Exercise I · for US student pilots
Controlled airspace
Class D, C and B: what is required to enter, and how to ask.
Worked here at Palo Alto (KPAO). In the app the same prompts use your own home airport and call sign.
Prompt 1 of 5
You are 6 miles from the Class D around Palo Alto, routing across it at 2,000 feet without landing. Call Palo Alto Tower.
What the AIM says: Two-way communication with the tower is required before entering the Class D (AIM 4-3-2 a). Call sign, type, position, altitude, request transit of the Class D to Hayward Executive. Do not enter until the reply uses your call sign.Prompt 2 of 5
You called Palo Alto Tower for the Class D transit and the reply was: "aircraft calling Palo Alto Tower, stand by." Have you established communication? Say what you do, in one transmission.
What the AIM says: No — 'aircraft calling, stand by' does not include your call sign, so communication is not established and you must remain outside the Class D. The correct action is to stay clear and wait; if you transmit, it is only to remain outside and stand by.Prompt 3 of 5
Your transponder has failed and you are inside the Mode C veil of a Class B airport, 20 miles out. Tell NorCal Approach.
What the AIM says: State the failure plainly with your call sign, position and altitude: 'negative transponder' / 'transponder inoperative', and request instructions. A transponder is required within 30 miles of a Class B primary airport; ATC may authorise continued flight.Prompt 4 of 5
NorCal Approach says: "N172SP, cleared into the Class Bravo, maintain VFR at four thousand five hundred, fly heading three six zero." Read it back.
What the AIM says: Read back 'cleared into the Class Bravo', the altitude and the heading in order, with your call sign.Prompt 5 of 5
You are leaving the Class D around Palo Alto on a departure and want to switch to NorCal Approach for flight following. Call Palo Alto Tower.
What the AIM says: Outside the surface area no permission is needed to leave the tower frequency (AIM 4-3-2 a), but a request for 'frequency change' with your call sign is courteous and lets the tower pass traffic. Expect 'frequency change approved'.
What this exercise is graded against
| Call or readback | Graded against |
|---|---|
| Class D transit: two-way communication with the tower before entry | AIM 3-2-5 b 3; 4-3-2 a |
| A reply without your call sign does not establish communication | AIM 3-2-5 b 3, notes 1 and 2 |
| Transponder failure inside the Mode C veil: report it plainly, request instructions | AIM 3-2-3 b 6; 4-1-20 |
| Class B clearance read back with altitude and heading in order | AIM 4-4-7 b; JO 7110.65 7-9-2 a |
| Leaving the Class D: no permission needed outside the surface area | AIM 4-3-2 a |
Now say them to a controller
Push-to-talk, at your airport, with today’s altimeter. The AI controller answers and the grader tells you what the AIM says about each call.
Prompts and notes are written in our own words from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, 7/9/26) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary, with paragraph references. Frequencies are from the FAA NASR data and are for training only. Study aid; not approved or endorsed by the FAA. Always defer to the AIM, current FAA publications, your instructor and your examiner.