Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Roy Wilcox (5R1) radio calls

Chatom, ALFAA identifier 5R1; no ICAO code assigned

Roy Wilcox is a non-towered airport in Chatom, AL. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.8, as Roy Wilcox Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call.

No Class B, C, D or E surface area is designated for this airport in the FAA data, so the airspace at the surface is Class G.

Frequencies

CTAFRoy Wilcox Traffic122.8

Airport

Runways
12 · 30
Elevation
166 ft
Position
31.452, -88.194

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at 5R1

Roy Wilcox has no operating control tower. Every call below goes out on the CTAF, 122.8, to the other aircraft, not to a controller. The runway shown is 12; use whichever runway the wind and the traffic dictate on the day.

The aircraft is the AIM’s own example, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot; the squawk codes, altitudes and headings are illustrative. Frequencies, station names and runway numbers are this airport’s, from the FAA data.

  1. Tune 122.8. Nobody clears you; you announce and you listen. The airport name goes at the start and the end of every call, and the runway is always a number, never "the active" (AIM 4-1-9 g 8).
  2. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway one two, Roy Wilcox.
  3. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway one two, departing the pattern to the north, Roy Wilcox.
  4. Announce until you are about 10 miles out; on the way back, start announcing at 10 miles (AIM 4-1-9 c 1, TBL 4-1-1).
  5. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Roy Wilcox, Roy Wilcox.
  6. YouRoy Wilcox UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Roy Wilcox.
  7. A UNICOM operator, if one is on, answers with the wind and the runway in use (AIM 4-1-9 h). If nobody answers, choose the runway from the wind and the pattern traffic you can hear.
  8. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway one two, full stop, Roy Wilcox.
  9. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway one two, Roy Wilcox.
  10. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway one two, full stop, Roy Wilcox.
  11. YouRoy Wilcox traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway one two, Roy Wilcox.

If things change. Do not use "any traffic in the area, please advise"; the AIM says it is not to be used under any condition (AIM 4-1-9 g 1). Listen for ten miles before you arrive; most of what you want to know has already been said.

Phraseology from AIM 4-1-9 c 1, g 1, g 8, h; TBL 4-1-1; 4-3-3. What TowerTalk grades against →

The calls you will make here

Nearby in Alabama

Frequencies, runways and airspace from the FAA National Airspace System Resources (NASR) 28-day subscription, cycle effective Oct 29, 2026. Training use only. Always verify against a current Chart Supplement and sectional chart before flight; frequencies change. TowerTalk is not affiliated with the FAA. Report a discrepancy.