AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

GROUP MEMBERS

2017(S)-MS-CEH-06
2017(S)-MS-CEH-10
2017(S)-MS-CEH-13
DEFINITION
The FAR/AIM defines Air traffic control as:
• a service operated by appropriate authority to promote the safe,
orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic.
The FAR/AIM defines Air traffic as:
• aircraft operating in the air or on an airport surface, exclusive of
loading ramps and parking areas.

• Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual (FAA)

Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-
based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and
through controlled airspace.
MIDAIR COLLISIONS
Grand Canyon, June 30, 1956
• United Airlines DC-7 collided with a TWA Constellation 128 passengers killed. The aircraft
were flying in uncontrolled airspace, under visual flight rules

New York City, Dec. 16, 1960

• United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation over New York City killed 128 people
on board and 8 people on the ground. The United flight had experienced partial
navigation equipment failure but failed to report it to the air traffic controllers.
Hendersonville, NC, July 19, 1967
• Piedmont Airlines B-727 collided with a private Cessna, 82 people killed. Accident was
closely tied to lack of secondary surveillance radar and confusing transmissions by the air
traffic control
FUNCTIONS OF AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROL

 MAINTAINS LEGAL SEPARATION AMONG AIRCRAFT

 EFFICIENTLY MANAGE TRAFFIC FLOW
 PROVIDE FLIGHT INFORMATION( WEATHER, FACILITY)
 INITIATE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
PURPOSE

Prevent collisions
Organize and expedite the flow of air traffic
Provide information and other support for pilots.
ATC SYSTEM
1. Airport Control
 Ground Control
 Air Control / Local Control
 Terminal Control
 Area Control
2. En Route, Center, or Area Control
 General characteristics
 Radar coverage
 Flight traffic mapping
Ground Control
 Clearance Delivery.
 Ground Control( Issuing clearances for aircraft to move to/from the
apron and runway areas.
 Issuing clearances to aircraft in runway.
AIR CONTROL

 Tower" or Tower control

  Responsible for the active runway surfaces
 Clears aircraft for takeoff or landing
 Air control must ensure that ground control is aware of any operations
 Will impact the taxiways
 Terminal Control
 Responsible for flights in the immediate
vicinity of airport to approximately 20-50 nautical miles.
 Usually allowed to apply smaller amount
of lateral separation between
aircraft due to dense nature.
Area Control
 Some time called En Route control.
 Responsible for anywhere between several hundred
square miles.
 Take overs the aircraft once it leaves the terminal.
DESIGN OF FORMAL AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROL SYSTEM
PREFLIGHT:
THIS PORTION OF THE FLIGHT STARTS ON THE GROUND AND INCLUDES
FLIGHT CHECKS

TAKEOFF:
THE PILOT POWERS UP THE AIRCRAFT AND SPEEDS
DEPARTURE:
THE PLANE LIFTS OFF THE GROUND AND
CLIMBS TO A CRUISING ALTITUDE.
EN ROUTE:
THE AIRCRAFT TRAVELS THROUGH ONE OR MORE CENTER AIRSPACES AND
NEARS THE DESTINATION
AIRPORT.
DESCENT:
THE PILOT DESCENDS AND MANEUVERS THE AIRCRAFT TO THE
DESTINATION AIRPORT.

APPROACH:
THE PILOT ALIGNS THE AIRCRAFT WITH THE DESIGNATED
LANDING RUNWAY.

LANDING :
THE AIRCRAFT LANDS ON THE DESIGNATED RUNWAY, TAXIS TO THE
DESTINATION GATE AND PARKS AT THE TERMINAL.
MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS FOR AIR
TRAFFIC CONTROL
 Safety
 Environmental
 CO2 emissions
 Local air quality
 Procedure design limitations
 Avoidance of other airspace
 Minimum turn radii
 Speed
 Airspace capacity
 Runway capacity
Tower Staffing Plan
 Additional ATCs
 Taxi and Ground Movement Plan
 Need a single point of access/exit
 Need for up-to-date information
 Develop “Briefing Package” for ATC
ADVANCED AUTOMATION SYSTEM (AAS)
New version of all control systems
 ground control, tower control, terminal control
Ultimately proved too ambitious
Architecture and code kept for new system, included parts of ISSS
 Involved procurement from many sources
INITIAL SECTOR SUITE SYSTEM (ISSS)

 Acquire radar reports

 Convert radar reports for display
 Handle conflict alerts
 Provide network management
 Recording capability for later playback
 GUI with special safety requirements
Provide reduced backup capability
REQUIREMENTS
• Availability - ultrahigh:
99.99%= UnavailabiltyNot more than 5 minutes downtime per
year
• Performance - high:
Up to 2440 active aircraft without losing them
• Other Qualities:
• Openness
• Subsets
• Ease of modification
• Many interfaces
THE CONTROL TOWER
COMPONENTS AND DUTIES
THE CONTROL TOWER

• The control tower has three different frequencies that you will communicate
on. Those frequencies are monitored by three different areas of the tower:

-Ground Control
-Tower Control
-Approach/Departure Control
GROUND CONTROL

• Ground control is monitored by people in the very top of the tower. They are
looking out the windows and can watch you as you taxi.

• They exercise jurisdiction over the taxiway and all areas prior to the runway.

• You must get clearance to taxi, you receive this on the ground frequency.
APPROACH/DEPARTURE CONTROL
• The people that monitor approach/departure control are located in the base of
the tower. They are in the “TRACON” room. This room is completely dark
and they are watching your aircraft on the radar.
TOWER CONTROL
• Tower control is monitored by people in the same room as the ground control.
They are in the top of the tower and can watch you as you take off and land.

• Tower has jurisdiction over each runway and the vicinity of the traffic pattern.

• You must get permission to take off and land on their pavement. These are the
people that allow you to do that.
SURFACE & AIR TRANSMISSIONS
FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS
IDENTIFY FRIEND OR FOE (IFF)
• A ground-based transmitter broadcasts a radio signal to the
aircraft

• A transponder on the aircraft would receive and reply to this

signal

• Interrogations used very specific types of signals (1030 and

1090 MHz)

• If a plane did not respond correctly the system determined

that the target was an enemy aircraft
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BEACON
SYSTEM (ATCBS)
• System shares the same frequency bands as IFF

• There are two primary types of interrogations

• Mode A interrogations are used for plane identification information

• Mode C interrogations are used for altitude information

PROBLEMS WITH ATCBS

• ATCBS uses a highly sensitive rotating antenna to continuously

send out interrogations

• When interference occurs the ground station receives only

garbled signals

• As traffic increases, the number of airplanes at a given time

within the antenna's interrogation beam will increase
TRANSPONDER

• The transponder has four distinct codes that have specific meanings:

-1200 = basic VFR flight

-7500 = hijacking
-7600 = lost communications
-7700 = general emergency
HOW EVERYTHING WORKS
MODE S

• Discrete Address Beacon System (DABS) later renamed Mode S

• S=Select: uses discrete addressing to interrogate just one aircraft

• It Is a Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) beacon

• Used Particularly for Ground-air-ground data link system

TRAFFIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE
SYSTEM (TCAS)
• It tracks up to 30 aircraft, displays the 25 highest priority
aircraft

• Uses three separate systems to plot positions of nearby

aircraft

• Directional antennae receives Mode S transponder signals

• Mode C used to plot the altitude of nearby aircraft

• The timing of the Mode S is measured to find the distance

of an aircraft
GROUND AND AIRBORNE RADAR
TYPES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
ALTIMETER
• Radar transmissions to reflect off the surface
immediately below the aircraft

• Provides absolute reading of altitude

• Operates over a max range of 0 – 5000 ft

• Display shown has a max reading of 2000 ft

 DOPPLER
• Transmits energy through 3 or 4 beams skewed to the front
and rear of the aircraft
• Radiated energy is reflected from the terrain
• Beams also detect lateral frequency difference from cross
wind

WEATHER
• Radiates energy in narrow beam reflected by clouds

• Beam width of approximately 3 deg and displays are typically

in color

• Transmitter operates at 9.345 GHz