Air Traffic Control
Air Traffic Control
• There are different types of air traffic controllers who communicate with
pilots from the time the pilot calls for a clearance to taxi and takeoff
through landing.
–
Ground Control: To move from parking to the runway at controlled airports, the pilot
must contact the ground controller and request to taxi to the runway.
– Tower Controller: This position generally controls the airspace up to 2,500 feet above
the airport with a typical radius of 5 statute miles around the airport.
– Approach/Departure Controller: At some airports, there is an approach and departure
controller who handles movement of aircraft in and out of congested areas using radar.
– Center Controller: The Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC or "center") controller
handles a larger area than other controllers.
Other Services
•
Automated Terminal Information Service (ATIS), Automated Surface Observation
System (ASOS), and the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS):
– Recorded messages that broadcast important airport and weather information
at selected airports.
•
Clearance Delivery: After a pilot files a flight plan, the first controller contacted is
clearance delivery. This controller will read a clearance that defines the
destination, route, altitudes, and any special instructions ATC is expecting the pilot
to follow during flight.
•
Nontowered Operations (Uncontrolled Airports): Airports that are not equipped
with control facilities (ground, tower, approach, or departure) are called
nontowered, or uncontrolled, airports. Pilots operating on or around these
airports use a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency or CTAF (pronounced "see-taff")
to announce their intentions to other aircraft in the area.
Air Traffic Control
Radar Display
RADAR
• RAdio Detection And Ranging
– Designed shortly before World War II, its primary
purpose was to detect the presence of aircraft.
– Principle of using radio waves to detect the
presence of objects
Radar Principle
Radar antenna rotates 360 0 sending
out radio waves or electromagnetic
pulses that are invisible to humans.
Radar Principle
The electromagnetic pulses strike
an object and are reflected back to
the antenna.
Since the pulse’s speed is known,
the time between the pulse being
sent and it’s reflected return to the
radar antenna determines the
airplane’s range/distance
Distance = Speed x Time
Radar Principle
With the distance of the aircraft known,
the angle of the radar antenna is used to
determine the height (altitude) of the
aircraft
Angle in degrees
Ground Distance
RADAR
• Play “How Radar Works” video
How Radar Works
Radar Screen
RADAR SCREEN CONTROLS
The Radar Screen is
configured and
controlled via the
Radar Options panel.
RADAR SYMBOLOGY
Radar “return”
with history trails
Aircraft callsign
ACFT: (Aircraft type)
DEST: (Destination ID if a flight
plan is created)
ALT: (Altitude in feet above mean
sea level)
SPD: (Groundspeed in knots)
Data “Tag”
with flight
information
Transponder: A device on the aircraft that sends an
identifying signal with encoded information in
response to a signal received from radar.
SESSION INFORMATION
The Session Information panel provides you with a list of all the
aircraft displayed on the radar, as well as details about each
aircraft.
The list is sorted by distance from
the control station, with the closest
aircraft at the top of the list.
DETERMINING DIRECTION
0 /360 degrees
270 degrees
90 degrees
180 degrees
Phonetic Alphabet/Common Terms
Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima (LEE-muh)
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec (kuh-BEK)
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu
9 Niner
0 Zero
Radio Term
Message Meaning
Roger
Wilco (think "will comply")
Say Again
Unable
Affirmative
Negative
Vector/Vectoring
I understand
Yes, I'll do that
Didn't understand, repeat
No, I can't do that
Yes
No
Assigned headings to fly
Comm Link
Airplane Clock Positions
Airplane Clock Positions
• How many degrees are there between “clock
positions”?
Airplane Clock Positions
• How many degrees are there between “clock
positions”?
1. There are 360 degrees in a circle.
Airplane Clock Positions
• How many degrees are there between “clock
positions”?
1. There are 360 degrees in a circle.
2. There are 12 clock positions.
Airplane Clock Positions
• How many degrees are there between “clock
positions”?
1. There are 360 degrees in a circle.
2. There are 12 clock positions.
3. Therefore, 360 degrees/12 positions =
Airplane Clock Positions
• How many degrees are there between “clock
positions”?
1. There are 360 degrees in a circle.
2. There are 12 clock positions.
3. Therefore, 360 degrees/12 positions =
30 Degrees between clock positions
COMMUNICATIONS
• Your radio transmissions will have three parts:
WHO YOU ARE CALLING, WHO YOU ARE, and the MESSAGE
• To transmit, press and hold “Transmit” button
– Allow about 1 second before speaking
– Speak in a normal tone and rate
• After transmitting, release “Transmit” button and listen
SAMPLE TRANSMISSIONS
Aircrew - Tower (requesting permission to land):
• Crew initiates – “Tower, Baron Two Three Lima,
request landing.”
• Tower replies – “Baron Two Three Lima, Tower, winds
are calm, check landing gear down, cleared to land.”
• Crew confirms – “Baron Two Three Lima, landing
gear down, cleared to land.”
Airplane Clock Positions
Airplane Clock Positions
A clock position is the relative direction of an
object described using the analogy of a 12-hour
clock. Imagine a clock face lying flat in front of
you.
Airplane Clock Positions
• Using this analogy,
12 o'clock means ahead,
3 o'clock means to the right,
6 o'clock means behind, and
9 o'clock means to the left
• The other eight hours refer to
directions that are not directly
in line with the four major
directions.
Airplane Clock Positions
• As an Air Traffic Controller,
how would you alert the pilot
(call sign Cessna 33V) that the
airport is 6 miles ahead and
slightly to the right of the
aircraft?
Airplane Clock Positions
• “Cessna Three Three
Victor, the airport is at
your 1 o'clock and 6
miles.”
Questions?