8-2 Air Traffic Control Entities
For this week's blog, I am going to discuss the similarities and differences between ground and clearance delivery.
Ground is generally going to be the first person that you speak with when you are ready to move your airplane from parking to the runway, or run-up area. Essentially any time you want to move your airplane, you will want to talk to ground. If you are on an instrument flight plan, the first person you will speak with before you even move the aircraft, will be clearance delivery. This is because clearance delivery is the radio entity that provides you with your route clearance to get to your destination. Often times, you can get your clearance from ground, and vice versa. Also often times you are speaking with the same person, just on different frequencies. Once clearance delivery gives you clearance, you can coordinate with ground and receive your taxi instructions to your designated runway for your departure. Ground will watch you taxi where you need to go and insure there are no collisions. They also coordinate ground vehicles and maintenance personnel to ensure the ramp is running smoothly and efficiently.
At a class B airport, ground and clearance are significantly separated however at a smaller regional airport, ground clearance may all be the same frequency. Regardless of what airport they are at they need to work together to ensure that the airport is as safe as possible. Instructions from both clearance delivery and ground need to be specifically followed or they could be an aircraft mishap as well as suspension of license or revocation of license, etc.
References
Pilot’s handbook of aeronautical knowledge. (2016). U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Service.
Comments
Post a Comment