Tech Tip

If an airport has an active control tower, it also has a ground control. Knowing which frequency to call on the departure is easy. Start with ground control (or clearance delivery if one exists) and switch to the tower when you are at the hold-short line of the assigned runway, ready to depart. Arriving can be more difficult. Ideally the tower controller will guide you. He will give a runway exit direction, and then a directive to monitor ground control (tune the frequency but don’t call), contact ground control, or monitor tower. Sometimes he’ll give the frequency. Ground control frequencies start with 121. If told to “Contact Ground on Point-Niner,” the tower controller is asking you to tune to 121.9.