TODAY FAST FORWARD IS AT HARTSFIELD-JACKSON
ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
PICKING A PLACE WHERE WE'LL FIND MORE GREAT GEORGIA JOBS.
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WELL THERE YOU GO!
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE REACHED OUR DESTINATION!
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WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF FAST FORWARD
COMING AT YOU FROM HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
WITH 260,000 PASSENGERS
AND 2,000 FLIGHTS PASSING THROUGH EVERY DAY
IT'S OFFICIALLY THE BUSIEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD.
THEY'VE GOT NONSTOP FLIGHTS TO MORE THAN 150 U.S. DESTINATIONS
60 INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS
45 COUNTRIES
THEY'RE WITHIN A 2 HOUR FLIGHT OF 80% OF THE US POPULATION
THEY'RE OPEN 24/7 AND WHAT WAS THAT OTHER THING?
Kevin: IT IS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA
RIGHT!
WHICH MEANS WHETHER YOU'VE LOOKING FOR A VACATION
OR A VOCATION
HARTSFIELD-JACKSON IS THE PLACE TO BE!
BECAUSE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR CAREER
YOU DON'T WANT TO...WING IT.
Kevin: I'M SORRY, BUT LAUGHTER FOR THAT LAST JOKE
HAS BEEN DELAYED INDEFINITELY.
FAIR ENOUGH.
SO ONCE AGAIN HOW MANY JOBS DO YOU HAVE HERE?
Louis: WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF HARTSFIELD-JACKSON
THERE ARE 58,000 EMPLOYEES THAT WORK OUT HERE.
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
WHAT KINDS OF JOBS?
Kevin: COMPANIES THAT BEGIN WITH THE AIRLINE ITSELF
AND THEN ALL THE SUPPORT COMPANIES
THAT HAVE TO DEAL WITH VARIOUS THINGS.
Kathryn: WE HIRE A LOT OF ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS
TO DO THE DESIGN,
ARCHITECTURAL DRAFTING, WHICH IS COMPUTER AIDED
DRAFTING AS WELL AS A LOT OF SITE WORK,
SURVEYORS
GEOTECHNICAL.
Louis: IT'S A CITY UNTO ITSELF.
WE HAVE OUR OWN POLICE, WE HAVE OUR OWN FIRE.
AN AIRPORT CITY?
I LIKE IT!
SO HAS ANYONE EVER LOST THE KEYS TO AN AIRPLANE?
Kevin: THERE'S ACTUALLY SOME KEYS THAT LOCK DOORS FOR AIRCRAFT
AND THERE HAVE BEEN PILOTS THAT HAVE LOST KEYS TO AIRCRAFT
AND ARE NOT ABLE TO OPEN THEM.
WHICH IS WHY
IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO USE THE LOST AND FOUND.
AND SPEAKING OF NOT LOSING THINGS
MAYBE NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO DISCUSS
HOW HARTSFIELD-JACKSON KEEPS TRACK OF ALL THOSE PLANES.
Kevin: HEY HOW ABOUT A TEACHABLE MOMENT ABOUT RADAR?
YOU READ MY MIND KEVIN!
IN ORDER TO COORDINATE FLIGHT ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS NEED TO KNOW
WHERE PLANES ARE AT ALL TIMES.
TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, THEY USE SOMETHING CALLED RADAR.
RADAR SYSTEMS DETECT THE LOCATION OF AN OBJECT BY
EMITTING HIGH-FREQUENCY RADIO WAVES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
WHEN THESE WAVES MAKE CONTACT WITH AN OBJECT
THEY'RE REFLECTED BACK TO THE SOURCE AND GATHERED BY A RECEIVER.
THE SYSTEM CAN THEN DETERMINE AN OBJECT'S LOCATION BY
MEASURING THE TIME IT TAKES
FOR THE RADIO WAVES TOMAKE IT BACK.
A TRANSPONDER IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT TOOL USED
ALONGSIDE THE RADAR.
THIS DEVICE IS BUILT INTO EVERY PLANE AND WORKS WITH THE RADAR
TO GIVE EACH AIRCRAFT A UNIQUE SIGNATURE
BY WHICH THE PLANE CAN BE IDENTIFIED.
TO ACHIEVE THIS
THE TRANSPONDER IS SET TO TRANSMIT
ONLY A CERTAIN FREQUENCY OF RADIO WAVES
TO THE CONTROL TOWER.
WHEN THAT FREQUENCY IS PICKED UP BY THE RADAR AT THE AIRPORT
ITS UNIQUE FREQUENCY
IS MATCHED TO THE CORRESPONDING PLANE CODE
AND THE PLANE CAN BE INDIVIDUALLY TRACKED.
THAT'S HOW THEY KEEP THE PLANES ORGANIZED
AND PASSENGERS SAFE.
AS FOR THE RUNWAYS...
Louis: YOU WANT TO KEEP THE ANIMALS OUT OF THE WAY.
BIRDS FLYING, THEY DON'T MIX WELL WITH AIRPLANES
GO ON.
Kevin: HERE AT HARTSFIELD JACKSON WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL
SCREAMERS AND POPPERS
THEY'RE JUST PYROTECHNICS.
WE SEE A BIRD THAT IS CLOSE TO THE SAFETY AREA
THEN WE WILL USE THAT PARTICULAR DEVICE
IN ORDER TO SCARE THEM AWAY.
SOMETIMES WE WILL EVEN GET A CONTRACTOR.
THEY HAVE TRAINED FALCONS
TO GO AND SCARE AWAY CERTAIN TYPES OF BIRDS.
FOR THOSE OF YOU KEEPING SCORE AT HOME
THAT'S 58,002 JOBS, INCLUDING LOCKSMITH AND FALCONER.
SO IF I'M IN HIGH SCHOOL
AND I WANT WORK IN THE AVIATION FIELD SOME DAY
WHAT SHOULD I FOCUS ON?
Kathryn: WELL IF YOU'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL
THE THING YOU REALLY NEED IS MATH.
YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY USE THAT STUFF?
Kathryn: OH I STILL USE IT ALL THE TIME.
BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY SITTING DOWN
AND CALCULATING THE MATH
IT'S TRAINING YOUR BRAIN HOW TO WORK.
THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND CRITICAL THINKING IS TO
EVALUATE THINGS SO THAT YOU CAN MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND IF THERE'S ONE THING THESE GUYS KNOW
ITS DIRECTIONS.
WHICH REMINDS ME
WHY ARE ALL THE RUNWAYS AT HARTSFIELD PARALLEL?
Kathryn: THAT'S THE MOST EFFICIENT LAYOUT BECAUSE
IT ALLOWS US TO DO SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS.
WE DO SIMULTANEOUS TAKEOFFS ON TYPICALLY TWO RUNWAYS
AND THEN SIMULTANEOUS LANDINGS ON THREE.
THAT MAKES SENSE.
NOBODY LIKES GETTING STUCK IN TRAFFIC.
SO BEFORE WE HAVE OUR FINAL BOARDING CALL
TELL US WHAT MAKES HARTSFIELD JACKSON
SUCH A FIRST CLASS PLACE TO WORK.
Kathryn: MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT MY JOB IS
THAT NO TWO DAYS ARE EVER THE SAME.
EVEN WHEN YOU COME IN
AND YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH
SOMETHING ALWAYS COMES UP THAT CHANGES THINGS
SO THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF ON THE FLY.
ON THE FLY...
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!
AND TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME.
SO I'LL GET GOING BEFORE KATHRYN TAKES OFF WITH MY JOB.
BUT I'LL MAKE A QUICK ROUND TRIP
AND SEE YOU ON THE NEXT LEG OF FAST FORWARD.
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