HF Aircraft Frequencies This is a list of HF frequencies normally used for commercial aircraft operations. All transmissions use USB, unless otherwise noted. These frequencies are used while the aircraft are beyond VHF line-of-sight of the area air traffic control stations. Flights on transoceanic routes are typically out of VHF range for most of the trip, and therefore rely very heavily on HF communications for instructions from the air traffic control (ATC) centers. I have listed the International Civil Aviation Organization frequencies first. These channels relay ATC information, and the aircraft typically report position, upper level weather conditions, and so on. The most common language will be English. You will hear exchanges that go something like this: "New York, New York, Speedbird 94." "Speedbird 94, New York, go ahead." "Speedbird 94, position 34 North, 018 West at 1835. Flight level 390. Estimating Trout at 1925. SELCAL BRAVO ALFA SIERRA WHISKEY. Static air minus 42, winds 256 diagonal 30." This might be confusing at first, but it's really pretty simple. Speedbird 94 ("niner four") is the aircraft's callsign. Most will ID their company name and flight number. British Airways use Speedbird and Pan Am use Clipper for calls. They give a position report along with the time at which they passed that position, then give their alti- tude. Flight level 390 is 39,000 feet. They estimate their next "waypoint," in this case a point labeled TROUT on an aeronautical chart, at which time they will check in again. A SELCAL (SELective CALling) is a set of tones that will break the squelch on the aircraft's radio. When the ATC wants to contact the aircrew, they send the SELCAL, and the crew are alerted that they have traffic. Otherwise, the crew don't want to listen to all the chatter on frequency. Finally, they give temperature, wind speed and direction at their position. The second list involves long-distance operations control frequencies, which typically will have airline company information, phone patches, etc. Many tranmsissions will be in the national language of the airline. Feel free to distribute this list widely. I also welcome updates and corrections. Happy listening! Larry Ledlow NA5E MCI & GEnie: NA5E CIS: 72017,1736 24 December 1988 ====================================================================== Aeronautical Mobile HF Bands --------------------------------------------- 2850-3155 kHz 8815-9040 kHz 17900-18030 kHz 3400-3500 10005-10100 21870-22000 4650-4750 11175-11400 23200-23350 5480-5730 13200-13360 6525-6765 15010-15100 ======================================================================== ICAO HF Aero Frequencies Freq. Regional Coverage Freq. Regional Coverage ------------------------------------------------------------------- 4666 Central Western Pacific | 8825 North Atlantic 4669 Central USSR, SW S. America | 8843 Central E. Pacific 4675 North Atlantic and Arctic | 8846 W. Caribbean 5493 South/Southwest Africa | 8855 S. America, S. Atlantic 5520 Western Caribbean | 8861 NW Africa, S. Atlantic 5526 Central/Northern S. America | 8864 North Atlantic 5547 Central Eastern Pacific | 8867 South Pacific 5555 Eastern Caribbean | 8879 Indian Ocean, N. Atlantic 5565 South Atlantic | 8891 North Atlantic, Arctic 5574 Central Eastern Pacific | 8894 N. Central Africa 5598 North Atlantic | 8897 Far East 5601 Middle East | 8903 S. Central Africa, W. Pac. 5616 North Atlantic | 8918 Caribbean, Middle East 5628 North Pacific | 8942 Southeast Asia 5634 Indian Ocean | 8951 S. Central USSR 5643 South Pacific | 10018 South Asia 5649 North Atlantic | 10024 South America 5652 North Central Africa | 10025 Eastern USSR 5655 Southeast Asia | 10042 Far East 5658 Northeast Africa, Middle East| 10048 North Pacific 5661 Central Europe, Mediterranean| 10066 Southeast Asia 5664 Eastern USSR | 10084 Central Europe, Med. 5667 Middle East | 10096 South America, N. USSR 6532 Central Western Pacific | 11195 South America 6533 North Central USSR | 11279 North Atlantic 6535 Northwest Africa, S. Atlantic| 11282 Central E. Pacific 6556 Southeast Asia | 11291 South Atlantic 6562 Central Western Pacific | 11300 NE Africa 6571 Far East | 11330 North Pacific 6577 Caribbean | 11360 SW S. America. 6586 W. Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico | 11375 S. Central USSR 6589 Eastern USSR | 11384 Central W. Pacific 6598 Central Europe, Mediterranean| 11387 Caribbean 6603 North Central USSR | 11396 Caribbean, SE Asia 6631 South Central USSR | 13273 N. Central Africa, S. Pac. 6649 Southwestern South America | 13288 NE Africa, Middle East 6673 Northwest Africa | 13291 North Atlantic, Arctic ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ICAO HF Aero page 2 13294 Africa, N. Pacific 13297 S. America, Carib., Far East 13300 Western and South Pacific 13306 Indian Ocean, N. Atlantic 13309 Southeast Asia 13312 Middle East 13315 South Atlantic 13318 Southeast Asia 13336 Central E. Pacific 13354 Pacific Ocean 13357 NW Africa, S. Atlantic 17904 Pacific Ocean 17907 SE Asia, N. USSR, S. Am., Car. 17925 Central S. America 17946 North Atlantic, Arctic 17955 NW Africa, S. Atlantic 17961 Africa, Indian Ocean ======================================================================= Long Distance Operations Control Freq. Location Freq. Location Freq. Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4654 Berne |9003 Amman, Jordan |13247 CW Havana, Moscow 4745.5 Berlin, GDR |9026 USA |13248 Belgrade 5529 Houston,Madrid|10018 Frankfurt |13285 Canada Santo Domingo |10021 Madrid |13324 CW Dusseldorf, GDR 5532 Prague,Jo'burg|10025 CW Havana, Moscow |13327 Madrid 5535 London,Bermuda| Prague |13330 USA 5538 Bahrain |10027 Europe, Canada |13333 London 5540 Stockholm |10030 USSR, Caribbean |13342 Stockholm 5589 Stockholm |10033 W. Afr., Mexico |13348 Santo Domingo 5691 Wunsdorf, FRG |10065 Frankfurt |13351 Paris 5703 USA |10069 Berne |15024 CW Havana, Moscow 6526 Berne |10072 London, Bombay |15046 Berlin, Berne 6637 Paris, Frankf.|10075 USA |17916 Stockholm 6640 USA |10078 Eur., Australia |17922 London 6643 Berne |11182 Madrid |17925 Berlin, USA 6646 Worldwide |11184 Lisbon |17940 USA 6715 USA |11193 CW Moscow |17975 Berlin 6745 CW Moscow |11215 Lima |17983 Jeddah 6753 Berlin, GDR |11222 Stockholm |18023 Berne 8842 CW Havana, Moscow|11237.5 Berlin, GDR |21925 Amsterdam 8862 Dakar |11256 USA |21940 Paris 8910 Iceland |11311 Ottawa |21946 London 8921 London,Bermuda|11312 CW Havana, Moscow |21964 USA Frankfurt |11342 USA |21967 Frankfurt 8924 S. America |11345 Worldwide |21988 Berne 8927 Middle East |11351 Far East |23210 Stockholm 8930 Stockholm |11354 Middle East |23225 Berlin 8933 Johannesburg |13205 Berne |23285 Berne 8936 Madrid, Berne |13213.8 Frankfurt |23307 Jeddah 8983 Frankfurt |13222 Tunis,Berlin, | 8984 Berlin, GDR | Vienna, Amman | 8986.4 Europe |13235 Dresden | ==========================================================================