CONTROL TOWER MULLIONS
The perpetual question of roof support mullions!
I know we'd all like the mullions in towers to be removed; however, there is a need to support the roof.
They invariably obstruct vision, no matter where they are positioned. Pilots have a nasty habit of positioning their aircraft behind even the smallest mullion just before thy make a position call and procedure designers seem to take delight in placing arrival paths behind mullions. This is why tower Controllers have necks and flexible torsos: so they can “duck and weave” to see aircraft behind mullions – it is actually something they are taught in basic training. Having peripheral consoles reduces the problem but does not remove it.
I have recently seen tower designs without mullions at each corner; however, that usually merely transfers the issue to somewhere else.
Now, having agreed they are a necessary evil, we need to discuss the size.
How wide are those in your tower?
MJG