Denver TRACON (D01) Welcome Letter Dear New Employee, Welcome to Denver TRACON! Here you will have an opportunity to work with an outstanding team of professionals that help make us a great place to work and develop your skills. Your knowledge, abilities and positive attitude made you a highly regarded addition to our team, and I am certain that you will make a positive impact on our future. Several techniques and procedures of Air Traffic Control at D01 may be new to you. Denver TRACON is delegated airspace within the Class A stratum. Denver International Airport is located within Class B airspace. Inter-facility operations are performed with Denver ARTCC, Colorado Springs Approach, Cheyenne Approach, and numerous Control Towers. We are located within designated mountainous terrain. Our facility was the 1st to conduct triple simultaneous ILS approaches, which is 3 aircraft side-by-side on final. During VFR conditions, we routinely set an airport arrival rate in excess of 160 flights per hour. All of us want to make your tenure at this facility as enjoyable and rewarding as possible. Please feel free to ask any questions and express your thoughts and ideas to the staff and leadership team. Our goal is to create an informal atmosphere and involve everyone in the process of making our facility an exceptional place to work. I look forward to working with you, and would like to welcome you again to our team! Sincerely, Ric Wunn Denver District/Denver TRACON Manager 2 Denver Terminal District Denver TRACON (D01) is part of the FAA’s Denver Terminal District. The District includes seven other FAA facilities (Denver Tower, Centennial Tower, Aspen Tower, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Tower, Colorado Springs Tower/TRACON, Casper Tower and Pueblo Tower), four Federal Contract Towers (Front Range Tower, Grand Junction Tower, Eagle Tower, and Cheyenne Tower), one Non-Federal Control Tower (Gillette Tower) and a Control Tower owned by the State of Colorado at Buckley Air Force Base. Denver International Airport ( www.flydenver.com ) is currently the nation’s 4th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are our busiest customers. Denver TRACON Today The TRACON is located south of Denver International Airport (DEN). It includes the radar room, equipment rooms, a kitchen, break rooms, an Enhanced Target Generator (ETG) Lab for training, and offices. There are approximately 60 controllers assigned to D01, providing round-the-clock coverage. An average day’s staffing includes employees working North Departure, East Departure, South Departure, West Departure, Satellite Departure, Approach, Final, Final Monitor, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Flight Data/Clearance Delivery, and a Traffic Management Unit position. D01 uses up to 17 state-of-the-art ARTS Color Display (ACD) radar scopes during day-to-day operations and opens up to three STARS scopes when conducting dual- or triple-simultaneous ILS operations. HISTORY Denver TRACON was originally located at the base of Stapleton Airport Control Tower. On February 28th, 1995, in conjunction with the opening of the new Denver International Airport, operations were moved to the TRACON’s current location. That morning, TRACON controllers conducted the world’s first-ever triple- simultaneous ILS operation. At the end of 1995, D01 had handled over 585,000 operations. AIRSPACE & OPERATIONS Denver TRACON is one of the nation’s busiest approach control facilities. Its airspace includes a 45-mile radius around DEN, and extends from the surface up to 23,000 feet. Denver International Airport is D01’s primary airport. Additionally, the TRACON provides approach control service to six other controlled airports (including Pueblo and Grand Junction) and seven public/municipal airports. The TRACON averages over 2,700 daily operations and in 2008, the facility handled almost 840,000 operations. 3 FACILITY STAFFING The Air Traffic Controllers at D01 are supported by: Air Traffic Manager The Denver District Manager is the Air Traffic Manager (ATM) for D01, and has responsibility for all facilities in the Denver District. The District Manager’s office is located in Room 106 near the west entrance to the TRACON. Staff Manager The Staff Manager assists and supports the Air Traffic Manager. The office is in Room 108. Support Managers There are two Support Managers at Denver TRACON. The Support Manager for Training is located in Room 228, and the Support Manager for Airspace and Procedures is in Room 220. Operations Managers (OMs) Two Operations Managers provide managerial oversight at the TRACON. The OM’s offices are in Rooms 208 and 212. Front Line Managers (Watch Supervisors) D01 is divided into eight crews, each supervised by a Front Line Manager. The FLM’s office is in Room 209. Traffic Management (TMU) Three Traffic Management Coordinators work in the TRACON. They monitor and balance traffic flows into, out of, and within D01. This unit is charged with the responsibility of implementing the necessary restrictions to ensure an orderly flow of traffic in extremely complex airspace. They work closely with Denver Tower TMU and Denver Center TMU. The TMU’s office is in Room 232. Support/Technical Specialists There are six Support/Technical Specialists and two contractors located in Rooms 218 and 226. Their responsibilities include Quality Assurance, Airspace and Procedures, Plans and Programs, and Training. 4 Administrative Personnel There are three Administrative personnel, all located on the first floor of the TRACON near the west entrance. Their responsibilities include personnel, time and attendance, budget, medical and security. Denver TRACON Radar Display 5 Denver TRACON Organizational Chart: Ric Wunn District Manager Ron Olson Staff Manager Charleen Willis Sharon Tuggle Administrative Officer Secretary Janice Nelson Mgmt Program Analyst Yancy O’Barr Bill Hammond Mark Phipps Kerri Hodge Dave Lister Operations Manager Operations Manager Support Manager Support Manager Traffic Mgmt Officer (Airspace/Procedures) (Training) (Acting) Curly Simmons Ted Goodlin Ray Huck Dave Swanson Front Line Manager Support Specialist Support Specialist TMU Joe Wolters Kyle Roddy Luke Vesely Leti Vela Front Line Manager Support Specialist Technical Specialist TMU Jeff Hamilton Tom O’Neill Bert Bowman Front Line Manager Support Specialist TMU Paul Davied Bob Schatz Front Line Manager Airspace Specialist Dave Geddes Front Line Manager Bob Twedt Front Line Manager Chuck Dickinson Front Line Manager 6 Raytheon Contract Personnel Raytheon is a private contractor hired to accomplish most of the initial classroom and lab training of air traffic controllers-in-training, developmentals and academy graduates. The Raytheon office in the Denver TRACON consists of a contractor site supervisor, instructors, a computer-based instruction administrator, an administrative assistant, and remote pilot operators. The instructors have all worked as air traffic controllers. They prepare you to go into the control environment and receive on-the- job training (OJT) with live traffic. This is accomplished for the most part by providing classroom stage training and testing on facility airspace, standard operating procedures and letters of agreement. Training and review of Air Traffic rules and regulations is also provided during stage training. For TRACON training, developmentals are given a series of sector specific simulated radar traffic control problems. These problems (ETGs) are developed and run by the Raytheon instructors and provide scenarios of increasing intensity so as to teach and evaluate individual progress without impacting live traffic. Training Training is an extensive and ongoing process. Air traffic controllers receive approximately 2 years of training prior to attaining the certified professional controller (CPC) level. Training consists of classroom and computer based instruction (CBI), plus enhanced target generator (ETG) lab scenarios for the TRACON. After completion of each phase of academic and lab training, OJT is conducted in a live environment. Our Expectations of All Employees • Come to work, be on time • Be prepared – mentally and physically • Understand leave policy and manage your leave appropriately • Be cooperative and professional • Treat people with respect and dignity • Take initiative • Be accountable • Lead by example – be a good role model • Do not tolerate or engage in any form of harassment or discrimination • Actively participate in training • Know your airspace and systems, know your equipment • Use prescribed phraseology/correct facility and equipment names • Follow rules and procedures • Be open to feedback – provide honest information • Be an effective team member 7 Policies Reporting for Duty On your first day, report at 7:00 a.m. to the Technical Operations Center (TOC) Building at 26805 East 68 th Avenue, Denver, CO, 80249-6361. Drive up to the security gate; the guard will direct you where to park and an Air Traffic representative will escort you over to the TRACON. Hours of Duty While in classroom and lab training, you will be on an 8-1/2 hour administrative schedule Monday through Friday. Hours will be from 7:00am - 3:30pm. Parking and Building Access During initial orientation, employees will receive a parking sticker that allows them to park next to the TRACON. Additional parking can be located outside the security fence next to the TOC building. Within one day of arriving at D01 you will be assigned an FAA ID card which is used to gain access to the TRACON. You will be required to display your FAA ID card at all times while in the facility. These are to be displayed on the front of your person, between the neck and the waist. If you forget your FAA ID you will be required to obtain a temporary Employee badge from security in the TOC. Security During facility orientation, you will also be briefed by Raytheon and the FAA on emergency evacuation procedures, information security, and other safety and security issues. Guests and Visitors The Air Traffic Manager or designated representative must approve any visits to the facility by guests or family of employees. Cell Phones Cell phones must be completely powered off when in TRACON radar room.