Rhymes of History Technology

Wednesday July 11, 2012

Rhymes of History Technology

Key words: airspace, aircraft, ATC, airports

Air Traffic Control 

Dr. Thornburg (Laureate, 2009) described a rhyme in history as an affect or effort of a new development that rekindles something from the past. One specific technology that comes to mind for me when thinking about the rhyme of history is the United States aviation air traffic control system. This aircraft airspace system has evolved from archaic methods to a high-tech system towards safer air travel and communication of both airport ground and airways operations. The early en route controllers tracked the position of planes using maps and blackboards and little boat-shaped weights that came to be called “shrimp boats.” They had no direct radio link with aircraft but used telephones to stay in touch with airline dispatchers, airway radio operators, and airport traffic controllers. These individuals fed information to the en route controllers and also relayed their instructions to pilots. Today, a similar system of tracking ground and air operations is used aboard US Navy aircraft carriers where items placed upon a ship’s “mock” runway include nuts, bolts, stick pins, dice and other tokens used to represent the aircraft's status or readiness for flight. 

Komons, (1980) noted that, “in the earliest days of aviation, so few aircraft were in the skies that there was little need for ground-based control of aircraft”. After several mishaps including mid-air collisions, standard rules were required to amend this potential issue of airspace control. The International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN) was created in 1919 to develop “General Rules for Air Traffic.” The U.S. adopted and passed the Air Commerce Act of 1926 while developing its own set of air traffic rules.

 Air Traffic Control (ATC) has rhymes of history linked to early days of fire torches and hand held lights utilizing airport employees standing on tall structures during night and inclement weather conditions. The first rules were brief and basic. Pilots were told not to begin their takeoff until “there is no risk of collision with landing aircraft and until preceding aircraft are clear of the field”, (Komons, 1980).  

With the increase of air traffic and ground operations, these general rules did not meet the needs of safe aircraft and airport operations to prevent accidents. Gilbert (1973) cited in, ATC: The Uncrowded Sky, “As more aircraft were fitted for radio communication, radio-equipped airport traffic control towers began to replace the flagmen. In 1930, the first radio-equipped control tower in the United States began operating at the Cleveland Municipal Airport. By 1932, almost all airline aircraft were being equipped for radio-telephone communication, and about 20 radio control towers were operating by 1935.

Links:

“Building A Safer and More Effective Air Traffic Control System.” National Transportation Library, Department of Transportation. http://www.rppi.org/ps126.pdf

References:

Gilbert, Glen A. Air Traffic Control: The Uncrowded Sky. Washington, D.C.:    Smithsonian Institution Press, 1973.

Komons, Nick A. Bonfires to Beacons: Federal Civil Aviation Policy Under the Air       Commerce Act, 1926-1938. Washington, DOT/FAA, 1980.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009) Rhymes of history. Baltimore, MD: Author.