Private pilot · ACS PA.III.A · Instructor lesson plan

Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems

Student pack: Train: Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems · Full lesson: Prepare guide

Instructors: sign in to edit and approve your own version.

1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain communications, light signals, and runway lighting systems in their own words and apply it to a realistic flight, to the ACS standard for PA.III.A.

Why it matters for safety: Runway incursions and near collisions often start with a misunderstood or unchecked radio call: a hold-short instruction heard as a clearance, a call sign confused with another, a frequency nobody was listening on. Clear, standard phraseology and a known plan for when the radio fails keep everyone sharing the same picture of the airport.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems. Say it right, know what to do when the radio quits, read the tower’s light gun and the runway’s lights.

Anyone can open this link, no account needed. To see who trained it on your roster, use a free instructor account.

Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/communications-light-signals-and-runway-lighting · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/communications-light-signals-and-runway-lighting

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

Find frequencies in the Chart Supplement, on the sectional and from ATIS; set them up before you need them.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
Who you’re calling, who you are, where you are, what you want. Listen before you talk, and read back runway assignments and every hold-short instruction.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
Light signals: steady green, cleared to land (in the air) or take off (on the ground); flashing green, return for landing (to be followed by a steady green at the proper time; it isn't a landing clearance) or cleared to taxi; steady red, give way and keep circling or stop; flashing red, airport unsafe or taxi clear of the runway; flashing white, return to your starting point (ground); alternating red and green, extreme caution.(14 CFR 91.125)
Lost communications in VFR conditions: squawk 7600, stay VFR and land as soon as practicable. At a towered airport, watch for light signals and acknowledge them.(AIM 4-2-13 and 6-4-1; 14 CFR 91.129(d)(2))
Red runway status lights mean stop: don't enter, cross or take off while they're on, and call the tower. They are an independent advisory system: they never give, replace or cancel a clearance, and their going out is not a clearance.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)
Declare an emergency early: "Mayday" for distress, "Pan-pan" for urgency, and squawk 7700.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
Accidents and certain serious incidents must be reported to the NTSB immediately; a written report follows within 10 days of an accident.(49 CFR 830.5; 830.15)

Frequencies and phraseology

Frequencies come from the Chart Supplement, the sectional chart (tower, CTAF, ATIS, approach) and the ATIS broadcast. Load and label them before you need them.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
Listen before transmitting so you don’t step on someone. Think about what you’ll say, then say it briefly: facility, your call sign, position, request. At a towered airport, read back runway assignments, hold-short and LAHSO instructions, taxi routes, altitudes and headings, with your call sign.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
At a nontowered airport: self-announce on the CTAF with the airport name, your call sign, position and intentions, on each leg of the pattern and on the ground, and listen for everyone else.(AIM 4-1-9; AC 90-66)
Use the standard words from the Pilot/Controller Glossary: "unable", "say again", "wilco", "roger". Non-standard phrases are how misunderstandings start.(Pilot/Controller Glossary (AIM))
Read back runway assignments, hold-short instructions, altitudes and headings. If you’re unsure, ask; never guess.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
Student pilots may say so on first contact, and controllers will adjust. That’s good airmanship, not a weakness.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))

Transponder and radar help

An altitude-reporting transponder is required in the airspace listed in 91.215(b), and in all controlled airspace it must be on (your assigned code, or 1200 for VFR) unless ATC says otherwise; in uncontrolled airspace the AIM asks you to operate it whenever practicable. Press IDENT only when ATC asks.(14 CFR 91.215(b)-(c); AIM 4-1-20)
Special codes: 7500 hijacking, 7600 lost communications, 7700 emergency.(AIM, Chapter 4 (air traffic control: services, airport operations))
Radar services for VFR pilots include traffic advisories (flight following), safety alerts and help when lost. Ask for it; it doesn’t replace see-and-avoid.(AIM, Chapter 4 (air traffic control: services, airport operations))

When the radio quits

Check the simple things first: volume, squelch, the right frequency, the audio panel selection, headset plugs, a stuck mic, the avionics master. A failing alternator can drain the battery and take the radios with it.(AIM, Chapter 4, Section 2 (radio communications phraseology and technique))
In VFR conditions with no radio, squawk 7600, stay VFR, and land as soon as practicable. In Class D, stay clear until you know the traffic flow, then join it; you may land without two-way radio only with the weather at or above basic VFR minimums, visual contact with the tower maintained, and a clearance to land by light gun (a steady green).(AIM 4-2-13 and 6-4-1; 14 CFR 91.129(d)(2))
Don't confuse this with 91.185: that is the IFR lost-communications rule (route and altitude to fly when you lose the radio on an IFR flight plan).(14 CFR 91.185)
Know which part failed. Transmitter dead, receiver working: listen, comply, and acknowledge by rocking the wings (day) or blinking lights (night). Receiver dead, transmitter working: transmit your position, altitude and intentions in the blind, say you'll be controlled by light signals, report joining the pattern, and watch the tower. Both dead: squawk 7600, stay clear until you know the flow, join it, and rely entirely on light signals.(AIM 4-2-13)
Acknowledging light signals: in flight, rock the wings by day, blink the landing or navigation lights at night; on the ground, move the ailerons or rudder by day, blink the landing or navigation lights at night.(AIM 4-3-13)
Know the light gun signals cold: the meaning is different in the air and on the ground.(14 CFR 91.125)

Airport and runway lighting

Runway Status Lights work automatically from surveillance data, independently of ATC: red Runway Entrance Lights at a taxiway mean don’t enter or cross; red Takeoff Hold Lights on the runway mean don’t take off; Runway Intersection Lights mean don't enter or cross an intersecting runway. Stop and contact the tower. They never give, replace or cancel a clearance, and lights going out isn't a clearance. If they come on when you're already on the runway or can't safely stop, use your best judgment and call ATC at the first chance.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)
PAPI (four lights): 4 white high, 3 white and 1 red slightly high, 2 and 2 on the glidepath, 1 white and 3 red slightly low, 4 red low; a two-light PAPI shows 1 white and 1 red on path. VASI: red over white on the glidepath, white over white high, red over red low.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)
Runway lights: edge lights white, turning yellow for the last 2,000 feet or half the runway, whichever is less; threshold lights green from the approach end; runway end lights red; REIL, flashing white lights at the threshold. Taxiway edge lights are blue and centerline lights green.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)
The rotating beacon flashes white and green at a lighted land airport, white and yellow at a water airport, green, yellow and white at a heliport, and two quick white flashes between greens at a military airport. In daylight, a beacon on in a Class B, C, D or E surface area often means the ceiling is below 1,000 feet or visibility below 3 miles, but nothing requires it, so check the actual weather.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)
Pilot-controlled lighting, on the frequency in the Chart Supplement: key the mic 7 times in 5 seconds for the highest intensity available, 5 for medium or lower (or to turn the REIL lower or off), 3 for the lowest; what you get depends on the installed system. Always key 7 first, then step down. The lights stay on for 15 minutes from the last activation.(AIM, Chapter 2, Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids)

Emergencies and reporting

Declare an emergency when you are in distress or urgency, or when you think you might be. You get priority; there is no penalty for asking for help you needed.(AIM, Chapter 6, Emergency Procedures)
An accident involves death, serious injury or substantial damage. Notify the NTSB immediately after an accident, and after listed serious incidents such as a flight control failure, an in-flight fire or a midair collision.(49 CFR 830.2; 830.5)
File the written report within 10 days of an accident, or 7 days after an aircraft is still missing. For incidents, only if the NTSB asks.(49 CFR 830.15)

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

Recall · What does a flashing green light from the tower mean on the ground, and in the air?
A strong answer: On the ground, cleared to taxi. In the air, return for landing, to be followed by a steady green when cleared to land.
Understand · Why must you read back a hold-short instruction?
A strong answer: Crossing a runway by mistake can cause a collision. The readback lets the controller catch a misunderstanding before it happens.
Apply · Your radio fails five miles from a towered airport in good weather. What do you do?
A strong answer: Check volume, frequency, headset and audio panel. If it’s still dead, squawk 7600, stay clear of the Class D until I know the traffic direction, join the pattern, watch the tower for light signals and acknowledge them by rocking my wings.

Scenarios to talk through

Cleared to cross a runway, you reach the hold line and see red lights in the pavement across the taxiway. What do you do?
Sound decision: Stop. Red Runway Entrance Lights mean the runway isn’t safe to cross, even with a clearance. Tell the tower you’re holding because of the lights and wait for them to go out and for a clearance.
The tower says "Cessna 345, hold short of runway two-seven". The frequency is busy and you aren’t sure it was you. What do you do?
Sound decision: Stop short anyway and ask: "Tower, Cessna 345, confirm hold short runway two-seven." Never cross on an assumption.
At night your alternator fails; the radios are getting weak. How do you use the radio you have left?
Sound decision: Turn off non-essential electrical loads, tell ATC early and land at the nearest suitable airport. Pilot-controlled lighting needs a working transmitter, so key it on early while you still have power, or plan for a towered airport (where you can follow light signals) or one whose lights are already on.

5 · Common student errors

Rehearsing nothing before keying the mic.
Why it matters: Long, hesitant calls block the frequency and invite mistakes.
How to correct it: Think "who, who, where, what", then key the mic.
Reading back with only a call sign.
Why it matters: A controller can’t catch a misunderstanding you didn’t say back.
How to correct it: Read back runway assignments, hold-short instructions, altitudes and headings in full.
Forgetting the light gun signals.
Why it matters: They’re the only way the tower can talk to you when the radio fails.
How to correct it: Keep a card on your kneeboard and review it before flights to towered airports.

6 · Completion standard

Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on PA.III.A: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.III.A

7 · References

Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapters 2, 4, 6 and 7; Pilot/Controller Glossary
14 CFR Part 91, 91.125, 91.129(d)
49 CFR Part 830, NTSB notification and reporting
Chart Supplement, your airports’ frequencies and lighting
Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), Area III
Airman Certification Standards, task PA.III.A

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Communications, Light Signals, and Runway Lighting Systems lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.