From IWA’s Air Traffic Manager Casey Giddens:

Next Monday 10/28/13, Gateway Tower will begin a (two-week) test phase of procedures specific to our operation of Local Control(s) – East (124.75) and West (120.6).  While preparing for this change we have gone through six draft copies of the procedures, have performed a Safety Risk Management review and feel confident the procedures will enhance safety and efficiency.  If our expectations are met, users of the airport will not notice a difference between the test phase and full implementation slated for 11/11/13.

Please keep in mind, the two Local Control positions (LC-E & LC-W) will not always be split-up, there are times where it’s not possible, and other times it’s not necessary; having that situational awareness prior to contacting the Tower will be of great assistance.

Please share this information with your instructors, students, and authorized airport drivers.

General info:

  1. LC-E (124.75) will operate primarily as a “traffic pattern” position, serving RWY 12L/30R and taxiway Charlie for helicopters
  2.  Initial contact to IWA Tower should always be made to LC-W (120.6)
  3. If LC-W and LC-E are split-up, the controller working LC-W will provide initial instructions and instruct you to contact LC-E (124.75)
  4. Please do not try to “help” by contacting LC-E (124.75) directly, based on our internal coordination model, this could gum up the process
  5. It may be helpful  to have 124.75 already dialed up in “comm. 2” so you can be ready for quick frequency change if you plan on doing pattern work

Pilots and airport drivers, please pay special attention to the following:

  1. Upon landing and exiting RWY 12L/30R (or after operating on the runway – airport vehicles), you will be instructed to “hold-short of 12C/30C”; once the controller receives a proper read-back of the hold short instructions, they will then instruct you to “monitor tower, 120.6”.  To be clear, at that point the expectation is that the aircraft/vehicle  will (1.) hold short of the runway, (2.) change to 120.6, and (3.) wait for further instructions

We will be monitoring this situation closely and aim to learn as much as possible in the coming weeks, please contact me directly with any feedback.