How does ATC work on "The Boat?"

inigo88

inigo88

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Hey guys, this is a question I've long been meaning to ask the Naval aviator members of this forum. How does Air Traffic Control work on a US Navy Aircraft Carrier? How does it compare against a regular civilian IFR flight, in which the pilot may talk to Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Departure, Center, Approach, Tower, Ground, Company Ops frequencies, etc?

I'm not fishing for anything that would remotely be considered confidential - I'm not asking anyone to explain HAVE QUICK or KY-58 or anything else that would potentially be used during wartime or otherwise considered sensitive - simply a training operation when ATC communications can be made in the clear. You hear a lot about different positions on the carrier in movies and popular culture (eg the "Air Boss") but very little about the extent of the radio phraseology between the controller and pilots that actually occurs. This site has a pretty helpful overview, but maybe you guys can help me fill in the blanks with who the pilot talks to on the radio during a launch and a recovery on the carrier. Here's what I know:

The "Air Boss" works in primary flight ops at the top of the island and has a view of the flight deck, and is basically equivalent to the local controller at a tower. Is his frequency considered the "tower frequency?"

The "Handler" works the "Ouija Board" at the base of the island and keeps track of all aircraft movements on the flight deck and hangar deck. However I'm not sure if he has any direct radio communication with the pilots or if he just coordinates with Primary Flight Ops through the intercom system.

Downstairs in the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) and CDC there are additional radar positions equivalent to what you'd find at a TRACON. I know there's an Approach controller, a Departure controller and a Marshall controller (handling the stack of aircraft in the Marshal holding pattern during Case III recoveries) all on separate frequencies. I've also heard of a position called "Strike", but I'm not sure what their responsibilities are or whether they're located in CATCC, CDC or aboard an E-2 Hawkeye AWACS aircraft (or whether you talk to AWACS on yet another discrete frequency).

"Paddles", the Landing Signal Officer (LSO), also gets their own frequency correct? So by 3/4 of a mile you switch frequencies from tower to paddles and call the ball?

Finally does each squadron get their own discrete to handle maintenance or operational issues (kind of like how each airline gets their own "company frequency" at an airport), or does that all go through the Air Boss?

Thanks for your time, I'm eager to hear as much (or as little) as you guys are allowed to tell. The carrier is such a unique aviation environment, it seems like air traffic control procedures aboard one would have to be equally as unique.
 
I hope I didn't say anything wrong with my initial question (the have quick comment was totally facetious I just geek out on that kind of stuff and there's a whole wiki page about it). I'm interested in even the most basic differences between land based and carrier based ATC communications. Do they clear you to land before you call the ball at the 3/4 mile final? Do you get cleared for takeoff or "cleared to launch" before being shot off the cat, or is it all done with hand signals between the yellow shirts and the pilots? Pretty basic stuff, I've just always wondered.
 
inigo88 said:
I hope I didn't say anything wrong with my initial question (the have quick comment was totally facetious I just geek out on that kind of stuff and there's a whole wiki page about it). I'm interested in even the most basic differences between land based and carrier based ATC communications. Do they clear you to land before you call the ball at the 3/4 mile final? Do you get cleared for takeoff or "cleared to launch" before being shot off the cat, or is it all done with hand signals between the yellow shirts and the pilots? Pretty basic stuff, I've just always wondered.
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I think if you can find the show "carrier" that was on PBS a few years back they focused on an ATC'er for an episode.


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Let me preface this by saying that I've only flown at the boat on two separate occasions thus far, both being CQ non-operational type dets, so I'll let bunk or C-182 correct me as needed if any of my info is incorrect re: operational stuff.

inigo88 said:
Hey guys, this is a question I've long been meaning to ask the Naval aviator members of this forum. How does Air Traffic Control work on a US Navy Aircraft Carrier? How does it compare against a regular civilian IFR flight, in which the pilot may talk to Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Departure, Center, Approach, Tower, Ground, Company Ops frequencies, etc?
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There isn't really a clearance delivery.....on the boat, everyone is flying the same departure, weather dependent (ie case 1, case III, etc), so while departure may give you some sort of vector or altitude limit, it's kind of the wild west out there. Have your radar out in front of you, and don't violate CV NATOPS or good sound headwork basically. Case 1 departure is basically a clearing turn, then 300 kts at 500' until you clear the 10 NM ring around the boat....then whatever you want, if that gives you any idea of what happens. There is no ground freq, just tower. There will be a preparatory call over the 1MC for folks in event XX to man their aircraft, etc etc etc. Then the air boss clears folks to start their APU's/huffers/motors. Check-ins are all done on tower common frequency when up and ready (meaning you are ready to get the chains pulled off, and taxi forward to the cat). Departure is roughly equivalent to its counterpart in the FAA ATC environment, but most ATC guidance around the boat is procedural only (aside from a case III approach), ie it is up to everyone flying to keep their eyes open for conflicting traffic....kind of goes back to the wild west reference. Once you clear the terminal environment, you would check in/out with strike. I guess you could say they are roughly equivalent to center controllers. On the backside, you would check in with marshall (who gives you marshalling/holding instructions), once you commence/start the approach you push to approach. If it is case III (IFR/night) you stay on approach, and the LSO's will normally pick up the comm at 3/4 mile, unless there are gross deviations that they need to communicate prior...in which case they can step over the approach controller. Approach control is very minimal, basically just advisory, since you are flying some form of a self contained precision or non-precision approach anyway. Daytime/case I, you would check in with tower at around 10 miles, and they will give you instructions on whether you are cleared to break, or if they need you to enter holding overhead. Either way, the end state is entering the break, and you make your ball call when you roll out in the groove, with the LSO's of course. Once you are on deck, comm is minimal as you are following your handler's signals. The airboss will occasionally intervene if something gets jacked up or if someone is confused (like me) and asks him for clarification.

inigo88 said:
The "Air Boss" works in primary flight ops at the top of the island and has a view of the flight deck, and is basically equivalent to the local controller at a tower. Is his frequency considered the "tower frequency?"
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See above. Difference between him and a normal controller is that he is a Navy CAPT (O-6) and is the big boss, as the name implies, rather than some petty officer. So I always preface what I say to him with "sir" as appropriate. Some of the saltier senior types call him "boss" but that isn't for junior guys like me. Basically, you do what he says, or you get to go see him or the boat CAPT afterwards.

inigo88 said:
The "Handler" works the "Ouija Board" at the base of the island and keeps track of all aircraft movements on the flight deck and hangar deck. However I'm not sure if he has any direct radio communication with the pilots or if he just coordinates with Primary Flight Ops through the intercom system.
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No direct comm that I have ever heard with the handler....he would be talking to the various yellow shirts on deck, but not directly to the pilots.

inigo88 said:
Downstairs in the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) and CDC there are additional radar positions equivalent to what you'd find at a TRACON. I know there's an Approach controller, a Departure controller and a Marshall controller (handling the stack of aircraft in the Marshal holding pattern during Case III recoveries) all on separate frequencies. I've also heard of a position called "Strike", but I'm not sure what their responsibilities are or whether they're located in CATCC, CDC or aboard an E-2 Hawkeye AWACS aircraft (or whether you talk to AWACS on yet another discrete frequency).
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See above. They handle night time/case III approaches, and are the folks you are talking to from the time you are in the stack, to the time you get handed off to paddles. As I mentioned above, paddles will be on their approach freq, so no switch at a mile when you are trying to just fly your aircraft.

inigo88 said:
"Paddles", the Landing Signal Officer (LSO), also gets their own frequency correct? So by 3/4 of a mile you switch frequencies from tower to paddles and call the ball?
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Nope, see above. They are in direct communication with the air boss and whatnot, but they do not have their own dedicated frequency for aircraft control.

inigo88 said:
Finally does each squadron get their own discrete to handle maintenance or operational issues (kind of like how each airline gets their own "company frequency" at an airport), or does that all go through the Air Boss?
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During CQ, we had a common "rep" freq, not sure if operationally each sqdn has their own button or not. Basically each squadron will have a rep up in the tower (case I) or CATCC (case III) to help out if anyone needs troubleshooting/IFE/etc help. Paddles can also get into the mix, and this makes more sense at times depending on where you are in the pattern/approach/etc.
 
///AMG, that is so cool! Thanks so much for clearing it all up.

N519AT, I remember that episode. I think it focused mostly on the female approach controller in the CATCC and not Pri-Fly so much, but I'll have to go back and check it out.
 
Just amplifying AMG's reply in the event you are interested.

inigo88 said:
How does Air Traffic Control work on a US Navy Aircraft Carrier? How does it compare against a regular civilian IFR flight, in which the pilot may talk to Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, Departure, Center, Approach, Tower, Ground, Company Ops frequencies, etc?

Downstairs in the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) and CDC there are additional radar positions equivalent to what you'd find at a TRACON. I know there's an Approach controller, a Departure controller and a Marshall controller (handling the stack of aircraft in the Marshal holding pattern during Case III recoveries) all on separate frequencies. I've also heard of a position called "Strike", but I'm not sure what their responsibilities are or whether they're located in CATCC, CDC or aboard an E-2 Hawkeye AWACS aircraft (or whether you talk to AWACS on yet another discrete frequency).
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There's two types of ATC in the Navy - administrative and tactical. And within each there are generally two ways they control aircraft - positive control (like normal civilian IFR) and advisory control (civilian flight following) - on the tactical side it's called close control and loose control. Advisory/loose control is the preferred method of control.

CATCC is responsible for the administrative side which would be associated with all the things you'd normally do with civilian ATC. So when you're talking on marshal or approach, you're talking to CATCC and the air traffic controllers (enlisted folks) in that space on the aircraft carrier.

CDC handles tactical responsibilities. "Strike" is a tactical function. Depending on the situation, it may not even aboard the carrier, but it would be in CDC if it was. If it's not on the carrier it would be aboard an AEGIS shooter. One important function strike performs is to validate each aircraft's IFF on departure and assist in join ups as each group heads out to their respective IPs. On the return, it's responsible for "delousing" the inbounds to make sure everyone coming back has a valid IFF or following a RTF profile and is who they say they are and to make sure no bad guys are hitch-hiking back. If an inbound is nordo or doesn't have a valid IFF, then it has to figure out whether it's a friendly or not and what to do about it.

inigo88 said:
The "Air Boss" works in primary flight ops at the top of the island and has a view of the flight deck, and is basically equivalent to the local controller at a tower. Is his frequency considered the "tower frequency?"
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As AMG said, he's actually a pretty powerful guy, he controls everything within 10 miles of the carrier and everything on the flight deck. Ironically he doesn't control when he can launch and recover aircraft. The carrier captain on the bridge controls that. Once the carrier captain gives the air boss permission to conduct flight operations, he can then launch and recover aircraft until he's done or the carrier captain takes it away (for whatever reason.)

It gets pretty interesting when the task force conducts flight operations under emissions control - where there's no radio communications at all with the aircraft launching or recovering.
 
woodreau said:
Just amplifying AMG's reply in the event you are interested.
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Absolutely interested. Thank you so much!

woodreau said:
CDC handles tactical responsibilities. "Strike" is a tactical function. Depending on the situation, it may not even aboard the carrier, but it would be in CDC if it was. If it's not on the carrier it would be aboard an AEGIS shooter. One important function strike performs is to validate each aircraft's IFF on departure and assist in join ups as each group heads out to their respective IPs. On the return, it's responsible for "delousing" the inbounds to make sure everyone coming back has a valid IFF or following a RTF profile and is who they say they are and to make sure no bad guys are hitch-hiking back. If an inbound is nordo or doesn't have a valid IFF, then it has to figure out whether it's a friendly or not and what to do about it.
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I figured as much. I know the carrier battle group has a nice 100 nm + buffer zone where they keep tabs on all the air and surface (and underwater) contacts and intercept as appropriate.

woodreau said:
As AMG said, he's actually a pretty powerful guy, he controls everything within 10 miles of the carrier and everything on the flight deck. Ironically he doesn't control when he can launch and recover aircraft. The carrier captain on the bridge controls that. Once the carrier captain gives the air boss permission to conduct flight operations, he can then launch and recover aircraft until he's done or the carrier captain takes it away (for whatever reason.)
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I knew he had a lot of authority being both ground control, and local control of that 10 nm radius around the carrier AND supervising all the flight ops in an administrative role as well, but I wasn't sure how he implemented that authority (i.e. over the phone or intercom to other officers on the ship, or over the "tower common" to the pilots). I originally thought that like civilian IFR flights, aircraft landing on a carrier would push from an Approach freq (CATCC) to a Tower common freq (Pri-Fly) to a Paddles freq (LSO). Given the extremely high workload of carrier landings it makes a lot more sense that you talk to the Air Boss on Tower (Case I) or Approach (Case III) and that the LSO just takes over on the same freq at 3/4 mile. It's such a different flight environment I really appreciate you guys hand-holding me through some of the nuances - which I find fascinating - and you probably find mundane. :)

woodreau said:
It gets pretty interesting when the task force conducts flight operations under emissions control - where there's no radio communications at all with the aircraft launching or recovering.
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I've heard this exists, but the fact that it's even possible blows my mind. Add bad weather and/or pitching deck to the mix and I could imagine things get REALLY interesting.
 
Keep in mind, in terms of switching freqs on approach, when you shoot a PAR/ASR (our standard) to a mil field, you remain on the GCA discrete until you are safely under control on landing roll-out, so we are pretty used to this anyway. Shipboard case III/CV-1 approach is pretty tasking for all involved, and IMHO you can't really afford to have a guy fumbling around for a freq switch, maybe going nordo, etc, all at 440' a mile behind the boat.
 
Hi everyone, (my first post here)

I had the same questions brewing in my head. I do some flight "simulating" online, once in a while (F/A18E made by VRS) and all this stuff is pretty interesting to me. Thanks AMG and woodreau for taking time to answer and inigo88 for asking :)

I have a quick follow up question: On the way back to the boat for a Case I recovery, after being deloused by Strike, do they hand you over to Approach or Marshal? Also, do you address pri-fly as "Tower" ?
 
Crust323 said:
I have a quick follow up question: On the way back to the boat for a Case I recovery, after being deloused by Strike, do they hand you over to Approach or Marshal? Also, do you address pri-fly as "Tower" ?
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Thats when the proverbial toilet bowl starts......
 
Well don't put too much stock in it though, I'm not a naval aviator, but spent lots of time in Station 1SNX (170R at 1 mile) behind the carrier - playing the extended centerline light chasing the carrier on dark moonless no visible horizon nights and saying harsh language at the carrier driver who can't drive straight.
 
woodreau said:
Well don't put too much stock in it though, I'm not a naval aviator, but spent lots of time in Station 1SNX (170R at 1 mile) behind the carrier - playing the extended centerline light chasing the carrier on dark moonless no visible horizon nights and saying harsh language at the carrier driver who can't drive straight.
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LOL, I think it's good stock, you've probably heard it all!
 
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