CHAPTER 1 One Hundred Years and Counting Sam pressed his nose against the plane window He saw white fluffy clouds against a bright blue sky Sam was on vacation with his family They were flying across the United States from New York to California It’s like we have the sky all to ourselves Sam exclaimed to his dad sitting next to him Not exactly son his dad said with a laugh There are around 7,000 other airplanes flying over the United States right this moment No way Sam said So why isn’t there a big traffic jam in the sky How do all these flying planes know where the other ones are That’s the job of air traffic control specialists his dad said They keep planes from crashing into each other Let me explain 4 21st century skills library
Airplanes are a popular and efficient way to travel Photo Caption An air traffic control specialist’s job is to organize airplanes so that they move safely at all times both in the air and on the ground Controllers provide instructions and information to pilots The pilot in command of an airplane is responsible for making the decisions about the plane’s operation Pilots use the information and instructions provided by air traffic controllers to take off fly and land safely Every year more than three billion passengers are carried safely through the skies Sam’s flight is one of more than 100,000 flights made each day by commercial airliners C O O L V O C AT I O N A L C A R E E R S 5
Air travel began in the early twentieth century private airplanes and military aircraft traveling these invisible highways The air traffic control system is a huge spiderweb of people equipment and services This system supports safe and efficient flights all over the world For flights to be safe and efficient everyone must be able to work together The United States air traffic system is the safest in the world The first commercial flight with a paying passenger on board took off more than 100 years ago on January 1 1914 The flight took 23 minutes and flew across the bay from St Petersburg to 6 21st century skills library
Tampa Florida There were no controllers in the United States then And there were still none when airplanes began carrying the mail in 1920 There were no navigation aids along the routes Airmail pilots often got lost and could not fly at night Concerned citizens built bonfires at landing fields near towns These bonfires were the first step toward today’s modern system of airways 21st Century Content The National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA has teamed up with the Federal Aviation Administration FAA for an online educational project for kids called Smart Skies The project teaches kids the skills needed to be an air traf fic controller using real-life math and science problems You can check out the project’s math games at http smartskies nasa gov Being an air traffic controller is like playing the ultimate video game says one Smart Skies teacher But you have to be right every time C O O L V O C AT I O N A L C A R E E R S 7
