AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR
Airborne clearances, approaches, reporting, headings and traffic-pattern commands. This reference contains 5 commands.
Landing clearances
| COMMAND | KEY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Cleared for Touch and Go | /CG | Clears an aircraft on final or in the VFR pattern to land and immediately take off again. |
| Cleared for Low Approach | /CA | Clears an aircraft on final or in the VFR pattern to overfly the runway without touching down. |
| Cleared to Land | /CL | Clears an aircraft on final approach or in the VFR pattern to land. |
| Cleared for the Option | /CO | Allows a low approach, touch and go, full-stop landing or stop and go. |
| Go Around | /G | Cancels the landing and tells the pilot to go around. The original guide describes this mainly for emergencies. |
Position reports
| COMMAND | KEY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Report Left Downwind (Rwy) | /PLD | Asks the pilot to report established on left downwind for the specified runway. |
| Report Left Base (Rwy) | /PLB | Asks the pilot to report established on left base for the specified runway. |
| Report Right Base (Rwy) | /PRB | Asks the pilot to report established on right base for the specified runway. |
| Report Right Downwind (Rwy) | /PRD | Asks the pilot to report established on right downwind for the specified runway. |
| Report (mile) Final (Rwy) | /PF | Asks the pilot to report when reaching the specified distance (in miles) on final for a runway. |
Traffic pattern
| COMMAND | KEY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Enter Left Downwind (Rwy) | /ELD | Directs the aircraft to enter left downwind for a runway, without making a position report on reaching it. |
| Enter Left Base (Rwy) | /ELB | Directs the aircraft to enter left base for a runway, without reporting on reaching it. |
| Enter Right Downwind (Rwy) | /ERD | Directs the aircraft to enter right downwind for a runway, without reporting on reaching it. |
| Enter Right Base (Rwy) | /ERB | Directs the aircraft to enter right base for a runway, without reporting on reaching it. |
| Enter Final (Rwy) | /EF | Directs the pilot to enter final approach for the specified runway. |
| Make Short Approach | /MS | Directs the pilot to shorten the final approach. |
| Break Out of Traffic | /B | Tells an aircraft to leave its current pattern and await a tower call from an initial entry point. |
| Extend Downwind | /X | Extends the downwind leg. The controller must subsequently instruct the aircraft to turn base. |
Turns & headings
| COMMAND | KEY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Make Left 180 | /ML1 | Directs a left 180-degree turn to the opposite direction. |
| Make Left 360 | /ML3 | Directs a full left 360-degree turn, returning to the original heading. |
| Make Right 180 | /MR1 | Directs a right 180-degree turn to the opposite direction. |
| Make Right 360 | /MR3 | Directs a full right 360-degree turn, returning to the original heading. |
| Turn Left to Heading (deg.) | /ULH# | Directs the aircraft to make a left turn to the specified heading in degrees. |
| Turn Right to Heading (deg.) | /URH# | Directs the aircraft to make a right turn to the specified heading in degrees. |
Departures & exits
| COMMAND | KEY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Turn Out Approved | /AT | Permits an aircraft to leave the traffic pattern in any direction. Once outside the airspace, transfer to departure control. |
| Left Turn Out Approved | /ALT | Permits the aircraft to turn left out of the traffic pattern. |
| Right Turn Out Approved | /ART | Permits the aircraft to turn right out of the traffic pattern. |
| Contact Departure | /FD | Directs the aircraft to switch frequency and contact departure control. |