Table of Contents
What are the main responsibilities of a control tower?
Tower controllers direct the movement of vehicles, including aircraft, on runways and taxiways. They check flight plans, give pilots clearance for takeoff or landing, and direct the movement of aircraft and other traffic on the runways and in other parts of the airport.
How much do control tower operators make?
Control Tower Operator Salary
| Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $60,500 | $5,041 |
| 75th Percentile | $45,000 | $3,750 |
| Average | $38,301 | $3,191 |
| 25th Percentile | $25,500 | $2,125 |
How much money does ATC make?
The median annual wage for air traffic controllers was $130,420 in May 2020. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $72,760, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $184,780.
How do I become a control tower operator?
To qualify to become a control tower operator, you must be at least 18 years old and able to speak clearly during a two-way radio conversation. You must also pass a medical and background check and a series of exams and courses at the FAA academy.
How do I get a control tower operator certificate?
Training is broken down into Classroom Instruction, Tower Qualification Training (Live Traffic), and Advanced Simulation with Tower Proficiency Training. Upon successful completion of all three phases of training, the student will be evaluated to receive their Control Tower Operator (CTO) Certificate.
How to use indicators correctly at non-towered airports?
Before landing, use the indicator for the approach end of the runway, and similarly, use the indicator at the departure end of the runway, which will clearly show the direction of the turn after takeoff. The third procedure to bear in mind is to know the recommended traffic advisory and communications practices at non-towered airports.
Why are maneuvering maneuvers important at non-towered airports?
Performing these maneuvers at any type of airport is critical to avoiding midair collisions or other traffic-related accidents, but they become even more important at non-towered airports since there’s no one who can help you direct traffic.
What are the most common causes of non-tower accidents?
A quick glance at the NASA ASRS database of non-tower airport incidents shows accidents ranging from near midair collisions and ground conflicts to poor communications. There’s a huge number of uncontrolled airports in the U.S.
What should you do at uncontrolled airports?
Probably everyone knows what they should do at uncontrolled airports—standard traffic patterns, radio calls on the common traffic advisory frequencies (Unicom, Multicom or as published), scanning the whole airport area before taking off and so on.