I was always comfortable speaking with ATC, but on occassions I found myself stuck for the right words or confused by listening to too many words.
What I needed was more exposure to a broader range of ATC expressions, a script if you would like. I found what I was looking for in several books but opted to purchase this one after reviewing it in the local bookstore.
I found this book to have very clear walkthroughs of each situation you can expect to encounter. It covered each class of airspace and talking to other sources such as FSS, Weather briefers, etc and I found this extra information to be invaluable.
This book is especially useful to me whenever I review a flight I am about to make and wish to clarify what I can expect to be hearing at unfamiliar airports. It helps me to walkthrough and review the challenges ahead of me, and improves my own confidence dramatically. I've found this a great help in managing the energy I'm spending on flying the airplane, as opposed to thinking about what it is I want to say.
There are also many great tips in this book, some of which I have not seen covered elsewhere or heard from an instructor yet have helped me understand why we say things in a certain way and when it's perhaps better to deviate from recommendations and work with ATC for better results.
This is probably a cheaper and handier alternative to communication simulations software. I thought about getting such software just so I could practice each scenario and I am sure there are benefits in doing that but I'm glad I spent less money on this book instead. I don't think that software would have offered much more than the book and the cost savings make this a more economical purchase. The cost difference is an hours flying and I know what I'd rather do. This book was more than good enough.
This is a very handy book for student and low hours pilots to have. I'm sure as I gain more experience I'll probably continue to use this as reference.
