Bob Gardner wrote:

Ron has it exactly right. The only thing that I would add is that you
will find local variations...don't expect all towers to do things in the
same way. Tower managers run little fiefdoms in their own way. The
specifics of "Report x mile base" are not covered in the Air Traffic
Control Handbook, so there is no official document you can rely on
(although I have a letter from FAA HQ backing up what Ron said).


When I worked at a VFR tower with no radar that's what we expected too.
We also knew that no pilot knows what three miles is. So you get what
you get.