Non-towered · Class E surface area

Cavern City Air Trml (KCNM) radio calls

Carlsbad, NMICAO KCNM · FAA CNM

Cavern City Air Trml is a non-towered airport in Carlsbad, NM. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 123.0, as Cavern City Air Trml Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call.

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

Frequencies

CTAFCavern City Air Trml Traffic123.0

Airport

Runways
03 · 21 · 08 · 26 · 14L · 32R · 14R · 32L
Right-hand pattern
Runway 32R, 14R
Elevation
3,295 ft
Position
32.337, -104.263

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at KCNM

Cavern City Air Trml has no operating control tower. Every call below goes out on the CTAF, 123.0, to the other aircraft, not to a controller. The runway shown is 03; 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 123.0. 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. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway zero three, Cavern City Air Trml.
  3. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway zero three, departing the pattern to the north, Cavern City Air Trml.
  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. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Cavern City Air Trml, Cavern City Air Trml.
  6. YouCavern City Air Trml UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Cavern City Air Trml.
  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. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway zero three, full stop, Cavern City Air Trml.
  9. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway zero three, Cavern City Air Trml.
  10. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway zero three, full stop, Cavern City Air Trml.
  11. YouCavern City Air Trml traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway zero three, Cavern City Air Trml.

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.