post 6

Last Friday, I was driving from the Aerospace Institute to Hawken for track practice when I noticed something that I thought was amazing. One part of the simulation that they have the OAI is known as TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control). In TRACON, you work to vector planes and get them set up to approach the runway, guiding them so that they are lined up with the runway, going the correct speed, and are flying at the correct altitude. It is important to keep the planes at least 3 miles apart when they are approaching the runway and that they are separated by at least 1000 feet vertically. When it is done correctly one should have all of the planes lined up several miles away from the airport travelling about 200 knots at 3000ft with 3 miles in between each plane that is in line to land. If there are large gaps between planes, some planes will make a turn in order to fill in these gaps rather than getting in the back of the line. When going from OAI to Hawken, I travel on 480 and go right past the airport, so I often get to see planes coming in for a landing as I am driving. It was a very clear day on Friday, barely a cloud in the sky, so I was able to see planes lined up for their approach to Cleveland Hopkins. I saw two that looked to be pretty close to each other, and thought to myself “I wonder if they are 3 miles apart and/or 1000 feet vertically separated.” I also noticed a few planes maneuvering their way into line, turning in order to get in between two other planes. I thought that it was really cool to witness something on my drive to Hawken that was so relevant to what I am doing for my senior project.