blog 8.2 Air Traffic Control: Radars and Towers

 We all have seen them, that big tower that stands high above any airport/airfield. The reason its that tall is so the ATC (Air Traffic Control) personnel can see any aircraft either coming in or taking off. The world's tallest ATC tower is 493 feet tall and located in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand. These towers hold all of the equipment necessary for controllers to guide aircraft in and out of the airport. One of these tools is the radar, this tool allows controllers to see where aircraft are, their altitude, their distance, and their direction of travel.




Towers

Controllers can have all of the tools, radars, radios, etc. to help guide aircraft, but without being in an elevated position, the controllers might not be able to see where the aircraft is physical. This would make the job 10 times more stressful than it already is and the pilots won't be able to see where the controllers are in the event they need verification of saying their landing gear is deployed. Towers need to be tall enough to give the controllers a 360-degree view of not only the airfield but also the surrounding area.



Radars

A radar is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a device or system consisting usually of a synchronized radio transmitter and receiver that emits radio waves and processes their reflections for display and is used especially for detecting and locating objects (such as aircraft) or surface features (as of a planet)". Controllers have many different radars at their disposal, they have radars that show aircraft position, Weather radars, sometimes even a radar that shows movement on the ground. These radars come in very handy in all types of weather conditions but are especially useful during nighttime operations and in low visibility conditions such as heavy rain or fog.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6.2 discussion: the federal aviation act of 1958

Image
  WHAT IS THE FEDERAL AVIAITON ACT OF 1958? The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 created the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This act also gave sole responsibility for the nation's non-military air navigation and air traffic control. any regulation regarding aviation in the united states is called a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR). This was an act of congress which created the Federal Aviation Agency (now known as the FAA) and abolished the administration before it, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA). This act empowered the FAA to oversee and regulate safety in the aviation industry and the use of airspace by both civilian and military aircraft.  HOW DID IT START? The Federal Aviation Act was born out if the wreckage of two mid air collisions. One happened on July 30, 1956 when United Airlines flight 718 collided with TWA flight 2 over the grand canyon, resulting in 128 fatalities. This was the largest amount of fatalities in any aviation accident at the time. The ot...
Read more

blog 7.2 airport noise and the environment

Image
 It's as obvious as orange juice is the color orange (thanks CPT. Obvious), aircraft make a ton of noise, and when a large number of aircraft are at one airport in operation at once, that noise becomes louder and disrupt the local communities in the area. Noise presents a great risk to airport managers and must be mitigated, or face fines and or airport closures. What is noise? Noise, defined by Merriam-Webster, is  any sound that is undesired or interferes with one's hearing of something (Marriam-Webster, 2020) . How does airport noise affect local communities? High levels of noise can affect an individuals' hearing and prolonged exposure to high noise level can lead to hearing damage and even hearing loss. Airport noise can also interfere with the daily activities of local communities. According to the European Commission, airport noise pollution can increase blood pressure, your chance of a stroke, and your chances of coronary heart disease. High noise levels can also ...
Read more