Definition
A terminal ATC facility that uses radar and two-way radio to provide approach control services to aircraft arriving at, departing from, or transiting the airspace controlled by the facility. These facilities sequence and separate IFR traffic in the terminal area and may also provide services to participating VFR aircraft. Common examples include TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control), RAPCON (Radar Approach Control, Air Force), RATCF (Radar Air Traffic Control Facility, Navy/FAA), and ARAC (Army Radar Approach Control).
Plain English
A control room on the ground that uses radar to guide aircraft into and out of the airspace around a busy airport, keeping them safely spaced as they line up for landing or climb out after takeoff.
Context Anchor
You may hear or see this term in ATC facility descriptions, arrival and departure procedures, and discussions of who is controlling your flight near a busy airport.
Derivation
Radar' comes from the WWII acronym RAdio Detection And Ranging — using reflected radio waves to find and track aircraft. 'Approach Control' refers to the segment of ATC that handles aircraft on approach to, or departure from, an airport, as distinct from the tower (which handles the runway and immediate airport area) and the en route center (which handles cruise flight).
Why Pilots Care
Knowing the facility helps pilots understand who is providing their radar vectors, communicate on the correct frequency, and anticipate the level of service available.
Intuition Check
Do not read “approach” as only the last few moments before landing. In this term, approach control can include arrivals, departures, and aircraft passing through nearby airspace.
Example Sentence 1
After takeoff, the tower handed us off to the radar approach control facility, which gave us a vector on course and cleared us to climb to 8,000 feet.
Example Sentence 2
Radar Approach Control Facility services were not available after 2200 local time at the airport.