The Tower of Power

Recently our flying club toured the new tower at Palm Beach International in southeastern Florida. About 60 pilots signed up to see this multimillion-dollar facility. This is what we saw.

Fred Simonds

Sunday, October 08, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The new 241-foot Palm Beach International (PBI) air traffic control tower, completed in 2015, includes a local TRACON facility after significant debate overturned initial FAA plans to consolidate services, ensuring local control and hurricane resilience.
The tower's TRACON utilizes the advanced Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), featuring high-resolution color displays and sophisticated tools for conflict detection, aircraft separation, and converging runway management.
The state-of-the-art facility provides controllers with enhanced visibility and automation, while controllers emphasize clear communication, transponder usage, and encourage pilots to visit ATC facilities.

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Recently our flying club toured the new tower at Palm Beach International in southeastern Florida. About 60 pilots signed up to see this multimillion-dollar facility. This is what we saw.

The Backstory

In 2006, the FAA announced a money-saving plan to eliminate 14 Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities in nine states, including the one at PBI, consolidating them into Miami Center. Years of debate ensued amongst concerned citizens and pilots, Congressmen, AOPA, PBI’s ATC specialists and their union. Despite the unresolved TRACON matter, the FAA contracted to build the tower minus TRACON space in 2008.