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Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Alamogordo-White Sands Regional (KALM) radio calls

Alamogordo, NMICAO KALM · FAA ALM

Alamogordo-White Sands Regional is a non-towered airport in Alamogordo, NM. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.8, as Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call. The approach control for the area is Holloman Approach on 120.6, 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

CTAFAlamogordo-White Sands Regional Traffic122.8
Approach / DepartureHolloman Approach120.6

Airport

Runways
04 · 22 · 17 · 35
Right-hand pattern
Runway 35, 04
Elevation
4,200 ft
Position
32.839, -105.991

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at KALM

Alamogordo-White Sands Regional 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 04, which has a right-hand pattern; 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. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway zero four, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  3. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway zero four, departing the pattern to the north, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  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. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Alamogordo-White Sands Regional, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  6. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  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. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway zero four, full stop, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  9. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway zero four, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  10. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway zero four, full stop, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.
  11. YouAlamogordo-White Sands Regional traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway zero four, Alamogordo-White Sands Regional.

If things change. Want flight following after departure? Call Holloman Approach on 120.6 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

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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.