Slide 2 Air Traffic Management Calie Giangi Slide 3 Agenda
Introduction to ATC Purpose Basic Services Generic Elements
Airspace ATC Structure ATC Operations Future of ATC Slide 4 Air
Traffic Control (ATC) Also known as air traffic management (ATM)
The purpose of ATC is to ensure the safe and efficient flow of air
traffic Slide 5 Four Basic Services Separation assurance ATC
controllers are responsible for keeping aircrafts separated from
each other, as well as from other hazards such as terrain or wake
vortices Flight information provide weather and airport condition
updates Search and rescue notifying and alerting proper agencies
about an aircraft in need Congestion management organizing traffic
flows into congested airports and airspace Slide 6 Generic Elements
of ATC System Slide 7 Communications System Commands/clearances are
issued to aircrafts Voice radio channels Network of ground stations
Range is limited to 100 nautical miles XM/Sirius are used to send
non-aircraft-specific data Slide 8 Generic Elements of ATC System
Navigation Systems ATC controllers ensure aircrafts fly a cleared
route En route Long-range coverage VHF omnidirectional range system
(VOR system) Limited to line of sight communication Stations
located at/near airports or on high ground Approach Higher
precision required Runway classification: non-instrument (visual)
vs. instrument Slide 9 Generic Elements of ATC System Surveillance
Systems ATC controller observes and monitors traffic situations
Position reporting crew communicates its position Radar currently
used for most domestic systems Primary Radars measure range by the
round-trip time of an interrogation pulse reflected off of the
aircraft Secondary Radars aircraft is equipped with a transponder
which receives and transmits an interrogation pulse along with an
ID code for the responding aircraft (ATC Radar Beacon System)
Direction (antenna) and altitude (ATCRBS) are also measured Slide
10 Generic Elements of ATC System Flight and Weather Information
Systems Flight plans are managed in a central flight data
processing system, distributed to various ATC facilities Increasing
number of computer-based decision support tools are being developed
to help controllers optimize the flow of traffic Current conditions
provided to pilots and ATC controllers Extensive weather
information systems generate and distribute general and
airport-specific forecasts and observations winds aloft forecasts
hazardous weather alerts pilot reports (PIREPS) Slide 11 Airspace
Controlled Traffic is supervised and managed by ATC Uncontrolled
Aircrafts not directly managed by ATC Military operations Airspace
is reserved for military Civilian aircrafts are prohibited from
entering or require permission from military authorities before
using it Slide 12 ATC Structure Ground Control Manages aircraft and
other vehicles on airport surface as they taxi to/from the runway
Tower Control Manages take off and landing Radius of about 5 miles
from the airport and 2500-3000 ft high Terminal Airspace Control
Manages descent, initial approach, and departure phases En
route/Center Control Manages traffic above and between terminal
airspace Oceanic/International Airspace Managed by International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Slide 13 ATC Operations
Human-centered contract process Controllers and flight crews
negotiate for access to airport or airspace resources ATC
controller observes traffic situation through surveillance system
Controller issues commands to aircraft Standard Operating
Procedures Altitude (east vs. west) Holding patterns to delay
aircraft in air when high traffic makes it difficult to move to the
next sector Priority for and equity of service (usually FCFS)
Emergencies/Equipment failures Slide 14 Future of ATC Systems Not
much room for growth in US Early plans include Increased use of
satellite navigation systems Surveillance systems based on ADS-B
Use of time as a control parameter in trajectory-based clearances
Broad information sharing through system-wide information
management Moving controllers to a more supervisory role and
shifting some ATC functions to the cockpit
