Air traffic controller in the context of "Blind flying"

In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR).

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Instrument Flying Handbook defines IFR as: "Rules and regulations established by the FAA to govern flight under conditions in which flight by outside visual reference is not safe. IFR flight depends upon flying by reference to instruments in the flight deck, and navigation is accomplished by reference to electronic signals." It is also a term used by pilots and controllers to indicate the type of flight plan an aircraft is flying, such as an IFR or VFR flight plan.

Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC is to prevent collisions, organise and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. In some countries, ATC can also provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. Controllers monitor the location of aircraft in their assigned airspace using radar and communicate with pilots by radio. To prevent collisions, ATC enforces traffic separation rules, which ensure each aircraft maintains a minimum amount of empty space around it. ATC services are provided to all types of aircraft, including private, military, and commercial flights.Depending on the type of flight and the class of airspace, ATC may issue mandatory instructions or non-binding advisories (known as flight information in some countries). While pilots are required to obey all ATC instructions, the pilot in command of an aircraft always retains final authority for its safe operation. In an emergency, the pilot may deviate from ATC instructions to the extent required to maintain the safety of the aircraft. Weather conditions, such as thunderstorms, strong winds, and low visibility, can significantly affect air traffic control operations, leading to delays, diversions, and the need for alternate routing.

A two-way radio is a radio transceiver (a radio that can both transmit and receive radio waves), which is used for bidirectional person-to-person voice communication with other users with similar radios, in contrast to a broadcast receiver, which only receives transmissions.

Two-way radios usually use a half-duplex communication channel, which permits two-way communication, albeit with the limitation that only one user can transmit at a time. (This is in contrast to simplex communication, in which transmission can only be sent in one direction, and full-duplex, which allows transmission in both directions simultaneously.) This requires users in a group to take turns talking. The radio is normally in receive mode so the user can hear all other transmissions on the channel. When the user wants to talk, they press a "push-to-talk" button, which turns off the receiver and turns on the transmitter; when the button is released, the receiver is activated again. Multiple channels may be provided so separate user groups can communicate in the same area without interfering with each other and some radios are designed to scan the channels in order to find a valid transmission. Other two-way radio systems operate in full-duplex mode, in which both parties can talk simultaneously. This requires either two separate radio channels or channel sharing methods such as time-division duplex (TDD) to carry the two directions of the conversation simultaneously on a single radio frequency.

The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, a government institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to an important individual, such as a president, or a senior military officer, or leader of a large organization.

In general, a chief of staff provides a buffer between a chief executive and that executive's direct-reporting team. The chief of staff generally works behind the scenes to solve problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues before they are brought to the chief executive. Often chiefs of staff act as a confidant and advisor to the chief executive, acting as a sounding board for ideas. Ultimately the actual duties depend on the position and the people involved. In an organization, the chief of staff may play a role that is metaphorically akin to an “air traffic controller for the leader and the senior team; as an integrator connecting work streams that would otherwise remain siloed; as a communicator linking the leadership team and the broader organization; as an honest broker and truth teller when the leader needs a wide-ranging view without turf considerations; and as a confidant without an organizational agenda.”

An airport surveillance radar (ASR) is a radar system used at airports to detect and display the presence and position of aircraft in the terminal area, the airspace around airports. It is the main air traffic control system for the airspace around airports. At large airports it typically controls traffic within a radius of 60 miles (96 km) of the airport below an elevation of 25,000 feet. The sophisticated systems at large airports consist of two different radar systems, the primary and secondary surveillance radar. The primary radar typically consists of a large rotating parabolic antenna dish that sweeps a vertical fan-shaped beam of microwaves around the airspace surrounding the airport. It detects the position and range of aircraft by microwaves reflected back to the antenna from the aircraft's surface. The secondary surveillance radar consists of a second rotating antenna, often mounted on the primary antenna, which interrogates the transponders of aircraft, which transmits a radio signal back containing the aircraft's identification, barometric altitude, and an emergency status code, which is displayed on the radar screen next to the return from the primary radar.

The positions of the aircraft are displayed on a screen; at large airports on multiple screens in an operations room at the airport called in the US the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), monitored by air traffic controllers who direct the traffic by communicating with the aircraft pilots by radio. They are responsible for maintaining a safe and orderly flow of traffic and adequate aircraft separation to prevent midair collisions.

École nationale de l'aviation civile (French pronunciation: [ekɔl nɑsjɔnal də lavjɑsjɔ̃ sivil]; "National School of Civil Aviation"; abbr. ENAC; Occitan: Escòla Nacionala d'Avion Civil) is one of 205 colleges (as of September 2018) accredited to award engineering degrees in France. ENAC is designated as a grande école by the Conférence des Grandes écoles (CGE), a non-profit organisation which certifies and monitors grandes écoles (including engineering colleges). ENAC was founded on 28 August 1949 to provide initial and continuing education in the field of civil aviation. The school is an établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel (a public scientific, cultural or professional establishment), and operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Affiliated with the University of Toulouse and Aerospace Valley, it is one of the five founders of France AEROTECH.

ENAC offers 30 engineering and technical programs in civil aviation and aeronautics. Programs include aerospace engineering, aircraft maintenance, commercial airline piloting, air traffic control, and flight instructor. The college also offers three Master of Science programs and 12 Advanced Master programs for students with relevant experience.