Wednesday the 19th May 2010 was the date of the first ever bristolairfield.co.uk members tower tour.
The 5 members pictured below who registered for the tower tours service were given the opportunity to be shown around Bristol Airports modern air traffic control tower with a chance to observe the air traffic controllers in thier working environment managing air and ground operations.
(The 1st tower tours group with Andrew Grist founder of bristolairfield 2nd from the left and Mike Littleton Community Liaison Manager of Bristol Airport 2nd from the right)
Before the tour began, the group were taken to the bristol room which overlooks the runway for a presentation on bristol airport by Mike Littleton.
During the presentation, the tour group were given a history of the airport from its very early days up to present day and future plans.
When the presentation came to an end, Mike invited the group to ask questions and following this, the tour was then taken over to the control tower where they met their ATC guide.
Control Tower
For the first section of the tour, the group were taken up to the visual control room where they were given an overview of
all the systems used by the controllers. The staff explained how the equipment was used to assist them in the management of the daily operations both on
the ground and in the air.
Above, some of the screens and tools in the VCR which provide the controllers with information vital to the role
Flight strips used to track flights, used to keep a record of the instructions issued
Various screens providing key information such as wind speed and direction along with air traffic in the area
Radar Approach Room
The tour were taken to the approach and radar room where they were able to observe the radar screens and equipment used by the controllers to manage aircraft departing and arriving as well as air traffic transitioning through bristols busy airspace.
ATC tools including flight information, open and closed airfields, radar displays, latest weather info
The screen at the bottom right provides controllers with the current wind direction and speed
The screen above displays all aircraft currently in flight, you can clearly see the 10 mile wide N864 and Lima 9 airways
Sign up for a tour
bristolairfield tower tours are both unique and informative and a must for anyone who is interested in the operations at bristol airport, air traffic control and aviation.
For the opportunity to take part in a tower tour, please log into the members area and click on the
Tower Tour link and register your details. If you are not yet a member of bristolairfield.co.uk, simply click on this link to
become a member.
