TRACON Tours?

[cam11598]

Does any one know if Oakland center or NORCAL approach do tours? I've looked online and can't seem to find anything. I thought It would be neat to see who I'm talking to on the ground.

[sykocus]

It never hurts to ask. Try looking them up in the phone book.

[notaperfectpilot]

I guess it kinda depends on the facility. I got a tour of the TRACON and tower here at ROA in Virginia. I simply called the airport manager who in turn directed me to the tower secretary who scheduled it. I personally was surprised that they let us go on a tour because just a year earlier, they had said, no. That being said, ROA is only a class C airspace (and directly across the country  ), so, it might be harder to get in on NORCAL or Oakland center. I would start with what sykocus said, never hurts to ask, they can always say no.

hope you are successful!

[tyketto]

NCT and ZOA not only conduct tours, but they actually encourage them. I went on a tour of NCT with the vZOA guys from VATSIM a couple years ago, and not only did we enjoy the tour, but they actually learned a few things from us as well. We also were able to get a tour of SMF Tower as well.

All you pretty much need is to give them a call and schedule it a few weeks in advance. They'll let you know when a good time is to have a tour, and you'll be good to go.

Keep in mind that ZOA is in Oakland, and NCT is in Sacramento, so unless you know of a good way through traffic into the bay, you'll be a few hours on the road, so I wouldn't expect both tours to be conducted the same day.

BL.

[cam11598]

Well thanks for the info I'll try giving them a call. I was able to take a tour of Castle Tower the other day with my flight instructor but they don't have radar service so I was surprised to see them doing all that stuff just visually, they are quite friendly too.

[silagi]

ZOA is actually located about 30 miles south of Oakland in Fremont. 

[chtechinc]

What about in NY Center or TRACON?

[SoCal Pilot]

You could try to contact them directly...or check out the following FAA site:

https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/events/EventList.aspx

I have personally done the SoCal Tracon tour and it was amazing.  I found out about it by signing up on the FAA email list regarding upcoming seminars.

At the SoCal tour, they first did a Q&A with a few of the controllers.  They encourage constructive criticism among pilots / controllers.  Plus you get the opportunity to hear some interesting stories. Second, they took us to their simulator room, which is a full scale mock-up of the control room.  Then lastly, they take you down on the floor and get to watch the controllers do their job.  If you are lucky, and if they are not too busy, they let you plug in and listen. (Didn't get to do that  )

Good Luck!