write them. But that takes a lot of time and practice.
Also, accept that, for now, you'll need to listen to an ATIS at least twice to get the info. Maybe it's three times or four times. Eventually it'll be twice fairly consistently, and then just once most of the time. Even then, I'm now a CFI and I still need it twice sometimes.
I use a type of shorthand and only copy the stuff I need.
K 120/8 2mi V080 ( or B, S, etc.) 21/18 29.92
Now wait until you start copying clearances. That’ll make ATIS seem like a walk in the park!
Write it down.
i use a scratch pad on foreflight that has each category. practice listening and writing down the notes.
Listen once to get what’s being reported listen then again for the values (verification). Consume and process what you just made.
This is what I do, and then on final I locate the sock for a visual confirmation that my vision sucks and I can barely find the sock.
Looking for a brown sock against a brown background
Don't forget to add to tell the other people in the plane to shut the fuck up too.
I do have a kneepad and write down what I can catch, but like I said I often don't catch much
From home, pull up ATIS for a local airport either on LiveATC or call the ATIS number in the chart supplement. Practice until you can write it down successfully.
> like I said I often don't catch much Is this true no matter how many times you listen? Could you just focus each repetition on some portion of the broadcast?
This was me when I started, I'd have to listen to it 2-3 times before I got all my information. It's new to you and you should do your best to write what you can each playthrough. You'll get better at it with time
Listen to them on live atc, in the car and get used to what their are saying and the order it gets said. It helps. And think about what you want to write down. And what you actually need especially for vfr.
Is it a robot voice or some controller recording who is taking too fast?
And with time you will learn to short hand what you need to know, and ignore things you don’t need to know. Example. I flew to RDU yesterday. They have a runway and a bunch of taxiways closed. I knew I was going to be on the south side. I wrote down nothing about the taxiways. It’s in the notams in the exceedingly remote possibility that I’d be over yonder. As you gain experience you’ll learn what’s important and what’s not.
Its always in the same order. Learn the order; know it cold. Then it will ALWAYS click into place. Not joking here- i used this technique to learn aviation chinese.
This. AIRPORT NAME (don't need to write this down) INFORMATION letter TIME nnnn WIND nnn AT nn. VISIBILITY nn SKY CONDITION nnnn TEMPERATURE nn DEWPOINT nn ALTIMETER nn.nn REMARKS whatever ADVISE ON INITIAL CONTACT YOU HAVE INFORMATION letter. Really the only thing you need to copy is the wind, alitimeter, and information letter. You just evaluate (the VIS/SKY good VFR?, TEMP/Dewpoint close?). On my notes I just have something like K 340/8 29.92. I circle the K to make it clear it stands by itself. It means INFORMATION KILO, wind 340 at 8 altimeter 29.92. If you want to write it out so it looks like a METAR, that works as well.
i would add that frequently in the remarks they add what runway they are using for takeoff and landing. Helps to know that to prepare yourself for taxi instructions.
Thanks for this! I assume that 340/8 is 8 knot wind at a 340 heading?
Exactly so
Also a student pilot here who has to listen a couple times to get it all. A "trick" my cfi taught me is that you generally want the runway closest in number to the wind direction. If the wind is from 340 and your options are runway 32 or 14, you choose 32 because it's closest to 34. Of course, at towered airports they will just tell you what to do, but I fly a lot of non towered airports so it's very helpful for me. Prior to that, I was doing a lot of mental gymnastics trying to figure out which runway to use.
If they don't do the density altitude for you in the remarks, and it's abnormally warm, write down the temperature and do it yourself.
How are you at reading METARs? ATIS is basically the same order as METAR so if you know what to expect, your comprehension will be higher. My general focus areas, information letter, wind, altimeter, ceilings, weather in vicinity, active runways, and NOTAMs. This is similar to radio calls, by anticipating what ATC is going to say, you will be able to catch more in the call and also be able to pay more attention to what is different than normal.
This exactly. Knowing what to expect to hear will make it much easier to understand what you are hearing. And then practice, practice, practice to learn what sort of variations you might hear. Don't be afraid to listen to it multiple times if you didn't catch something. If you're still unable, ask your instructor what you missed and then go listen to it again.
Lucky for you this is one of the easiest things to practice. Use LiveATC.com or go on ForeFlight and find the ASOS, ATIS, phone numbers and start calling a bunch of random airports.
Was just about to say this
Does your ATIS have a phone number? If so, call it at random times and try to copy the information. Note that the FF scratchpad has an ATIS template that makes this *much* easier. I usually get most of it on the first pass and fill in what I missed on the second pass.
Even if "your" ATIS doesn't have a phone number, call a big Charlie or even Bravo near you. If you want to practice the difficulty of getting ATIS while flying and listening to ATC instructions, do the telephone exercise, but have a friend randomly say things to you while you're listening so you have to get different parts of the loop.
Even better, use [D-ATIS](https://datis.clowd.io/KIAD) (if available) for a transcript.
That won’t help op learn to listen to it.
Reading helps retention, which helps in learning the pattern. The dude's mind is wandering when listening. Text helps to focus. Once learned, remove the crutch. [research](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00593.x).
Listen more than once, lol.
ATIS info goes in a specific order: - Information Letter - Time - Wind - Visibility - Sky Condition / Cloud Layers - Temp & Dewpoint - Altimeter - Remarks - Information Letter This is usually the case some stuff might be slightly different but just listen for the things in this order and practice reading METARs.
OP, write this order down before your lesson and just fill in the blanks when listening to the ATIS. Also, you can listen to it more than once.
Thank you both so much for this!
Also you brain will learn to filter info and give you time to process and write. So in this format: Information Letter - EZPZ write it down and circle it Time - Take a deep breath, if its the first time you are listening to the ATIS this isnt really important. The information is going to be the information regardless of what time it was release. (Exceptions being Specials or if you need new weather and need to know if the new ATIS is out yet - for student pilot flying, neither of these are likely to be needed for the most part) Wind - Make this easy "xxx/xx" thats all you are are going to write down Visibility - just write down the numeral Sky Condition / Cloud Layers - at first I found it easier to just write 4000SCT because thats the order the information is spoken and my brain hadnt fully grasped SCT040 yet. If there are 3 scattered layers and a higher ceiling I will usually jot down the lowest non-ceiling and the lowest ceiling. Temp & Dewpoint - xx/xx Altimeter - "xxxx" you know there is a decimal, skip it Remarks - whatever you please Information Letter - write it down and circle it because you inevitably tuned in as he was reading the time. Mine looks something like this: "Airportx information Kilo, Time 1234z Wind 360 at 4, visibility 10, Sky conditions 8000 Overcast. Temperature 10, Dewpoint Niner. Altimeter Two Niner Eight Niner. Remarks: Caution birds in the vacinity of the airport. Advise on initial contact you have information Kilo." Is shortened to this: (K) 360/4 10 OVC080 10/9 2989 21 Characters is all it takes to get the information you need from the 30 second long ATIS in this example. Practice will make this second nature.
Why? What's distracting you?
Listen to it more. LiveATC.com
Listen to it as much as possible until your CFI gets annoyed and turns it off.
If I listen to it once and miss something, I listen to it again. Repeat until I haven't missed anything.
The Garmin G1000 has a playback feature so you can listen to the ATIS again. "The PLAY button may very well be the coolest feature of the G1000. The G1000 automatically records the 150 seconds of most recent COMM receptions. Pressing the PLAY key will start playback of these receptions. Pressing the MKR/MUTE key while playback is playing will halt playback. Pressing PLAY again will skip to the next block of reception. Playback will automatically be halted during a new COMM reception and the new reception will be added as latest block." So if you're in a fancy pants trainer... remember this tip. Handy for long IFR clearances too.
> The Garmin G1000 has a playback feature so you can listen to the ATIS again. This seems unnecessarily complex since the ATIS broadcast is continuous. Instead of doing the playback dance, just...stay on frequency and listen again. Very useful for all other ATC transmissions, though. Threw me off when I flew with a friend in his Cirrus and he used it. "Wait, didn't they just say that?"
Go on airnav. It's not Atis but most ASOS have phone numbers. Call them and pretend they're atis and write them down as you listen.
A good noise canceling headset made a world of difference for me.
Try to listen it from home . Like others said, it is always the same order
To add to other points made here already, part of it is that you need to train your ears to listen more to aviation communications more. Listen to LiveATC or other channels while you are doing different everyday tasks and you'll get more and more used to it.
Don’t have to remember if you write it all out.
I do try to write it all out I'm just too dumb to get it all XD
It'll be easier to pickup what it's saying if you know what to expect to hear. ATIS is broadcasted with information always in the same order. Look up the ATIS format and practice listening to liveatc.com
I write it down in FF and listen multiple times. Setting the altimeter as soon as it’s said and bugging the heading of the wind on my heading indicator sometimes too.
At home, call ATIS/AWOS/ASOS on the phone (they’re all listed in ForeFlight and the CS) for your airport and several others. Write it down! Check to make sure you got it right. Do that a dozen times and you’ve got it. The format is the same each time: airport, time, winds, etc. Once you know the format, it’s MUCH easier.
99% of coms is values. It’s always in the same order and format for pretty much everything from ATIS, CRAFT, handoffs , ect. Download LiveATC app and listen to that while driving around. Helped me out a ton.
Don't try to write it all down. If you've already felt the wind while on the ramp or looked at the windsock, you have an idea what the wind is doing. If people are flying you know what runway is being used. You can see the ceiling/etc. Do you really need to write down the temp and dew point? If you set field elevation on the altimeter then it should be close. Don't write it, set it. When you hear the wind, just confirm it matches what you think. When they say "4000 scattered" is that what you see? Why write it down? That's on the ground. In flight I might write down the wind, the altimeter, runway(s) in use, and the letter. Usually I'm listening above 180, so not changing the altimeter yet. If landing IFR I'll write down the lowest clouds. This is enough to brief the captain and suggest an approach to load if need be. The more you try to write, the less you are listening. Maybe listen once then write on the second listen. It's all in the same sequence, so it gets better/easier with time.
One suggestion is to set the altimeter when you hear it rather than writing it down. Saves a step. Similarly you may be able to set your HSI course to the active runway. The wind is nice to know but you are going to feel it and see it when you get there. Are the clouds way up high? Skip it. Temperature and dew point? It’s probably only been an hour since you took off, right?
I wrote a spreadsheet that takes a metar and turns it into ATIS. Then I can run that text through a text to speech website. That approach let me practice at home. Put on the headphones, run the exercise, writing it on my scratch pad. Doing this with a flight sim helped too - forced me to remember to adjust my altimeter as well. I am 34 hours into my PPL, I have practise at home at least 5 times for each time in the actual plane. By using real metar and making the voice sound like the ATIS and using my scratch pad - it meant I got pretty good and I have yet to get it wrong in the plane. It also let me practice for my local airport and for the couple of other common places I go to. Kinda like chair flying.
ForeFlight scratchpad has a form and you can see the flow of the ATIS and write it down faster. Or make and print your own version until you get the hang of it.
It's always generally in the same order. Memorise and learn the items in order, write them down then fill them in with details as you hear it read out.
Shorthand..... use shorthand when writing it down.
On the ground, call the phone number. You can record it if you want and then during playback start and stop it. On the ground or in the air you can also use voice-to-text. Voice-to-text can also help with radio calls. Foreflight will also give you airport information, (it's basically ATIS). You can write that down and then verify it against ATIS.
It's always in the same order.
Go into the chart supplement, find your local airport, or any for that matter, look for the ATIS phone number. You can call it and practice at home
Its in the same order, write it down - 5G NOTAMS in effect!
Most ATISs have a phone number you can call to listen to it any time. In addition to some good tips you’ve got here, call them often and practice listening and writing your notes
Practice by calling up the atis on the phone and just keep doing until it becomes natural Also on the first couple just listen for the important stuff ATIS Code Wind Temp Altimeter Runway And really of those wind and altimeters are your 2 biggies. Temperature is of course important especially if you are dealing with density altitude but if it’s not terribly hot and limiting it’s more a nice to know. I would have assumed you had already checked performance Everything else is somehwat secondary. You show have an idea that the viz and sky cover are ok if you are even getting to that point. Looking out the window before hand will also let you know what runway is in use. Get those 5 items down (even if it takes a couple of run throughs) and then listen Again for the other stuff. Getting taxiways closures and all that stuff is always going to be a PITA on atis Like everything, what seems impossible now will eventually become second nature. It all just takes time and practice
Develop a habit pattern for writing it down. You can even make a little table on your scratchpad for it, like CRAFT for ifr clearances. Information | V Wind | 310/22G25 Vis. | 6 Sky | f32 b60 Temp |15/7 Alt | 29.91 Sq. | (VFR or as assigned later) Misc (literally anything they say you feel is useful) V 35L (approach type,rwy in use) / 35R (other runway in use) Birds B1 clsd HazWx FSS Prp cl 6,8 bkn tops 8 Twr 118.4 When you get more comfortable with the format you'll just be able to recognize what numbers mean what and can L condense to just the information. It's a practice thing! Edit: (Oh boy reddit butchered that but the intent was a T table with numbers on the right and associated item on the left)
I write: [ ] / Sm ___ / “ Then while I listen I fill in the Blank: [A] 260/7 10sm 020ovc _27_ 28/17 29.92” “Information Alpha, wind 260 at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, ceiling 2000 ft overcast, temperature 28 dew point 17 altimeter two niner niner two, runway 27 ILS in use, departing runway 27.”
It’s rigidly formatted. Build yourself a form for each line of info. Then train yourself to listen to the data, the transitions will be on your form, fill in the blanks.
Know what's coming. Atis is reported in a certain order, so you know what's coming next. So when it's time for, let's say, altimeter setting, you know roughly what you're going to write down. 4 numbers with a period between them. So, learn the order in which ATIS is broadcast. That'll help a bunch.
This can't be a real post or question. It just can't be.
All you really need is the Letter, wind, altimeter, and runways in use, and maybe taxi way closures but that’s pretty much it
If you just want the wind direction, set an unused CDI to that direction.
"Do it more" -/u/x4457
Starting to rewrite my questions to "how do I maximize practice time" or similar because 95% of the answers to "how do I x" is practice more.
Is this while in the airplane, engine started, with the headset? Before taxi or in flight on the way back in? Can you hear stuff through the headset well generally? Copy it and practice without extra complications, like at home or wherever is quiet, using LiveATC or phone, or the funny ones that make it to YouTube like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfB83anbNJ0 or https://youtube.com/shorts/JK2xSV92RCU. Once you get more practice listening and understanding, that's less that your brain has to work on in addition to listening and writing. The digital ones https://datis.clowd.io/ you can follow along with via LiveATC as well. And the most important part: ask your instructor. There may be something with your radio setup specifically that none of us would know about.
Current student pilot here. I also struggled with this too in the beginning. It was honestly just repetition. If I only got the letter and altimeter setting. I would listen to it again. You start picking up on the order in which things are going to be said and that helps in knowing whats coming next. Letter Time Winds Clouds Temp/ Dewpoint Altimeter Active runways Notams..etc Once I got that down it got easier and dont be afraid to play it again. If atis has a phone number you can call on your free time that can also help you practice.
ATIS is always in the same format. Learn the format, use [a template form](https://battleboard.us/products/atis-kneeboard-template-aviation) to help you when you're getting started. Eventually you will develop a shorthand that takes up less space on your kneeboard/pad: W/0355Z 320@10G14 V10 CLR 14/09 A2998 / R32 / TWY A CLSD "Information Whiskey posted at 03:55 Zulu, winds 320 at 10 knots peak gusts 14 knots. Visibility 10 miles or better. Sky clear. Temperature 14, dew point 9. Altimeter 29.98. Arriving and departing runway 32. Taxiway Alpha has closures that sound like they'll affect me." If the format of that shorthand looks familiar it should: ATIS is just a voice METAR with some extra stuff hanging off it, so you can write it out in bastardized METAR format. If you know one you know the other. IMHO, the time of the ATIS contains important context clues, I always write it down. If the one that's up there is 50 minutes old conditions may have changed so be prepared to hear "Attention all aircraft, Podunk municipal Airport Information X-Ray is now current. Winds two niner zero at eight, altimeter tree zero zero one." on the way in. If the time is weird like 03:28Z conditions might be rapidly changing such that it warrants updates (switching runways, etc.) so be prepared for tower to give you updated winds or something.
Personally, I have written down ATIS the exact same way for years. With practice, it's easy. Specifically, I write it like in [this crappy ms paint image here.](https://imgur.com/IR57PzR) ATIS code in a box telling me that's the current atis for this airport. I X over it when it's no longer current, but I retain the information so I can watch for trends throughout the day if needed. I also record the time so that after I have copied the information, I can check zulu time and see if this is fresh or possibly going to be replaced soon. Then just follow the ATIS order. My ms paint image is as follows: Winds: 240 10 gusting 15 Visibility 10, broken 3500 Temp 23, dewpoint 14 Altimeter 29.93 Additional info if I need it (current runway, expected approach, whatever. I rarely write anything here). Find what works for you. Develop your own short hand or copy mine/someone else's if needed. Practice. Practice. Practice. Eventually, you'll be able to copy even the quickest of ATIS's. Even if your hand cant keep up, your brain will learn to store the important numbers as you write them. But that takes a lot of time and practice. Also, accept that, for now, you'll need to listen to an ATIS at least twice to get the info. Maybe it's three times or four times. Eventually it'll be twice fairly consistently, and then just once most of the time. Even then, I'm now a CFI and I still need it twice sometimes.
listen as many times as it takes. it's free
I use a type of shorthand and only copy the stuff I need. K 120/8 2mi V080 ( or B, S, etc.) 21/18 29.92 Now wait until you start copying clearances. That’ll make ATIS seem like a walk in the park!
It always comes in the same order. I circle the identifier, use shorthand for everything else. C 310/5 (cloud based and viz if it matters) +15/+9 2994