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ATC Equipment
Chicago TRACON Radarscope
Photo: Mark Conklin
     A radarscope primer: Three sets of dotted lines forming an X with a horizontal cross designate the six intersecting runways at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The airport is located at the center of the scope and each of the concentric circles surrounding it represents five miles. The curved dotted line on the right shows the southern tip of the
  Lake Michigan shoreline. Dotted lines elsewhere on the scope represent approach paths for smaller airports in the Chicago area.
     In the upper left, eight aircraft are lined up in a “string of pearls” for landing to the southeast on Runway 14 Right. Each of the arrivals includes a radar target and an accompanying data tag identifying the airline, flight number, type of plane, speed and altitude.
     The computer that supplies this information is called ARTS—Automated Radar Terminal System. ARTS is used at TRACONs across the country. When ARTS crashes, the data tags disappear and only the targets remain visible. Instantly, controllers must “keep the flick” by remembering who everyone is and where they’re going.


View a scope at the Atlanta enroute Center LIVE.