FAA ATC system and NAS

FAA MISSION

Provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

Regions

9 Regions

• 9 regional offices and the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in OK

ATO (Air Traffic Organization)

Is responsible for ensuring the safety, efficiency, and security of air traffic operations across the entire National Aerospace System (NAS)

• Under the Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Air Traffic Service Areas

3 Service Areas

• Western

• Central

• Eastern

RESPONSIBLE FOR:

• En Route Services

• Terminal Services

• Capabilities

• Performance Metrics

• Finances

• Administrative Communication

• organization Communication

• overall services

• Operations Measure

ATC System

Primary purpose:

• prevent a collision between aircraft operating in the system

• Provide a safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of traffic

• Provide support for National Security and Homeland Defense

Positive Control

The separation of all air traffic within designated airspace by ATC

ATC provides positive control among aircraft under its control.

STANDARDS: are established by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

DESIGNATED IN:

• miles

• Altitude (feet)

• Minutes

Duty Priority

Separate aircraft and issue safety alerts

Other Duties

Support National Security

Provide and Solicit Weather

Provide additional services

Procedural Preference

Automated Procedures:

Over non-automation procedures When workload, communications, and equipment capabilities permit

Radar Separation:

Over non-radar when it will be an operational advantage and workload, communications, and equipment permit.

Nonradar Separation:

Over radar when an operational advantage will be gained.

Operational Priority

1- Good judgment must be used in each situation to facilitate the most expeditious movement priority aircraft

2- ATC service is provided to aircraft on a “first come, first served” basis as circumstances permit, EXCEPT

• aircraft in Distress

• Civilian air ambulance flights (MEDEVAC)

• Presidential aircraft

• SAR (search & rescue)

• Special military and civilians operations

• Flight check aircraft

• Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft over Special Visual Rules (SVR) aircraft

• Diverted flights

Additional services

• Are advisory info provided by ATC

• NOT optional

Air Traffic Control Facility Types

• Flight Service Station FSS

• Terminal ATC facilities

  • Airport Traffic Control Towers ATCT

  • Terminal Radar Approach Controls TRACON

• Air Route Traffic Control Center ARTCC (En Route facilities)

Complexity

Organizational structure of ea ATC facility varies depending on complexity

• determined by many factors

  • # of aircraft operations a facility handles

  • Runway configuration

Facility Classification

Factors that determine a facility’s level

• traffic volume

• Fleet mix

• Proximity to airports

• Class of airspace

• Terrain

• # of runways

• Runway configuration

Air Traffic Facility Organization (ATO) Chart

Controller-In-Charge (CIC) assumes operational responsibilities for the Operational Supervisor (OS) when a supervisor is unavailable

CENTERS are divided into AREAS then subdivided into SECTORS

Four basic positions in an FSS ( Flight Service Station)

1) Flight Data/ NOTAM Coordinator :

• compile, evaluate, record, and disseminate NOTAMs and flight movement data

• Initiate required SAR situations

2) Broadcast :

• compile, evaluate, record and disseminate weather and flight info through the Automatic Flight Information Service (AFIS - Alaska only)

3) Preflight:

• brief and translate to pilots:

  • current and forecast weather

  • NOTAMs

  • Flow control restrictions that the pilot might encounter along the route of flight

• Apply VFR Not Recommended procedures as prescribed

4) Inflight:

• provides services to airborne pilots

Terminal Facilities Types

• ATCTS (Towers) - provide ATC service to aircraft operating on or in the vicinity of the airport

• TRACONs - provide radar service to arriving, departing , and some en route aircraft

Airport Control Tower (ATCT) services

(terminal facility)

Controllers:

• use air/ground communications, visual signaling, and other devices to provide ATC services to aircraft operating in the vicinity of or an airport

• Authorize aircraft to land or take off at the airport controlled by the tower or to transit tower-controlled airspace

• May also provide approach control services (radar or nonradar)

ATCT 6 positions:

1- flight data:

• assists the other air traffic controllers and performs clerical duties

• Compiles statistical data

2- Clearance Delivery (CD):

• Normally the FIRST controller a pilot talks to when departing and airport

3- Ground Control (GC):

• responsible for ensuring that aircraft are separated from other aircraft, ground vehicles and obstructions while taxiing

4- Local control (LC)

• Responsible for separating and providing safety alerts to aircraft in the airspace surrounding the airport and aircraft on the active runways

5- Tower Coordinator:

• Works to ensure that the overall operation is at its greatest capacity while maintaining safety standards

• Managing traffic flow

6- Tower Associate

• “assistant” to either or both of the “Tower positions” including monitoring the situation for anything Local or Ground may NOT be aware of

Terminal Radar Approach Controls (TRACONs) Facility

An ATC facility that uses radar and nonradar capabilities to provide control services to aircraft arriving, departing, and transiting airspace in a terminal areas

• may serve one or more airfields, and control is exercised primarily by direct pilot and controller communications

• TRACONs are divided into SECTORS of airspace

Combined ATCT / TRACON - in smaller metro areas, the TRACON may be located within or near the same structure as the Tower for the primary airport it serves =

“Up/Down Facility”

No TRACON- the ARTCC (Air Route Traffic Control Center provides approach control services

Terminal Radar Team

the team as a whole has responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of that facility/sector

Four Basic Positions

1- Flight Data:

• similar to tower

  • processing and forwarding flight plan info

  • Compiling statistical data

2- Radar Associate

• ensure separation

3- Radar Controller

• Uses the radar display and air-to-ground frequencies to separate and sequence aircraft in the sector’s airspace

4- Radar Coordinator

• perform INTERfacility/ sector/ position coordination of traffic actions

• Advise the radar position and the Radar Associate position of facility/sector actions required to accomplish the safe and efficient operation of the sector

• Perform and of the functions of the radar team that will assist in meeting situation objectives

Radar Position: has the responsibility of managing the overall sector operations, including radar separation and traffic flows

Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ATCC)

Facility commonly referred to as a center. Provides en route ATC service to IFR/ VFR aircraft principally during en route phase of flight

• En Route phase flight: the segment of flight between departure and destination terminal areas

center divide into area divide into sectors

En Route Sector Team

4 Basic positions in the ARTCC

1- Radar Flight Data :

• responsible for compiling statistical data and forwarding flight plan

2- Radar Associate

• often called “D side”

• Ensure seperaration

• Initiate control instructions

• Managing flight strip info

• Assisting the radar position w coordination

3- Radar

• often called “R side”

• Communicates directly w the aircraft and uses radar info as the primary means of separation

  4- Radar Coordinator

• - referred to as “Tracker” of “Handoff controller”

• Perform INTERfacility/ INTRAfacility/ sector/ position coordination of traffic actions

Traffic Management (TM) System

Mission: to balance air traffic DEMAND with system CAPACITY to ensure the Mac efficient utilization of the National Airspace (NAS)

Managing the flow

Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) monitors and manages the flow of air traffic through the NAS

Traffic Management Units (TMU) monitor and balance traffic flows within their area of responsibility in accordance w traffic management directives

Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI)

Are techniques used to manage demand w capacity in the NAS

TYPES:

• Altitude:

  • Tunneling: traffic will be descended prior to the normal descent point at the arrival airport to remain clear of an airspace situation

  • Capping: aircraft will be cleared to an altitude lower than their requested altitude until they are clear of a particular airspace

• Miles-in-Trail (MIT) or Minutes-in Trail (MINIT) :

  • MIT is the number of miles required between aircraft that meet specific criteria, such as similar operating speeds

  • MINIT is the number of minutes required between successive aircraft

• Fix Balancing or Airborne Holding

  • Fix Balancing is assigning and aircraft a fix other than in the field flight plan in the arrival or departure phase of the flight to distribute the demand

  • Airborne holding is planned holding normally done when the operating environment supports holding and the weather conditions are expected to improve shortly

• Sequencing Programs

  • designed to achieve a specified interval between aircraft

    • assigns a departure time that to achieve a constant flow of traffic over a common point

    • En route sequencing assigns a departure time that will facilitate intervention in the en route stream

    • Assigns fix crossing times to aircraft destined to the same airport

• Reroutes

  • routings other than the filed flight plan

  • Ensure aircraft “flow”

  • Remain clear of Special Use Airspace (SUA)

  • Avoid congest airspace

  • Avoid areas of known weather or where aircraft are deviating or refusing to fly

• Ground Delay Programs (GDP)

  • aircraft are held on the ground in order to manage

  • Capacity and demand at a specific location be assigning arrival slots

  • Aircraft’s are assigned an Expect Departure Clearance Time (EDCT)

• Ground Stops (GSs)

  • override all other traffic management initiatives

  • Most restrictive method

  • Aircraft must not be released w/o the approval of the originator of the GS

National Airspace System (NAS)

Is the airspace navigation facilities, and airports of the US along with their associated info, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel, and equipment

Current NAS modernization program is known as NextGen

NAS components

• airspace and Routes

• Navigational Aids (NAVAIDs)

• Airport and Landing Areas

• Aeronautical Charts

• Rules, Regulations, and Procedures

• Personnel and Equipment

Airspace

• Class A : airspace is reserved for high altitude travel en route from airport to airport

• Class B: airspace surrounds the nation’s busiest airport

Air Traffic Service (ATS) Routes

Term used to identify the various types of routes and airways used by pilots for navigation.

• VOR Airways and RNAV Tango Routes: used for navigation below 18,000 feet mean sea level (MSL)

• Jet and RNAV Q Routes: used for navigation between Flight Level (FL) 180 and FL 450

NAVAIDs (Navigational AIDS)

Used for:

• navigate from point to point

• Provide approach aids landing

Can be:

• ground based

• Satellite-based

Primary NAVAIDs for the nations airway:

• VOR

• VORTAC

Tupes of Flight Rules

• Visual Flight Rules (VFR)

• Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)

VFR/IFR describe:

• flight rules that pilots must follow

• Flight plans that pilots should file

• Weather conditions

Visual Flight Rules (VFR)

Conducting flight under visual conditions.

• aircraft must remain clear of clouds to ensure good visibility

Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)

Govern the procedures for conducting instrument flight.

Under IFR:

• ATC maintains separation from other aircraft, terrain, and man-made objects on the ground

IFR is required when weather conditions are below VFR minimums

• pilots must be IFR certified