Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Wausau Downtown (KAUW) radio calls

Wausau, WIICAO KAUW · FAA AUW

Wausau Downtown is a non-towered airport in Wausau, WI. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.7, as Wausau Downtown 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

CTAFWausau Downtown Traffic122.7

Airport

Runways
05 · 23 · 13 · 31
Elevation
1,201 ft
Position
44.926, -89.627

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at KAUW

Wausau Downtown 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 05; 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. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway zero five, Wausau Downtown.
  3. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway zero five, departing the pattern to the north, Wausau Downtown.
  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. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Wausau Downtown, Wausau Downtown.
  6. YouWausau Downtown UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Wausau Downtown.
  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. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway zero five, full stop, Wausau Downtown.
  9. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway zero five, Wausau Downtown.
  10. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway zero five, full stop, Wausau Downtown.
  11. YouWausau Downtown traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway zero five, Wausau Downtown.

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

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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.