Inside the ATC System: Facilities and Handoffs
Key facilities, roles, and radio procedures that move an IFR flight from clearance delivery through approach control.
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Questions Covered in This Set
12 cards to master
What are the two broad halves of the U.S. ATC system?
Terminal facilities (tower and TRACON, close to airports) and en route facilities (ARTCCs, the airspace between them).
What does TRACON stand for, and what is it called on the radio?
Terminal Radar Approach Control; called "Approach" or "Departure" — usually the same room and often the same controller wearing a different hat.
Typical TRACON coverage area and altitude?
Roughly 30–50 NM from the airport, up to about 10,000–15,000 ft.
What does ARTCC stand for, and how many are in the continental U.S.?
Air Route Traffic Control Center ("Center" on the radio); there are 22 in the continental U.S.
Why might you talk to the same Center five times on five frequencies?
Each Center is divided into dozens of sectors, both laterally and by altitude (e.g., low sector surface–FL230, high sector FL240 and above).
What is Flight Service ("Radio") and what can't it do?
Not ATC — it gives weather briefings, takes flight plans, and relays clearances at non-towered fields, but never issues control instructions.
Spell out the CRAFT clearance format.
Clearance limit, Route, Altitude, Frequency (departure), Transponder code.
Why does the "expect" altitude in a clearance matter?
It's your climb target if you lose communications.
What does Ground Control own — and not own?
Owns the movement area (taxiways and inactive runways) but not the active runway; hold-short instructions require explicit readback.
What three items belong in your initial check-in with Departure?
Callsign, altitude leaving, and altitude assigned — this validates your Mode C readout.
What does "released for departure, clearance void if not off by 1815Z" mean?
The departure controller is rationing airspace; you must be airborne by that time or the clearance is void.
Standard en route IFR separation minimums?
5 NM laterally and 1,000 ft vertically in most en route airspace.
