Questions tagged [non-towered-airport]

An airport that is not controlled by airport-based air traffic control

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19 votes
4 answers
3k views

Is it permissible to walk along a taxiway at an uncontrolled airport to reach airport facilities?

I just got my PPL and am planning to take a short $300 hamburger trip tomorrow to a nearby uncontrolled field. Here's its taxiway diagram: I called the airport this morning to ask where transient ...
Ethan B's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
983 views

Is "Conflicting Traffic" any better than "All Traffic?"

CTAF guidelines make clear that "all traffic in area please advise," is a bad idea and great way to get CTAF blocked for everybody. Makes sense, cool. I've seen in videos people using "...
William Walker III's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
180 views

What is the best way to move a touring motor glider over a wet grass surface?

In a flight club we operate an SF-25C (about 480kg empty). In fall and winter the surface (grass) of our taxiways often gets to wet so if we would move the aircraft we would damage the field and we ...
Chris's user avatar
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11 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the difference between CTAF and the Tower frequency? Why does the Chart Supplement list the same frequency twice?

At many part-time towered airports the Chart Supplement will have a listing along these lines: COMMUNICATIONS: CTAF 119.2, TOWER 119.2 (1400–0500Z‡) The CTAF is the same frequency as the Tower. What ...
randomhead's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it legal for a pilot to takeoff/land at an non-towered airport if the pilot controlled runway lights are inoperative?

In the U.S., at night (as defined in FAR 1.1) at a non-towered airport in Class E surface airspace with pilot controlled/activated runway lights, is it legal for a pilot to takeoff and/or land if the ...
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5 votes
4 answers
2k views

Which frequency to contact when arriving at a Class C airport when the tower is open, and which frequency when it is closed?

I came across this question on my PPL exam and I'm not able to properly interpret some pieces. The question is: When approaching Lincoln Municipal from the west at noon for the purpose of landing, ...
Jonathan's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
4k views

Examples of unmanned airports?

I just found this sentence on Wikipedia: In aviation, some possibly unmanned airports have equipment that let pilots key their VHF radio a number of times in order to request an Automatic Terminal ...
d33tah's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
5k views

Did the last US plane to leave Afghanistan have support from the control tower?

CNN's says says that The last US military planes have left Afghanistan, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, announced Monday at the Pentagon. The US departure marks the end of a ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 5,768
1 vote
2 answers
141 views

What options are there when in a base or final traffic pattern to allow higher priority traffic to take off? [duplicate]

Today, my instructor and I were practicing landings - touch and go's. We are at an untowered airport, KLGD. Wind was favoring runway 30. There's been some fires in the area; we checked the NOTAMs and ...
Azendale's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why do so many airports have the same CTAF frequency?

In the United States, many non-towered airports have CTAF frequencies (often shared with UNICOM as well) that tend to overlap with various other airports within a 50-100 nm radius, at least in more ...
aviator's user avatar
  • 263
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

What are the proper radio call-outs on uncontrolled airfields?

I know that there are many non-commercial runways that do not have an active Air Traffic Controller on-duty, and that many small aircraft use these runways for takeoff and landing, but I never ...
Golden's user avatar
  • 317
1 vote
1 answer
319 views

Where can I find canonical examples of radio communications at non-towered airports?

I'm trying to find any canonical examples of radio communication patterns at non-towered airports. The FAR/AIM has very little in terms of sample announcements, etc. The AC-90-66B (https://www.faa.gov/...
vector's user avatar
  • 467
5 votes
2 answers
461 views

Why doesn't Ketchikan, AK have a control tower?

Why doesn't Ketchikan International Airport (PAKT) in Alaska have a control tower? The special flight rules applicable to the area (14 CFR 93 Subpart M) seem to make it clear that traffic management ...
2NinerRomeo's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
327 views

Need communication example departing and arriving uncontrolled airport within class D

I'm looking for a communication pattern to depart and arrive an uncontrolled airport within class D airspace VFR. One example can be F69 which is within KADS. This case looks even trickier because ...
Alex K's user avatar
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13 votes
4 answers
3k views

What should I do if I lose situational awareness while in the pattern?

Let's say that I'm doing some pattern work in my favorite little Cessna or Diamond at my favorite little non-towered airport. Everything is going just fine, I'm on the downwind leg... Or, wait a ...
Tanner Swett's user avatar
  • 5,761
0 votes
1 answer
542 views

What does X on a private runway mean?

Does an X at the ends of a private runway mean it's inoperable or does it mean its restricted to the public?
Virginia Franklin's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
3k views

Are taxiways numbered in a predictable order?

When taxiing at an airport without a full-blown airport diagram (most commonly, a non-towered airport), how does a pilot know whether taxiway A (Alpha) is on one end of a runway, or the other? Or, in ...
Conway's user avatar
  • 589
10 votes
1 answer
707 views

Why must a pilot enter "Upwind" when entering the traffic pattern for RWY 9 at Linden (LDJ) airport in New Jersey?

The chart supplement procedures require aircraft to enter the traffic pattern "Upwind" for Runway 9 at Linden (LDJ) airport in New Jersey. Question: Why is this required? Chart Supplement: New York ...
user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the "one-in one-out" FAA rule for IFR traffic landing or departing at an airport without a tower or at an airport with a closed tower?

Does the rule say that only one IFR aircraft may land or depart at an airport at one time? I'm having trouble finding the official rule in an FAA document. What about other VFR traffic that may be ...
slantalpha's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
523 views

While flying having trouble estimating how far I am from Airport

When approaching an uncontrolled airport especially, standard procedure demands to make the first call 10 miles out announcing my location, entry procedure, etc. and then more calls at 5 miles, 2 ...
absolutskyy's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why do planes overfly Moffett Field before landing?

I live near Moffett Field, and I noticed that some airplanes go over the field once before landing, along the runway (not across), even when the tower is open. I thought that was a procedure for non-...
Frank's user avatar
  • 260
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

What class airspace is depicted in the magenta colored area southeast of the Lake Havasu City, Arizona AIrport?

What class airspace is depicted in the picture below within the wide magenta colored bar southeast of the Lake Havasu City, Arizona Airport (on the Phoenix, Arizona Sectional Chart)? What are the ...
user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

Should landing on a runway that has been closed by NOTAM be a violation of the FARs?

At an airport without an operating control tower, should it be a violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations to land an airplane during VMC daylight conditions on a runway that has been NOTAMed ...
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28 votes
1 answer
2k views

At a non-towered airport in the US, what should I do if I hear a medevac flight waiting to take off while I'm turning base?

I'm in the left downwind at my favorite non-towered airport. Just while I'm making the turn to base, I hear a radio call on CTAF: "Such-and-such Traffic, Medevac 123, holding short runway 31." They ...
Tanner Swett's user avatar
  • 5,761
13 votes
5 answers
5k views

Could I issue clearances at a private airstrip without being a controller?

Hypothetically, if I owned a private airstrip on my property, with all the necessary permissions to do so, and I only want certain aircraft landing there, would I be allowed to issue takeoff and ...
smithb99's user avatar
  • 141
2 votes
3 answers
4k views

Where can I get airport diagrams of non-towered airports?

I'm trying to find a couple of airport diagrams for right now: X26 and X59. Neither of them are listed in the Chart Supplement or on the FAA site. All I could get were those shabby diagrams presented ...
JWK's user avatar
  • 21
6 votes
3 answers
531 views

What should you do when the pattern is crowded?

If you're approaching a non-towered field and you find that the pattern is too crowded to enter what do you do? Provided you have adequate fuel to wait for an opening is there a standard place and ...
TomMcW's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
210 views

How can I find out if the government paid to build a runway?

I've heard rumors that the government paid to build a runway at a residential fly-in community in the mountains of North Carolina to have it available as an emergency landing strip. I would ...
Emma K.'s user avatar
  • 29
19 votes
2 answers
7k views

How do airports with no ATC operate?

I've heard that some airports don't have an ATC tower and nobody monitors the landings. Can someone tell me how those planes can land/takeoff safely without incidents occurring? I understand the fact ...
Bhavik's user avatar
  • 640
1 vote
0 answers
96 views

What is the criteria for determining whether an airport will be towered or uncontrolled? [duplicate]

I thought about this in reference to the question about Schamburg Airport in Chicago. Is there a particular criteria for an airport, for instance the amount of instrument traffic going into and out ...
Romeo_4808N's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
348 views

Why is Schaumberg Airport (06C) in Chicago an uncontrolled field?

Schaumburg Airport lies underneath some of the busiest airspace in the world and is 8 miles west of Chicago O'Hare, one of the most active airports in the US. It's not the busiest uncontrolled field ...
Geoffrey Gallaway's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
3k views

How does one deal with a UNICOM operator directing aircraft like at a towered airport?

Seems like an odd scenario, however I have experienced this a few times now. A non-towered airport will have someone on the radio directing traffic and reading out weather info like barometric ...
Yogwhatup's user avatar
  • 896
13 votes
9 answers
18k views

Can an IFR clearance be issued and flown through IMC in class G airspace?

Let's say an IFR flight was planned to depart from a non-towered airport with class G airspace extending from the surface to 700 feet AGL. The flight visibility and ceiling both go down to 0. Can the ...
ryan1618's user avatar
  • 14.9k
9 votes
1 answer
8k views

Why do some non-towered airports have class E airspace from the surface up?

I've noticed that when it comes to non-towered airports, some are in class G airspace and others have class E airspace starting from the surface. At first I thought the airports with class E at the ...
ryan1618's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do pilots "turn an airport around" at nontowered fields?

Consider Homestead Airport, a fictional paved, non-towered airfield in the exurbs of Bigtown, USA that has become popular as a home field for recreational pilots. The airport's busy enough that ...
KeithS's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
2k views

When is a control tower required?

I know there are busy airports without control towers, and the converse is also true. There is a process for an airport to acquire a control tower. Sometimes, airports want to have their own control ...
digitgopher's user avatar
  • 5,271
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

Do non-towered airports commonly have ILS?

Is it common, uncommon or rare for a non-towered airport to have ILS (Instrument Landing System) runways? Can a non-towered airport have ILS?
CGCampbell's user avatar
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21 votes
2 answers
1k views

Do you need clearance from ATC to switch to a different approach at non-towered airport?

When coming in on an instrument approach at a nontowered airport, the approach/center controller will clear you for the approach and approve your frequency change to the CTAF. Once you're cleared ...
newmanth's user avatar
  • 5,137
16 votes
6 answers
5k views

Is a full traffic pattern required when there is no traffic at an untowered airport?

If there seems to be very little traffic at an untowered airport, and no one's replied to any of your radio calls, is it acceptable to just fly a straight-in approach to the runway, or should you ...
Qantas 94 Heavy's user avatar