PLYMOUTH – A subtle change in frequency will make flying in and out of Plymouth Municipal Airport safer this spring.
Under a plan adopted by the Plymouth Airport Commission, the airport will switch its Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). Known to pilots as Unicom, the frequency is used to alert airports and other pilots of activity at general aviation airports like Plymouth that do not have control towers.
Plymouth has used 123.0 Mhz as its Unicom frequency since the 1970s. Starting March 25, when the Federal Aviation Administration updates its airport charts, the new frequency for pilots to use when approaching the airport in West Plymouth will be 122.725 Mhz.
Airport Manager Tom Maher said the Commission resolved to make the switch several months ago after the FAA and Federal Communications Commission expanded the number of frequencies for airports. The change will not go into effect until the new airport charts come out, to avoid confusion.
The move is designed to avoid confusion in the skies, as the existing Unicom frequency has become somewhat crowded with chatter.
Maher said it is not uncommon for pilots approaching Plymouth to hear other pilots at airports in Mansfield; Newport, Rhode Island; Danielson, Connecticut; or Keene, New Hampshire. Pilots may sometimes even hear conversations from Canada.
Back in the 1950s, there was only one Unicom frequency for the entire country. As air travel expanded, the FAA and FCC responded by creating four frequencies. Plymouth Airport was one of many that switched to the new 123.0 frequency, Maher said.
That proved effective for decades as many pilots of small aircraft in the 1970s did not even have radio communication on board their planes, Maher said. Nowadays, most planes have radios and there are more of them.
The crowded airwaves can sometimes make it hard for pilots to get a word in edgewise, Maher said.
While there have not been any accidents or incidents in Plymouth as a result, the chatter is a common complaint among pilots at airports that are in close proximity to other airports, and making the switch will only make the airport safer, Maher said.
When the new Unicom frequency starts getting used in March, the nearest airport with the same 122.725 frequency will be in northern Maine.
"Pilots won't hear the chatter," Maher said.
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