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March 16, 2001
"Just look at all those planes!"
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Louisville International Airport
Air Traffic Control Tower Tour
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This month we had the rare opportunity to tour the Air Traffic Control Tower at Louisville's airport. Changed from Standiford Field in 1995, the Louisville International Airport serves 3.7 million passengers annually with over 180,000 air operations each year. LIA handles the 10th largest amount of cargo in the world, with 60 percent of the air operations being UPS flights. That makes its cargo capacity nearly equal to O’Hare in Chicago. The airport celebrated its 50th anniversary as a commercial airport in 1997. Shown to the left is a chart of the number of arrivals per hour within a 24 hour period. Each day, 16 airlines with around 150 passenger flights travel through the airport.
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| In mid-1997, the new air traffic control tower was completed. Abel Construction was contracted to construct all structural and flat concrete for the tower and base. The concrete is supported by rebarb. The tower is 22 stories, 270 feet and cost $12.8 million. The Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) is equipped with the latest technology. Systems include the Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-9), the Integrated Communications Switching System (ICSS) and D-Brite radar display. The Louisville Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) monitors arriving and departing aircraft on runways and other surface areas of the airport. Two separate computer complexes perform the dual functions. The Louisville TRACON is one of 173 Federal Aviation Administration radar approach facilities nationwide providing air traffic services for aircraft arriving and departing. This area extends to a radius of about 30 miles around an airport.
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The Louisville TRACON controls approximately 10,000 square miles of airspace. It shares common boundaries with the Memphis and Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Centers, Lexington Approach, Cincinnati Approach and Evansville Approach. It also shares boundries with one military facility, Godman Army Airfield.
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Air traffic controllers at the Louisville TRACON handle about 1,000 daily aircraft operations. In 1999, the TRACON handled over 300,000 operations. Its control room can accommodate up to 10 operational positions.
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Night view from the Louisville's Air Traffic Control Tower.
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| Evans Consoles, Inc. has been chosen to supply specialized console furniture for up to 61 United States FAA Automated Flight Service Stations, including Louisville.
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The staff consists of 87 people. 24 are assigned to Airway Facilities, including 19 system specialists who maintain and certify the equipment. Additionally, 54 controllers and 9 management, supervisory and support personnel are assigned to provide 24-hour coverage at the facility, 365 days a year.
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The Common Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS) IIIA being used to support Op Eval-2 is a radar computer system that helps air traffic controllers track and direct aircraft in the airspace surrounding an airport. The ARTS helps accomplish tasks automatically that were originally performed manually.
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The Louisville ATCT has two Digital Bright Radar Indicator Tower Equipment (DBRITE) systems that provide tower controllers with a visual display of the airport radar/beacon signals and data received from the ARTS. The DBRITE is a high-intensity display that can be seen by the tower controller even in bright daylight. It provides the tower controller with an air traffic control tool that displays important aircraft position, identification, radar beacon, and weather information.
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ASR-9 Radar |
View from the tower. |
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Despite cold, wet weather, around 40 people were able to join us for this event. This is the type of participation we love to see in the club. We thank everyone for their enthusiasm and attendance and hope this is a growing trend so we can schedule even more exciting events.We also wish to thank Buddy Sohl for arranging this rare tour of the Air Traffic Control Tower. This was a super, special event!
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