Ashland Retiree Trip - Friday, May 23, 2008

The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) is one of twenty control centers in the United States and is responsible for approximately 168,000 square miles of airspace encompassing the southern half of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Our tour had a briefing and explanation of what the center does and then we were divided into small groups of five and taken by guides through the actual operation center. Different sections are handled by small groups but they have one large computer screen that shows every airplane over Canada, the USA, Mexico, a piece of the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It is amazing how many planes are in the air all the time. Individuals with a small computer screen are looking at air traffic in their sector and the line that is an air route. Each commercial flight has the flight, altitude and other information shown on their dot. It their is any problem, their is a circle around the aircraft dot to draw the attention of the controller.

Lunch was at the Potatoe Patch on FM 1960.