In the flight training business there are a number of scenarios we must address as educators and safety professionals to prepare our students to venture away from their home base.  One of those is setting students and renter pilots free to operate at airports other than where they were trained and feel comfortable.   

Students are taught either at tower controlled fields or non-towered fields.  Flight instructors know firsthand that a majority of students have greater difficulty at non-towered fields if they were taught at a tower controlled field and visa versa.  I suggest that instructors take students to as many airfields in the area as possible during their primary training to help foster familiarity of different airport scenarios.  A Pre-Solo Stage Check should involve at least one non-towered airfield in addition to operations at the home base.  Not surprisingly, the confidence level of students dramatically increases when they fly successfully into unfamiliar airports beyond the home base. 

One of the advantages of a non-towered airfield is that pilots are at liberty to make many of their own decisions regarding operations.  They don’t need permission to taxi, take off, or land, usually because there is not enough traffic volume at the airport to justify the expense of a control tower.  The pilot is free to use the runway closest to his parking location or ramp.  These advantages are beneficial—until, of course, two pilots make similar decisions at the same time on opposite or crossing runways. 

Because there are far more non-towered airports than controlled ones, it is imperative for students and veteran pilots alike to understand procedures and good practices associated with non-towered airfields.  The following paragraphs will serve as a refresher, and will offer a number of illustrative scenarios.  My goal in this article, as in every time I take a student into the air, is to make sure that a peaceful day at the local airfield doesn’t turn into a sudden adventure.

From Taxi to Take Off

Pilots preparing to depart a non-towered field should take time to study the airport facility directory (AFD) before the engine is turning.  They should note the direction of the wind and compare it to aircraft already circling the field.  Many times aircraft arrive at a field and pick a runway without noting the wind—or simply disregarding it.  If a pilot doesn’t like the direction other aircraft are going, he is free to taxi to the end that is more suitable, but by all means, he should communicate over the CTAF frequency for that airport and let others know what he is doing.  There is nothing wrong with asking the aircraft in the pattern if they would switch direction and use the other runway.  You would be surprised how cooperative another pilot can be when you ask! 

Another factor to note is whether the traffic pattern is standard with left turns or nonstandard with right turns.  Sectional charts now contain an “RP” notation in the airport data beneath the airport symbol to indicate if a runway uses right (nonstandard) turns.  The AFD also contains that data for each runway at the airport and is the authoritative source.  Pilots should never assume that other pilots have read the directions.  They could be in for a sudden surprise.

 
Diamond DA20 departing a Non-tower controlled field

 In the Air 

Radio communication is a central part of safety protocols at non-towered fields.  In the following examples, our fictitious pilot will take off and land on Runway 12 at Harrison Field in Elktown, Missouri.  You, of course, will substitute different names and information depending on your circumstances. 

When the pilot’s aircraft is ready for departure, he makes his initial radio call.  “Harrison traffic, N1234 is departing Runway 12, Harrison.”  I advise students to scan for other traffic at this point in the downwind, base, and final approach directions, looking for non-radio equipped aircraft.  Also, the pilot should once again look down the runway to make sure that someone isn’t coming from the other direction.  The pilot can then taxi into position, set his Heading Indicator (DG) to the runway heading and start his roll down the runway. 

Once in the climb, the pilot should follow the approved departure procedures for that airport, if they are published and if they are not then follow the recommendations in AIM 4-3-3.  The AIM provides 3 recommended ways to depart an airport unless given a specific instruction in a tower controlled field.  That is you can continue straight out from the runway heading, turn 45 degrees in the direction of the traffic pattern and depart that way, or turn crosswind and continue on the crosswind heading.  What the AIM does not say is what to do when your direction of desired heading is the other 270 degrees not covered by the AIM diagram in 4-3-2.  The implication is to depart the airport to a safe distance from the field and clear of the traffic pattern, and then climb and depart in your desired direction clear from all traffic.  The pilot should review the AIM chapter 4-3-1 to follow the correct protocol, unless the airport has a published procedure that pilots have agreed to follow.

If staying in the pattern, the pilot should square turns to crosswind and downwind after climbing on the runway centerline for at least 500 feet.  Once established on downwind, the climb should continue until pattern altitude.  Pattern altitude is defined in the AIM as anywhere from 600’ to 1500’ AGL.  The accompanying diagram in the AIM also states that pilots should use 1000’ AGL unless otherwise noted.  The airport facility directory will contain a notation if there is a non-standard pattern altitude. 

The AFD for St. Charles Municipal (3SQ) reads: TPA = 1092 or 650’ AGL.  How many people coming into 3SQ know that?  Spirit uses 800’ AGL for the north runway and 1500’ AGL feet for the south runway to provide noise abatement for its “bluff dwelling” neighbors.  This anomaly suggest literally hundreds of other variations at airfields throughout the world and suggests the prudence of looking up the airport in the Airport Facility Directory (AFD prior to any trip.

Once the pilot is on midfield downwind, it is time to make the radio call.  “Harrison traffic, N1234 is midfield downwind Runway 12, Harrison, Missouri.”  I hear many people say “traffic” after the airport name at the end of the radio call.  This is acceptable, but redundant.  Mentioning the state at the end makes more sense.  Did you know that under certain atmospheric conditions, you can hear Washington, Indiana radio calls over Washington, Missouri CTAF?  It happened to me one day when I heard a pilot mention Runway 36 and I radioed to ask which Washington airport he was circling that had such a runway.  I haven’t had this mix-up since, but nonetheless I decided to start having students mention the state at the end of the radio call, just to be sure. 

Now comes the question, does the pilot start calling his position at base and final each circuit around the pattern or just downwind?  The AIM suggests in table 4-1-1 that the pilot makes a radio call on downwind, base, final, and when leaving the runway. Operational experience suggests that people only report downwind, if at all (no radio aircraft).  We all know what it is like on a Unicom frequency on a busy weekend—unintelligible squeals of radio noise.  In this case, the pilot should make a downwind radio call and advise base and final only if there is a reason to believe that he needs to advise more often, such as taxiing aircraft or inbound reporting traffic.  This keeps radio interference at a minimum.  The old pilot adage “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate” certainly applies.

If the pilot observes an aircraft doing a run-up next to the runway he is lining up on to land, making a call that he is turning base or turning final increases his chances that the aircraft won’t pull out in front of him when he is on short final, but it does not eliminate that chance.  This happened to me at a non-towered airport in the area.  An aircraft I had been watching at the run-up point pulled out in front of me when I was less than ¼ mile final, forcing me to go around.  I had made all of my calls including “turning final,” but it did not help.  The pilot of the offending aircraft created a dangerous situation that day.  It’s likely he was too busy to even notice.

Back to the Ground

I will conclude this discussion by focusing on arrival procedures.  The points already made in the other scenarios still apply.  The difference concerns how the pilot must plan and what he must do when approaching the airport before he is familiar with it.  The first thing I advise is to gather data at a distance of 10-25 miles out from the airport.  Listen to ASOS/AWOS if available, and monitor the CTAF frequency to see if anyone else is already reporting in the pattern.  If all is quiet, the pilot should make a radio call such as: “Harrison Unicom, N1234 is 10 miles north, inbound, request airport advisory, Harrison.”  Many times the person who answers the Unicom Radio is also the fuel station manager or lawnmower driver, so if the pilot doesn’t expect an answer he won’t be disappointed.  What he has done is alert other aircraft that may be operating at the airport to speak up, or to start reporting again. 

If I am in the pattern at an airport and I hear someone calling in, I will often answer the incoming pilot as though I was providing an airport advisory by saying, “Incoming aircraft to Harrison, winds are favoring Runway 12, several aircraft in the left traffic pattern for runway 12, Harrison.”  I have accomplished three things here: I have protected my tail from the incoming aircraft because now they know I am there; I have set a good example for other pilots such as the student I have in the plane with me; and I have made a friend of the incoming pilot.

Now back to the incoming pilot.  Presumably, he doesn’t have a “nice guy” giving him the airport advisory, so he is approaching “in the blind.”  I suggest to students to stay 500’ above pattern altitude until they know what they are going to do in relation to traffic, winds, and runway selection.  The pilot should make his radio call as he passes 5-10 miles out inbound, advising “Harrison traffic, N1234 is 5 north, inbound, will pass over the top of the field at 1000 feet, Harrison, Missouri.”  Fly over the airport and look down at the wind sock or tetrahedron to get a picture of the winds, then you will know how to enter the pattern and for which runway.  Once over the top of the field, take a look around the airport for any signs of taxiing aircraft or aircraft that may be sitting at the run-up spot on one runway or another to give them an idea about what is happening on the ground.  Also, they should look around the pattern for various runways to see if he notices any traffic already flowing and not talking.  If so, fall in line with them, assuming you like their choice of runways.  There is no sense in following the leader if they have made a bad or uninformed choice.  If the way is clear and the pilot is alone, then make the call based upon the winds and the traffic pattern indicator situated around the tetrahedron.  Fly to a point where you can safely descend to traffic pattern altitude outside of the pattern to avoid a descent onto somebody else and arrive at midfield downwind at a 45 degree angle to downwind.  Continue with the radio call on downwind, and keep watching the ground for indications of moving aircraft. 

Aeronautical Information Manual Diagram 4-3-2

 Operating at a non-towered airfield does not have to be a disorganized or disconcerting experience if pilots follow the basic rules in the AIM.  With a little bit of practice and a lot of patience, pilots will find that operating at an unfamiliar field is indeed a pleasure and can be as safe as any other airport they have visited.