Author's note: This is a research paper about Air Traffic Controlling. I think I did well on word choice. I used words I don't use that much.
Have you ever been on a vacation where you had to fly in an airplane? What about this? Do you know that your life is in the hands of people you don't even know? I'm not talking about just the pilots. I'm talking about the Air Traffic Controllers (the guys in the big tower). You probably don't even think about the Air Traffic Controllers when you're at an airport.
Air traffic control has progressed from the early days of signaling lamps, gas-fueled beacons, and even bonfires in a farmer's field for guidance. And the communication was once as simple as a single-channel radio. World War 2 resulted in greater advances, and by the end of the war, what we now know as air traffic control was starting to be developed. The radar systems we use today came into effect in 1950/51, and while they have continued to improve, they have still remained.
There is a lot of technology involved in air traffic controlling. Air traffic controllers (ATCs) operate in towers and on the ground to direct aircraft activity with the use of radar screens that use points of light to represent aircraft. The major purpose of air traffic control is to make sure that there's safe transport of people and cargo by keeping aircraft at a safe distance from each other and accelerating the flow of traffic.
Air traffic controllers have access to advanced radar systems that provide an overview of the airspace they control. The Primary Surveillance Radar (P.S.R.) is the most commonly known type of Radar. A radio wave is sent into the atmosphere, and once it encounters an object, a plane, it is reflected back to the Radar station. It works like a bat using echolocation. The air traffic controller can approximate the distance the plane is away based on the time it takes for the signal to come back. The P.S.R. also detects reflectivity properties of the aircraft as well as wavelength and angle of the Radar signal on the aircraft.
Pilots don't have the necessary tools to get an overview of the airspace, so they have to rely on air traffic controllers to guide the aircraft through crowded airspace. Air traffic controllers have communication tools to organize flight paths with the air crew. Considering the speed of an aircraft a pilot has very little time to react to a dangerous situation. That is why it is essential that flight paths are carefully planned and managed to avoid accidents.
Turbulence, which is gusty, unpredictable air currents, can negatively affect aircraft when the distance between them is too small. That calculation requires the help of an air traffic controller. Pilots also need the assistance of air traffic controllers to navigate weather conditions such as low clouds and heavy rains or snows.
Labels on the runways indicate certain things. For example, there might be two or three runways that are parallel. If there were two, an L would be put on one for Left and an R on the other for Right. If there were there the middle runway would have a C on it for Center. In addition to the letters there are numbers. A runway numbered 09, points east (90°), runway 18 is south (180°), runway 27 points west (270°) and runway 36 points to the north (360°). (This is from magnetic north.)
There is no doubt the technology will continue to advance. In 2009, the FAA began to consider phasing out radar systems and replacing them with Global Positioning System satellite technology called NextGen because it would be more accurate and the information would be provided in real-time. There is also no doubt that all the functions of the air traffic controllers and their sophisticated technology allows us to be able to enjoy flight in peace and safety.
Have you ever been on a vacation where you had to fly in an airplane? What about this? Do you know that your life is in the hands of people you don't even know? I'm not talking about just the pilots. I'm talking about the Air Traffic Controllers (the guys in the big tower). You probably don't even think about the Air Traffic Controllers when you're at an airport.
Air traffic control has progressed from the early days of signaling lamps, gas-fueled beacons, and even bonfires in a farmer's field for guidance. And the communication was once as simple as a single-channel radio. World War 2 resulted in greater advances, and by the end of the war, what we now know as air traffic control was starting to be developed. The radar systems we use today came into effect in 1950/51, and while they have continued to improve, they have still remained.
There is a lot of technology involved in air traffic controlling. Air traffic controllers (ATCs) operate in towers and on the ground to direct aircraft activity with the use of radar screens that use points of light to represent aircraft. The major purpose of air traffic control is to make sure that there's safe transport of people and cargo by keeping aircraft at a safe distance from each other and accelerating the flow of traffic.
Air traffic controllers have access to advanced radar systems that provide an overview of the airspace they control. The Primary Surveillance Radar (P.S.R.) is the most commonly known type of Radar. A radio wave is sent into the atmosphere, and once it encounters an object, a plane, it is reflected back to the Radar station. It works like a bat using echolocation. The air traffic controller can approximate the distance the plane is away based on the time it takes for the signal to come back. The P.S.R. also detects reflectivity properties of the aircraft as well as wavelength and angle of the Radar signal on the aircraft.
Pilots don't have the necessary tools to get an overview of the airspace, so they have to rely on air traffic controllers to guide the aircraft through crowded airspace. Air traffic controllers have communication tools to organize flight paths with the air crew. Considering the speed of an aircraft a pilot has very little time to react to a dangerous situation. That is why it is essential that flight paths are carefully planned and managed to avoid accidents.
Turbulence, which is gusty, unpredictable air currents, can negatively affect aircraft when the distance between them is too small. That calculation requires the help of an air traffic controller. Pilots also need the assistance of air traffic controllers to navigate weather conditions such as low clouds and heavy rains or snows.
Labels on the runways indicate certain things. For example, there might be two or three runways that are parallel. If there were two, an L would be put on one for Left and an R on the other for Right. If there were there the middle runway would have a C on it for Center. In addition to the letters there are numbers. A runway numbered 09, points east (90°), runway 18 is south (180°), runway 27 points west (270°) and runway 36 points to the north (360°). (This is from magnetic north.)
There is no doubt the technology will continue to advance. In 2009, the FAA began to consider phasing out radar systems and replacing them with Global Positioning System satellite technology called NextGen because it would be more accurate and the information would be provided in real-time. There is also no doubt that all the functions of the air traffic controllers and their sophisticated technology allows us to be able to enjoy flight in peace and safety.
Narrative
My project about Air Traffic Control didn't go as well as planned. There was one main reason for this.
In my last project Mitchell and I didn't contact our expert until towards the end of the project. One of the things I wanted to do better in this project was to contact the expert right away. My dad sent him an e-mail. Eventually I heard back. He told me the name of a person that I should talk to instead. Well we called him during their hours and left a message. Since then we haven't heard back.
My goals for the next project are:
- Find at least one written source
- Contact expert right away (maybe even before the project)
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