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Towered · Class D surface area

Meadows Field (KBFL) radio calls

Bakersfield, CAICAO KBFL · FAA BFL

Meadows Field is a towered airport in Bakersfield, CA. You will taxi with Ground on 121.7 and work Bakersfield Tower on 118.1, after listening to the ATIS on 118.6. The approach control is Bakersfield Approach on 119.075, which is who you call for VFR flight following. The tower operates 0600-2300 local.

The airport has a Class D surface area: two-way radio communication with the tower must be established before entering. Published hours: CLASS D SVC 0600-2300; OTHER TIMES CLASS E.

Frequencies

ATIS118.6
GroundBakersfield Ground121.7
TowerBakersfield Tower118.1
CTAF118.1
UNICOM122.95
Approach / DepartureBakersfield Approach119.075

Airport

Runways
12L · 30R · 12R · 30L
Right-hand pattern
Runway 30R, 12R
Elevation
510 ft
Tower hours
0600-2300 local
Position
35.434, -119.058

Towered airport with a Class D surface area

Sample calls at KBFL

Meadows Field has a Class D surface area: establish two-way communication with the tower before entering (AIM 3-2-5 b 3). A reply that uses your call sign, even "standby", establishes it; "aircraft calling, standby" does not. The calls below use runway 12L; the tower assigns the runway in use 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. Listen to the ATIS on 118.6 first and note the letter; "with Information (letter)" on your first call lets the controller skip the weather (JO 7110.65 3-10-1).
  2. YouBakersfield Ground, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, at the ramp with Information Alpha, request taxi, VFR departure to the north.
  3. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, Bakersfield Ground, runway one two left, taxi via Alpha, hold short of runway one two left.
  4. YouRunway one two left, taxi via Alpha, hold short of runway one two left, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  5. The runway, any clearance onto a runway and every hold-short instruction are read back (AIM 4-3-18 a 9). Stay on Ground through the run-up and switch to Tower when ready (AIM 4-3-14 a).
  6. YouBakersfield Tower, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, holding short runway one two left, ready for departure, northbound.
  7. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, Bakersfield Tower, runway one two left, cleared for takeoff.
  8. YouRunway one two left, cleared for takeoff, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  9. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, contact Bakersfield Approach one one niner point zero seven five.
  10. Youone one niner point zero seven five, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  11. YouBakersfield Approach, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, two thousand climbing four thousand five hundred, request VFR flight following to the north.
  12. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, Bakersfield Approach, radar contact, altimeter three zero zero one.
  13. YouAltimeter three zero zero one, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  14. Inbound: call the tower about 15 miles out, before the Class D boundary (AIM 4-3-2 a).
  15. YouBakersfield Tower, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one five miles north, three thousand, with Information Bravo, landing Bakersfield.
  16. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, Bakersfield Tower, enter left downwind runway one two left, report midfield downwind.
  17. YouEnter left downwind runway one two left, report midfield, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  18. YouBakersfield Tower, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, midfield left downwind, runway one two left.
  19. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, runway one two left, cleared to land, wind two seven zero at eight.
  20. YouRunway one two left, cleared to land, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  21. The wind is information: acknowledged, not read back. Exit at the first available taxiway or as told, taxi clear of the hold-short markings, and change to Ground only when the tower says (AIM 4-3-21).
  22. ATCCessna Six Zero Foxtrot, exit at the next taxiway, contact Bakersfield Ground one two one point seven.
  23. YouExit next taxiway, one two one point seven, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot.
  24. YouBakersfield Ground, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway one two left, taxi to the ramp.

If things change. The tower operates 0600-2300 local. Outside those hours the airport is a non-towered field: self-announce on the CTAF, 118.1 with the airport name first and last, and the surface area reverts to Class E or Class G as published in the Chart Supplement.

Phraseology from AIM 4-2-3; 4-3-18 a 9; 4-3-14; 4-3-21; 4-4-7 b; 4-1-18 a 3; 3-2-5 b 3; 4-3-2 a. What TowerTalk grades against →

The calls you will make here

Nearby in California

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.