Air Traffic Control Entities

 

            When it comes to keeping our pilots, passenger and aircrafts safe, Air Traffic Controllers play a major role in accomplishing this on a daily basis. According the Federal Aviation Administration, approximately 14,000 Air Traffic Controllers manage about 45,000 daily flights and upwards of 5,000 flights during peak operational times.

    Gander Oceanic spans 905 nautical miles. Airspace covered is Controlled Airspace Class A above 5,500 ft and Uncontrolled Airspace Class G below. There are no radars in this area as there is nowhere to put them due to the massive area above water. The lack of radar coverage over the North Atlantic gave room to new methods of figuring out aircraft position. Pilots are required to give their position reports directly to Air Traffic Controllers via high frequency transmissions.

They are twenty two Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) in the United States, each responsible for a specific area of airspace. The purpose of ARTCC is to manage all aircraft traffic that enters the airspace it is responsible for, they are the controllers that communicate with the pilots of your flights en route from departure to destination airports. Aircrafts shift from one ARTCC to another as it makes way to its destination.

            A major difference between these two entities is how the aircrafts and pilots communicate their position to the Air Traffic Controllers. Over land transits, transponders are used via towers to transmit aircraft position. Aircrafts traversing the North Atlantic do not rely on line-of-sight but rely on high frequency transmissions to relay the aircraft position. At the end of the day, safety is the highest priority while getting the job done.

 

             

References

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers/#:~:text=Every%20day%2C%20FAA%20%27s%20Air%20Traffic%20Organization%20%28,an%20easy-to-reference%20source%20for%20relevant%20facts%20and%20information.

https://knowledgebase.ganderoceanic.ca/basics/first-principles/#flying-over-the-north-atlantic

https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/10-aviation-innovations.htm

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/air_traffic_services/artcc/jacksonville/overview

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/17_phak_ch15.pdf

  

WC 271.