This new terminal, named the “Central Terminal” was dedicated on August 27, 1954. It became apparent that the current administration building/terminal was insufficient for the postwar explosion of traffic, so construction of a new terminal began. SFO reached the one million annual passengers mark in 1947, followed by two million in 1952. The entrance of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines and Philippine Airlines resulted in the addition of “International” to San Francisco Airport. In 1947, the code “SFO” appeared in the American Aviation Air Traffic Guide. Instead of Martin M-130s and Boeing 314 flying boats, land based planes, like the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation family crossed the Pacific. World War II ended, allowing Pan American to resume international service. By 1936, San Francisco Airport had three runways, forming a triangle, and a seaplane harbor under construction. United would become a major player at San Francisco Airport, a title that remains today. Pacific Air Transport joined in December, 1932, followed by United Air Lines in May, 1934. During this time, Western Air Express and Maddox Air Lines utilized Mills Field, but then relocated to Oakland, while Century Pacific began service with their sole Fokker trimotor. In 1930, city leaders decided to purchase 1,112 acres from the Mills Estate for $1,050,000 and renamed Mills Field to San Francisco Airport the following year. Boeing Air Transport, a precursor to United Airlines, landed a Boeing Model 40, the first airliner to use Mills Field. Shortly after, Mills Field gained its first hangar, followed by three more in 1928. As part of his touring of the United States, Charles Lindbergh visited Mills Field with The Spirit of St. With a 4,590 foot runway, a total of 19 aircraft landed, carrying 19 passengers, in the first month. On June 6, 1927, operations officially began at Mills Field Municipal Airport of San Francisco. D.O.Mills’ family leased 150 acres of their estate, located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, to the City and County of San Francisco for $1,500 per year. And these non-movement areas are tight, even at large airports like LAX.San Francisco International traces its roots to Darius Ogden Mills, a distinguished banker and once the wealthiest man in California. This system makes sense the tower controllers are quite far away from the action to be able to supervise aircraft pulling in and out of gates. Although there is plenty of movement as planes are pushed back from the gate with tugs, it's an area not under the control of Air Traffic Control (ATC.) At LAX, United, Delta, American and Alaska all control the movement on their own aircraft near the gate. These so-called "ramp towers" operate in non-movement areas. At this point in the process, the airlines deploy ground controllers of their own on the ramp to assist, rather than jam up the tower. Once the pilots have received this clearance, the aircraft will be given a time to push back from the gate. This clearance includes notice of the frequencies to monitor, initial projected direction of flight, altitude on departure and the confirmed routing. private jets) and many foreign carriers do not participate in this electronic system, so they will call up the tower on a special frequency, requesting clearance verbally. The tower can OK a requested route and the pilot can indicate compliance with the clearance with a click on their flight management computers. 90% of commercial aircraft use a form of electronic “clearance delivery” which allows the controller and aircraft to communicate by computer. Prior to an aircraft pushing back from the gate, LAX Tower must issue a clearance of the airline's planned route and destination. I recently visited the Los Angeles (LAX) control tower to learn how the puzzle pieces are coordinated to get the planes from the gate to the runway. However, behind the scenes, there's a lot of coordination with planes from around the world landing, departing, taxiing and just about to push back. Part two covers how the tower controls takeoffs and landings.Īs passengers, we board the plane, get seated and play with our smartphones, patiently waiting for that moment when the plane pushes back. This article is the first installment of a two-part story about how control towers work.
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