Sectorization Guidelines

POC: Facility Advisory Board	Date: 2000-09-29
Code: ZLA	Version: 1.00

Please read the following guidelines regarding splitting up/combining facilities:

Los Angeles ARTCC (CTR) is the facility which "owns" all airspace in it's area, but as traffic dictates, may "delegate" portions of it's airspace to other facilities, such as Approach Controls, who may then open up and work traffic in that delegated area.

There are many different Approach Control sectors which are available to open, including several approach control sectors which are collectively known to pilots as "Socal Approach". These are LAX_APP, SAN_APP, BUR_APP, SNA_APP and ONT_APP.

While it is true that pilots refer to a Socal controller as "SOCAL Approach" when calling on the radio, each sector being worked has a specific name, such as LAX FEEDER, ZUMA, MALIBU, VALLEY or MOORPARK. Because we are increasingly finding that we want to split up the airspace more and more due to increasing traffic levels, we have decided to ask that you log into PC using your sector name, such as LAX_APP, SAN_APP or ONT_APP, rather than logging in as "SOCAL APP". This only affects your PC Logon, and you should still call yourself "SOCAL Approach" on Roger Wilco.

There are a few benefits of taking this approach which we want to realize:

• Pilots who are not familiar with the local area tend to look for LAX_APP or SAN_APP, and don't often realize that SCL_APP is the facility to call. This should eliminate some of this.

• New controllers wishing to open up a portion of the Socal airspace often find it intimidating to break off a piece of the airspace if someone is logged in as "SOCAL". This should help invite other controllers to open up other parts of the airspace.

• If a controller is logged on as LAX_APP, it makes it easier to open up additional sectors such as SAN_APP or ONT_APP, as it doesn't require a controller logged in as SCL_APP to change callsigns, and eliminates confusion for pilots who don't know whether to call SAN_APP or SCL_APP if on the ground at SAN. (for example).

• When several controllers are working Socal facilities, such as LAX_APP, SNA_APP or BUR_APP, it is clearer to the pilot which facility to call if we use this system of nomenclature rather than a more obscure one such as SC_NO_APP, SC_BU_APP, etc.

• By using BUR_APP, ONT_APP as logins, open facilities are correctly depicted on the Whazzup display, which should attract more pilots to the area.

Remember, in the real world, SOCAL_APP is staffed by dozens of controllers, and it's more than one person can handle if there's any kind of traffic.

If other sectors of SOCAL are not open, LAX_APP will normally control the airspace of the other SOCAL sectors.

Also remember to always ask before opening up a sector - you may find it helpful to log on as OBS first and check with the senior control (usually CTR) to ask where you are most needed.