Radio Basics at Non Towered Fields | Uncontrolled Airport Communications

In this video we're going through radio basics at non towered fields. This video is mostly aimed at student pilots who what to take control of the coms for their private pilot license, but it's also for rusty pilots who want to get back in the game. It may not be as easy as you think. Follow along as we fly in and out of the BEAUTIFUL Sedona, Arizona airport.
If you missed our how to talk to ATC video, check it out here - • ATC Communications and...
OH and our Cirrus Pilot is Bryan Turner from ‪@JustPlaneSilly‬ . AND, he's not one of those "Cirrus Pilots" we usually refer too. Make sure to check him out! - / justplanesilly
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Timestamps
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[@Mooney201er]

Nice explanation. Don’t forget that at uncontrolled airports, you are free to use any runway you choose. So communications are key. I was once coming into Ak-Chin and they were using the wrong runway. Maybe a 5 knot tailwind if memory serves me right. I announced that I’d be landing the other way (into the wind), sequenced myself to time it for traffic, landed, and tied down. Shortly after, everyone reversed and started landing the right direction. Sounded like some student pilots were relieved by the change, yet nobody ventured to be the one to initiate. Frankly, I just didn’t care. I just flew 6 hours from Addison and wasn’t going to land a loaded airplane with a tailwind.

[@flywiththeguys]

Good call. I've never had to do that myself, but it's good to be on the safe side.

[@erich930]

I had a kind of similar experience. It was an instrument approach training flight and we were coming in on our planned approach. We were landing on runway 10 but the wind was just shifting to the opposite direction! 4200 feet of runway is more than enough for a PA-28, so we just sent it. Ended up using most of those 4200 feet! The pattern switched direction after that.

[@jonvasil]

I have about 150 landings at Ak-Chin. I’ve had a similar issue happen with my instructor. Everyone was landing on runway 04, but the wind changed and there was a large tailwind. We did a touch-and-go once and then tear-dropped out on the new base and came back in on a left traffic pattern for runway 22. Everyone followed suit after us, it just seemed like no one wanted to take the initiative to change runways.

[@noagruber8028]

Great video, its so important to be super disciplined on the radio when entering the pattern or doing closed traffic at non towered airports.

[@flywiththeguys]

Totally is. And being hyper aware too. Can’t just fly and make calls hoping everything’s going to be ok!

[@supercaddy1239]

Love your guys videos really helping me through my PPL

[@flywiththeguys]

Great! Keep up with it. It’s totally worth it.

[@JustPlaneSilly]

8:25 best part :)

[@flywiththeguys]

😂 Even when I was editing it I was laughing.

[@RandoCommando]

Yeah. Don't be like ^^^!!! ;-)

[@martyhelfers8642]

That’s just plane silly 😂😂😂

[@Zalaniar]

Another awesome video! Keep up the great work! If I had one nitpick, it's that I'd make the calls a bit more concise by just saying left downwind/left base instead of adding "making left traffic" each time.

[@flywiththeguys]

Thanks for the tip! More of a "I was trained to do it this way" kind of thing. I'll have to try that next time.

[@billypug7133]

As someone who is learning how to fly this was a super helpful video, thanks!

[@flywiththeguys]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jeeplife5262]

Great video. I fly mostly out of non towered fields. We do tend to shorten the calls for turns in the pattern. Rather than say "turning base making left hand traffic" we just say "turning left base for 18" (18 being the runway). Just shortens the calls a little and still gets the information across. Love your content.

[@flywiththeguys]

Good call. Someone else wrote this to me and I was just going off how I was trained. Sounds like its time for a change!

[@jacobnewman9614]

@@flywiththeguys my instructor would tell you to say "Left base for 18"

[@flywiththeguys]

​@@jacobnewman9614 That works too, just as long as everyone knows what your doing.

[@glennwatson]

I'm Australian (almost have my private) and planning a aviation tourist trip to the US. I'm glad 90% of these radio calls are the same in both your towered/non towered videos. One call that was a little bit different is we'd say "sedona traffic, 123zw, cessna, entering and rolling runway 26 departure to the north sedona" if rolling straight away, otherwise two separate calls "sedona traffic 123zw cessna, entering and backtracking runway 26 sedona" and then "sedona traffic, 123zw cessna, rolling 26 departure to the north sedona". The other practical difference is the 45 degree downwind join is just one join here, often crosswind joins are very common if approaching from he deadside.

[@flywiththeguys]

Guys here just want the calls to be short and over with. Someone got after me for even saying runway. LOL But I've always wondered what the differences between us and Australia are. I heard you guys just loosened some regulations allowing international flight students. Know anything about that?

[@nickhart5332]

Nice shirt! Just ordered me a blue one this week. 😎

[@flywiththeguys]

I like it. Colors are nice. =) The blue one looks awesome too!

[@jakew9887]

Great presentation. Thanks

[@flywiththeguys]

Hope it helped!

[@YamahaC7SRG]

Nice video and beautiful airport! Some thoughts: I would strongly suggest people announce what type of landing they intend: 'full stop' 'touch and go' 'stop and go' 'low pass' or whatever once they enter the pattern. Without this info, it's much harder for me to anticipate how much time you're going to spend on the runway. Consider the huge time potential difference between a 'touch and go' and a 'stop and go'. Also, adding 'last call' to a departure announcement isn't helpful and just takes up air-time on the radio. Finally, I'm not sure using the entire call sign each time is worth it; it takes up a lot more radio time.

[@flywiththeguys]

Good point on the what you're doing thing. Don't know why I wasn't using that here, probably because of the location...

[@19ij]

Thank you for very useful video. When I were flying in FL we didn't say tail number, just model and color. For example "Immokalee traffic red and white Cessna on downwind to runway niner"

[@flywiththeguys]

I'm glad it was helpful! And I actually read about the color thing. The AC that goes along with the aim talked about it and they don't want pilots identifying by color anymore. I know it was common, even when I was learning to fly. The AC came out in March of 2013.

[@aviationbutterr]

amazing content. Really high quality yet only 64k subs. Hope your channel grows a lot.

[@flywiththeguys]

I hope so too! We're growing, just not as fast as we would like. =)

[@ExperimentalAircraftChannel]

Great studio! Great Lighting! Very good content! Keep going! :-)

[@flywiththeguys]

Thanks so much!

[@erichenry660]

Really nice explanation. One extra question for you : what happens if you are on an untowered airfield but you need to backtrack the runway before take off. Could you tell me if the below sequence is appropriate ? Marville traffic, Skylark F-JJZD at the main apron, taxiing to runway 2 9, Marville traffic Marville traffic , F-JJZD holding short at B 1, ready for backtracking and lining up runway 2 9, Southbound departure, Marville traffic (is it needed to add extra message before starting the action itself ??) Marville traffic , F-JJZD departing runway 2 9, Southbound departure, Marville traffic Marville traffic , F-JJZD 4 miles South of the airport, departing to the south to Grey, 2 300 climbing 4 500', last call, Marville traffic

[@staceyjordan4502]

Just what I needed. Thank you.

[@flywiththeguys]

Glad it helped!

[@staceyjordan4502]

@@flywiththeguys Actually flew my first solo today!

[@flywiththeguys]

@@staceyjordan4502 OH NICE! Congratulations. How did it go?

[@staceyjordan4502]

@@flywiththeguys Thank you. I was kind of nervous at first but it wasn't so bad. Having completed it I can say my confidence has gone up.

[@Chance-ry1hq]

I had this nearly happen to me 30 years ago on final, doing touch and goes, going into McKinney Tx. A twin Cessna on a long final came flying in on my right, blew by me landed, and was off the runway by the time I landed. It startled the crap out of me. No Com from the twin. I wondered if he heard my Com, and saw me or we were just lucky.

[@Mulcbone]

Great content. I’d suggest adding which runway you’re clearing instead of just “the” runway. Non-towered airports like KOXB have intersecting runways and that specific info would be useful.

[@flywiththeguys]

Ture statement. I've been to airfields where the frequency for 2 airports is the same. You really have to listen to what airport the call is for and not just assume. Thanks for that!

[@steelpix]

That helped a lot for this Ultralight pilot under 254 lbs.

[@flywiththeguys]

Good to hear! Thanks for watching.

[@PARTner91]

“Like this guy” LOL! That actually made me laugh. Excellent video! Well done and very useful. “Who you are talking to” - some may wonder why, at the end of each transmission, you repeat who you’re talking to (“Sedona traffic”). It’s because a lot of CTAFs (frequencies) are shared amongst airports ... and you want others to know which airport your call is pertaining to. Sometimes, that other airport which uses the same frequency you’re on, is fairly close by, and it can be confusing to other pilots as to which airport the transmitting pilot is at. A good Phoenix area example is that Payson KPAN and Eloy E60 both use 122.8. On an initial arrival into Payson from the southwest, it’s common at 8000 MSL to hear traffic from Eloy airport too. And Eloy is about 70 mi to the south. It’s also interesting to note that you do not have to finish a transmission with “who you are talking to” when you’re on the ground, because on the ground your radio’s effective range is significantly limited and you won’t be heard by the traffic at other airports which share the frequency.

[@flywiththeguys]

Yea, Bryan is the worlds greatest pilot so I would give him some slack. =) Funny thing about the flight, after our last call we started hearing coms from Wickenburg, on the other side of the mountain range.

[@houstonrowan9614]

Sorry to be so offtopic but does any of you know of a method to log back into an Instagram account..? I somehow lost the login password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[@brysonezekiel9837]

@Houston Rowan instablaster ;)

[@houstonrowan9614]

@Bryson Ezekiel Thanks for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@PARTner91]

“Instablaster” is just a phishing SCAM. Always ignore this crap and report the comments to YT.

[@MrSilentPilot]

I'd have thought with a touch and go your arrival turns into a departure, not the other way round! I know it might seem like I'm nit picking but I'm trying to brush up on my RT. These videos are very helpful, thanks :)

[@flywiththeguys]

Not sure what you're getting at TBH. I should probably rewatch this video....

[@MrSilentPilot]

It seems like you say: Don’t forget, with a touch and go your departure turns into an arrival. Or words to that effect. But isn’t a touch and go an arrival that turns into a departure?

[@limbandtreeremoval]

Wow, lot's of Word's... Is there a point where you may limit the amount of Radio Speak (Too Reduce Noise on Channel)...? Excellent Educational Video, Thought...! Keep it up!!!

[@flywiththeguys]

Yes and no. Like my final outbound call I would omit it if the airport was busy. I would only speak up if there was a conflict at that point. But a majority of it I would say even if it was busy.

[@eggface17]

I Like 👍🏻

[@flywiththeguys]

I like that you like!

[@glendavis1266]

How about a video of taking off from non towered airport and staying under the shelf of class Class C airport or even transitioning thru and under the shelf!

[@flywiththeguys]

If there was one in my area I would be all over it.

[@dutchygirl]

This was interesting. Some things are the same overhere, some not. Thanks for warning about the Cirrus pilots, tho this seems more of an overseas problem ;-)

[@flywiththeguys]

Good point!

[@dutchygirl]

@@flywiththeguys Do you consider Class G as non-towered? I fly from Class G and there are (small) towers, but no ATC. We call the guy on the radio a 'harbour master'. Call in 2 minutes before reaching the mandatory overfly point, tell the W's and receive aerodrome information (runway, wind etc), from there it's just mentioning overhead the overfly point + call sign, turning downwind + call sign etc. I have a giggling story about my first lesson in Germany. Instructor asked me if I'd like to do radio. Sure! Well... I found out they were talking gibberish back... My instructor was like 'you need to do a readback'... I looked at him with my eyes wide open en was like 'Jeah, I know, but... they are talking German, I don't understand'.. (my normal German is ok, but not in AV) and 'oooh they mean the QNH' and 'ok, you'll do the radios'. Till that time I thought English was standard (exept for ze French)... LOL

[@flywiththeguys]

@@dutchygirl LOL. Love the story. =) And typically class G is non towered, but I believe there are a few that have one.

[@robertoforbes3405]

I got a question. How do you know how much miles away from any airport, is there a machine in the airplane to say this information? Am very curious of this. Can you explain?

[@flywiththeguys]

You can work that out on a sectional prior to your flight, so you know when your reporting points are. Then pick some visual references. Like when I fly to Payson, AZ I know when I clear the mountain range I'm 10m from the airport. You can also use a airplanes GPS. I currently use Foreflight, but over time your ability judge distances gets a lot better.

[@Killian665]

What frequency are you using for these uncontrolled airfields? Do they all have their own or is there a universal one?

[@flywiththeguys]

They all have their own listed frequency to work with.

[@joem8615]

Would love to hear uncontrolled field inside of a bravo or Charlie airspace.

[@flywiththeguys]

Not sure what you mean by that. Like an airport under the shelf?

[@Mobev1]

@@flywiththeguys yes

[@justenkay]

Very nice video but it would be great if you can make one with a lot of traffic and multiple pilots communicating.

[@flywiththeguys]

It would have been, just not much traffic that morning. And honestly, I would have edited most of it out. =)

[@justenkay]

@@flywiththeguys Well, usually it is very straightforward when there is no traffic. It would be great to see how to communicate with others when there are others around. For instance, how does "right of way" work? If there is a such a thing.

[@alanaspurling6469]

Lol, I train at a non-towered airport, it’s almost the reverse for me.

[@flywiththeguys]

I get nervous at non towered fields. But we did make a video on it - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaqspYGse9Bko80

[@jordanleng204]

2:03

[@flywiththeguys]

Something special happening there?

[@tomsmith8781]

Airman certificate!

[@flywiththeguys]

Yep. =) We actually made a whole video on that too!

[@nunopereira265]

So you don't request permission you announce your moves in a way that other aircrafts have the information to prevent collisions

[@flywiththeguys]

Correct. But it's more like coordinate with others to prevent collisions. There are rules to who has priority. Lower and slower aircraft first. Thats why the Cirrus pilot joke was in there. I've been at Sedona and heard a Cirrus pilot call a 10 mile final basically saying "everyone just get out of my way I have priority" which isn't the case.

[@msblexpress]

Wow, you could save a lot of verbiage by simply calling yourself a cessna.

[@flywiththeguys]

Could, but as far as I know they still want us to use our full call signs for identification purposes, should the need arise.

[@Mobev1]

That cirrus pilot? I fly cirrus and would fly a hang glider before I spent money on a useless 150 or 172.. my cfii hates Cessna...they are stuck in the 60s. Nothing new just doing enough to get by.

[@flywiththeguys]

That was more of a Jab at my buddy over at @justplanesilly

[@Mobev1]

@@flywiththeguys I’m just running my mouth. I do fly cirrus because I’m scared to not a a parachute. I’m only at 20hours or so and no solo yet.

[@flywiththeguys]

@@Mobev1 My wife and I want to retrofit something with a chute, or get like a SR20.

[@Adrian-qt6qr]

Don't stop looking outside for other non-announced traffic, they could have their radio broken and still don't know about it

[@flywiththeguys]

Buddy shared a story recently of a guy on the wrong frequency, landed as a PC-12 was taking off. They missed each other thankfully.

[@sw3w537]

I'm a cirrus pilot. Get grandpa's plane out the way. Cirrus is faster, safer, further, b useful L and has a much better gyb factor for loops for Financials... Especially in Latin America

[@Mulcbone]

You sound safe to fly around…:-|