Lesson D20 2:00 20 of 26
Read the frequency boxes at busy airports, where the tower and ground control split the radio work.
The video plays from YouTube. FAA airport diagrams, d-TPP cycle 2611, effective 29 OCT 2026. Not for navigation.
At Salinas, every runway uses the same tower frequency. Busy airports split the radio work. The AIM says a busy airport may add a second ground frequency and a clearance delivery frequency. At Oakland, the tower lists two frequencies. The parentheses show the runways for each one.
118.3 is for the three runways in its list. 127.2 is for Runway 12-30, the long runway. Ground control splits the same way. 121.9 is for those three runways, and 121.75 is for Runway 12-30. Long Beach also splits by arrival and departure. 119.4 is for Runway 8R-26L, arrivals to Runway 30, and departures from Runway 12.
120.5 is for Runway 8L-26R, arrivals to Runway 12, and departures from Runway 30. Both airports also list clearance delivery. At a busy airport, it gives you your IFR clearance before you taxi. It does not control traffic. Ground control still gives you your taxi route.
Oakland uses 121.1, Long Beach uses 118.15, and nearby Monterey uses 135.45. Salinas lists no clearance delivery frequency. There, ground control normally gives you your IFR clearance. Two more lines at Oakland, CPDLC and PDC, send clearances as text. CPDLC means Controller Pilot Data Link Communications. PDC means Pre-Departure Clearance.
The text goes to the cockpit or to a printer, for subscribers such as airlines. In a trainer, you get your clearance by radio. Before you fly to a busy airport, find the frequency for your runway and for your clearance. Next, the notes boxes.
Before you fly, check the current airport diagram, the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.
A discovery flight is actual flight training with a certified flight instructor at the Salinas Airport. Your hands on the controls, with the airport diagram on your knee.
