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Non-towered · Class G at the surface

Ells Field/Willits Municipal (O28) radio calls

Willits, CAFAA identifier O28; no ICAO code assigned

Ells Field/Willits Municipal is a non-towered airport in Willits, CA. Nobody clears you to do anything: you self-announce on the CTAF, 122.8, as Ells Field/Willits Municipal 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

CTAFElls Field/Willits Municipal Traffic122.8

Airport

Runways
16 · 34
Right-hand pattern
Runway 34
Elevation
2,066 ft
Position
39.451, -123.372

Non-towered airport: self-announce on the CTAF

Sample calls at O28

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

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

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.

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