One of the first surprises for many people learning to fly is that not every airport has a control tower. In fact, the majority of them don’t.
The FAA recognizes this and has released a new advisory circular (AC) covering nontowered airport operations. While ACs are not regulatory in nature, they offer guidance for best practices. Much of the information should be a review for most pilots, as it is also covered in The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and Chapter 4 of the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).
