Santa Barbara ATCT and Tracon
SANTA BARBARA CLASS CHARLIE SERVICES
Santa Barbara is a designated Class Charlie Airspace Airport. This is based upon the number of arrivals and departures into the airport which is sufficient to require air traffic control guidance for the safe and efficient movement of aircraft. Pilot participation in Class C airspace is mandatory. A thorough knowledge of airspace boundaries and controller services will greatly aid pilots in navigating into, out of, and through Santa Barbara airspace.
Airspace Description:
Class C airspace differs by location due to terrain, airport location, and operational requirements. The Santa Barbara Class C airspace is described as follows:
Surface Area:
A five mile radius of the Santa Barbara Airport. Altitudes surface up to and including 4000 feet MSL. Pilot participation in the surface area is mandatory.
Outer Circle:
A 10 mile radius of the Santa Barbara Airport from 1500 feet MSL up to and including 4000 feet MSL, excluding the Surface area, and also excluding that airspace from the 295 degree bearing from the airport, between the 5 and 10 mile radius, clockwise to the 090 degree bearing from the airport. Pilot participation in the outer circle is mandatory.
Note: The surface Area and Outer Circle are commonly referred to as Class C airspace. The outer area is a part of Class C services.
Outer Area:
That airspace within approximately a 20 nautical mile radius of the Santa Barbara Airport delegated to Santa Barbara Approach Control extending upward from the surface up to and including 8000 feet MSL, excluding the surface area and outer circle. Pilot participation in the outer area is not mandatory, but highly encouraged.
Equipment Requirements
All aircraft that wish to enter Class C airspace must be equipped with an operating Mode C transponder. Aircraft who do not have an electrical system, or whose transponder is not working, or whose altitude encoding portion of the transponder is not working, may receive a waiver from the supervisor on duty at the Santa Barbara Control Tower. For one time only waivers, it is required that the waiver be obtained at least one hour prior to the proposed operation. Aircraft without an electrical system who plan to operate from the Santa Barbara Airport on a regular basis may apply for a waiver, good for one year, from the Air Traffic Manager.
Communication Requirements
All aircraft that wish to operate in Class C airspace must have an operating two-way radio. Aircraft departing Santa Barbara must establish and maintain two-way radio communication with the Santa Barbara Control Tower. Aircraft arriving Santa Barbara must establish and maintain two-way radio communications with Santa Barbara Approach Control. Aircraft transitioning Class C airspace must establish and maintain two-way radio communications with Santa Barbara approach Control.
Class C Services
Air Traffic Controllers have specific duties and responsibilities in Class C airspace. These duties depend greatly on workload, equipment limitations, and type of flight. They can be summarized as follows:
1. Sequencing of all aircraft to the Santa Barbara airport
2. Standard IFR services to IFR aircraft.
3. Separation, traffic advisories, and safety alerts between IFR and VFR aircraft.
4. Mandatory traffic advisories and safety alerts between VFR aircraft.
5. Provide Class C services to all aircraft operating within Class C airspace.
6. Provide Class C services to all participating aircraft in the outer area.
Santa Barbara Class C Procedures
Pilots are requested to please adhere to the following procedures when departing from the Santa Barbara Airport.
1. Monitor the ATIS on 132.65. This will inform the pilot of pertinent local weather conditions, runway in use, etc.
2. Contact Clearance Delivery on 132.9. This is required of all VFR and IFR departures. Please advise the controller of your call sign, type aircraft, direction of flight or destination. Additionally, please confirm receipt of current ATIS by stating ATIS code. BE PREPARED TO COPY DEPARTURE PROCEDURE INFORMATION. All aircraft departing the airport are assigned initial departure headings, altitudes, frequencies, and transponder codes. Please read back the clearance to ensure correctness and comprehension. Adherence to assigned headings and altitudes is imperative for air safety. When the clearance has been received, please contact ground control on 121.7
3. When contacting ground control, please state your call sign and position on the airport in your initial call-up. Ground Control will assign the departure runway, and will also specify a taxi route if necessary. REMEMBER TO READ BACK ALL RUNWAY ASSIGNMENTS AND HOLD SHORT INSTRUCTIONS. Controllers are required to ensure receipt of these items by obtaining pilot read backs verbatim. When you are number one at the hold line for your assigned runway, contact the tower controller on 119.7.
4. The tower controller will issue you a takeoff clearance when traffic permits. Obviously, based on traffic, you may not receive a takeoff clearance immediately. Remember to acknowledge all transmissions directed to you aircraft. We request that aircraft not operate their transponder in the ON position until airborne. ONCE AIRBORNE, REMAIN ON THE TOWER FREQUENCY UNTIL ADVISED TO "CONTACT DEPARTURE".
5. Contact the approach controller on the assigned frequency. Due to traffic, you may be assigned additional headings and altitudes. Compliance with these instructions is imperative to air safety. Once safely clear of conflicting traffic, aircraft will normally be instructed to "resume own navigation and appropriate VFR altitudes". However, these instructions may be spaced apart as traffic warrants. For clarification, "resume own navigation" means only to fly a heading of the pilot's choice, not a clearance to climb. Conversely, "resume appropriate VFR altitudes" is a clearance to climb, but not a clearance to deviate from an assigned heading. IFR aircraft will of course be assigned headings and altitudes throughout their flight.
Unless the pilot has requested VFR flight following to the destination airport, RADAR services will only be provided to the edge of Santa Barbara Approach Control Airspace.
Pilots are requested to adhere to the following procedure when arriving at the Santa Barbara Airport:
1. Monitor the ATIS on 132.65 prior to contacting approach control.
2. Contact the Santa Barbara approach control on the appropriate frequency as designated on the ATIS. Normally, aircraft east of SBA should utilize frequency 125.4 and aircraft west of SBA should utilize 120.55. Aircraft over the GVO Vortac should contact approach on 120.55. Aircraft over Lake Cachuma should contact approach on 125.4. PLEASE CONTACT APPROACH CONTROL AT LEAST 20 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT. This allows for a more efficient sequence into the airport environment for the assigned runway. Approach control sequences ALL aircraft to the appropriate runway. This may require vectors and/or speed control. REMAIN ON THE APPROACH CONTROL FREQUENCY UNTIL ADVISED TO "CONTACT TOWER ON 119.7".
SUMMARY
Santa Barbara's Class C airspace and services are designated to provide a safe operating environment for the flying public. Although flying through controlled airspace may seem intimidating at first, familiarization with the "rules of the road" should make it a pleasurable experience. Santa Barbara Tower/TRACON places the highest value on customer satisfaction.
Santa Barbara Helpful Hints
In order to make our job easier and more efficient please do the following:
*NOTE*(Some of these may seem very basic, however, many pilots do not provide us with the required information necessary for efficient and effective transmissions)
Advise you have the ATIS (freq. 132.65)on initial call.
If you would like "Flight Following", please advise Clearance Delivery(freq.132.9) of this on your initial call.
When requesting taxi instructions, always state your position with Ground Control (freq. 121.7).
Read back hold short instructions with your call sign and the runway number that you will hold short of.
When taxiing up to a runway or taxiway that you will hold short of, reduce your taxiing speed well prior to stopping so as to not cause us to make another transmission such as " Verify holding short of___".
During busy periods and you are holding short of a runway for departure with several other aircraft, monitor the frequency and try to call when you are number one for departure. (freq. 119.7)
When departing, do not switch to departure until instructed to do so by the tower.
State your altitude on initial contact with departure. (If you do not then we are required to ask you your altitude)
VFR DEPARTURE HEADINGS
NOISE ABATEMENT
