Ground lesson 5 - Communications & sources of flight information

Radar and ATC services  

• Radar
• Uses a synchronized radio transmitter and receiver to emit radio waves and processes their reflection for display
• Primary radar
• Ground based system used by ATC which transmits radio waves in a narrow beam by rotation antenna
• When the radio waves strike your aircraft, some of the are reflected back to the antenna

• Range of your aircraft is determined by measuring the time it takes to reach your aircraft and return
• Secondary radar
• Incorporates 3 components in addition to primary radar; decoder, an interrogator, and a transponder

• Transponder operation
• Basis for radar separation
• Must be tested every 24 months for operations in controlled airspaces
• Avoid codes 7500, 7600, 7700
• 7500 → hijacking (seven fife, he’s got a knife)
• 7600 → radio failure ( seven six, hearing nix)
• 7700 → emergency ( seven seven, going to heaven)

• FAA radar systems
• Airport surveillance radar
• Direction and coordination of IFR traffic within specific terminal areas 
• Approach and departure control manage traffic at airports with ASR
• Designed to provide relatively short-range coverage in the airport vicinity

• Air route surveillance radar 
• Long-range radar equipment used in controlled airspace to manage traffic 

• Can monitor aircraft's flying within a 200-mile radius of the antenna, some up to 600-miles

• VFR radar services
• Radar traffic information service
• Alert you to air traffic relative to your flight (flight following)

• Safety alerts
• Issued when, in the controllers judgement, safety may be compromised

• Radar assistance to VFR aircrafts 
• Navigation service, or vectors
• Keep the controller advised of your weather conditions

• Terminal VFR radar service
• Extends the terminal radar services for IFR aircraft to VFR aircraft
• 4 type: basic, terminal, class B, and class C radat services
• Class B and C services are mandatory

• Automated terminal information service (ATIS)
• Prerecorded and broadcast continuously on its own frequency 
• Atis is updated when airport conditions change or when any official weather is received

• Flight service station (FSS)
• Provides a variety of service to pilots, including weather briefing, enroute communication, and VFR search and rescue services
• Also assists lost aircraft's, and aircraft's in emergency situations 
• Receives and process flight plans, monitors NAVAIDS, and much more

• VHF direction finder assistance
• If you get disoriented in a cross country flight in Alaska or certain areas of the continental united states where there is no radar coverage, FSS specialist may be able to locate your aircraft with a VHF direction finder 
• Aircraft only need VHF transceiver 

Radio procedures

• VHF communication equipment
• Very high frequency range
• Includes frequencies between 118.0 MHz and 135.975 MGz

• Communications radios are classified according to the number of channels they were designed to accommodate
• Limited to line of sight

• Using the radio
• Speak in a professional manner
• Stay brief not to congest the radio
• Think of what you want to say before transmitting, and listen not to transmit over another person
• Phonetic alphabet

• Coordinated universal time (Zulu)
• Places the whole world on one time standard (longitude 0, greenwich)
• Since a flight may cross several time-zones, it would be confusing to estimate the arrival time at your destination using only local time at the departure airport
• Aviation uses 24 hour clock system

• Common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF)
• To increase safety at airports without control towers, it is important to transmit and receive traffic info on a common frequency 
• At many airports you can receive airport advisories, and use pilot controlled lighting 
• Three way to broadcast your intentions and receiving airport and traffic info at uncontrolled airports
• UNICOM
• Aeronautical advisory station, air/ground communication station
• You can request an airport advisory

• FSS
• Self announcement broadcast

• Make your initial call when you are 10NM from the airport
• Report entering the downwind

• ATC facilities and controlled airports
• Establish communication as you approach an airport 
• Initial callup should include name of facility, full aircraft ID, type of message or request, position and altitude 
• If you hear an ATC clearance and don't understand everything in the clearance, request clarification
• When given a clearance, read back clearance
• Radar facility 
• Departure procedure
• At controlled airports, you must receive permission from ATC to taxi to the active runway and to takeoff

• Clearance delivery 
• Established at busy airports primarily for ATC to relay IFR clearances 
• When ATIS message so indicates, you should contact clearance delivery  prior to taxi
• Your call should include your number and aircraft type, VFR or IFR, current ATIS, Destination or direction of flight

• Ground control
• Directs the movement of aircraft's and other vehicles on the airport surface

• Control tower
• Controls aircraft's wanting to takeoff and approach the airport

• Departure control 
• Can provide radar contract (flight following)

• Arrival procedure 
• Approach control provides separation and sequencing of inbound aircraft, traffic advisories, and safety alerts
  

• Lost communication procedures
• Two way radio must be established before entering class D airspace
• If loss of communication is confirmed, squawk 7600
• Continue transmitting in case they can hear you
• If neither transmitter or receiver is working, maintain outside of the airspace until you determine the direction and flow of traffic, once complete, enter the pattern and look at the tower for light gun signals
• Emergency procedures
• Can be either distress or an urgency condition
• Distress can be
• Threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and requiring immediate assistance 
• Fire, mechanical failure, structural failure

• Urgency can be
• Doubtful of your position, fuel endurance, weather, or anything that can affect safety
• Request assistance, don't wait until the situation develops into a distress condition
• You can also squawk 7700 on your transponder

• If you are lost, use the 5 C’s
• Climb, communicate, confess, comply, and conserve

• Emergency frequency on 121.5

• Emergency locator transmitters (ELTs)
• Emergency signaling device developed as a means of locating downed aircraft's 
• Designed to activate automatically 
• Battery must be replaced or recharged after its half life

Sources of flight information

• Chart directory
• Shows airport information including 
• Terminal Procedures Publication
• Airport sketches
• Runway info 
• NAVAIDs
• Communications data
• Weather data sources
• Airspace, special notices
• VFR waypoints
• Airport Diagrams and operational procedures

• Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)
• Code of federal regulations (CFR)
• Fuel Requirements
• Enough to reach your final destination + 30 minutes

• Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)
• Basic flight info and ATC procedures

• Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs)
• General
• Information that could affect the pilots go/no-go decision 
• Contains info like
• Runway closure
• Hazardous activity 
• Obstacles 
• Nav aid status
• Landing operations
• Valid for 28 days unless canceled earlier

• Five types 
• Notam (D)
• Such data as taxiway closures, personnel and equipment near or crossing runways, and airport lighting aids(VFR)

• Notam (fdc)
• Amendments to published IAPs and other current aeronautical charts. They are also used to advertise temporary flight restrictions

• Notam (pointer)
• Highlight or point out another NOTAM

• Notam (SAA)
• SAA will be active outside the published schedule times

• Notam (military)

• Advisory circulars
• General
• Issued by the faa as a systematic way to deliver non regulatory material of interest such as wake turbulence
• Also endorsements

•  Numbering system
• 20 - aircraft
• 60 - airmen
• 70 - airspace
• 90 - air traffic