Pilot Reference

Quick lookups for squawk codes and the phonetic alphabet.

Squawk codes

Common transponder codes used in flight simulation. The three emergency codes (7500, 7600, 7700) are universal and trigger immediate ATC attention.

7500
HijackEmergency

Aircraft is being hijacked or under unlawful interference.

7600
Radio failureEmergency

Loss of two-way radio communication.

7700
General emergencyEmergency

Any emergency situation requiring immediate attention.

1200
VFR (US)US/Canada

Standard VFR squawk in the United States and Canada.

7000
VFR (ICAO)Europe/ICAO

Standard VFR conspicuity code in Europe and most ICAO airspace.

2000
Uncontrolled IFRICAO

IFR transit code when no discrete code has been assigned (ICAO).

1202
Glider (US)US

Standard code for gliders not in contact with ATC.

1255
Firefighting (US)US

Firefighting aircraft operating at the scene of a wildfire.

1277
Search & Rescue (US)US

SAR aircraft operating on a mission.

7777
Military interceptUS

Reserved for military interceptor operations. Never select on a civil aircraft.

Phonetic alphabet

The NATO/ICAO phonetic alphabet. Used to spell letters clearly on the radio.

A
Alfa
AL-fah
B
Bravo
BRAH-voh
C
Charlie
CHAR-lee
D
Delta
DELL-tah
E
Echo
ECK-oh
F
Foxtrot
FOKS-trot
G
Golf
GOLF
H
Hotel
hoh-TELL
I
India
IN-dee-ah
J
Juliett
JEW-lee-ett
K
Kilo
KEY-loh
L
Lima
LEE-mah
M
Mike
MIKE
N
November
no-VEM-ber
O
Oscar
OSS-cah
P
Papa
pah-PAH
Q
Quebec
keh-BECK
R
Romeo
ROW-me-oh
S
Sierra
see-AIR-rah
T
Tango
TANG-go
U
Uniform
YOU-nee-form
V
Victor
VIK-tah
W
Whiskey
WISS-key
X
X-ray
ECKS-ray
Y
Yankee
YANG-key
Z
Zulu
ZOO-loo

Numbers

0Zero
1Wun
2Too
3Tree
4Fower
5Fife
6Six
7Seven
8Ait
9Niner

Pilots pronounce 3 as "tree", 5 as "fife", and 9 as "niner" to avoid radio ambiguity.