Carolyn C. Smith
Flying is now an important part of life and progress. In today’s society, airplanes, military aviation, and aeronautical industry are now taken for granted. It is quite strange to realize that at the beginning of the twentieth century these things were unheard of. Ever since two planes problems in the sky just as on the ground. Those problems have been eliminated through the development of the Air Traffic Control System. Who are the primary users of the airspace? They are classified as: 1) air carriers, 2) general aviation, and 3) military. Each of these users contains subcategories identified by various types of transportation application.
Air carriers provide scheduled service to the general public for hire. Air carriers put forth great efforts to meet their schedules on time at their predetermined arrival points. They follow the instrument flight rules at all times, regardless of the weather. There are three subcategories of the air carriers. The first one is the trunk air carrier which is the large jet aircraft. These usually travel in a range of 1000 miles or more with a minimum of 150 passengers. The second subcategory is the regional. These air carriers basically serve medium size communities with a flight distance between 500-1000 miles. Their flight time is about 1-2 hours with a passenger capacity of 125 or less. The third subcategory is referred to as the short haul air carrier. These carriers are also referred to as your commuter flights. Their main use is to satisfy the needs of both metropolitan and rural communities. The short haul service may operate into an existing city jet port or a central business-district landing facility. Our growing population along with suburban cities are calling for a large number of short haul air services.
General aviation is comprised of personal flying, business flying, commercial flying, and instructional flying. The progress of general aviation has been rapid due to encouragement and lack of restrictive regulations by the government.
The effect that military operations have on Air Traffic Control Systems all over the world is extremely varied. The reason for this is the priority of the operation. The military services usually provide their own air traffic control service within reserved areas. They also have their own airports. Military air traffic controllers in the United States meet qualifications similar to civilian controllers. The volume of military air traffic fluctuates according to the political situation at any given location and time. A form of military airspace reservation which is used extensively in the United States is the Central Altitude Reservation Facility (CARF). It is operated by the FAA with the full responsibility to coordinate and to approve altitude reservations in the airspace of the continental United States and its possessions. It also deals with the Air Traffic Control facilities of foreign countries.
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