ATC question

[NJP_MAN]

When the controller says

"NJP MAN, Radar contact One Five miles south of XYZ airport climb and maintain Six thousand five hundred"


How does he/she get this info so quickly, does it automatically show distance from the nearest aerodrome on the scope?

 

[Old Geek]

Don't know. But if I stared at a radar scope all day, every day, I bet I could learn to estimate it to a 1/2 mile pretty quickly

 

[NJP_MAN]

Don't know. But if I stared at a radar scope all day, every day, I bet I could learn to estimate it to a 1/2 mile pretty quickly

I was thinking this might be the method but I was just curious

 

[Velocity173]

The radar scope depicts airports, navaids, airways fixes, range rings, etc. When you sqk / ident they're simply referencing your position from a known point. It's really an eye ball method. Some equipment can use a strobe to get exact distance if they wanted to but no one really uses that.

 

[BillTIZ]

Mk-1 eyeball to TLAR the distance and azimuth. Work enough radar it gets real easy.

 

[MarkZ]

Every controller has to memorize his or her airspace map - the approaches, fixes, airways, airports, etc. - before plugging into the sector for the first time. Each ATC sector is different, but most depict the important items on their scopes, with the ability to display all the items if necessary.