Way back in the early ’70s, when I was writing the “Student Pilot” column for Flying I wrote one titled, “I’d Rather Do It Myself.” In it I recounted my discomfort when approaching and landing at an airport that had no control tower. Airports without towers go by several names: uncontrolled, non-towered and perhaps most accurately, pilot controlled.
My unease about landing at a pilot-controlled airport was unusual. The majority of pilots take their flight training at pilot-controlled fields, but I earned most of my ratings at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, which had a control tower and, if you count the Pan Am Helicopter, scheduled commercial service. So, from an early time in my training, I worked with ground and tower controllers and learned to appreciate their help.
