TowerTalk logoTowerTalk
Start training

Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Rock Rapids Municipal (KRRQ) radio calls

Rock Rapids, IAICAO KRRQ · FAA RRQ

Rock Rapids Municipal is a non-towered airport in Rock Rapids, IA. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.8, as Rock Rapids Municipal Traffic, with the airport name at the start and end of each call. The approach control for the area is Sioux Falls Approach on 126.9, 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

CTAFRock Rapids Municipal Traffic122.8
Approach / DepartureSioux Falls Approach126.9

Airport

Runways
16 · 34
Elevation
1,363 ft
Position
43.452, -96.180

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at KRRQ

Rock Rapids Municipal 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 16; 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. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, taxiing to runway one six, Rock Rapids Municipal.
  3. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, departing runway one six, departing the pattern to the north, Rock Rapids 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. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, two thousand five hundred, landing Rock Rapids Municipal, Rock Rapids Municipal.
  6. YouRock Rapids Municipal UNICOM, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, one zero miles south, request wind and runway information, Rock Rapids 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. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, entering left downwind runway one six, full stop, Rock Rapids Municipal.
  9. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, left base runway one six, Rock Rapids Municipal.
  10. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, final runway one six, full stop, Rock Rapids Municipal.
  11. YouRock Rapids Municipal traffic, Cessna Six Zero Foxtrot, clear of runway one six, Rock Rapids Municipal.

If things change. Want flight following after departure? Call Sioux Falls Approach on 126.9 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.