ATC in the 70s &
80s
Air traffic control
continued in much the same way during the 1970s and 1980s. A procedural
approach service was provided, backed up by the use of radar to expedite
traffic and provide Surveillance Radar Approaches (SRAs) to runways 04,
09, 27 and 36, although for runway 27 radar vectors for the Instrument
Landing System (ILS) would have been the usual approach.
     
In 1971 the control
tower was linked to the terminal by a 'temporary' wooden pier, used for
the new phenomena of security screening departing passengers who then waited
in a holding lounge (Gate 8) until boarding their aircraft. If it was parked
on the west apron, progress to or from the control tower was hindered as
the corridor would be closed off to allow the departing passengers to cross
over. Annexes were built either side of the approach/radar room, the former
Royal Navy watch office, to provide extra accommodation, including a SATCOs
office and a rest and locker room for the controllers and assistants.
    
Area Control
Preston Centre was closed
in 1975 and most of its functions transferred to the London Air Traffic
Control Centre at West Drayton, however a sub-centre was established in
the control tower at Manchester Airport, which remained responsible for
the airways around the Isle of Man. Co-ordination would have remained much
the same with clearances being requested by Ronaldsway for outbound airways
aircraft and releases passed by Manchester on inbounds. The sectors at
Manchester were West Drayton type 'Mediator' consoles, combining the procedural
and radar functions, so it would have been possible for Manchester to issue
a 'radar release' to Ronaldsway. This allowed aircraft that were not procedurally
separated to be transferred directly from one radar controller to another,
further expediting traffic flow.
AR1 Radar upgraded
to AR15
In the early 1980s the
Plessey AR1 radar was given a major overhaul, effectively upgrading it
to an AR15.
Externally the scanner
aerial was the same, but inside new larger radar displays were fitted which
introduced 'video maps' - electronically drawn mapping of the airways and
final approach tracks to the airport. This removed the chore of having
to manually align the radar using returns from radar reflectors situated
around the airport to match up with circles etched onto the perspex overlays.
   
In 1989 the turning
gear on the radar was replaced, necessitating lifting the scanner aerial
off its mast.
 
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