AIM 

4/20/23 

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3.  Contact Procedures 

a.  Initial Contact. 

1. 

The terms 

initial contact

 or 

initial callup

 means the first radio call you make to a given facility or the first 

call to a different controller or FSS specialist within a facility. Use the following format: 

(a) 

Name of the facility being called; 

(b) 

Your 

full

 aircraft identification as filed in the flight plan or as discussed in paragraph 4

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4, Aircraft 

Call Signs; 

(c) 

When operating on an airport surface, state your position. 

(d) 

The type of message to follow or your request if it is short; and 

(e) 

The word “Over” if required. 

EXAMPLE

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1. 

“New York Radio, Mooney Three One One Echo.” 

2. 

“Columbia Ground, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, south ramp, I

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R Memphis.” 

3. 

“Miami Center, Baron Five Six Three Hotel, request V

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R traffic advisories.” 

2. 

Many FSSs are equipped with Remote Communications Outlets (RCOs) and can transmit on the same 

frequency at more than one location. The frequencies available at specific locations are indicated on charts above 

FSS communications boxes. To enable the specialist to utilize the correct transmitter, advise the location and the 

frequency on which you expect a reply. 

EXAMPLE

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St. Louis FSS can transmit on frequency 122.3 at either Farmington, Missouri, or Decatur, Illinois, if you are in the vicinity 

of Decatur, your callup should be “Saint Louis radio, Piper Six Niner Six Yankee, receiving Decatur One Two Two Point 

Three.” 

3. 

If radio reception is reasonably assured, inclusion of your request, your position or altitude, and the 

phrase “(ATIS) Information Charlie received” in the initial contact helps decrease radio frequency congestion. 

Use discretion; do not overload the controller with information unneeded or superfluous. If you do not get a 

response from the ground station, recheck your radios or use another transmitter, but keep the next contact short. 

EXAMPLE

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“Atlanta Center, Duke Four One Romeo, request V

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R traffic advisories, Twenty Northwest Rome, seven thousand five 

hundred, over.” 

b.  Initial Contact When Your Transmitting and Receiving Frequencies are Different. 

1. 

If you are attempting to establish contact with a ground station and you are receiving on a different 

frequency than that transmitted, indicate the VOR name or the frequency on which you expect a reply. Most FSSs 

and control facilities can transmit on several VOR stations in the area. Use the appropriate FSS call sign as 

indicated on charts. 

EXAMPLE

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New York FSS transmits on the Kennedy, the Hampton, and the Calverton VORTACs. If you are in the Calverton area, your 

callup should be “New York radio, Cessna Three One Six Zero Foxtrot, receiving Calverton V

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R, over.” 

2. 

If the chart indicates FSS frequencies above the VORTAC or in the FSS communications boxes, transmit 

or receive on those frequencies nearest your location. 

3. 

When unable to establish contact and you wish to call 

any

 ground station, use the phrase “ANY RADIO 

(tower) (station), GIVE CESSNA THREE ONE SIX ZERO FOXTROT A CALL ON (frequency) OR 

(V

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R).” If an emergency exists or you need assistance, so state. 

c.  Subsequent Contacts and Responses to Callup from a Ground Facility. 

Use the same format as used for the initial contact except you should state your message or request with the callup 

in one transmission. The ground station name and the word “Over” may be omitted if the message requires an 

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Radio Communications Phraseology