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Air traffic controllers say goodbye to old technology

By Senior Airman Tim Bazar, 314th Airlift Wing Strategic Information Flight / Published December 13, 2006

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LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- In line with Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century initiative, air traffic controllers will say goodbye to a 50-year-old technology Dec. 15, freeing up manpower and saving the Air Force thousands each year.

The Precision Approach Radar, or PAR, was developed around World War II to help guide planes to their landing strip on runways during times of inclement weather. Air traffic controllers use radar to talk to pilots so they can correct their angle of descent and line up their approach when they can't see the runway to land.

But the technology is no longer cost-effective. New systems have come online in more recent years that provide pilots with a more visual, hands-on approach to landing their aircraft, said Capt. Daniel Durr, 314th Operations Support Squadron Airfield Operations Flight operations officer. C-130s have newer Instrument Landing Systems that allow pilots to line up crosshairs and needles to guide them down.

Maintaining the PAR system costs taxpayers more than $150,000 a year in repair costs at Little Rock Air Force Base alone. The two people it takes to man the seldom-used station could better be used in other Air Traffic Controller operations, said Captain Durr.

"Maintainers are out repairing the system one or two times a week and our Airmen rarely get requests from pilots to use the PAR," said Captain Durr. "And since the system isn't a big preference with pilots, it only makes sense to free up that money and manpower to better focus on the mission."
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