The closest understanding I have to this is that pilots follow “sky highways,” but how do pilots know they’re still in their assigned highway? Doppler? GPS? Practice? Cloud magic?
PS please pardon me if the flair isn’t correct, I wasn’t sure what to file it under
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Air traffic control tracks every plane flying in FAA controlled airspace in the US. They use radar combined with an interrogator to track aircraft. Radar tells the FAA where the plane is at and the interrogator sends out a pulse to every radar return. The interrogated aircraft replies with a unique ID and it’s altitude. This information is then correlated with the radar return. Every plane that flies in FAA controlled airspace must file a flight plan that tells the FAA what the unique ID of their aircraft is and where it’s going. Air traffic control gives directions to each pilot.
Modern aircraft have traffic collision avoidance systems that allow each aircraft to interrogate each other and send information about their range and position. It will alert the pilot of they encroach on each other’s airspace.
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