ATC Tower – Why Do Air Traffic Control Towers Have Slanted & Black Color Windows :The Aviation
Why Do Air Traffic Control Towers Have Slanted & Black Color Windows?
Hello everyone,
Welcome to my new blog , today we will talk about A big fact Of Air Traffic Controller (ATC) who is controller of Aviation/Aircraft/Airspace.
Large airports are slightly different everywhere the planet , but one constant is that the ubiquitous traffic tower , which always has windows that slope toward the tower at the bottom .
While expecting a flight at the airport you want to have seen a tall tower at every airport. That tall tower is named as traffic Controller. Air traffic control (ATC) may be a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the bottom .
Each airport has its own ATC Tower. Even if different airports have different ATC towers you’ll see one thing common altogether which is their slanted windows. Slant angles vary but most of the time slant angle is 15°. But why are ATC towers windows are slanted?
There are various reasons one among which is, many of us assume that they’re designed that thanks to prevent the sun’s reflection or glare from disturbing incoming pilots. But its not valid explanation. Because not all the windows surrounding ATC tower have slanted windows, so if that is the reason then even buildings surrounding ATC tower which are having flat windows can disturb pilot!
◆ Here are some of the valid reasons ◆
Slanted windows collect much less rainwater & wind-blown dust that sticks to drops of water as compared to flat windows. So this provides a way better look around windows. So person inside ATC tower can get good vision through such windows.
we see reflections during a glass all the time, for instance from computer monitors or car windows. But traffic controllers must not have any distracting reflections as they monitor flights. By slanting windows, the other light from inside the tower like Computer screens, etc. is reflected up onto the ceiling, which is painted black But this explanation doesn’t fly, because surrounding buildings (and the airport terminals themselves) have vertical windows.
◆Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details◆
Within an airport, the control tower is usually the tallest structure, which rises high over other buildings. For medium-traffic airports, only one controller is necessary for a control tower to operate. In addition, such towers do not need 24-hour operations. On the other hand, busierairports need several controllers and support staff in order for their control towers to function efficiently. Unlike less busy airports, these towers need to operate 24-hours all year long.
impact-resistant cab glass
Control towers usually have common features like an impact-resistant cab glass, pressure and wind gauges as well as light guns for communication purposes. At the same time, these structures have strip boards that allow Flight Progress Strips, reliable telephone systems and radio communications. Aside from these, they may also have computerized systems for briefing, flightdata and meteorological information.
These towers can also help controllers with the aid of surface movement radars, which are highly efficient against poor visibility especially come nighttime. Controllers can easily see flying aircraft within the vicinity of the airport with the aid of aerodome traffic monitors.
you have ever stood between two mirriors you will understand the infinity mirror.
Light bounces back and forwards between the mirrors so once you check out them it seems like the scene goes on forever.
Window glass reflects a certain amount of light, like a mirror.
infinite mirror effect –
In a tower , where windows are all around you, if the surfaces of the windows are parallel you get that infinite mirror effect.
During daylight this will be seen as glare, but in the dark once you try to ascertain that light on Flight 594 amid a sea of #runway and #taxi-way lights, having your vision further confused by a myriad of reflections from the back window would be a bad thing.
Further, since the space may be a glass box, light can bounce all the way around the room. It would be quite possible to seem off to your right and think so you see an unidentified aircraft approaching, but be actually seeing some truck’s lights on the hill a couple of miles away over your right shoulder.
Tilting the windows outwards means the reflection angle is towards the ceiling, which is usually painted black, and therefore the effect goes away.
Further, tilting out means you can no longer see your own reflection, or reflections from other lit #workstations in the window.
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Lighting Level ◆
Lighting Level ◆
As depicted in the results section, the highest incident light measurements corresponded to the sun’s position (i.e., time of day) and the equipment that was facing the direction of the sun.
Sunrise and sunset always produced the highest incident ratings because the sun’s rays, originating from lower on the horizon and unobstructed by the roof, directly entered the cab.
During sunrise, the displays facing east produced the very best incident readings; conversely, the displays facing west had the very best readings during sunset. The lower incident light readings usually resulted during midday because the sun was positioned above the tower allowing the roof to shade the displays inside.
◆ Viewing Angle and Distance ◆
The most significant determining factor in the magnitude of viewing angles and distances turned out to be tower layout and display placement.
In general, the displays were placed near the primary users of a particular display. However, there were many instances where displays were simply placed where there was room to fit them, regardless of who needed to use them.
Instead of being optimized, equipment was placed where space was available; and one piece of equipment on top of another was not uncommon.
In this study, we experienced that larger towers often have shorter viewing distances and smaller viewing angles; perhaps because they are equipped with more displays. Having more displays may compensate for the sub-optimal display placement, configuration, and layout that many of the smaller towers endured. For instance, smaller towers regularly produced greater reading/ viewing distances and angles than the larger towers.
These results may have occurred because the smaller towers had a tendency to have fewer displays and equipment with which to work, forcing multiple controllers to share one sub-optimally placed display. The smaller towers also had a tendency to have less sophisticated ceiling mounting techniques.
◆ World largest ATC’s Tower ◆
As a freestanding structure, the #Suvarnabhumi Airport control tower is the tallest in the world today. It stands 434 feet or 132.2 meters high. The #Vancouver Harbour Air Control Tower in Canada is also considered one of the highest control towers in the world. However, it is high because it is located on top of the 200 Granville Square within the City of Vancouver in #British Columbia, which is a skyscraper standing 465.88 feet or 142 meters tall.
ienna International Airport in Austria. This structure is 357.61 feet or 109 meters high. Aside from this, there is also the control tower of the #Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in #Washington. It has an overall height of 269 feet or 82 meters. In Norway, you can find the #Oslo Airport, which has a control tower measuring 300 feet or 90 meters high.
note-: The above information for training only.
