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Sources?
editI'm having trouble finding sources for this, due to other uses of the term, although I've seen it used in the ATC context. What's the difference between MULTICOM and UNICOM? --MCB (talk) 08:17, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
Try a print source
editI'll get to the information I found in Jeppesen's Private Pilot Manual in a bit.
Google "Aeronautical Information Manual." For those non-pilots out there, that's commonly known as the back half of the FAR/AIM publication. It's the collection of the things the FAA thinks pilots should know/do. It'll be there.
What I find in my old flying textbook is this: A UNICOM is a privately owned frequency. The FAA has about a dozen frequencies it issues, and airports pay to use one. At controlled airports, the UNICOM frequency is monitored by the FBOs on the field, so you can call and order gas or whatnot.
Most of the times you call a UNICOM, you're dealing with an uncontrolled airport. The FBOs on the field will often monitor the UNICOM, but not always. At an uncontrolled airport, the UNICOM frequency is the CTAF and pilots use self-announce procedures. The UNICOM frequency for an airport can be found on sectional charts and in the AF/D.
MULTICOM is a single frequency, 122.9 MHz. Some small, infrequently trafficked airports don't pay for a UNICOM frequency. In such a case, you self-announce on the MULTICOM frequency, being sure to begin and end your transmissions with the name of the airport you're "calling."
MULTICOM isn't monitored by anyone on the ground usually.
This next bit is from personal experience
UNICOMs at uncontrolled airports have two functions: for pilots to talk to eachother, and for pilots to talk to the FBO. I typically phrase messages two different ways depending on who I'm calling:
When calling the FBO on a UNICOM, I'll say "Pinehurst UNICOM, Cessna...." When calling other aircraft, I'll say "Pinehurst Traffic, Cessna..."
I'll always call a MULTICOM using the "Carthage Traffic, Piper..." phraseology. I've heard other pilots doing that, and that's what I do. From what I recall, that isn't contrary to the FAR/AIM.