Issue the appropriate departure control frequency and beacon code before ___.

• A. preflight
• B. takeoff
• C. taxiing
• D. landing

Answer: (B)

The important idea here is that you must establish communication with departure control and be assigned a radar beacon code before you leave the runway area. Departure control takes over once you’re airborne and entering the controlled airspace, so having the right radio frequency and the assigned transponder code ready ensures ATC can communicate with you and identify your aircraft on radar as you climb out and integrate into traffic flow.

The radio frequency is the channel you’ll use to receive instructions about routing and altitude while climbing away from the airport, and the beacon code (the transponder squawk) lets ATC uniquely identify your aircraft on their radar. Having both set before takeoff means you’re already aligned with air traffic controls by the time you roll onto the runway, reducing the chance of miscommunication or sequencing issues.

Preflight and taxiing happen before you actually enter the airspace, and while you’ll still obtain clearance and codes prior to departure, the moment you’re ready to depart—the point at which you need to be communicating with departure control and squawking the assigned code—is before takeoff.