Black dots = Airplanes. Where they're all heading is Memphis - FedEx's hub (before they and the storm gets there its a red dot with KMEM on it). A storm is moving in so the controllers direct the planes around the storm and land most of them before it hits. The planes making circles are 'circling' waiting for weather to clear.
Each center is divided into areas, and each area is divided into sectors, which is the smallest unit of air traffic control. Each plane passes though many sectors enroute to an airport. A sector is not only lateral space, but vertical as well, kind of like layers of a cake. So to answer your question, yes, many had a hand in pulling this off. The area supervisors are the ones who coordinate with weather control. It's a well oiled machine.
I love the one aircraft that gets routed -through- the line of storms (0:17-0:21; watch in the middle-right) and lands just ahead of the storm. And as I've said before... the music is almost perfectly-timed to what's going on in the radar image. I love this video lots, and have much respect for the intricate choreography that kept everyone safe. :)
150(+/-) aircraft from 11p to 1a and back out between 2:30a and 4a... 3 N-S runways and one E-W runway.. the ATCs here are talented and perform this bal;let each night. I've been working the FedEx Mem Ramp for 16 years and I still love watching the planes land and take off...
i was a helicopter crewmember for kern county fire, and later the US Forest Service... we not only fight fire, but set up the air bases all the helos use. I've worked as the air base radio operator(mission control sort of) and take off and landing coordinator(kind of like the tower, basically controlling incoming/outgoing aircraft on the deck)) on huge fires with up to 35 helos flying missions 14 hours a day on a 2 hour fuel cycle... cargo, personel.. all that stuff
nice, they showed that same video at the Fedex offices near the airport when i did a summer aviation program it was so cool and that showed the one of fedex operation in a 24 hour period
@straightflush66 Yes, it's the fedex arrival rush into Memphis. I'm sure there were planes departing, but not fedex and this is only fedex aircraft. The planes all arrive, the freight is pulled off and sorted and loaded into different planes, and then they all depart. It's really a logistical marvel.
Seeing FedEx has the largest fleet of planes in the world and Memphis, Tennessee is their main hub, with thunderstorms and tornadoes passing in the southeast a lot, who can imagine how skilled ATC is?
Memphis gets military traffic, your standard commercial traffic (Mostly RJs but some heavier aircraft from Delta and the like), and the traffic from FedEx's worldhub for basically the Americas. FedEx traffic makes up the vast majority of their traffic, and FedEx is a damn big company with a lot of planes, so you can pretty much expect the majority of that traffic to be either an ASA RJ or FedEx heavies coming in. Pretty cool sight though.
@atczeroable No, I wasn't implying that she actually runs a sector, but she used to. She is very capable of doing it agian if she had to, but now she manages people. Occasionally she will cover a board if someone is late or needs a bathroom break, things like that.
ATL dealt with close to 90,000,000 passengers in 2007, living up to its designation as the world's busiest airport. However, Memphis does have the world's largest cargo operation by volume, thanks to FedEx and UPS.
@beergut111 If we take the term literally yes they're both skilled but this video is specifically highlighting the controller's ability to direct flights. The planes you see here that are maneuvering around the storm, the fact that they're able to land safely on limited runway space in complicated air space is due to the controllers telling every single one of those planes you see on that screen where they need to be at that very moment, and where they need to go.
Thunderstorms have violent vertical shifts in winds. Even if you wings stay in tact, you may find that there suddenly no lift. It is a situation called wind sheer. There was a crash in Texas I think in the late 80's where a 737 was on final, hit a wind sheer, and crashed. That's what dangerous about thunderstorms and flight.
Yeah August 2, 1985 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed on final to KDFW runway 17L (I believe it was 17L) it first hit about 6,000 feet from the runway, bounced up, took a car off of highway 114 (Unlucky guy in the car...) and then hit two 15,000 gallon water tanks... Their were 29 survivors however.
thats the weather, red is a storm, and you notice how the planes get diverted, or get put into a holding pattern and wait it out. No plane is allowed to land or take off under those conditions, its extremely dangerous! yellow, is caution, the planes can still land and take-off, but usually involves high winds/crosswinds, but need to be done with care, and the green well... just light winds, not much to worry about unless your first time solo in a Cessna 172! :D
@hazmittens Well, by my calculation, it appears as if about 2 hours have been condesed into about a minute, give or take. Whatever it was, it took a lot of skill to do all that verbally to about a hundred jets.
The controllers work for the government, and have no connection to FedEx. Getting these planes down and to their ramp was the work of 10-20 controllers, not just one.
@hghskid In the UK, its 6-9 months training followed by 3-4 years on the job being supervised intensively. During all this time you will be paid basic wages but will often have accomadation taken care of. After that, its about $70000+ and you can easily earn double that later on in your career. Its good pay but a highly stressful job (esp at big airports) and its all shift work (eg often working midnight to 8am). You always need to remain calm, have good hearing and eyesight too.
Believe it or not, that FEDEX traffic comes into Memphis around 11PM to midnight, so it would be understandable that there were no departures, even if they were depicted, which they probably were not.
good - wages, depending on what sector your in FSS,VFR,IFR, anywhere from about 45k-100,000+, depending where you are, and your senority also its like a giant video game, just with no reset button! :D also the oppertunity to crack jokes to pilots is alot of fun! also its not nearly as stressful as hollywood or people think it is, people in the tower/centres are trained professionals that have undergone rigourous training... its stressful at times, but so is every job!
@HEADBANGBALLER You a controller yourself? Convince me otherwise to pursuing this career. The only thing currently affecting my decision is the 1 year of school without pay. It could just be the personal position I stand in. Do you know if it generally takes 1 year? 'cause it states 4-12 months..... (Phase 1)
This is approx a 1.5 hr (or so) time frame, total. The last flight DID divert to DFW. Thats what happens when LIT and STL and other alternate airports are full of previously diverted aircraft. I't a nightly thing at KMEM/FDX when the wx is bad. Most aircraft make it in, thanks to ATC, FDX pilots and dispatchers. And that's why packages Absolutely Positively get there the next morning.!
No, I am not a controller. I am a pilot. My wife is an ATC area manager, so I know pretty much what's going on. The unpaid training is like any other job. You go to college (unpaid) and your reward is a high paying job. My wife makes over $145k/year. But that's secondary. If you don't have the mental toughness and can't take constant, unrelenting strain, then look elsewhere. My wife has an iron will, a spine of steel, and the edge of a razor, and she gets pushed to the limit everyday.
Getting them lined up around the weather and setting them up on the proper approaches requires quite some skill. There's plenty involved in ATC vectoring in severe weather like that.
@LearPilot1020 Exactlly, my friend. That is what I was tring to say. I love flying. Yesterday evening I had a little scare. I was up in a Cessna 182 and I had a tire blow out on landing! First time for that. It yawed to the right big time. I kept it on the concrete though. A piece of metal about 2 inches long did it. Must have fallen off another plane.
I'm pretty sure that it's because it's only tracking FedEx planes going in to Memphis for loading. They all come in before midnight, load up, then go out again. At the very end of the video it looks like they're leaving again.
awesome... air traffic control is an amazing mental exercise.... it drives some people crazy (like wierd look in the eye, i think they need to punch somebody and get it over with crazy), but it actually makes you feel smarter when you first begin to do a good job, lol... and for some reason, you start feel like pilots are getting less smart as you go along, lmao... but i never handled more than a 35 aircraft base ...
i have a big respect 4 all air trafic controllers and,when regan god bless him fird all of them in LAX.i was very sad ,they r our EYEIN THE SKY,very stresful job!
Not every controller is govt. Many smaller airports (typically below level 6) are contracted out to the airport, and they manage their own workforce. The rest, yes, are then either FAA, DoD, or military. Those are the 4 ways to be a controller in the US. --SNA ATC Specialist
Black dots = Airplanes. Where they're all heading is Memphis - FedEx's hub (before they and the storm gets there its a red dot with KMEM on it).
A storm is moving in so the controllers direct the planes around the storm and land most of them before it hits. The planes making circles are 'circling' waiting for weather to clear.
I've saved this as a favorite, and have probably watched it once a month for a few years now... Love it!!
Each center is divided into areas, and each area is divided into sectors, which is the smallest unit of air traffic control. Each plane passes though many sectors enroute to an airport. A sector is not only lateral space, but vertical as well, kind of like layers of a cake. So to answer your question, yes, many had a hand in pulling this off. The area supervisors are the ones who coordinate with weather control. It's a well oiled machine.
I love the one aircraft that gets routed -through- the line of storms (0:17-0:21; watch in the middle-right) and lands just ahead of the storm. And as I've said before... the music is almost perfectly-timed to what's going on in the radar image. I love this video lots, and have much respect for the intricate choreography that kept everyone safe. :)
I love the total badass at :20 who just flys right through the north part of the storm.
150(+/-) aircraft from 11p to 1a and back out between 2:30a and 4a... 3 N-S runways and one E-W runway.. the ATCs here are talented and perform this bal;let each night. I've been working the FedEx Mem Ramp for 16 years and I still love watching the planes land and take off...
P E R F E C T JOB! He should be promoted or something like that. He saved so many lives in just a few hours!!!
That is soo cool and funny at the same time! Speeding up the image gives a comical view.
i was a helicopter crewmember for kern county fire, and later the US Forest Service... we not only fight fire, but set up the air bases all the helos use. I've worked as the air base radio operator(mission control sort of) and take off and landing coordinator(kind of like the tower, basically controlling incoming/outgoing aircraft on the deck)) on huge fires with up to 35 helos flying missions 14 hours a day on a 2 hour fuel cycle... cargo, personel.. all that stuff
nice, they showed that same video at the Fedex offices near the airport when i did a summer aviation program it was so cool and that showed the one of fedex operation in a 24 hour period
I love that one plane at the very end where it diverts and goes way off the map :P
This guy has some mad skill. Good Job, Awesome.
Great job from the ATC, and great choice on the music. What's the name of this song, please?
I really applaud your choice of music to go along with the display. :)
I love the one plane that decides to divert instead of holding...
@straightflush66 Yes, it's the fedex arrival rush into Memphis. I'm sure there were planes departing, but not fedex and this is only fedex aircraft. The planes all arrive, the freight is pulled off and sorted and loaded into different planes, and then they all depart. It's really a logistical marvel.
Seeing FedEx has the largest fleet of planes in the world and Memphis, Tennessee is their main hub, with thunderstorms and tornadoes passing in the southeast a lot, who can imagine how skilled ATC is?
As a 19 yr old kid going into the Air Force for ATC, this is fascinating and intimidating. I hope to god that i'm prepared enough.
howd it go?
Where they all FredEx aircaft landing at Memphis and aiports around Memphis?
Your package is on the plane that went through the red, you know it.
KMEM is the major hub for FedEx. Everything from 747's to Caravans. If you ever see an aerial pic of the airport, the whole north side is FedEx.
this is awesome, nice choice of music also
wow, I never really understood what an traffic controller did. That was soooooo cool!!
Nice video. It looks like a stream of ants! I also like the selection of music for this.
Memphis gets military traffic, your standard commercial traffic (Mostly RJs but some heavier aircraft from Delta and the like), and the traffic from FedEx's worldhub for basically the Americas. FedEx traffic makes up the vast majority of their traffic, and FedEx is a damn big company with a lot of planes, so you can pretty much expect the majority of that traffic to be either an ASA RJ or FedEx heavies coming in. Pretty cool sight though.
Great! I see very few actually had to hold for a while. Nice work by the controllers.
@atczeroable No, I wasn't implying that she actually runs a sector, but she used to. She is very capable of doing it agian if she had to, but now she manages people. Occasionally she will cover a board if someone is late or needs a bathroom break, things like that.
Now that my friends is a great video for traffic patterns and weather. hehe
ATL dealt with close to 90,000,000 passengers in 2007, living up to its designation as the world's busiest airport. However, Memphis does have the world's largest cargo operation by volume, thanks to FedEx and UPS.
They look like ants going to the ant pile. and the music just totally completed the looks XD.
@beergut111 If we take the term literally yes they're both skilled but this video is specifically highlighting the controller's ability to direct flights. The planes you see here that are maneuvering around the storm, the fact that they're able to land safely on limited runway space in complicated air space is due to the controllers telling every single one of those planes you see on that screen where they need to be at that very moment, and where they need to go.
I know this has been asked already, but since it's been bugging me -- what's the song? It fits so well!
wow. that controller really is highly skilled!
More like highly skilled dispatchers and pilots.
Very Nice.
Is it based on ADS-B ?
and yes, WHAT IS THE MUSIC ?
what are the gd and bad things about ATC? Whats the max and minimum wages for ATC work? And what hours and shifts do you work?
Why are these dots sort of incoming flights, what about outgoing?
Bloody hell, that is work load, A friend once asked me why I didn't apply for for ATC : Thats Why!!!!!!
Respect!
How many fed ex planes can there be at one airport?
@Loxspliff -just curious. How many people does it take to make that happen? (not including flight crew.) love this vid btw.
Thunderstorms have violent vertical shifts in winds. Even if you wings stay in tact, you may find that there suddenly no lift. It is a situation called wind sheer.
There was a crash in Texas I think in the late 80's where a 737 was on final, hit a wind sheer, and crashed. That's what dangerous about thunderstorms and flight.
no. one flew into Little Rock (LIT), and then one came out heading to Dallas. Some of the others diverted to LIT as well.
this man must be a god at flight control
That takes skillz, right there.
@Loxspliff what do you work as? like position?
What happened to the original music?
One of the planes flew back west towards Texas, why?
Wow, that is awesome, man alive.
Wow thats amazing!!! although its been sped up, i mean wow! Have to rethink applyin to be an ATC if thats wat's expected!!
props to guy that does ojob!
This would be several controllers working in conjunction.
Yeah August 2, 1985 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed on final to KDFW runway 17L (I believe it was 17L) it first hit about 6,000 feet from the runway, bounced up, took a car off of highway 114 (Unlucky guy in the car...) and then hit two 15,000 gallon water tanks... Their were 29 survivors however.
cool to watch everytime. good job to ATC.
geez that one plane at the end went all the way back to dallas!
@Sonnicham There are planes going out, they're just not shown here.
Whats the music?
I like the music !!
me gusto la cancion y tambien me gusta mucho el trafico aereo...
¿Esto es real?
Haha, makes the planes look like ants returning to the nest.
Great Vid!
thats the weather, red is a storm, and you notice how the planes get diverted, or get put into a holding pattern and wait it out. No plane is allowed to land or take off under those conditions, its extremely dangerous! yellow, is caution, the planes can still land and take-off, but usually involves high winds/crosswinds, but need to be done with care, and the green well... just light winds, not much to worry about unless your first time solo in a Cessna 172! :D
@hazmittens Well, by my calculation, it appears as if about 2 hours have been condesed into about a minute, give or take. Whatever it was, it took a lot of skill to do all that verbally to about a hundred jets.
funny to see when the storm hovers above the terminal, the 'ants' starts to run around
I see one going to an alternate in the end?
lmao i like the one guy that choses to divert to Forth Worth it looks like while the rest suck it up and land in the thunderstorm.
Why would they divert instead of make a big line?
The controllers work for the government, and have no connection to FedEx. Getting these planes down and to their ramp was the work of 10-20 controllers, not just one.
@hghskid In the UK, its 6-9 months training followed by 3-4 years on the job being supervised intensively. During all this time you will be paid basic wages but will often have accomadation taken care of. After that, its about $70000+ and you can easily earn double that later on in your career. Its good pay but a highly stressful job (esp at big airports) and its all shift work (eg often working midnight to 8am). You always need to remain calm, have good hearing and eyesight too.
Agreed- Mspenecer ~ Good collabrative efforts on Both ends, obviously.
Believe it or not, that FEDEX traffic comes into Memphis around 11PM to midnight, so it would be understandable that there were no departures, even if they were depicted, which they probably were not.
i know its just that the holding pattern looked like a long time but other then that he can make them organized quickly
good -
wages, depending on what sector your in FSS,VFR,IFR, anywhere from about 45k-100,000+, depending where you are, and your senority
also its like a giant video game, just with no reset button! :D
also the oppertunity to crack jokes to pilots is alot of fun!
also its not nearly as stressful as hollywood or people think it is, people in the tower/centres are trained professionals that have undergone rigourous training... its stressful at times, but so is every job!
47 seconds! They ARE good!
This is over a period of how long? lol that is amazing though.
looks honestly like a slow day at atlanta.
It's like playing Lemmings in real life.
@HEADBANGBALLER You a controller yourself? Convince me otherwise to pursuing this career. The only thing currently affecting my decision is the 1 year of school without pay. It could just be the personal position I stand in. Do you know if it generally takes 1 year? 'cause it states 4-12 months..... (Phase 1)
This is approx a 1.5 hr (or so) time frame, total. The last flight DID divert to DFW. Thats what happens when LIT and STL and other alternate airports are full of previously diverted aircraft.
I't a nightly thing at KMEM/FDX when the wx is bad. Most aircraft make it in, thanks to ATC, FDX pilots and dispatchers. And that's why packages Absolutely Positively get there the next morning.!
@drewmagoo1 Well, at least I learned a new music search software. Was kinda tired of the crappy Tunatic. Thanks!
Does anyone know if 1 person was responsible for all of these aircrafts? or was it a team of controllers...
No, I am not a controller. I am a pilot. My wife is an ATC area manager, so I know pretty much what's going on. The unpaid training is like any other job. You go to college (unpaid) and your reward is a high paying job. My wife makes over $145k/year. But that's secondary. If you don't have the mental toughness and can't take constant, unrelenting strain, then look elsewhere. My wife has an iron will, a spine of steel, and the edge of a razor, and she gets pushed to the limit everyday.
that was like watchin a bunch of ants.. lol kudos to the controller... :-D
Getting them lined up around the weather and setting them up on the proper approaches requires quite some skill. There's plenty involved in ATC vectoring in severe weather like that.
Fantastic!
@LearPilot1020 Exactlly, my friend. That is what I was tring to say. I love flying. Yesterday evening I had a little scare. I was up in a Cessna 182 and I had a tire blow out on landing! First time for that. It yawed to the right big time. I kept it on the concrete though. A piece of metal about 2 inches long did it. Must have fallen off another plane.
If you've ever been in a tower you'd see that one person isn't doing this alone... and the video is CLEARLY speeded up.
I'm pretty sure that it's because it's only tracking FedEx planes going in to Memphis for loading. They all come in before midnight, load up, then go out again. At the very end of the video it looks like they're leaving again.
awesome... air traffic control is an amazing mental exercise.... it drives some people crazy (like wierd look in the eye, i think they need to punch somebody and get it over with crazy), but it actually makes you feel smarter when you first begin to do a good job, lol... and for some reason, you start feel like pilots are getting less smart as you go along, lmao... but i never handled more than a 35 aircraft base ...
Hell only one diverted......good ATC!!!!
The red is LAVA!!
Rapidly sped up... anyone know what this 47 seconds equates in real time?
great! are you the air traffic controller
i have a big respect 4 all air trafic controllers and,when regan god bless him fird all of them in LAX.i was very sad ,they r our EYEIN THE SKY,very stresful job!
0:30 "shit shit turn around!"
there are probably like 10 people guiding the airplanes
Maybe he was flying out to begin with. It was funny anyhow with the music and them going in confused circles.
@Loxspliff Yes thats why it says controllerS
Not every controller is govt. Many smaller airports (typically below level 6) are contracted out to the airport, and they manage their own workforce. The rest, yes, are then either FAA, DoD, or military. Those are the 4 ways to be a controller in the US.
--SNA ATC Specialist
are you kidding? what part of "fedex" confuses you?
@neverfearchrisishere thankless? i dont follow what you mean. Are you in ATC yourself?
@StabyMcStabsFace , im sorry, what is that?