A non-tower satellite airport within the same Class D airspace as the primary airport requires radio communications to be established with which facility?

A non-tower satellite airport within the same Class D airspace as the primary airport requires radio communications to be established with which facility?

• A. Flight Service Station
• B. Primary airport's control tower
• C. Center
• D. Approach control

Answer: (B)

In Class D airspace the aircraft must have two-way radio communication established with the air traffic control facility that provides control for that airspace. For a satellite airport that doesn’t have its own control tower but sits inside the same Class D as the primary airport, you still need to establish and maintain contact with the primary airport’s control tower. That tower is responsible for sequencing and separation within that Class D area, so it’s the facility you contact before entry and while operating there. Flight Service Stations provide weather briefings and general information, not ATC clearance or control for the airspace. Center handles en route airspace rather than the surface area of a towered Class D. Approach control deals with arriving and departing aircraft in larger or terminal areas, not the local control of a Class D surface area.

In Class D airspace the aircraft must have two-way radio communication established with the air traffic control facility that provides control for that airspace. For a satellite airport that doesn’t have its own control tower but sits inside the same Class D as the primary airport, you still need to establish and maintain contact with the primary airport’s control tower. That tower is responsible for sequencing and separation within that Class D area, so it’s the facility you contact before entry and while operating there.

Flight Service Stations provide weather briefings and general information, not ATC clearance or control for the airspace. Center handles en route airspace rather than the surface area of a towered Class D. Approach control deals with arriving and departing aircraft in larger or terminal areas, not the local control of a Class D surface area.