1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,160 During peak air travel times in the United States, there are about 5,000 airplanes in 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:14,040 the sky every hour, which is about 50,000 aircraft operating in our skies every day. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,040 From the time the plane pushes back from the gate, until it arrives at the gate of its 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:21,160 final destination, it is being handled by air traffic controllers. 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,000 These controllers must coordinate the movements of thousands of aircraft, keep them at safe 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,700 distances from each other, and direct them during takeoff and landing from airports. 7 00:00:29,700 --> 00:00:33,940 Air traffic controllers are also responsible for directing aircraft around bad weather, 8 00:00:33,940 --> 00:00:37,940 and ensuring that traffic flows with minimal delay for both commercial and private aircraft. 9 00:00:37,940 --> 00:00:42,580 I spoke with Gary Loro from NASA Langley to find out how it works. 10 00:00:42,580 --> 00:00:45,660 Air traffic controllers are primarily tasked with separating airplanes, however they do 11 00:00:45,660 --> 00:00:50,620 provide other services such as traffic advisories, weather information, and other status types 12 00:00:50,620 --> 00:00:53,860 of information for the National Airspace System. 13 00:00:53,860 --> 00:00:56,900 What are some of the tools used by air traffic controllers? 14 00:00:56,900 --> 00:01:00,740 The primary tool used by controllers for separation services is called RADAR, which 15 00:01:00,740 --> 00:01:02,940 stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. 16 00:01:02,940 --> 00:01:08,060 Essentially what happens is from an antenna, a radio beam is transmitted, it balances off 17 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:13,140 the aircraft, and is returned to the radar antenna, and there's a presentation on the 18 00:01:13,140 --> 00:01:17,020 radar display of what your position is based on that return. 19 00:01:17,020 --> 00:01:20,260 You can see behind us there's a display which is part of the radar system that controllers 20 00:01:20,260 --> 00:01:24,100 use, and your position as well as the position of other aircraft in the system will be presented 21 00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:29,220 on display and give the information the controller needs to provide air traffic services to you. 22 00:01:29,220 --> 00:01:32,780 So does one controller handle my plane while it's in the air? 23 00:01:32,780 --> 00:01:35,140 There are a number of controllers that will handle your flight as you move throughout 24 00:01:35,140 --> 00:01:36,140 the system. 25 00:01:36,140 --> 00:01:40,260 Once you depart, your flight will be handed off to yet another controller, and that process 26 00:01:40,260 --> 00:01:42,860 continues throughout the duration of your flight. 27 00:01:42,860 --> 00:01:46,660 The primary delineation of what a controller is responsible for in a radar environment 28 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:48,480 is called a sector. 29 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,880 So as a controller works you through his or her sector, you'll be transferred to another 30 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:54,640 sector where another controller will work you. 31 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,440 All right, so Gary, walk me through this. 32 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,280 What happens from departure to arrival, from gate to gate? 33 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,840 Assuming there aren't any delays, you'll taxi out to your departure runway, and there's 34 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,360 a controller that issues taxi instructions and de-conflicts you from other airplanes 35 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:09,360 on the ground. 36 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,880 There's a controller that will issue a takeoff clearance for you, and yet another controller 37 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,520 that will work you as you're climbing to your cruise altitude. 38 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,720 As a matter of fact, several controllers. 39 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,560 As airplanes move from one sector to the next, there's a transfer of what we call control, 40 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,480 and there's a transfer of communications, so that you'll be in communications with each 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,040 controller along the way. 42 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,840 This process continues all the way to your destination airport, and you may talk to 10 43 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,840 or 15 different controllers en route to your destination. 44 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,420 Prior to descending into the terminal area at your destination airport, there are several 45 00:02:39,420 --> 00:02:43,720 controllers involved in sequencing the inbound of that airport and assigning the arrival 46 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:45,160 runway. 47 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,760 Once you get there, you'll land, you'll taxi clear of the runway, and you'll be issued 48 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:49,760 taxi instructions. 49 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,200 They'll take you right to your gate, but that's basically how the process works. 50 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:54,200 Wow. 51 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,200 And I thought that the pilot was in control of the whole flight. 52 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,600 Well, the pilot is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of his or her airplane. 53 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,280 However, they are required to adhere to air traffic control instructions. 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,280 Just like when you're driving your car, there are certain signs along the way that basically 55 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,560 tell you what you're required to do. 56 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,560 As you get to a busy intersection, you may have to slow the car down. 57 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,880 If there's a red light, you have to stop, because you're trying to accommodate other 58 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:17,880 cars. 59 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:18,880 Because you're not the only car out there. 60 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,760 And that's pretty much the way your air traffic control system works. 61 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,640 There are control instructions that are issued because you're not the only airplane out there. 62 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:25,640 Do you get tickets? 63 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:26,640 Sometimes. 64 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:27,640 Sometimes. 65 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:34,800 So, in the future, will air traffic control be much different than it is today? 66 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:35,800 I think so. 67 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,600 We're, of course, not building more airports. 68 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,320 We're not building many more runways either, so we have to optimize the use of the facilities 69 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:42,320 that we currently have. 70 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,560 And to that end, NASA's looking at cutting edge concepts and technologies to make better 71 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,560 utilization of those facilities, both in terms of capacity, that is to say the number 72 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:56,760 of airplanes you can get in and out of an airport at a given time, and safety as well. 73 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,680 And these are just some of the concepts that have been explored by NASA and continue to 74 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:01,680 be explored. 75 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:02,680 Really? 76 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:03,680 I've got a question. 77 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:04,680 How do you change the channel on this? 78 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,360 I mean, do you have cable on this thing?