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Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field (8A1) radio calls

Guntersville, ALFAA identifier 8A1; no ICAO code assigned

Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field is a non-towered airport in Guntersville, AL. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.8, as Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call. The approach control for the area is Huntsville Approach on 125.6, which is who you call for VFR flight following.

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

CTAFGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field Traffic122.8
Approach / DepartureHuntsville Approach125.6

Airport

Runways
07 · 25
Elevation
615 ft
Position
34.406, -86.261

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at 8A1

Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field 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 07; 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. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway zero seven, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  3. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway zero seven, departing the pattern to the north, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  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. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  6. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  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. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway zero seven, full stop, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  9. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway zero seven, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  10. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway zero seven, full stop, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.
  11. YouGuntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway zero seven, Guntersville Municipal/Joe Starnes Field.

If things change. Want flight following after departure? Call Huntsville Approach on 125.6 once clear of the pattern: identification, type, position, altitude, destination, "request VFR flight following" (AIM 4-1-18 a 3). 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).

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.