![]() I had never visited an ARTCC before seeing all of the ATC activity up-close and personal was exciting and gave me a new appreciation for the work that air traffic controllers do to manage and keep flights safe around the country. To the side, we noticed large wall-mounted TV monitors which were repeating loops of national weather, airport delays, and special notices. Memphis ARTCC: Learn How En-Route Control Centers OperateĪfter passing through screening at the guard gate and being issued FAA guest ID badges, we were taken into the central ARTCC room, a large room filled with row after row of radar pallets and computer screens. These distances vary depending on the equipment and procedures used in providing ATC services. Controllers adhere to a set of separation standards that define the minimum distance allowed between aircraft. En-route controllers also provide air traffic control services to many smaller airports around the country, including clearance off of the ground and clearance for approach to an airport. En-route air traffic controllers issue clearances and instructions for airborne aircraft. While every airport varies, terminal controllers usually handle traffic in a 30-to-50-nautical-mile radius from the airport.Ģ) En-Route, Center, Or Area Control: Airspace in the United States is divided into sections which are assigned an ATC control facility. Many airports have a radar control facility that is associated with the airport, called TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) in the United States. ATC Background InformationĪir traffic control in the United States is divided into two categories:ġ) Airport Control: The areas of responsibility for Tower (TWR) controllers fall into three general operational disciplines local control or air control, ground control, and flight data/clearance delivery. Images below were not taken during our visit to Memphis as per FAA ATC regulations regarding photography. Plan ahead and call to see if and when they are available to give a tour. In short, making a visit to ATC well worth it, but does require prior arrangement. To be in the tower for a series of FedEx arrivals, they asked us to show up at about 8:30am. Upon calling Memphis Tower, they asked that we visit the next morning, a Tuesday, since FedEx doesn't fly on Mondays and the Memphis International Airport was extremely quiet that day. You cannot simply walk to the front door and expect to receive a tour - To see what their availability is, call beforehand to see if and when a tour might be available.įortunately, Memphis ATC wasn't too busy that afternoon, so we were permitted a visit - We suddenly had some exciting aviation plans for the day! A director of the Memphis Center greeted us on the phone and asked us to arrive at about 5:30pm in the afternoon he gave us the address and told us that he'd give the guard station our names to avoid confusion. Dependent upon the state of national security, your status as a citizen, and the state of workload at ATC, to visit an ATC facility requires a prior arrangement. As we drove, Rod had the great idea of calling both the Memphis ARTCC (Air Route Traffic Control Center) and Memphis Tower for tours. Plan AheadĪfter we landed in Jonesboro, Arkansas (KJBR), Rod and I drove an hour into Memphis, where there was a little more to do, for an overnight stay. Little did I know, later that day I would meet the controller I helped out with the relay message. ![]() For the first time, I was exposed to relaying a message for ATC, helping another aircraft contact center control on the correct frequency. Along our route of flight, we were in contact with Atlanta, Houston, and Memphis Center. Sure, I had done cross country flights in rented Cessna 172s with VFR flight following, but this felt a lot more intense - being in a corporate King Air on a passenger-carrying flight.
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