Getting IFR Clearance and Release at Non-Towered Airport

When you depart from an airport without a control tower—or if the controllers have gone home for the night—you may need to get your IFR clearance and release from an approach control or center before takeoff.

This video shows how I called for my clearance at Bremerton National Airport (KPWT), just west of Seattle, for a short IFR hop back to Boeing Field (KBFI).

To learn more about getting an IFR clearance on the ground, how to set a direct course to fix (a technique I often use when flying the ILS RWY 14R at KBFI), and other details, see:

• Departing IFR from a Non-Towered Airport
• FAA Completes ATC Phone Number Plan
• Setting a Course v. Vectors to Final

For more information about operating in surface-based Class E airspace, see:

• Canceling IFR

VFR Landing at KPWT

Here’s a VFR approach and landing at Bremerton National Airport (KPWT) across Puget Sound west of Seattle. KPWT is a non-towered airport, so pilots self-announce their positions and intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) assigned to the airport.

You can learn about the recommended procedures for operating at non-towered airports in the U.S. in Advisory Circular AC 90-66B: Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations.

More details here at BruceAir: Operations at Non-Towered Airports.