PLT073: Tower En Route Control (TEC)
What code PLT073 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Tower En Route Control (TEC) before your checkride.
Interpret information on a Tower Enroute Control (TEC)
What this means for your checkride
Tower En Route Control (TEC) lets an IFR flight route from one terminal area to another entirely within approach control airspace, without entering the en route center structure. It is used for relatively short flights between nearby metropolitan airports and keeps the flight with a series of approach controls on published TEC routes.
TEC simplifies short IFR flights and reduces the workload of a full center clearance, so the FAA tests what it is and when it applies.
TEC is an IFR service, not a VFR shortcut, and it is limited to the routes and altitudes published for tower en route control between participating terminals.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.