Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 18 · column 1 of 2 · from the scan, no model involved
They sit in complete concentration, their faces
bathed in the green glow of radar scopes and their hands flying over keyboards, as they feed information into computers. They watch electronic moving pictures of aircraft flying over a sharply defined area of the Mid-Atlantic States. They keep track of moving blips, or target symbols, that represent airplanes on the radar screen.
These are the controllers of Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), operated by the Federal Aviation Administration, located in Leesburg, Virginia. Their job is the demanding and unforgiving one of controlling enroute Air Traffic. An enroute center controls air traffic from the time the aircraft leaves the immediate vicinity of an airport until it reaches the vicinity of the airport of destination. Washington ARTCC is one of twenty enroute centers located throughout the continental United States. Washington center is one of the busiest and most complex in the world.
The heart of the center is the control room, a cavernous windowless chamber, with thick concrete walls. The Washington center employs 360 air traffic controllers and supervisors, along with 85 electronic technicians and engineers who keep the radar, computer, and other equipment functioning properly. On a typically busy day, the Washington ARTCC handles more than 6,500 aircraft and on the busiest day, more than 7,200 aircraft. In calendar year 1985, the Washington ARTCC controlled 2,035,000 aircraft.
97.5%