Ground Metering

[Greg01]

Okay, I think I know what the purpose is, but I'm going to ask anyway.

At ORD, the ATIS says (in your best Perfect Paul voice), "When ready to taxi, contact ground metering on frequency 121.675..."

What exactly does ground metering do? I'm thinking they retrieve release times and then get everybody in a sequence and then ground control will just issue the taxi assignments. Is that close?

What exactly do they do that ground control can't?

Thanks,
Greg

[Pygmie]

Could it be something like ground at JFK, when the aircraft call there first and are immediately told to contact the other freq. (I'm assuming this is so the first controller can get the strips on the flight and find out where the aircraft is, so that the other controller can keep control of his frequency).

Although that's just a guess. . .

[Greg01]

Could be, but at ORD they actually call it "Ground Metering." At JFK, it's just ground.

I dunno,

[The Hoffspatcher]

I think its the sequencing guy, works out who to put them behind.  Last time I heard the ATIS, they called it "Ground Delivery" so that kind of explains it I think.

[Rightrudder]

Metering has the job of arranging the departures so that the tower doesn't have a load of planes that all need to go in the same direction at once.  Since there are spacing requirements for each departure route it is more efficient to "spray" aircraft in all directions.  I fly out of Newark and flow management is always holding us since they have to sequence us in with departures from LGA and JFK.

[Greg01]

Rightrudder, I think you're thinking of flow control.

Ground metering is specific to that airport, not surrounding airports as well.

Let me guess...Continental or ExpressJet?

Greg

[The Hoffspatcher]

Yes exactly, flow control.  Controling the flow of planes to each departure gate. 

I can't send a bunch of planes to GREKI or WAVEY all at once because of seperation and miles in trail (MIT) requirements, example:  MERIT departures from N90 handed to ZBW need 10 MIT seperation. 

If I have 30 planes going to MERIT then its going to be really hard if not impossible to get 10 MIT.

Meterings job is to work out who is going where and sequence them appropriately.

[alphagolf81]

I used to work at ORD in a ramp tower, and after we would sequence our outbounds we would have em contact metering.  metering then picks up their paperwork in the order they are leaving the ramps and puts them in their correct order.  after they get everything in order, they tell them to monitor the outbound ground controller, who will then contact da outbounds when they need them moving.  he then sequences them in order so that the local controller can launch em.... one right after another.   ORD is the greatest, I miss that place.

[PHL Approach]

ORD is the greatest, I miss that place.

Ehhh you can't wine! Your at another efficient airport. D01!!!