Air traffic control is an exciting, interesting, exacting, and high paying career open to anyone with a willingness to study, learn, and work hard. It can be a difficult profession to enter, but the rewards are worth it! This book is an attempt to inform you about all the different careers available. It acts as a primer concerning the basic principles and practices of air traffic control. This book will make you a better-informed applicant or student of the profession. LaRue’s and Nolan's practical approach to the field and comprehensive coverage of difficult-to-understand concepts is key in providing you with a decisive advantage in reaching your goals of becoming an air traffic controller. They each bring years of experience as a professor, FAA traffic air controller, and pilot to the subject. Unlike other books, which focus only on reciting rules and regulations, this book focuses on teaching you how the air traffic control system works and the rationale for why the system functions as it does. In short, this book will give you a solid foundation in air traffic control. FEATURES Explanation of employment process Practical explanation of all ATC areas Covers difficult-to-understand ATC terms and procedures Authored by university professors with years of practical experience Clear illustrations and photographs End of chapter questions and discussions Instructor supplemental materials

Presents an overview of the AC rating to include aviation weather; air navigation and aids to air navigation; military aircraft characteristics and performance; airport lighting, markings, and equipment; air traffic control equipment; airspace classification; flight assistance services; general flight rules and IFR/SVFR control procedures; control tower operations; radar operations; shipboard operations; and facility operations. Reviews air traffic control operator technical knowledge with emphasis on technical knowledge associated with supervisory performance such as air traffic control training certification, plans, reports, flight inspections, and required resources as well as aircraft accidents and incidents.

TRB has released the final version of Special Report 314: The Federal Aviation Administration’s Approach for Determining Future Air Traffic Controller Staffing Needs that examines the methods used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to estimate how many controllers are needed to staff its air traffic control facilities and its processes for using these estimates to properly distribute controllers across facilities. According to the report, the FAA’s models for determining air traffic controller staffing needs are suitable for developing initial estimates of the number of controllers required at terminal areas and airport towers, but the models used for the centers controlling aircraft en route between airports can be improved. In addition, as a matter of priority, the FAA should collaborate with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to develop and implement an enhanced tool for all facilities that is capable of creating efficient controller work schedules that incorporate fatigue mitigation strategies. The report recommends that the FAA analyze a wide range of data, such as accident and incident reports and voluntary reports by controllers, to identify relationships between staffing and safety. In addition, the controller workforce should be involved in staffing decisions, particularly as knowledge emerges about relevant safety issues. The FAA also should ensure that staffing continues to be appropriate as it implements the new air traffic operations environment associated with the Next Generation Transportation System, a modernization initiative to shift air traffic management from ground-based radar to a satellite system, the report says. A press release on the report is available for download. A report summary has been published in TR News 297.

TRB Special Report 301: Air Traffic Controller Staffing in the En Route Domain: A Review of the Federal Aviation Administration's Task Load Model examines the structure, empirical basis, and validation methods of a Federal Aviation Administration model that estimates the time controllers spend performing tasks when handling en route traffic. The model's task load output is being used to inform workforce planning. The committee that developed the report concluded that the model is superior to past models because it takes into account traffic complexity when estimating task load. However, the report recommends that more operational and experimental data on task performance be obtained to establish and validate many key model assumptions, relationships, and parameters.