Grand Junction FAA Radar Site

 (1963-Active) - A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Long Range Radar (LLR) site first established in 1963 near Grand Junction, Garfield County, Colorado. The site is used to identify and track military and civilian aircraft movements within a 200-mile radius and to provide air-ground radio communication with those aircraft. Assigned a SAGE System ID of Z-215 and an FAA ID of GJT. Active FAA Radar Site.

History
The survey for this site began in 1959-60 and included photographing the horizon and the installation of a portable radar set so that flight checks could be made. Construction of the site was completed and equipment was installed by November 1962 and the expectation was that the site would go operational shortly after the beginning of 1963 and that the dedication would take place sometime in February 1963.

This site became an operational FAA radar site in 1963, furnishing radar track data to both the FAA ARTCC's and to USAF Direction Centers. The initial FAA ARSR-2 search radar remained in operation until it was modified to become a Common Air Route Surveillance Radar (CARSR)

By 1990 the site was equipped with an ARSR-2 search radar and a CD-2A Common Digitizer. The Grand Junction CD-2 was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing in April 1992.

CARSR Radar
An 7172 Antenna is in place. The secondary radar is a Mode S beacon set.

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Current Status
Active FAA facility 57 road miles north of Grand Junction Colorado.

{| See Also:
 * Denver ARTCC
 * JSS System
 * FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers
 * US Radar Sets

Sources:
 * , page 107.


 * Grand Mesa, Douglas Pass Still Possible Radar Sites, The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado), 26 Jul 1960, page 6.
 * Kisling, Jack, FAA Radar Eye In Sky Overlooks Douglas Pass, The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado), 29 Nov 1962, page 14.
 * Link, Tony, Big Brother:Radar outpost keeps its eye on air traffic, The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado), 27 Oct 1985, page 1, 6.

Links:
 * Radomes - Grand Junction FAA Radar Site
 * Wikipedia - Joint Surveillance System