Blog 8.2 Air Traffic Control Entities

The two air traffic control entities that I am choosing to discuss compare and contrast are air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) and terminal radar approach control (TRACON). I found both of these entities to hold vast differences in their everyday function as well as similarities in working together in everyday life. 

There are currently 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) located in major hubs across the United States, the purpose of these ARTCCs is to provide air traffic control services to aircraft operating on instrument flight rule (IFR) within controlled airspace (FAA, n.d.). ARTCCs have direct communication capabilities with IFR air traffic within their given vicinity which can range for hundreds of miles. Through this, ARTCCs provide flight plans, en route weather, and weather forecasts (Flyers, 2020). Because ARTCCs are divided into sectors, they each have their own frequency used for communications with aircraft within their sectors (Flyers, 2020).

There are currently over a hundred Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities throughout the United States. These facilities provide guidance to aircraft departing and approaching airports using radar and air-to-ground communications (Flyers, 2020). TRACONs typically only handle aircraft within their local vicinity. To further clarify, TRACONs do not handle landings and takeoffs but they handle sfae seperation and departure from airspaces (NASA, n.d.).

Both ARTCCs and TRACONs function to provide air traffic services to aircraft within their given sector, and because TRACONS control aircraft going into and out of local HUB airspaces, they pass off and recieve aircraft through ARTCCs.

Something that sets ARTCCs apart from TRACONs is that they handle aircraft at much further distances, covering hundreds of miles worth of sector rather than just within the local vicinity (approximately 50 miles from the tower). In addition to this they handle flights at higher altitudes typically above twenty four thousand feet rather than ten thousand (NASA, n.d.) .

References

Craig Freudenrich, P. D. (2022, August 24). How air traffic control works. HowStuffWorks Science. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm#:~:text=Air%20Traffic%20Control%20System%20Command,one%20ARTCC%20for%20each%20center.

Federal Aviation Adinistration, F. A. A. (n.d.). Air Traffic Services. Gen 3.3 air traffic services. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aip_html/part1_gen_section_3.3.html

Flyers, A. (2020, February 13). Air Traffic Control. American Flyers Airline and Flight Training School. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://americanflyers.com/air-traffic-control/

NASA. (n.d.). How Air Traffic Control Works. How ATC works Today. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://hsi.arc.nasa.gov/groups/AOL/downloads/HowATCworksToday.pdf