"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Jeff Saylor" wrote in message
...

Allen C Perkinson Airport/Blackstone Army Airfield (KBKT) in
Virgina has a control tower, at least part of the time. It also
has class G airspace to 700 ft AGL.

What are the procedures for operating at a tower in uncontrolled
airspace? When are you obligated to communicate with the tower,
other than touching the runways? I don't recall this being
discussed much during flight training way back when.


§ 91.126 Operating on or in the vicinity of an airport in Class G
airspace.

(d) Communications with control towers. Unless otherwise authorized or
required by ATC, no person may operate an aircraft to, from, through, or on
an airport having an operational control tower unless two-way radio
communications are maintained between that aircraft and the control tower.
Communications must be established prior to 4 nautical miles from the
airport, up to and including 2,500 feet AGL. However, if the aircraft radio
fails in flight, the pilot in command may operate that aircraft and land if
weather conditions are at or above basic VFR weather minimums, visual
contact with the tower is maintained, and a clearance to land is received.
If the aircraft radio fails while in flight under IFR, the pilot must comply
with §91.185.

So basically it's not very different to the pilot than a class D airspace tower.




How common is it to have a tower (other than a special temporary
tower, e.g. the one during EAA Oshkosh or AOPA fly-in.) without
at least Class D airspace?


Not very, and becoming more rare. Under airspace reclassification some ten
years ago, airports with control towers and control zones that were not in a
TCA or an ARSA had Class D airspace established. Note that a tower AND a
control zone were required for Class D airspace. There were a few airports
with control towers that had no control zones, such as Blackstone.

Was there any advantage to having the airspace class G or E instead of making it
D and charting it appropriately? It would make the airspace more clear, user
friendly, and standardized for the pilot.

I can barely remember the old airspace system, but at least the newer
classifications are (usually) more standard and make more sense. (Until you go
to another country, of course and find out they use Class B as enroute higher
altitude airspace, rather than just for large terminal areas)

I never thought that an Airport Radar Service Area was very descriptive from a
Terminal Radar Service Area, since Airport and Terminal are not well
distinguished terms from each other for that purpose, even though their defined
FAA meanings were quite differenet.