![]() This position was formerly known as the Terminal Control Area (TCA). ![]() Next we toured the Class Bravo Airspace controller’s console. Multi-function display on its most common screen, showing runway configuration, current ATIS and METAR, among other information. This can be very time consuming and can quickly bog down the frequency used for clearances. In cases where the flight plan needs to be amended such as during bad weather, the controller at this position must read the new clearance off to the crew for each flight that needs to be changed. Once an aircraft pushes back from the gate, this strip is passed off to the ground controller. Meanwhile, the controller pops the printed strip into a reusable plastic holder. They in turn will approve (or deny in certain cases) the flight plan and the dispatcher will sent the approved plan to the aircraft where it will be loaded into the computer either automatically or manually depending on the airline. Typically, a flight’s dispatcher will submit the flight plan, known as “the strip” (so named because of the strip of paper on which it is printed) to the clearance delivery controller. This is where departing aircraft have their route clearances issued. Controllers can easily see and hear everything going on in the tower from this centrally located position, in addition to having individual displays which allow them to keep track of the big picture.įollowing our introductions, we headed over to the clearance delivery console. ![]() From here, the supervisor is in the middle of the action with remaining controller positions spread around the outer perimeter of the tower cab. Upon reaching the top, we entered the core of the tower cab where tower supervisors work. Even during mid-afternoon on a bright and sunny day, it was downright dark inside. Each window had double-layered and retractable light-dimming shades in a neutral grey tone, while lighting was tightly focused on specific areas and was capable of being carefully shuttered to only illuminate necessary areas. The management of light - crucial for the preservation of the controllers vision - was carefully planned. As we climbed the stairs into the tower cab, it felt as if we were entering a subterranean command center not a glass-walled room atop a tower over 300 feet tall. ![]() Photo by David Abbey.Īfter a few minutes we were on our way upstairs to experience the life of a tower controller first hand. The supervisor’s console, on the right, overlooking the Ground and Local consoles. Given the level of stress that can come with controlling many aircraft in and out of a busy airspace, it was nice to see that accommodations were made to allow those working some amount of relaxation while on their breaks. Exiting, we were greeted not by the tower cab itself but by a small floor with facilities for the controllers to use while on their breaks. We headed over to the elevator and took it as high as it would go: the 23rd floor. John explained to us the surprisingly vast scope of responsibility held by the controllers working there, which we were about to experience first hand upstairs in the tower cab. We proceeded into the base of the tower, and received a brief introduction to the facility from John Savarese, the facility’s Operations Manager. ![]() When we arrived, we first cleared gate security and then were met by our host, local NATCA president Ray Adams. The controllers’ responsibilities there include not only shepherding the airport’s own traffic through congested airspace, but monitoring and controlling a huge amount of air traffic that is passing through its designated airspace. NYCAviation recently had a chance to visit one of the nation’s busiest control towers at Newark Liberty International Airport. If the airplanes are the life blood of an airport’s operation, the brains are its air traffic control tower. ![]()
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