TowerTalk logoTowerTalk
Start training

Non-towered · Class E surface area

Ames Municipal (KAMW) radio calls

Ames, IAICAO KAMW · FAA AMW

Ames Municipal is a non-towered airport in Ames, IA. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.7, as Ames Municipal Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call. The approach control for the area is Des Moines Approach on 123.9, which is who you call for VFR flight following.

The airport has a Class E surface area: no radio requirement to enter, but VFR weather minimums apply to the surface.

Frequencies

Clearance Delivery126.0
CTAFAmes Municipal Traffic122.7
Approach / DepartureDes Moines Approach123.9

Airport

Runways
01 · 19 · 13 · 31
Right-hand pattern
Runway 13, 01
Elevation
956 ft
Position
41.992, -93.622

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at KAMW

Ames Municipal has no operating control tower. Every call below goes out on the CTAF, 122.7, to the other aircraft, not to a controller. The runway shown is 01, 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 122.7. 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. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway zero one, Ames Municipal.
  3. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway zero one, departing the pattern to the north, Ames Municipal.
  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. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Ames Municipal, Ames Municipal.
  6. YouAmes Municipal UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Ames Municipal.
  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. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway zero one, full stop, Ames Municipal.
  9. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway zero one, Ames Municipal.
  10. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway zero one, full stop, Ames Municipal.
  11. YouAmes Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway zero one, Ames Municipal.

If things change. Want flight following after departure? Call Des Moines Approach on 123.9 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 Iowa

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.