Tower with only Class G Airspace

[Jeff Saylor]

Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.

What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
discussed much during flight training way back when.

How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
at least Class D airspace?

[nooneimportant]

"Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
...
> Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
> Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
> has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.
>
> What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> discussed much during flight training way back when.
>
> How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
> tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
> at least Class D airspace?
>

Got two towers closeby to my field that are not in Class D... My field is
currently nontowered, but is expected to get a tower and upgrade itself, and
one of the two nearby fields to Class D airspace. Basically what I hear is
to treat it just like Class D... 4 mile radius up to 2500 AGL, contact to
transition, land or depart from. From what i understand, and i could be
wrong here, the diff between Towered G and Class D is that Class D does have
radar service.

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
...
>
> Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
> Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
> has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.
>
> What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> discussed much during flight training way back when.
>


§ 91.126 Operating on or in the vicinity of an airport in Class G
airspace.

(d) Communications with control towers. Unless otherwise authorized or
required by ATC, no person may operate an aircraft to, from, through, or on
an airport having an operational control tower unless two-way radio
communications are maintained between that aircraft and the control tower.
Communications must be established prior to 4 nautical miles from the
airport, up to and including 2,500 feet AGL. However, if the aircraft radio
fails in flight, the pilot in command may operate that aircraft and land if
weather conditions are at or above basic VFR weather minimums, visual
contact with the tower is maintained, and a clearance to land is received.
If the aircraft radio fails while in flight under IFR, the pilot must comply
with §91.185.


>
> How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
> tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
> at least Class D airspace?
>

Not very, and becoming more rare. Under airspace reclassification some ten
years ago, airports with control towers and control zones that were not in a
TCA or an ARSA had Class D airspace established. Note that a tower AND a
control zone were required for Class D airspace. There were a few airports
with control towers that had no control zones, such as Blackstone.

[Jeff Saylor]

nooneimportant wrote:

> "Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
> > Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
> > has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.
> >
> > What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> > airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> > other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> > discussed much during flight training way back when.
> >
> > How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
> > tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
> > at least Class D airspace?
> >
>
> Got two towers closeby to my field that are not in Class D... My field is
> currently nontowered, but is expected to get a tower and upgrade itself, and
> one of the two nearby fields to Class D airspace. Basically what I hear is
> to treat it just like Class D... 4 mile radius up to 2500 AGL, contact to
> transition, land or depart from. From what i understand, and i could be
> wrong here, the diff between Towered G and Class D is that Class D does have
> radar service.

That's not correct, many (most?) Class D towers do not have radar services. If
they have a radar display at all, it is probably a remote from another facility,
unless the class D is surrounded by a TRSA. (Or it has its own approach
control, such as KRDG, Pennsylvania.)

[Jeff Saylor]

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

> "Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
> > Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
> > has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.
> >
> > What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> > airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> > other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> > discussed much during flight training way back when.
> >
>
> § 91.126 Operating on or in the vicinity of an airport in Class G
> airspace.
>
> (d) Communications with control towers. Unless otherwise authorized or
> required by ATC, no person may operate an aircraft to, from, through, or on
> an airport having an operational control tower unless two-way radio
> communications are maintained between that aircraft and the control tower.
> Communications must be established prior to 4 nautical miles from the
> airport, up to and including 2,500 feet AGL. However, if the aircraft radio
> fails in flight, the pilot in command may operate that aircraft and land if
> weather conditions are at or above basic VFR weather minimums, visual
> contact with the tower is maintained, and a clearance to land is received.
> If the aircraft radio fails while in flight under IFR, the pilot must comply
> with §91.185.

So basically it's not very different to the pilot than a class D airspace tower.

>
>
> >
> > How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
> > tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
> > at least Class D airspace?
> >
>
> Not very, and becoming more rare. Under airspace reclassification some ten
> years ago, airports with control towers and control zones that were not in a
> TCA or an ARSA had Class D airspace established. Note that a tower AND a
> control zone were required for Class D airspace. There were a few airports
> with control towers that had no control zones, such as Blackstone.

Was there any advantage to having the airspace class G or E instead of making it
D and charting it appropriately? It would make the airspace more clear, user
friendly, and standardized for the pilot.

I can barely remember the old airspace system, but at least the newer
classifications are (usually) more standard and make more sense. (Until you go
to another country, of course and find out they use Class B as enroute higher
altitude airspace, rather than just for large terminal areas)

I never thought that an Airport Radar Service Area was very descriptive from a
Terminal Radar Service Area, since Airport and Terminal are not well
distinguished terms from each other for that purpose, even though their defined
FAA meanings were quite differenet.

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"nooneimportant" <no.spam@me> wrote in message
news:fGinc.54758$Ik.4084674@attbi_s53...
>
> From what i understand, and i could be wrong here, the diff
> between Towered G and Class D is that Class D does have
> radar service.
>

Well, you're wrong here. Radar service has nothing to do with Class D
airspace.

[Steven P. McNicoll]

"Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
...
>
> Was there any advantage to having the airspace class G or E
> instead of making it D and charting it appropriately? It would make
> the airspace more clear, user friendly, and standardized for the pilot.
>

A permanent control tower in Class E airspace would make no sense since it
would have all the properties of Class D airspace.


>
> I can barely remember the old airspace system, but at least the newer
> classifications are (usually) more standard and make more sense.
> (Until you go to another country, of course and find out they use
> Class B as enroute higher altitude airspace, rather than just for
> large terminal areas)
>

Where the various classes of airspace are used is variable, but the
properties of the airspace are not.

[Brad Z]

Blackstone is weird in that the tower is operational only by notam.
Although, I flew in IFR for a practice approach once and Washington Center
approved a freq change...since there was no notam I made a position report
on CTAF (diff freq from tower) and got a "cleared to land" from somebody.
Caught me off guard, since the tower is almost never open. Since then, I
have gone back to my old approach of trying the tower frequency first. To
answer your question, if the CT is active, treat it like Class D.


"Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message
...
> Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
> Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
> has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.
>
> What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> discussed much during flight training way back when.
>
> How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
> tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
> at least Class D airspace?
>

[Ron Natalie]

"Jeff Saylor" > wrote in message ...
=
> What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
> airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
> other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
> discussed much during flight training way back when.

Pretend it has a class D. While this sort of non-sense was not supposed
to happen after the airspace reclassification, the FAA added the rules back
shortly thereafter. Check 91.126(d) and 127(c)