Updated every eight weeks and divided into volumes by region, each directory entry includes a wealth of information about an individual landing site. That information may include available runways and runway lengths, time zones, traffic patterns, special airport procedures, approaches, airport lighting, weather and communication frequencies, airspace, airport diagrams, navigation aids, hours of operation, potential hazards posed by birds and wildlife, the availability of fuel and oxygen, and more.
In addition to the information about specific airports, the back of each volume contains a collection of additional information, including special notices of all kinds for the airports within the volume's coverage area. These notices may include information about changes to procedures, aerobatic practice times, and some military operations. Other sections in the back of the book provide information about land-and-hold-short operations at various airports, including hold-short points and landing distances; telephone numbers and radio frequencies for the National Weather Service, the FAA, flight service stations, and air traffic control facilities; keys for the shorthand of weather reports such as terminal aerodrome forecasts; and listings of preferred IFR routes, VFR waypoints, VOR receiver checkpoints, and aeronautical chart bulletins.
Known Traffic
The phrase known traffic sometimes appears in air traffic control clearances. It refers to aircraft whose altitude, position, and intentions are known to air traffic controllers. This typically means that the aircraft is talking to ATC and has provided vital information, like altitude, and the pilot has stated his or her intentions, confirming what controllers may see on their radar screens. Of course so-called known traffic may not be the only traffic sharing the sky with you. It may not even be the only traffic that ATC is aware of. It simply means that ATC is confident that the information it has about this particular traffic is accurate.
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