OPERATION RAINCHECK

    Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center (otherwise known as LA Center)

    Location: Ave. P, Palmdale, CA
    SATURDAY JUNE 17, 1995
    After an overcast and unusual rainy second week of June, the last thing I was looking forward to was waking up at 5.45 am Saturday morning!

    I was delightfully surprised for being offered a ride by Marty Muller. His son Jason and Arthur Toy joined and the four of us departed Santa Monica. We were lucky! The day turned out to be clear and sunny and traffic on Freeway 5 a smooth flow. Talking ab out our flying experiences filled up the 1 1/2 hour travel time to Palmdale. LA Center was impossible to miss! Two giant black fighter planes welcome you to the site! After clerance at the gate and receiving our visitor passes, we even began to sport a V IP grin on our faces.

    Our group of about 20 was to join up with another group almost the same size for a classroom session. A young couple (Todd & Dana Whitman) were to be our Controller/Instructor for the day and breifed us on the day's agenda.
    We were all given an FAA Operation Raincheck Manual and were told what to do in an event of an earthquake and why we should not mind the asbestos problem in the building! Our Controller Todd was young, energetic, patient and helpful. He started us by a Video Overview of a PSA flight from LAX to San Francisco and back. The 1/2 hour video was a little out of date, but still informative and interesting. It introduced the viewer to the Corridor Funnel between LAX and SFO and the bottleneck problems, conflic t Alerts and various hands-offs, and what they need to do to keep planes seperated in the sky.

    We were then taken to a lab full of dummy Radar Scopes! You could turn as many knobs and press as many buttons without affecting one single plane! I bet Jason had dejavous feeling of his favourite Nintendo game!

    After a short brake, we were congragated back in the classroom for a discussion on ATC Services and Safety Issues. The Controller introduced us to the LA Center and its responsibility for monitoring seperation between all aircraft, whether public, private or military, which operate on IFR flight plans over our geographic area. Every plane, whether in the clouds or not, is controlled from this building or from facilities linked to this building.

    A highly sophisticated computerized radar system is the primary means of controlling aircrafts. Remote radar systems send data, which is then filtered, sorted and displayed on the operator's displays. The displayed DATA TAG or DATA BLOCK as is called, sho ws aircrafts call sign, altitude, speed and other pertinent information. Before the development of this radar, en-route control was handled by the use of "Flight Progress Strips" augmented by radio and interphone communications.

    A Flight Progress Strip is a piece of paper containing pertinent information about each individual aircraft. Theses strips are then posted on a board in fron of the controller.At a glance, the Controller is able to see certain vital data like the flight i dentification, type of aircraft, speed, altitude, route of flight and assigned beacon code. Scanning the strips allows the Controller to access the overall traffic situation and resolve possible conflicts.

    However, a feature of the radar system called "Conflict Alert" aids the Controller in the detection of an impending conflict between aircrafts. The Dta Blocks will flash on the screen, to alert the Controller. Another safety feature of the system is the " En-route Minimum Safe Altitude warning" activated when an aircraft is descending to an unsafe altitude.

    Unfortunately, the weather capability of the En-route Center is very poor. It takes a good bit of precipitation for the radars to display weather.

    Every Controller is in charge of his/her sector at all times. A sector is an airspace area of defined horizontal and vertical dimensions. Sectors are established based on traffic flows and Controller's workload. Los Angeles has 35 such control sectors. LA Center is responsible for 177,000 square miles of airspace extending from SW of Paso Robles CA to Porterville, CA to Bishop CA, to Tonapah Nevada, to Grand Canyon, Arizona to Needles CA, South to the Mexican Boarder and Westboubn to a point 250 miles off shore.

    All the above activities were contolled in a large dark rrom, with 30-40 Controllers hovering around the radar scopes which looked very foreign to the uninitiated. The well-trained young Controller I sat next to for 1/2 hour was more than eager to introdu ce me to the symbols and their meanings and answered all the questions I could think of at the time.

    If all this seems tough, it is, because the job is tough. Don't even think of becoming a Controller if you are over 31! Human lives depend on the Controller's ability to make the right decision quickly every day.

    No matter if you are VFR or IFR, student, Private or an Instructor, young or not so young, a day spent at the LA Center makes you appreciate the tough job that the Controllers performing.

    Our most exciting day came to an end with the issuance of Wing Cards and Raincheck Operation Certificated as a take-home souvenir. It was 4 p.m. and I was neither tired, nor bored, or had any desire to leave! But my ride, Marty and Arthur managed to yank me out to take some group photos with the fabolous BlackBirds in the background.

    In conclusion, I envite everyone to joine me and thank our event organizer Mr. Hal Sanders to get us all together and for a most memorable and informative day.
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