Control of Aircraft — Page 337, Lesson 441

Let's pick up right where the radar service ends and move into the next major block of responsibility. We've just covered the SRA, the Surveillance Radar Approach, and I want to finish that thought before we step into aerodrome control. So, with the SRA, the radar controller passes you magnetic headings to fly, and corrections left or right to the extended centre line of the landing runway. Now, the key limitation here is the Radar Termination Range, the RTR. That's the range at which the radar service will be automatically terminated. Typically you'll see RTR2, which means the service terminates at 2 nautical miles from the threshold of the landing runway. If the RTR is 2, the controller passes distance information, along with advisory height information, every 1 nautical mile. If RTR1 is applicable, then range and height information is passed every 0.5 nautical mile. And just like PAR, the radar controller is responsible for obtaining a landing clearance from the aerodrome controller and passing it to you, the pilot. The approach plate for the SRA approach to Gatwick is shown in Figure 17.5. Now we move into a whole new area of responsibility: Aerodrome Control. This is Section 17.18. The introduction here is crucial. The responsibility for avoiding collisions involving aircraft, obstacles, vehicles, and personnel on or in the air in the vicinity of an aerodrome rests with the aerodrome controller. That's a heavy responsibility, and it's the foundation of everything the aerodrome controller does. At a 'controlled aerodrome' — and I'll come back to that definition — the aerodrome controller usually operates from the visual control room, the VCR, situated at the top of the control tower. The VCR normally allows the aerodrome controller to see all parts of the aerodrome, but it may also have electronic aids to assist the controller when visibility is poor or at night. Now, the primary duty of the aerodrome controller is to control access to the runway in use. That's the core of the job. The nature of the service offered is procedural. What does that mean? It means the pilot tells the aerodrome controller where the aircraft is, and the controller bases any instructions or clearances on that information. So the controller isn't necessarily seeing you on radar; they're relying on your position report. For departing aircraft, the aerodrome controller will give a take-off clearance — and that's where the excerpt cuts off, so we'll pick that up next. Let me make sure you've got the key terms locked in. RTR, Radar Termination Range, with RTR2 meaning termination at 2 NM from the threshold, and RTR1 meaning range and height passed every 0.5 NM. The VCR, the visual control room, at the top of the tower. And the primary duty: controlling access to the runway in use, with a procedural service where the pilot reports position and the controller acts on that. That's the foundation of aerodrome control.