Touch-and-Go, Full Stop or the Option: How to Ask

Tell Tower how you want to finish the approach — and learn the one magic word, "the option," that keeps every choice open. · 5 min read

When you are shooting landings at a towered field, Tower needs to know what you intend to do when you reach the runway, because it changes how they sequence you against other traffic. A full-stop aircraft has to clear the runway and maybe taxi back; a touch-and-go is airborne again in seconds. There are three common ways to finish an approach, plus one flexible request that lets you decide at the last moment. Knowing all four — and the exact words — makes your pattern work smooth and keeps the controller happy.

The three specific requests

Touch-and-go — land, keep rolling, and take off again without stopping. The workhorse of pattern practice: maximum landings per hour.
Full stop — land and exit the runway. Often phrased "full stop, taxi back" if you intend to take off again from the start of the runway.
Stop-and-go — land, come to a complete stop on the runway, then take off again from where you stopped. Good for practicing short-field technique, but it needs enough runway and Tower’s blessing.

"The option" — the flexible request

When you "request the option," you are asking Tower to let you do ANY of the above — touch-and-go, stop-and-go, low approach, or full stop — and decide which on short final. Instructors love it because it lets them spring a go-around or a short-field stop on you without a new radio call. Tower simply clears you for the option:

📻 ATC says “Skyhawk Five-Two-Kilo, Runway three-one, cleared for the option.”

🎙 You say “Cleared for the option, Runway three-one, Five-Two-Kilo.”

Once cleared for the option, you are free to finish however the lesson calls for — no further request needed. It is the single most useful phrase for practice work.

Staying in the pattern

To fly repeated laps rather than departing the area, ask for "closed traffic" when you request takeoff. That tells Tower to keep you in the pattern instead of sending you out on course, and they will clear each lap for the option or a touch-and-go as you come around.

💡 Combine them: request "closed traffic" for takeoff and then "the option" each time around, and you have the most flexible possible pattern session with the fewest radio calls.

💡 The only way this becomes automatic is saying it out loud, dozens of times, before you key a live mic. That is exactly what ATCpal is for — practice requesting the option and closed traffic. Practice it free at atcpal.app.

Phraseology sourced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, effective 9 July 2026) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Check the AIM · Last reviewed 13 August 2026.

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