pilotscafe

Morse code has been around for many years. In today's aviation it's primary use is for identifying radio navigation aids such as VORs, ILSs, DMEs or NDBs. The FAA and FCC no longer require you to know Morse for pilot training. In fact, it has been off the syllabus for decades. So, why learn Morse Code to begin with?

You can honestly get along as a pilot just fine without knowing Morse Code. However, anything that helps reduce our workload in flight is a good thing to have. Staring at the dits and dahs printed on the aeronautical chart to figure if you're tuned to the right station can be very distracting, especially at times when you need those navaids the most, such as during an instrument approach when you are single-pilot hand-flying the aircraft through bad weather.

By learning Morse Code, you'd only need to glance at the letters identifying the navaid and listen to them. This would reduce chart-staring and make your job flying the aircraft easier . Does it worth the trouble learning this archaic code by heart? Yes! Especially since you can learn it in 20 minutes or less!

It's quite simple actually. You may not become a master Morse Coder overnight, but you'll learn the basics required for flying purposes.
Things you'll need:

1. A Morse Code cheat sheet:
2. A few blank sheets of paper
3. A book or any other form of lengthy text: a magazine, an aircraft manual, a web article, etc…

Now, start translating the book's content into Morse Code onto the blank sheets. Use the cheat sheet for reference and don't worry about how you'd remember each letter, eventually your brain will automatically do it for you. After a page or two, you'll notice that you don't need the cheat sheet anymore. At this point, start translating the Morse Code you wrote back into English on a new blank sheet.

After translating a few paragraphs or pages, you will be familiar with the basic Morse Code characters! Its not brain surgery, just a matter of practice. Next, try listening to the code you learned every time you identify a navaid, to sharpen this skill.

Let me know how you did!