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360° Air Traffic Control: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Strategic Profession
Welcome to an exceptional immersive experience dedicated to 360° air traffic control. With this virtual tour offered by the Air and Space Museum, you'll enter an often-overlooked world: that of the women and men who monitor air traffic on the ground. Discover the workstations, responsibilities, and technologies used in a real, reconstructed control tower.
A virtual tour to understand air traffic control in 360°
Rather than reading a manual or watching a documentary, this immersive tour allows you to experience air traffic control in 360°, from the inside. Every area of the tower is accessible: LOC (Local Control) position, ground, radar, weather, coordination? and even training areas.
You can click on interactive hotspots, listen to explanations, consult diagrams, and explore the working environment of air traffic controllers. An innovative and intuitive way to discover this demanding profession.
The Air and Space Museum offers a unique virtual tour device dedicated to air traffic control, integrated into its permanent exhibition. This digital experience immerses visitors in the strategic and often little-known world of air traffic control, control towers, en-route centers, and radar operators.
Accessible on site via an interactive terminal, this immersive journey traces the evolution of civil and military air traffic control, from its beginnings in the 20th century to its contemporary challenges: security, coordination, technological innovation.
Focus on the LOC position: managing traffic during takeoff and landing
Among the key positions of the tower, the LOC position is central. This is where local controllers manage aircraft movements on the runway, authorize takeoffs, ensure separation... in short, they guide planes visually.
A dedicated hotspot explains everything to you: role, responsibilities, tools used, phraseology, coordination with the ground and the approach. Thanks to this 360° approach, you literally slip into the controller's shoes.
Thanks to a technology of 360-degree virtual tour, users can learn how radar systems work, listen to authentic radio communications between pilots and controllers, and interact with educational modules.
Each step of the journey is enriched with multimedia content such as radar consoles or control simulators.
An innovation in the service of scientific mediation
This system is fully in line with the museum's mission: make technical professions understandable, while expanding access to knowledge. It also meets the needs of a diverse audience - young people, teachers, aeronautics enthusiasts, but also people with reduced mobility - by offering a intuitive and fun digital access to sometimes complex content.
Educational tools accessible to all
The virtual tour was designed to be clear and inclusive. You will find there:
of the FALC panels (Easy to read and understand),
of the content in French Sign Language (LSF),
illustrated and voice media.
It is a resolutely modern and educational approach, which makes visible a world too often reserved for the initiated.
Why air traffic control is a major issue
Every day, thousands of planes cross French airspace. Behind these fluid trajectories: controllers, invisible but essential. Thanks to this immersive 360° air traffic control experience, we better understand their role in safety, efficiency and traffic flow.
This realistic and interactive reconstruction not only highlights the professions, but also the technical heritage of civil aeronautics.
A contribution to the promotion of aeronautical heritage
The theme of air traffic control, rarely highlighted in public exhibitions, finds a place here a true digital treasure troveThis project helps to preserve and disseminate the memory of these women and men who, far from the spotlight, guarantee the safety of millions of passengers every day.
Are you interested in the world of aviation? Discover the virtual tour of the Concorde or others virtual tours of the Air and Space Museum , or even more info on this permanent exhibition.
