Air to ground frequency.

David Groat

David Groat

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
17
Display Name
Display name:
Groatski
I took my Vans RV-10 up on its first flight this past Saturday. I was talking to ATC on their frequency and to my father on the ground with a handheld tuned to 123.45 ('fingers'). Mostly I was keeping my father informed as to what I was doing and how the plane was behaving, but 10 minutes in someone broke in with a curt 'Get off this frequency!'

It's my understanding that the frequency range 123.325 to 123.475 is reserved for civilian flight testing, so I'm not sure who I was intruding on or if that person had any business telling me what he did.

What's the proper frequency I should be using to communicate with my ground crew while flight testing?
 
123.45 is reserved for flight test stations. If you were reporting flight testing results, use was probably appropriate.

122.9 is designated as a multicom and 122.8 is unicom for airports that don't otherwise have one - either one should be acceptable. I suspect if you assigned your father as "bityfield unicom", nobody would have any grief with it as long as your weren't monopolizing the frequency.

Reference AC 90-50D

https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC90-50D.pdf
 
David Groat said:
I took my Vans RV-10 up on its first flight this past Saturday. I was talking to ATC on their frequency and to my father on the ground with a handheld tuned to 123.45 ('fingers'). Mostly I was keeping my father informed as to what I was doing and how the plane was behaving, but 10 minutes in someone broke in with a curt 'Get off this frequency!'

It's my understanding that the frequency range 123.325 to 123.475 is reserved for civilian flight testing, so I'm not sure who I was intruding on or if that person had any business telling me what he did.

What's the proper frequency I should be using to communicate with my ground crew while flight testing?
Click to expand...

AIM 4-1-11 is your reference. 123.45 is NEVER appropriate for any GA purpose unless the ground station (not a handheld) has that frequency on its station license. "I was just testing my RV" won't hack it with the FCC.

Bob
 
I would have just used air-to-air frequency 122.75. 122.750 Use: Aircraft Air-to-Air
I use 122.85 for air-to-air photography because nobody is on that frequency and we don't need interruptions when giving critical directions. 122.850 Use: Multicom - Special Use and Aviation Support on Noninterference Basis.
123.45 has been the unofficial air-to-air frequency as long as I can remember. A lot of ultralights used to use it. I understand it's not correct, but still very common.

bobmrg said:
"I was just testing my RV" won't hack it with the FCC.
Click to expand...
I understand what you're saying, but realistically, what is the FCC going to do? Are they going to track down the user? How would they do it? It's like people making calls from their planes on their Bose headsets... not legal, but try to catch them.
 
Lowflynjack said:
I would have just used air-to-air frequency 122.75. 122.750 Use: Aircraft Air-to-Air
I use 122.85 for air-to-air photography because nobody is on that frequency and we don't need interruptions when giving critical directions. 122.850 Use: Multicom - Special Use and Aviation Support on Noninterference Basis.
123.45 has been the unofficial air-to-air frequency as long as I can remember. A lot of ultralights used to use it. I understand it's not correct, but still very common.


I understand what you're saying, but realistically, what is the FCC going to do? Are they going to track down the user? How would they do it? It's like people making calls from their planes on their Bose headsets... not legal, but try to catch them.
Click to expand...
...and I just caught you ;-)

jk
 
47 CFR 87.303(a):
These frequencies are available for assignment to flight test land and aircraft stations:
123.450mhz (3)
(3) Mobile station operations on these frequencies are limited to an area within 320 km (200 mi) of an associated flight test land station.

47 CFR 87.187(j):
The frequency 122.750 MHz is authoried for use by private fixed wing aircraft for air-air communications.

That being said, my guess is someone who knows that 123.45 is not an appropriate frequency for your use was just giving you a hard time for their own entertainment.
 
You want to be on 122.75...yes, technically air to "air" but that is the designated GA jabber frequency.
 
bflynn said:
122.9 is designated as a multicom and 122.8 is unicom for airports that don't otherwise have one - either one should be acceptable.
Click to expand...

Either one are absolutely NOT acceptable. In my neck of the woods we have zillion of fields that all share 112.7, 122.8 and 122.9 respectively and CTAF is never a frequency you wanna be jabbering on. My home filed is 122.8 and at a decent altituse I can hear calls for MANY different airport.
 
Shawn said:
Either one are absolutely NOT acceptable. In my neck of the woods we have zillion of fields that all share 112.7, 122.8 and 122.9 respectively and CTAF is never a frequency you wanna be jabbering on. My home filed is 122.8 and at a decent altituse I can hear calls for MANY different airport.
Click to expand...

"As long as you're not monopolizing the frequency". 122.9 is the designated multicomm for you and everyone's brother. I agree they are zoos...but they are the legal sources.
 
bflynn said:
122.8 is unicom for airports that don't otherwise have one - either one should be acceptable.
Click to expand...
Negative. 122.8 is an frequency that can be ASSIGNED for UNICOM. It's not some garbage frequency for you to willy nilly usurp for random purposes.

122.9 (MULTICOM) nis only to be used for air to ground at airports without UNICOMs or other radio outlet.

The answer is there is no legal IDLE-CHIT-CHAT provision for unlicensed ground stations and aircraft.
 
That's good because the OP wasn't engaged in chit-chat. He was reporting results of flight testing. That seems an appropriate use of a unicom channel.
 
UNICOM at an airport it was assigned for is OK for such. MULTICOM at some other airport. Out in a random place, again, there's NO FREQUENCY assigned for random unlicensed stations on the ground to communicate with aircraft.
 
Shucks, just do what everyone else does... talk on guard.
 
Last edited:
flyingron said:
UNICOM at an airport it was assigned for is OK for such. MULTICOM at some other airport. Out in a random place, again, there's NO FREQUENCY assigned for random unlicensed stations on the ground to communicate with aircraft.
Click to expand...

You seem to feel very strongly about that - you should go find everyone that is infringing on that.
 
Just because "everybody" does it doesn't make it legal or even consistent with safety. I am just pointing out that the supposed "correct" answers people keep offering are in fact, illegal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top