Operations from the
1943 Control Tower closed on 8th September 2010
 
Visual Control Room
'Ronaldsway Tower' 118.9 Mhz
Controlling aircraft
and vehicles on and around the actual airport area. Clearances are issued
to departing aircraft, aircraft ground movements de-conflicted. Arriving
aircraft usually transferred from Approach at around 10 miles from the
airport. Most important job is controlling the runway or runways in use.
Training traffic operating in the visual circuit has to be integrated with
arrivals and departures. In certain wind conditions some aircraft might
be using runway 21/03 whilst others are using 26/08 and integrating the
two requires a certain amount of mental agility!
 
     
Approach Radar Control
Room 'Ronaldsway Radar' 120.850 118.2
Takes control of arriving
'airways' traffic between 40 & 30 miles from Ronaldsway at levels up
to about Flight Level 180 (18,000 ft). Aircraft are 'released' by Scottish
Control, usually without any telephone co-ordination required, under 'standing
agreements' between the units. Inbound aircraft are radar vectored to join
the final approach track, most usually for an ILS approach to the runway
in use. Outbound aircraft are transferred from Tower shortly after departure
for de-confliction with arriving aircraft, which is required more often
when on 'easterly' operations as the one way traffic flow system on airway
Lima Ten (L10) from the Wallesey direction means that Ronaldsway arrivals
have to be crossed over from one side of the airway to the other in order
to make an approach to runway 08. If there are no confliction with arriving
traffic, departures can be transferred directly from Tower to the relevant
Scottish Control sector. Aircraft requiring transit through Isle of Man
controlled airspace or just wanting an ATC service whilst operating in
the vicinity, will call Approach. Within controlled airspace a Radar Control
service is provided, outside it might be a Deconfliction Service, Traffic
Service or Basic Service.
     
Area Control Services
In early 2010 Manchester
Centre closed down and operations were transferred to the new Scottish
Centre at Prestwick. This had minimal effects on operations at Ronaldsway
as all procedures remained the same as before. One minor problem was trying
to remember that the unit callsign for flights to the south was now 'Scottish
Control'. To the north west is Antrim Sector using 123.775 and to the south
east Isle of Man Sector on 133.050 or 128.050 when 'bandboxed' with the
Wallesey Sector in quieter traffic periods. Although not affecting Ronaldsway
at all, the high level traffic over the island is working another Scottish
Sector, Antrim, using 129.1 Mhz. Control of military traffic operating
over and around the Isle of Man is by 'London Military'. located at the
London Air Traffic Control Centre, Swanwick. They are also the controlling
authority for the Air to Air Refuelling Area (AARA13) which is located
over the Irish Sea to the east of the island. Also to the east of us is
the British Aerospace flight test airfield at Warton who provide an extensive
service for their own flight test aircraft and also transit traffic under
the Lower Airspace Radar Service (LARS), VHF frequency for Warton is 129.525.
This service is also provide to the south of us by RAF Valley ATC on frequency
125.225. If aircraft are just requiring a 'Basic Service' any ATC unit
can provide this, or pilots can call up London Information on 125.475 where
specialist Flight Information Service Officers provide the service throughout
the London Flight Information Region. To the north, Scottish Information
provide a similar service using 119.875.
Air Traffic Engineering
Department
The 'Tels' department
today is a very small section who work incredibly hard to keep all of the
navigation, communication and computer systems essential to the operation
of ATC and the airport running smoothly. Based in the control tower, there
are also many sites around the airport (and off) that need their attention.
Equipment these days is much more reliable than in the past, which can
actually make it more difficult to locate and rectify problems when they
do arise.
     
Navigation and Communication
Systems
Ronaldsway is served
by several navigation aids. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) operate
the VOR/DME 'IOM' at Cregneash which is used for overflying 'airways' traffic,
but also as a holding facility for Ronaldsway and an approach aid for runway
08. Non Directional Beacons (NDBs) are on the airfield 'RWY' and at Carnane
'CAR', with both available for holding aircraft and the RWY as an approach
aid for either runway 26 or 08. Ronaldsway has Instrument Landing Systems
(ILS) on runways 26 & 08, the runway 08 system having an offset Localizer
due to no suitable area being available at the eastern end of the airport
to locate the aerial. Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) is located on
the airport and used with either ILS or NDB approaches to give distance
from touchdown. Digital Radio Direction Finding is still installed and
in use, a direct descendant of the M/F direction finding which was the
only navigation aid to pilots using the airport in the 1930s.
    
   
The Meteorological
Office
Located on the first
floor of the control tower building, 'Met' is due to move this year into
a new location
close to the airport
terminal building. Apart from providing general weather forecasting for
the Isle of Man, the Met Office provide specialist services for aviation
and marine users. For Ronaldsway, routine met observations are made every
30 minutes while the airport is open with extra ones as required if conditions
change rapidly. Outside airport operation times observations are made hourly.
Information is disseminated to ATC via a computer system and displayed
at all operational positions. ATC broadcast the current weather via the
Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) using VHF frequency 123.875
Mhz which is designed to be received up to about 60 miles away. The information
is also available over a wider area from London Volmet North on 126.6 Mhz.
Met also provide two specialist aviation weather forecasts to ATC each
day.
  
Runway End
Safety Area Project
Some major changes were
underway at Ronaldsway starting in 2008 when the 'Runway End Safety Area'
(RESA) project commenced. This involved increasing the physical length
of runway 26/08 at both ends, starting with the western section. The eastern
section involved more major works as a section of the sea had to be enclosed
with rock before being infilled, all this work going on while the airport
was still operational. The western section was open by late 2008 and the
eastern section by early 2010.
     
The New Control Tower
Project
Another major project
under way in 2009 was building a replacement control tower. The wartime
building had served well, but was starting to show its age after 65 years
of service. The site chosen was just north of the former runway 17/35 and
a tall building was required to ensure that all parts of the airfield were
visible from the Visual Control Room, as required by modern regulation.
In the old tower, the threshold of runway 21 was hidden behind the former
Manx Airlines hanger and had to be viewed by a CCTV camera link.
     
In early 2010 the new
control tower building was structurally completed and the task of equipping
it with all the complex electronics needed for present day air traffic
control could commence. Operations continued from the old building but
at the same time training commenced in the new building. With no additional
staff available, training had to be fitted in around operational duties.
Last day of operations
from the Old Control Tower - 8th September 2010
Operations transferred
from the old to the new control towers
    
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