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Schedule for Fri November 21st

There are no controllers currently scheduled for that date

November Top Controllers

Stats as of August 1st, 2006

ZOA Pilot Info

Thanks for considering flying with us at ZOA. We pride ourselves in having a knowledgeable staff and crew who are more than glad to answer your questions. Because we try to include the procedures and rules of our real world counterpart. There are a few items to consider if taking a flight in our airspace.

Oakland ARTCC covers the airspace of Northern California and Nevada, including the scenic areas of Monterey, The San Francisco Bay, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. The San Francisco Bay Area represents an unusually challenging ATC environment, with three closely spaced metropolitan airports: San Francisco International KSFO, Oakland Metro KOAK, and San Jose International KSJC. These airports lie within a tight complex of Class B and Class C airspace.

Because of their close proximity, KSFO, KOAK, and KSJC, are often combined into one tower and sometimes this can be confusing to some. When you see Bay Tower (BAY_TWR) online, the controller will be able to handle your requests from either of the three airports. Just call him up on 123.80 and let him know which field you are at.

Oakland ARTCC has a somewhat complicated TRACON program to deal with aircraft arriving or departing from these and other airports. The most common Approach position manned in our airspace is SFO_APP. More often than not, the controller working Norcal Approach as SFO_APP on 135.65 will be working all the sectors of Norcal TRACON combined. If you're planning a flight from an airport other than San Francisco and see SFO_APP online, check his ATIS to see if there are any remarks as to which sectors he is controlling or shoot him a private message asking if he is controlling your particular airport. More often than not the answer is yes!

When multiple approach sectors are online, there is an easy way, using our website, to figure out which approach controller to contact. Click the Airports/Charts button on the top of our webpage and navigate to the airport of your choice. You will see which tracon, if any, to contact. Using KAUN for example, if I were needing service out of that airport, I would contact SMF_APP.

Lastly, if a particular tower or approach controller you are looking for is not online but Oakland Center (OAK_CTR) is, contact them and they will be glad to help you out.

We Appreciate Your Traffic.

- Mike Fries ZOA DATM

This site is NOT affiliated with the FAA, the real Oakland ARTCC or any of the airlines listed. The information contained in this site should NOT be used for real world navigation.

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