tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15099004656778468382024-02-20T14:10:02.063-05:00NAS ConfusionThe National Airspace System is confusing. Just ask a controller...deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-33151965116485876362014-11-09T01:34:00.003-05:002014-11-09T01:35:51.876-05:00Someone has to do it.Years ago, Memphis Center had some issues and the controllers saved the day. I asked around for examples of what kind of things controllers did right to produce a positive outcome. Ya know, so we could learn from it and hopefully do better next time. <br />
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My employer had no interested in such a thing for reasons I'll never understand. I asked around for the same thing regarding the extended ATC Zero Chicago incident. I'm gonna plead the fifth when asked why I think the FAA refuses to spread useful info that could improve safety. Who knows, maybe they are going to round us all up in a room and present to us their findings someday. <a href="http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/November/06/ATC-Zero-Inside-the-Chicago-Center-fire?WT.mc_id=141107epilot&WT.mc_sect=tts#.VFzlm5oscyg.twitter" target="_blank">For now, all we have is AOPA</a>. Thank you, AOPA.<br />
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This all happened on the first day of my road trip vacation. I missed almost all of it. When I came back 13 days later, no one said anything. There was nothing to sign off on. If I hadn't paid attention to the news, and if every single freaking person I know hadn't asked, I wouldn't have known why the Midway arrivals were permanently rerouted over northern Ontario with huge in-trail. "Oh, that's weird, they're doing it again today," I would have said the next day. That's a lie, of course. The controllers in my area had everything under control. The end wall had a nice new jumbo sized map of the US airway structure with Chicago outlined in highlighter. J29.ROD..VHP..SPI direct was our newest and most used preferred route. <br />
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A few stories trickled in, but I still have no idea what kind of "new procedures" were happening. And I can't fathom what "manually passing EVERY flight plan" could possible be like for 60 hours a week. <br />
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I hope that someday I get answers to half of my questions. For the same reason that Apollo 13 got a movie and 1-12, and 14-17 didn't - other than a great documentary. It's a story of humans overcoming huge obstacles ingeniously and heroically.<br />
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If anyone has additional information they'd like to share about the Midwest chaos that was no doubt occurring, please email me or comment. Thanks!<br />
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DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-51985393525238147212014-10-24T17:22:00.000-04:002014-10-24T17:30:44.670-04:00ReflectionsNine years ago, I was in Oklahoma City studying maps. I hoped that by Christmas Eve I would be driving to NH to start a new life. My ATC dreams came true, and I continued my life long obsession with aviation. As I evolved over the years, I am no longer the blogger I was in 2005. But as someone who is still wakes up mostly excited to be a part of the high altitude spot welding prevention program (the FAA), I feel like I must still have something to contribute here, even if it's not the same blog you've all be kindly following for all these years. <br />
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It's been a year since I've posted. I've received a few "where did you go? we miss you!" emails during this time, and I appreciate it. I've been busy. I got engaged and married this year - to a girl that is so amazing I couldn't have dreamed her up before I met her. This summer was really busy at ZBW, for me at least. I worked a lot of evening shifts, and it felt like a constant request for deviations. Thankfully, my wife has a calming effect on me that is invaluable. But I don't have the energy anymore to write about that stuff specifically as it happens like I once did. <br />
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So, what to do. I clearly have an active audience here, and we all share the common theme in the world of aviation to continue learning and discussion and dreaming. One of the most inspiring and important and relevant things in my career over the last few years has been the Flight Deck Training program. As many of you already know, this is the program where controllers can fly in the jumpseat of certain airlines. I won't go into too much detail about it, but it is essentially 8 hours of world-view shattering perspective. Without a doubt, the things I've observed and conversed with pilots have improved my work as a controller. So, I realized that that is what this blog needs to become. More of a conversation. <br />
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My idea is to re-brand the blog a little bit. It'll still be called NAS CONFUSION. But I need inspiration and a topic. So email me or comment about things you wish you could sit down and talk to a controller about. If it's Boston Center related, great, lets "talk". If its more of a general topic, then I'll take some time and talk to my friends in the ATC world about it and attempt to answer it, for you and everyone, as a post, the best I can. You can even frame your question is the form of a gripe and I won't take it too personal. So, let's go!<br />
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Contact me by emailing me at dmatc1@gmail.com or deltamike172@hotmail.com<br />
or post a comment....<br />
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I look forward to hearing from you!<br />
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DM<br />
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<br />deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-63505966064166150282013-10-24T20:05:00.001-04:002013-10-24T20:05:24.259-04:00Good DistractionsMorale at Boston Center is, well, not soaring right now. I know, shocking. We're getting paid again, though. I try to stay away from politics but the world is a soul sucking machine that is difficult to deal with. We've had plenty of staffing recently, since we were told that any vacation, or family sick leave, or holidays that we took off would never be paid or reverted to leave. So everyone was at work. Plenty of breaks to go around and plenty of griping. Ultimately, we're getting paid for everything, regardless of furlough status. <br />
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Working for a paycheck or not, I found the only solace in plugging in and actually working traffic. It was a welcome distraction. Most notably, let me tell you about a nice session at our newly designed Watertown low sector. A sector reworked with the sole purpose of eliminating most distractions from the Utica high sector. Watertown owns FL270 and below, and is meant to be a slower, but much more complex sector, than the Utica sector, which owns FL280 and above. Over the course of a rather interesting hour, I was never <i>busy</i>, but I never stopped working in some manner. <br />
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I took over the sector with some military activity FL230 and below around GTB, in the upper central part of the sector. We had a 80mi x 20mi chunk of airspace blocked off for the drones to do whatever they want, and it wasn't really getting in the way. I had to turn a BTV departure south a little to climb around it enroute to ORD, and then worked out a heading with Utica to fit in their sequence. Just as I'm turning said traffic around the south corner of the military airspace, the military pilots call to announce they are done working in my airspace and that they want a handoff to GTB approach. So I put in the requested altitude at 10000 and route the plane towards GTBs airspace and that forces the flight plan information at GTB approach. They take the handoff and I switch the drones to approach. I get a call from GTB asking for control on the military flights, and add that they have some westbound departures (a heads up that I have some more coordination in my near future with Canada). I take a handoff on a Falcon jet landing at MSS from the high sector and I get control to turn them direct MSS, since my military is gone away. The first of GTB's two departures (a PC-12) climbs out of ART towards ROC and I assign them their requested altitude of 14000. I'll need to point this plane out slowly climbing to Trenton Terminal in Ontario.<br />
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The Falcon jet informs me that they want a visual approach to MSS and would like a through clearance to HPN since they're going to be on the ground for about 10 minutes and they don't want to deal with flight service. It's the top of the hour now, they're about 10 minutes out of MSS, and I have a King Air proposed off at 37 past the hour. I ask the Falcon jet if they can be off by 30 past, and they affirmatively respond. I give the Falcon jet a lower altitude and advise them to "Expect that in a few minutes, standby". <br />
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Here's a map of the area I own down to the ground (I made up the name <a href="http://nas-confusion.blogspot.com/2009/10/ifr-at-o90.html" target="_blank">O90</a>, or 09D)<br />
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I don't have a shout line to Trenton like we do to all of the other facilities that we work with. So I have to pick up the Toronto land line and dial 71. It rings a few times, and then a friendly Canadian answers. I point out the PC-12 clipping his corner, climbing above his altitudes, and he happily approves it. GTB calls to advise me of the next westbound departure, an Eagle Flight to ORD. Roger. A VFR checks in north of Albany, Roger. <br />
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So, my Falcon jet can get out by :30, but there are some minimum altitude issues for planes going direct to ALB from MSS, and there is some SLK action in the MPV sector. <br />
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"Due to SLK traffic, can you accept direct PTD prior to ALB for your terrain and obstruction avoidance?" <br />
Affirmative. <br />
"Falcon Jet, cleared through MSS to the HPN airport via direct PTD, ALB, VALRE4 arrival, maintain 6000, expect FL270 10 minutes after departure, squawk code 3402, void if not off by 2130, if not off by 30, advice no later than 35 of intentions". <br />
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I mark the strip and put PTD into the flight plan. The Eagle Flight checks in off ART and I climb them to FL230 (the upper limit of the low altitude Montreal Centre sector). I dial 71 again and point this plane out to Trenton, as well. The controller is even more cheery (if possible) and approves my point out again. I make a few computer entries and get the PC-12 to flash to Cleveland Center. I call Montreal to hand off the Eagle Flight. There is traffic at FL220, so they take the handoff only climbing to FL210. I stop the Eagle Flight and switch them to Montreal. <br />
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I can't give this Falcon jet the normal spiel when I switch him to advisory frequency since they're not cancelling IFR. So, after a few minutes, they report the field in sight and I clear them for a visual approach. "Change to advisory frequency approved, report airborne above 3000 on this frequency." The Falcon jet acknowledges. I switch the PC-12 to Cleveland. The King Air proposed off MSS in 20 minutes checks in VFR climbing out of MSS. They snuck out before the Falcon jet landed. They'd like IFR to MHT, so I radar identify them VFR, and then call MPV sector to APREQ IFR direct MHT climbing to 9000. <br />
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"Cleared to MHT airport via direct climb and maintain 9000, SLK altimeter 2997"<br />
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The Falcon jet drops below radar coverage so I remove strip on the arrival and enter a departure message and hold message for the departure flight plan to HPN. <br />
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GTB approach flashes me a slow guy at 7000 eastbound direct LKP. Thinking non-radar, this plane is in the way of my MSS Falcon jet departure. In radar world, it won't be a problem. And it wasn't. A few minutes before their void time, the Falcon jet comes off climbing 4000 for 6000. I call Montreal Centre and point them out climbing southbound for higher. I climb them straight up to FL250 and they top the 7000 traffic in about three more radar hits. The Falcon jet clears some FL260 traffic but they like the ride and elect to stay at FL250 as a final requested altitude. <br />
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These five planes gave me a solid 25 minutes of steady work. Meanwhile, at any given time, the Utica sector had 15-20 planes flowing smoothly through the upper flight levels with half the work load. <br />
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On a separate note, last Saturday was the final day of HOST operations at Boston Center. I'm pretty happy about it. We had tested ERAM a few times over the past year or two, and I was always sad when I came back to work and HOST was back on. ERAM has been on a long and frustrating road over the last decade. The resulting system is a vast improvement over HOST. From fully customizable controller user settings, to clearer and more consistent presentation of flight plans, three or five mile rings around aircraft depending on their location, faster display updates, and additional information displayed for aircraft in other ERAM facilities (currently just Cleveland). To all the controllers out west who tested ERAM from its miserable beginnings, thank you for your hard work and insistence in a better program. I've been spending most of my down time adjusting my scope settings to satisfy my anal retentiveness. <br />
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So, despite the chaos of the world around us, we controllers have our world inside the NAS fully under control. I'm glad that this job allows us to be fully mentally engaged in our work and, for about an hour at a time, provides a much needed distraction. <br />
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Till next time....<br />
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DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-41616580508569411802013-09-21T13:49:00.000-04:002013-09-21T13:49:24.070-04:00Request VectorsI am a certain kind of person. I can sit down with some one and talk about what I do for a living for <i>hours</i>.<br />
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I really enjoy writing this blog. But I can't find<i> hours</i> of time to do so. If feels like that is what is necessary. I had a crazy idea to start an ATC Twitter feed, where I establish context initially and then conquer the epic challenge of describing<i> hours</i> of complex air traffic to you in 140 characters. But that's impossible. No, really. It is. </div>
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So, I, dispirited, accepted what I believed to be the reason I just never take the time to write my experiences for you. But that isn't the reason. </div>
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A few years back, I took a hiatus for a while. The reason was my lack of confidence in myself to be outward with you. I couldn't see myself as a expert in my field that I strive to be. It was a much more personal problem back then. But, I realize, my lack of content lately also stems from the same personal limitation in confidence. The depth of this lack of confidence is different, though. </div>
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In the crazy, complex world of air traffic, I like to tell you stories about being up to my eyeballs in airplanes, and how I magically weaved them through storms and they came out the other side perfectly 20 miles in trail per airport. My job is fun. And I can talk about it for hours. But I keep snagging on an issue. </div>
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The snag is that while I continually learn more about my trade, the more I realize that I will never have all of the answers. I don't feel comfortable putting myself behind the facade of "expert". </div>
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For example, some controllers believe their job is giving planes as many short cuts as possible. But not every shortcut saves time and fuel, based on winds and weather. Other controllers believe, that as Center controllers, we need to maintain a shred of structure and order to promote safety. I lean in that direction. There is a happy medium somewhere in between, but I, nor any one person, should never be put in a position to determine medium happiness. </div>
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This post is about my realization that ambition is like a compass. My direction in life is to be an air traffic controller. And in that direction, I want to be the most effective controller I can imagine. But other controllers aren't required to follow my exact heading in order to still be great controllers. </div>
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Part of me is inspired by the modest following I've appreciated over the years. The other part of me doesn't like the thought of representing all controllers with my limited perspective. So, maybe now that I've gotten this out there, I can be more true to who I am, and still have fun writing. When I am plugged in to my sector, I am <b>one</b> of 15000 controllers in the US. But I am also one WITH 15000 controllers. We all work together to keep the airspace above the US safe and efficient. </div>
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This teamwork is important and hard to describe. It's complicated. It is powerful. And I need to conclude this post by saying that I, as one controller, am unsure if we are using the power of our teamwork effectively for the citizens of the United States. Controllers spent one week under rules of Sequestration. We reduced staffing and, correspondingly, reduced traffic to maintain safety. Then, we inconvenienced a few important people, and suddenly, we received special funding so we could maintain normal staffing levels. On one hand, I'm glad we were able to run normal summer traffic and serve the citizens of this country in that way. But on the other hand, the Sequester has been swept under the rug because the most publicly glaring effect of Sequestration was averted - for now....</div>
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Now that Congress has labelled controllers with such humbling importance, is it our duty to now insist that we sacrifice a few unpaid days of furlough to force the aforementioned Congress to start respecting the rest of this country with the same urgency and importance? Is that even the appropriate scope of our service? </div>
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I am consciously aware of how fortunate I am to have a job - and I love it. I am also consciously aware that the direction my compass points isn't necessarily the vector I'd recommend for you. </div>
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Now that I got that out of the way...</div>
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deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-27274718017566812212013-04-08T01:00:00.005-04:002013-04-08T01:00:58.739-04:00Space Based Fallacy Perhaps some of you are familiar with "The Praxis Foundation". If not, I invite you to meander your way over to one of my adjacent sectors on the right column. You may note the seemingly paradoxical subject of their article about ADS-B and the required ground stations required for what is being sold to the public as a more efficient space-based airplane tracking system. The new trend in aviation technology development (aka: NextGen) is to fund the heck out of idea and then wait around a decade or two for the results. The hardest part is not being disappointed by the end. <br />
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Disappointment is inevitable, however. The companies who bid for the initial development funding are naturally going to promise the world to us on a silver platter. They probably even intend to deliver what they promise. But I'm not here to talk about promises. I'm here to talk about expectations and results. I actually don't even want to talk about expectations, but I have no choice than to bring them up to frame the subsequent, inevitable disappointments. <br />
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ADS-B - What I expected and how reality stacks up:<br />
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Let me start by saying that most controllers, myself included, do not see radar as a limitation to capacity. Now that I write that, I bet you couldn't find a controller who would think that. ADS-B is in use in Louisville, KY with UPS, but I don't know anywhere who works there.... Ok, let me rephrase: I don't think you can find a Center controller who thinks radar is a limitation to capacity. <br />
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In Boston Center, we have a significant portion of our airspace, below FL180, certified for reduced lateral (3NM instead of 5NM required) separation. A lot of work goes into getting 3NM airspace. It gets justified by saying "but we can run planes that much closer, which means we can run more in the same amount of space!". Three miles is great when you're on a small range running a bunch of planes in a straight line (like, say, an approach control). In my area, the scope is generally configured to be 200 miles from one side of the scope to the other. The computer symbol that displays the location of the airplane is about 1 mile wide. So you want me to run 3 miles apart!? At 450 knots ground speed!? Nobody does that intentionally. Very often, the wind at one end of my sector will be significantly different speed and from a different direction than the other end. And its changing at the speed of the wind (50-200 mph). There needs to be a buffer so when one plane enters the area of more headwind and slows down, he doesn't get run over by the plane still goes much faster right behind. The point is, we don't need less than 5NM in the en-route environment. So, I don't expect ADS-B to help me increase capacity. I am obligated to bring up the point that the MAIN factor in increasing capacity and reducing delays is adding runways that we can land on every day. <br />
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I won't just dismiss this as a waste of time, however. As a controller who isn't completely under-layed by approach controls (I "own to the ground") I am acutely aware of the limitation of my radar and where I have no coverage at low altitudes. So, when I heard about "space-based tracking" (ADS-B), I was excited that one day I'd be able to see all of my planes all of the time. I expected that such a space-based system would look down over the world, send a signal down to the planes, receive a reply back, and then the satellite would beam down the data to our scopes. It would be able to see everyone with an operating transponder. This assumed system would not be able to fully replace radar, since planes in distress sometimes loose their transponders in some form. We wouldn't be able to assist planes when they needed our help the most. <br />
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But, that isn't how it currently works.....<br />
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As of right now, I am getting mixed messages. Boston Center ran a test a few months ago to see how our ADS-B coverage compared to our normal radar coverage. ADS-B is required to have coverage that is the same or better as radar. But ADS-B is not certified to be used in places we currently don't have radar coverage or within areas we use 3NM. It is also not designed to see places radar can't. If we show an improvement, that is strictly convenient. Currently, ADS-B is used in Alaska and over the Gulf of Mexico (these places don't have good radar coverage). If you are confused, join the club. But what about those damn satellites!? Can't they see everyone!?<br />
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Well, my expectation don't meet the reality. Did you read the Praxis article about all of those ground based sensors? The "space-based" part isn't anything other than good ole' GPS that the airplanes use to navigate today. So, how it works:<br />
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Step 1 - The plane's GPS figures out where it is and converts that data into coordinates. <br />
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Step 2 - The new, super-awesome, transponder in the plane takes those coordinates, throws in pressure altitude data, aircraft ID info, and maybe even some other data that ATC isn't going to use, and, every second, beams it down to a ground based sensor. Think cell phone tower........<br />
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Step 3 - That data collected by the ground based sensor goes off to a server somewhere and distributes the data to places that need it. The aforementioned altitude, location and ID data ends up in a an FAA computer which then sends it to our scopes. (This last step may be slightly simplified)<br />
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When you drive your car to the airport using a GPS on your phone or dashboard, you are equally, if not more "NextGen", than the flight you're about to board. Luckily, you are much less likely to get lost since there are actual people making sure you don't make a wrong turn. These people also help you avoid traffic jams and accidents. Its very convenient. <br />
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Safety - Why I'm not writing it off yet....<br />
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We already have a network of ground sensors in place. They exist. We used them in February for a test. They work. So, how can we use them to make the system safer? <br />
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First, planes with ADS-B will be able to see other ADS-B equipped planes around them. Callsigns and everything. The ground sensors can transmit traffic information (TIS-B) out to planes to display on their own screens. If your plane is out of range of a sensor, some systems will be able to receive the data via relay through other nearby airplanes that are in a location or at an altitude that is within range of a sensor. Some sensors will also include FIS-B, which would transmit new NOTAMs, AIRMETS and/or SIGMETS for the area. <br />
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The push now is to give controllers the ability use high altitude planes to relay information to and from planes out of radar and sensor coverage. The concern from the developers is that all of this relaying back and forth would take up too much bandwidth. That's fine. Just give us an ERAM function to toggle the function on and off. We just need one or two at a time to fill in the gaps. We don't need all the planes to be relaying back and forth to all the other planes. We get it. Just let us switch between one, and then maybe another when we need it. If the next space-based system is supposed to razzle and dazzle us, then it should be an <i>improvement</i>! The next system should make us wonder how we ever lived with just radar. And I say "just radar" because you can't ever turn radar off if you want to maintain safety. And that's a controllers primary concern. Safety. We are supposed to be there when you need us. We need to be able to see you if you want our help. It's our job to think of reasons ADS-B can't be the only way or else someone who doesn't care about safety is going to make it the only way.<br />
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Reasons we can't get rid of radar:<br />
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1 - Terrorists turn off the transponder.<br />
2 - Plane looses electrical power<br />
3 - Attenuation.<br />
4 - For that matter, a huge tornado takes out some sensors....<br />
5 - ADS-B antennae get covered in five inches of rime ice. <br />
6 - Lightning?<br />
7 - Power outage at ground sensor<br />
8 - Hackers<br />
9 - Solar Flares<br />
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Got more? Leave a comment.<br />
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Reasons why ADS-B increases safety of flight:<br />
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1 - Increases pilot awareness.<br />
2 - Allows controllers to provide expanded traffic separation and advisory services.<br />
3 - Is a great backup to radar.<br />
4 - Is very accurate over a larger area (radar gets less exact the farther away from the antennae you go).<br />
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Got more? Leave a comment.<br />
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As a taxpayer, perhaps your first question should be: "why didn't we design a system which met the goals of the second list, with an emphasis on safety of flight?" Surely that would be much less expensive and the project would have had a clear goal. Can't help ya there, sorry. I'm busy working planes; not enough time to alter the universe. <br />
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I will add here, before I go, that ADS-B will enable future programs to safely integrate ways to increase efficiency. Wow, I should get a job as a NextGen salesmen...... Seriously, though - there is testing in the works that will allow planes to safely run closer together and/or to sequence themselves in a fuel efficient manner using the data that is relayed back and forth between the planes as I mentioned above (Imagine the Perfect Vector, where planes always went exactly 5 miles behind another when crossing over SYR. Or, using speed, planes approach the active runway perfectly staggered on opposite base legs, ready for the final controller to put them 3 miles apart on final.) Imagine it. Some controllers would feel threatened. Others would imagine the economy recovering at some point and the task of working twice as many planes as we do now. We're gonna need some help..... <br />
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Till next time....<br />
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DM<br />
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PS. The airlines were totally on board with this program until they realized that the government wasn't going to buy the new fancy transponders and traffic screens for them. Suddenly, it wasn't such a great money saving piece of NextGen technology. Planes equipped with ADS-B are few and far between at this point. ERAM envisions a world where almost all planes have ADS-B. When a plane doesn't have it installed or operating, a little red A appears on our scope next to the plane. Luckily, we can turn them off, since they are everywhere. So, ERAM can dream....but it is still learning how to make a handoff to New York approach. :) Due to furlough and supposedly resolved issues with NY which delayed it, ERAM at Boston Center is postponed until after the end of the year, or when furlough ends. Or whenever.....<br />
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PPS. Oh, by the way. ADS-B stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast. If you asked. <br />
<br />deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-26449989704658341252013-03-09T13:56:00.001-05:002013-03-09T17:53:33.529-05:00Observations of a Furloughed ControllerMy desire to write something and the time it takes to accomplish such a task has not coincided in a while. So, I'll try to keep this succinct. I've wanted to write about the joys of life when there is severe turbulence from FL250-FL330 (every plane in the northeast is either at FL230 or FL210....Chaos!) or about our ERAM test run that went remarkably well (sort of) a few weeks ago, or the biggest waste of my time (ADS-B).<br />
<br />
But, instead, since my words end up in the bloggosphere, and thus, the political/pop-culture world, I will address the hot topic of the day - Sequestration. I will not spend this time discussing the actual politics of the situation. Let just assume that the best way to implement Sequestration is to furlough every air traffic controller for two-four days a month. Please ignore the fantastical/delusional tree limb I've stepped out onto which I am basing an entire blog post. The furlough letters have been mailed, and, as an agency full of air traffic controllers in charge of the busiest and safest airspace in the world, we have to plan for something! <br />
<br />
So, lets talk about what we EXPECT to happen:<br />
<br />
A 5% reduction in staff may, or may not, result in an equal reduction in airport/traffic capacity. On any given day, thousands of controllers, managers and support staff are all working together (occasionally in harmony) to make thousands of flights get to and fro efficiently and safely. When you disrupt a team structure in untested ways, the results will be unpredictable. <br />
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Let's start theoretically.....<br />
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Who do you think is the best football team in the NFL? First, keep that to yourself.... Second, think about the consequences of that team being forced to play with one less player on the field for the entire next season. Rotate that player throughout the year. One player removed, out of 11 total, is a 9% reduction. Will that team perform 9% worse than last year? Definitely? Maybe? Remember, the team that just won the Super Bowl was 10-6, beating a team that was 11-4-1. Winning percentage wise, those two results are 10% apart. So, do you think your team, playing with ten players all year, will make the Super Bowl? Your answers could range from "Of course not" to "There's a slim chance" to "Sure, why not" to "My team is the best, they'll scrap their way in!". The moral - it's almost silly to think about, and it's never happened before, so how could we possibly know..... Would you be willing to bet $1000 on your team? Would you bet your life flying through airspace full of uncertainty?<br />
<br />
The reality.....<br />
<br />
No one knows what will happen when you cut government spending and you furlough air traffic controllers the amount that is proposed. But we have to plan for the worst. That is our job. As an industry, it is in our best interest to be funded in a way that we believe we can achieve maximum safety, capacity and reliability. If this is disrupted, we will have to change how we operate so as to maintain the results we, and the public, expect and require. So, as an industry, some red flags were raised to attempt to prevent Sequestration. <br />
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But, from an operations viewpoint, a small reduction in workforce will impact capacity (and increase delays) greatly in certain situations. It is our responsibility to be prepared for this and, since you asked (as a taxpayer), I will try to explain why you might be late.<br />
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The primary constraint on the number of planes that can safely land is the number of runways we can use. Generally speaking, the En-route world (where I work, at Boston Center) does not <i>cause</i> delays. The delays often <i>occur</i> in our airspace, prior to the bottleneck (the runway). If there are thunderstorms in my sector in the summer, then the bottle neck is the small gap between storms that I'm trying to descend planes through. Then, yeah, it's all my fault! But, I was speaking generally....<br />
<br />
Many major airports in this country have demand that exceeds the runway's capacity during certain times of day, and especially when the wind blows from certain directions or if the visibility is low. These airports have adapted their procedures to enable them to safely add capacity in creative ways such as by using crossing or parallel runways that couldn't normally be usable without the extra controllers to monitor the extra traffic and complicated traffic flows created by the extra traffic. Very often, these procedures require an extra controller to oversee the extra runway, plus another controller to oversee the operation in general. These extra set of eyes are getting furloughed every day, so I expect that this extra capacity will be eliminated. It won't affect every flight. It won't affect some airports on days when the weather is nice. But, we are used to a certain level of service from our National Airspace System. It is our job to make sure that it stays SAFE. Since we plan on decreasing the number of airplanes to ensure this priority of safety, consider this a fair warning. Time is money, and we have less money. I hope you're not in a hurry. <br />
<br />
Till next time...<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />
I ran out of time on my break writing.... If I may add:<br />
<br />
It is our job to do our best to minimize the effects of Sequestration. I doubt that my facility will be as impacted as places in NY or Chicago or LA. If you are delayed more than normal, then there is a controller in this country somewhere who has your safety in mind and he/she asks your patience while we do our best with what we are given. deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-17343512466323532972012-11-09T03:04:00.001-05:002012-11-09T03:04:36.070-05:00Ebbs, Flows, Storm Surges and SchedulesLet me begin by saying that I grew up on Long Island. I have friends and family who live all over east coast. I am thankful that they are all OK. I remember a few hurricanes that hit NY when I was a kid, but this one is different. The size, shape and ground track taken by Hurricane Sandy allowed this storm to wreak still incomprehensible damage. I am safe, warm, mostly dry and writing this post on my computer which is plugged into a working power outlet. I intend no disrespect to anyone living in the affected area at my casual mentions of this storm or how relatively easy my life has been in the last two weeks. I am thankful for my outcome, cognizant of how quickly natural disaster can change one's life, and those who reside south of my locale are constantly in the thoughts and prayers myself and my coworkers. The intent of this article is to discuss the operational impacts (from the viewpoint of Boston Center Area A's skies over upstate NY) on the ATC system caused by Hurricane Sandy. <br />
<br />
MONDAY OCT 29th<br />
<br />
I usually have Sunday/Monday/Tuesday's off. But not this week. I had a my girlfriend's brother's wedding to attend in Oklahoma on Saturday, November 3rd, but couldn't get the day off. So I swapped days off with two coworkers - Monday for Saturday, Tuesday for Friday. After working a normal week prior, I then had only Sunday off so as to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, followed by five days off without taking leave. My flight was scheduled for Friday morning. <br />
<br />
When I arrived at work at 1pm on Monday, most traffic to/from NYC and south was already cancelled for Monday night and Tuesday morning. It was very IFR already, and windy. During my commute from Manchester to Nashua, the wind increased about 15 knots. It was starting to rain. The altimeters were falling so rapidly that the computers weren't updating them because it was assumed that the data was faulty. Every half hour or so, I would call the approach controls and manually input the altimeters. <br />
<br />
At 3pm, the NH DOT recommended that everyone should be off the roads and that the public should avoid travel. The building switched to the backup diesel generators. The pressure dropped, the wind increased, and the rain intensified. <br />
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We only had two scopes open at this point, with the high sectors still a little busy with overflights. <br />
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<u><i><b>Normal</b></i></u><br />
The wind is almost always out of the northwest, west or southwest.<br />
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<b><i><u>Hurricane Sandy</u></i></b><br />
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But for three days during this storm, the wind was out of the east, northeast (the red box at the top left is the corner of my airspace). I draw the blue wind vectors on this picture to emphasize the winds aloft and how different they are during the storm's approach compared to a normal jet stream.<br />
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I've discussed before how fast an eastbound sector like RKA can be, when everyone normally has a tailwind. Here that sector had a headwind and the planes moved relatively slow. Conversely, the westbound sector was now much quicker, and all of the Europe - Western US overflights took full advantage of that tailwind. A few brave souls even departed upstate NY for destinations south of the storm, flying southbound through eastern PA, basking in the 70-80 knot tailwind, even at low altitudes below icing levels. <br />
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As Sandy slowly approached the coast, a few last commercial flights departed the inland airports in my airspace to calmer destinations out west. The planes may have been empty, to spare the planes from possible damage, or as last flights out for anyone needing to get away from the storm. Either way, the flight numbers were not normal and everyone's scope were mostly blank by 6pm. At this point, we had full staffing and maybe one or two planes at a time flying through. Dare I say, we were bored!? Emphasis during position relief briefings was put on the fact that FL190 was lowest usable in the northern half of the area, and FL200 was lowest usable in the southern half. The altimeters were so diverse and changing so rapidly, lateral separation was the safest bet below FL210. <br />
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I would like to note how smooth everyone's ride was through my area. Usually, the northern edge of storms like this are VERY bumpy. This storm was very low- hardly any deviations other than around the first band beyond the eyewall. The wind was strong, widespread, but, again, surprisingly shear free. <br />
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It was strange to zoom out the scope and see ZERO planes in New York Approach. Surreal, really. Normally, it is such a cluster of targets, with only three distinct features - the final approach courses to LGA, EWR, and JFK. It was a ghost town all night. <br />
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Finally, management gave up and let us go home about an hour and a half early, around 9:30pm. Not sure what they were waiting for. The late rush? The drive home was through pretty much the worst of the storm that hit NH. It was pouring down rain, which was being blown horizontal in white sheets. The wind was gusting in the 40-50 knot range. I only had to dodge a few trees on the highway... I made it home in one piece to power and heat. A few hours later, the wind died down, and I felt comfortable sleeping upstairs without the tall trees in my backyard creaking and swaying so much. <br />
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TUESDAY, OCT 30th<br />
<br />
Back to work at noon.<br />
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We started with two scopes, optimistic that EWR and PHL would open in the afternoon. They might have "opened," but no one was flying. It was still IFR, windy, and everyone was focused on the disaster that happened the evening before. There was no business being conducted as usual. A few control towers had been abandoned the night before and they remained "ATC zero". LGA was completely under water. DC airports had a trickle of traffic. But as far as air traffic goes, Tuesday was a lost cause. We combined all of our sectors up to our normal overnight configuration around 4pm. There were lots of breaks, of course, and I was able to get in touch with people I knew in NY, NJ, and DC. <br />
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Late in the evening, there was a steady flow of empty airplanes returning to New England. They were being repositioned, apparently ready to pounce on the NY Metro as soon as the airports would take them. Wednesday could be interesting. <br />
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WEDNESDAY, OCT 31st<br />
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Into work at 2pm. I got my A-game on. Everything except LGA was open. Imagine the pent-up demand to get into these places!? It was going to be crazy! But, it wasn't. The subway was still shut down. No one had power. Focus was on recovery, not business or recreation. There were flights now in an out of EWR and DC, but not many. BTV, SYR, ALB were operating mostly normal, light traffic. <br />
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By the end of the night, though, BOS was pretty steady. Again, they strangely all had headwinds being sequenced for the QUABN. And the departures were hauling out to the west with tailwinds. <br />
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THURSDAY, NOV 1st<br />
<br />
I got to work at 1pm. BOS, MHT, PWM, BDL, PVD, and ALB were all operating normal, if not above normal. LGA opened, without lights or instrument approaches. EWR and JFK picked up, under similar conditions. As the day went on, traffic to PHL showed up. By the time evening rolled around, we had ourselves a good, solid, busy Thursday night. <br />
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My girlfriend made it out of Logan fine. Her parents made it out of ALB the day before just fine, also. Hopefully the seats on my AAL 757 would be bolted down...... I got out of work on time at 11pm, finished packing, and had a 6:30a bus to catch to the airport. <br />
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Luckily, the ATC system was mostly back to normal, as far as en-route operations goes, by the end of Thursday. <br />
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FRIDAY NOV 2nd<br />
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The storm had pretty much stalled out, and its immense size was obvious once my flight took off. It stretched out to sea to the east of Boston as far as the eye could see. We were over a solid cloud deck until southern Indiana, an hour and a half after takeoff. <br />
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There was <i>one</i> little break in the clouds....right over my hometown of MHT!<br />
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Till next time...<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-41926064276361869132012-10-17T22:52:00.002-04:002012-10-17T22:52:51.527-04:00Ok. Now what?From the time I realized that talking to ATC on the radio was my favorite part of flying to the the moment my instructor unplugged and walked away after my final checkride, over a decade had transpired. The majority of my life was focused on learning aviation and attempting to become a better trainee than I was yesterday. I received a warm round of congratulations from those in the control room at that moment, but it only marked the end of the miseries and struggles of training, so it didn't seem like the end of anything worth holding on to; my first thought was "Ok, now what?"<br />
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One of the last words of advice my instructor gave me was that my learning was far from over, and that I wouldn't "peak" as a controller for a few more years. The peak, he explained would occur after I gained experience working on my own during day-to-day operations while still being young and fast. After that peak, my speed would slowly diminish over time, but gained experience would carry me forward. <br />
So, I guess I have peaked. I am at a stage now I could not have imagined 15 years ago. I have never had a job for this long before. I admit, I am <em>not</em> learning something new and exciting every day. I have followed up my "Ok, now what" moment with years of fabulous non-ATC activities though, so don't feel bad for me. Things at work are happening over and over again, with slight variables, and I spend my career making sure the planes don't hit despite these variables. It is still very enjoyable, just not necessarily "blog-worthy". This is my career. It's no longer my <em>life</em>. I'm still wrapping my head around that reality. <br />
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I have spent the few years since my "peak" attempting to pass along what I've learned to someone else. The truth is, I am still learning about aviation. Instruction is a vital part of the industry. I am definitely not the best instructor that I could be, but it's just another aspect of my life that is a work in progress and there is more to learn. TQ and I have spent the last few years learning together. He, about the basics of working planes through Area A. Myself, about myself and how instructing doesn't always solely involve the passing of knowledge. I discussed this conundrum in the previous post about patience and confidence. <br />
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And so..........I am proud to announce that TQ is now fully certified! <br />
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Both of us reached another "Ok, now what?" moment together. His was predictable, but his life without me constantly harassing him has been filled with sudden tragedy outside of work along with pending home ownership. Hopefully the quest to still improve at work has been an adequate distraction for him now that his post-training life is unfolding differently than he would have expected.<br />
<br />
I set out to find things to keep myself occupied during the slower, less complex months of winter traffic. Many of you have heard of ERAM, our main computer software replacement. I'm sure if you scour the adjacent sectors in the right hand column, you'll be able to find out more! Boston Center is getting ERAM this month, to be released only on overnight shifts at first, then only on slow days, and then eventually full time. Every controller in the building needs to learn how it works before it can be turned on during the day. I volunteered to learn it first and then help teach it to the others. So far, the scheduling of training has been very last minute, uncoordinated, and has interfered with other stuff I have volunteered for, as well. It is what it is.<br />
<br />
In addition, I have proposed the creation of a new Standard Terminal Arrival Route into TEB. The papertrail has begun, and hopefully meetings with other controllers will soon follow to set up a procedure that helps everyone improve traffic flow and safety. I have no idea what the timeframe is for full implementation. <br />
---- So, now what?<br />
<br />
I don't have the time or the motivation or the new material to write about this job 3 times a month like I used to. But I keep getting web views and your personal emails when I write new posts, so I have an audience and I can keep teaching aspects of my job that others can learn from. I take this seriously; I'll keep writing. As I've learned, patience is an important part of teaching. It is an important part of learning, too. Thank you for reading. <br />
<br />
Till next time...<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />
deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-84251603956682839692012-08-15T04:18:00.004-04:002012-10-17T22:57:07.357-04:00Let 'em goAbout a month ago, right before my vacation, I was feeling a little worn down and a tad uninspired about this whole ATC thing. I was spending the busiest nights of the week (namely Thursday and Friday) plugged into my least favorite sectors with my trainee all night long. Together, we experienced every momentary peak of accomplishment along with every trough of soul-searching, aggravating, "you-can-do-better", "I-can't-take-it-anymore" frustration that comes with realizing that we <i>need</i> to do better next time.<br />
<br />
For the last two years, I've been plugged into the override headset jack with my trainee. We're friends outside of work and we put up with each others' crap on sector, usually with a smile. But I was growing impatient. I wanted to get TQ checked out so I could go and work on my own again. I miss talking to the airplanes. But he wasn't ready. And maybe it was my fault, being the lead instructor, and all. So, we discussed it like the true professionals that we pretend to be, and decided that I needed a week off from training. At the time, it felt a little selfish. But TQ could use some other perspectives, and I needed the currency/proficiency. <br />
<br />
Like I said, I had spent all of the busiest traffic periods just standing behind my trainee watching, ever vigilant, and managing my own plan of action side-by-side with my trainee's plan and constantly evaluating whether or not the next move could prove too overwhelming for me to recover should my trainee suddenly loose the flick. It is one thing to sit there and watch and then yell at your trainee in hindsight. It's another to actually work it. I was loosing touch with what my trainee was actually experiencing.<br />
<br />
****I'm sure there has been LOTS to blog about, but I spend much of every day talking ATC with my trainee, and I really have no desire to go home and recap it yet again. Sorry if you've missed me. <br />
<br />
So, I enjoyed my week on my own. I got to spend time at other sectors. I got reacquainted with the adrenaline rush that comes from simultaneously typing, talking, thinking, and listening as fast as you can all at once. Oh, yah, this isn't as easy as I it looks. Working radar is all about the scan your eyes make around the screen. And the scan you make is much easier from further away (aka, where I stand as an instructor) as opposed to sitting right up there front and center in the chair with a mouse and keyboard demanding entries. (The farther away from the scope you stand, the smaller the screen appears to your perspective, and the shorter distance your eyes have to move across the scope) But, I only had to worry about one plan: Mine. So, instructing isn't a cakewalk, but it is different, and I'm glad I got time away from it. I like balance.<br />
<br />
The next week, all hell broke loose. I relegated myself back to the position behind TQ's chair, but this time with much more patience and confidence in my own ability. This allowed me to let TQ execute his own plan all the way to end. I knew I wasn't at my recovery override limit yet. We stayed right on the edge of madness for a while, but at the point I normally would have taken over, TQ really hit his stride. He was in full control of the whole sector and was directing orders to the two other controllers working with us as D-side and Tracker. It was a revelation! <br />
<br />
It was truly a sight to behold- both my trainee kicking ass and the sheer number of planes happening. I can't really say we were "pushing tin" since we were holding LGA and JFK traffic over Watertown, but the fact that everything over northern upstate NY was under control during those few hours was very reassuring that progress was being made and that my trainee could thrive within chaos. So, we checked him out at those two sectors and I took a vacation. All was well.<br />
<br />
The only remaining sector is considered the easiest in the area: Rockdale. This is not to say it should be taken lightly. Many controllers start here and then move on to the more complicated sectors later. While this may be an ideal situation, TQ started on the hardest sectors and now has worked backwards towards the "easy" sectors. The issue now is that Rockdale is the fastest sector. It's a high altitude eastbound sector. It has less complexity and less confliction points, but it has a higher volume of traffic. TQ is used to planes behaving in a certain way. He's developed habits that work well in low sectors were the wind isn't as strong and many of the planes are slower, if not just because many of them are prop planes. The last high sector he just finished is a westbound sector, where everyone has a big headwind; they move nice and slow across the scope. <br />
<br />
As a procrastinator myself, I know how difficult it is to break your mental habits that are used to waiting a minute or two to figure out the best plan of action. At Rockdale, you don't have the time to hesitate or procrastinate. Planes need a descent clearance, pronto. Often, you'll need to start another plane down first. If there's a plane in the way, turn 'um out quick and then go down and around. There are lots of vertical layers. Most planes aren't in conflict at Rockdale, but almost every plane needs something done to them before the next sector gets them. If you don't finish your task in time, then you've made life at that next sector very difficult. You can easily screw over four of five sectors around you in no time flat. The key is to keep everyone around you happy so that they take your handoffs. Once TQ can do that on a consistent basis, then I'll be ready to let 'em go on his own.<br />
<br />
Maybe they'll let me work traffic on my own for a week or two before I get a new trainee......<br />
<br />
Till next time....<br />
<br />
DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-63557586586339434762012-06-12T01:04:00.003-04:002012-06-12T01:13:44.432-04:00Not Status Quo...Six years ago when I was a new trainee, Boston Center, and the world of Air Traffic, was a scary place. I had worked so hard to make it here. And the hard work was really just beginning. <br />
<br />
It was overwhelming. So my mind started looking for ways to simplify it all. Granted, there was still the map test (with over 10000 memory items to draw), procedures, frequencies, preferred routes, phraseology...... and a dark room full of 50 other intimidating people who already know how to do your dream job. So, step one: Get over it and find some good role models. One of the reasons I love my area of specialty is because I think my area is full of good role models. Of course we have some people who don't fit that role as well as they could, but I digress. Area A is full of controllers who know the rules: We talk about them, we argue about them, and we try to figure out if there is a safer way to rewrite them. <br />
<br />
But six years ago, I just needed to find a few folks who seemed like the best controllers and then figure out how to be like them. And luckily, it didn't take me long to figure out who my role models were. I still strive to be like one controller who always speaks in the same constant, calming tone, no matter how many planes are deviating. Or another who says the number zero unlike anyone else. Or another, even if they never use vector lines.....<br />
<br />
The one that inspires me to write this was forced to retire recently. I, sadly and begrudgingly, now work his schedule. I think of him every day that I go to work for my new ten hour shifts, four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday. I will add that it is a GREAT schedule. It's just horrible how I came to receive it. <br />
<br />
As I worked the A-sides and D-sides and met the controllers in my area, there were a few key attributes I was looking for: Calm, no matter what; perfect phraseology; friendly; helpful; and lets add hilarious in there, too. <br />
<br />
CN fit that description. And for any of you who never heard his verbal mannerisms and iconic southern accent on the frequency, it is a shame I can't play a tape for you right here (working on it).<br />
<br />
But a few months ago, CN got a headache. It never really went away. He got lost driving somewhere he's gone a hundred times. So he went to the hospital and they found a brain tumor growing so fast he literally had hours to live. Most people with his form of cancer never make it to the hospital. So, he's in unfamiliar territory (being alive with this kind of cancer). But he made it through his first round of chemotherapy and the tumor is very small and not growing anymore. As far as his public interactions are concerned when he stops by work to say "hi" or when he's on the phone, he seems like his old self.<br />
<br />
It can't be noted strongly enough that his attitude and his great family are helping him to remain an amazing individual still worthy of my, and anyone else still looking for a good role model's, respect.<br />
<br />
Also noteworthy is the treatment CN is receiving at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, NH. This Sunday, my new schedule allows me the honor to go take a walk with CN, his family, my fellow controllers and countless others in Lebanon for the benefit of CN and the Cancer Center. <a href="http://www.skipsrun.org/">http://www.skipsrun.org/</a><br />
<br />
Feel free to throw in a few bucks on behalf of a great man and controller who, even in retirement, inspires all of us to enjoy work and enjoy life. <br />
<br />
<img alt="Skip Matthews Memorial Run: Team Charlie" class="pbs fbEventPhoto profile-picture img" src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-ash2/373032_338591459536504_2007690641_n.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Till next time....<br />
<br />
DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-33077080104104688632012-04-11T02:54:00.001-04:002012-04-12T02:00:58.649-04:00OH CANADA!A few years ago, I had a brilliant idea. I suggested adding a transitional route to the standard arrival route (STAR) into Montreal that would start inside my area's airspace and would take planes around our Adirondack Military airspace and, while we're at it, add a spot just south of the Canadian border which would allow us to tack on an altitude crossing restriction to miss the high sectors in Montreal Centre whom wish not to speak to such planes. It would make our lives much easier, especially when dealing with pilots who speak English as anything but their first language (aka, many of them that fly into Montreal from the south...here's looking at you, Cubana). <br />
<br />
I wrote up my proposal, including the LAT/LONG of said spot (intersection) for crossing restrictions, and even theorized about how this added safety would increase the possibility that there would be peace on earth; international incidents averted.<br />
<br />
My proposal was sent up the chain towards the black hole that is the FAA outside the control room. A few months later, I was planning a trip to Montreal for the weekend, and took it upon myself to set up a tour of Montreal Centre. I commented to those there on my desire to change the arrival procedures into Montreal and the universal response from everyone at the Centre was that "we're reversing flows" soon, so don't worry about it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJNJFpVpjlsjXT1I9RTZlgWUqffl-c1rL6emj1bm_5aOyveEpHU6fhChnI0Yb-Fa2p86UK2caUGCH7YjtQHR9jcH3H9clBFff2Eur7ylZjhLYLegRBWABO814T_sk_HUdkJ3XESOZn5Du/s1600/CYUL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJNJFpVpjlsjXT1I9RTZlgWUqffl-c1rL6emj1bm_5aOyveEpHU6fhChnI0Yb-Fa2p86UK2caUGCH7YjtQHR9jcH3H9clBFff2Eur7ylZjhLYLegRBWABO814T_sk_HUdkJ3XESOZn5Du/s320/CYUL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(thanks skyvector!)<br />
<br />
The red arrows represent the arrivals into Montreal, and the green arrows are the departures. The controllers in Montreal were proposing to reverse these. Green to Red, Red to Green.<br />
<br />
A year passed. No word on my proposal. No word on Montreal's flow reversal. <br />
<br />
Then a few Montreal controllers came to visit Boston Center. They wanted to see our perspective on their flow reversal. It would be a big change, but nothing we couldn't handle. The number of planes would be the same, they would just go in opposite directions than we were used to. It was fine, really, thanks for asking. The only issue left to discuss was how northbound arrivals would be routed through NY Center airspace (through the east side of their center, as opposed to the current western edge). We suggested that they go visit NY and talk it over with them. They looked at us, looked at each other, and decided to cancel the project. <br />
<br />
So, Green is still Green, Red is still Red. But what is up with all the Blue lines all over the place on that map up there? Well, if you remember from WAAAY back, I discussed a little thing called Navaid use limitations. Its a cute little rule that says that direct routes (even with GPS) require radar monitoring when there are no VORs or NDBs around and used as part of the aircraft's route. See MSS (Massena, NY) on the map up there? Notice how it is the only VOR within 40 miles of Ogdensburg and Massena? Well, since NextGen is kicking in we supposedly don't need VOR's anymore, with GPS taking over. So, the FAA has let MSS slowly become weak and powerless. It is unusable below 10000. Even though planes have GPS, we can't let them take off (below radar) and just fly where they want without radar monitoring from us, the controllers. Even though planes are allowed to use GPS to fly instrument approaches towards the ground, they aren't allowed to use them to fly away from the ground. And some higher-ups (who work <i>extremely</i> close to the black hole) have taken notice of some controllers who aren't strictly following these rules. I could go on and on, but lets just say that there are safer ways we could be going about this whole thing.<br />
<br />
Montreal, on the other hand, has charged ahead and basically eliminated VORs from their system. The blue routes on the map are Q routes. They don't need VORs. Just plug the fixes into your GPS and fly. They're run by a private company, NavCanada, so they can do that, I guess. If you want to fly in Canada, you ought to have a GPS and know how to use it. If you don't, they'll just vector you around and consider you an exception. Overall, their change has gone pretty well. While they were at it, they started their new GPS STAR into Montreal in US airspace where I proposed it should years ago, and the whole thing misses our military airspace. They've streamlined one of their countries most complex sectors (just northwest of MSS where Ottawa and Montreal arrivals cross with overflights and Ottawa departures). <br />
<br />
While the focus was on Montreal, a few changes in Toronto's route structure was left unnoticed until we started handing them off planes in way's they didn't appreciate the first day this all went into effect. A few notes and a missing Letter of Agreement change later, we were all on the same page. NavCanada expects to take their GPS on the road west and ultimately make their entire country one big, happy, GPS-guided family. Just like the US. Except without the rules and black holes that hold us back. <br />
<br />
Till next time....<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />
PS. That new airspace redesign I was discussing in my last post involved new Q routes into NY Center. So, yes, we have them too, but only for high altitude....<br />
<br />
EDIT: The one thing missing from the new arrivals into Montreal is that intersection just south of the Canadian boundary for crossing restrictions. Expect 10 south of DAVDA at FL280....deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-13746094830689030042012-03-18T00:41:00.000-04:002012-03-20T11:03:43.829-04:00Don't worry, the Frogs are happy!Life is full of change. We often resist it. Sometimes we grow
impatient waiting for it to come our way. Change is an opportunity.
Many moons from now we may longingly gaze nostalgically back to the good
ole' days. Change makes us wiser, older, and possibly an old,
irritable bastard. <br />
<br />
There are things I wish I could forget. <br />
<br />
Change
is something as simple as tomorrow. And for all of this general
indecisiveness about the inevitable, change happens anyway.<br />
<br />
I've
been meaning to write this post for a while now. But tomorrow keeps
happening and things keep changing and this post keeps going
philosophical, as opposed to my intended route, which would be
technological. I feel like I can't finish this before something
changes. Very frustrating.<br />
<br />
There is a general
(mis?)conception that government is slow at change; nothing ever gets
done around here. In many cases this is true. But at least government
CAN change. As stubborn as the people who work at the FAA may seem,
changes to the system occur every 28 days (most charts update every
other cycle - 56 days). <br />
<br />
I know what you're saying:
"You can't keep up with something that changes every
month or two? Seriously? You can't just write us a damn blog post!?"<br />
<br />
Yes. No. I can't. It's sad. Get over it.<br />
<br />
--------<br />
<br />
This is where I've been. <br />
<br />
My solution to this creativity problem is that I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Or at least shorter. I'll split up all the different changes into separate posts. Maybe that will keep us all more interested...<br />
<br />
--------------<br />
Cycle 1112 <br />
--------------<br />
Some
updates have more substance to them then others. Previous updates had
included things like a few new GPS approaches at the airports in the HNK
sector, changing the number of an airway to eliminate confusion, or
creating a new published holding pattern on the Standard Arrival Route
(STAR) into Newark. Stuff like that.<br />
<br />
Update 1112 (the 12th update of 2011), as
it is referred to, completely redesigned New York Center's airspace in
ways I still don't fully understand. New GPS/RNAV (Q) routes were
created to fly through New York's newly designed sectors. Routes into
Dulles were changed to a new RNAV STAR. But, except for checked to make
sure planes were flying the new routes, not much changed for my area
specifically. Most of the airspace changes affected airspace that I
never work with, even if it is within 50 miles of my area. The routes are
structured so that I really don't have to worry about it. So, while BIG
changes were happened for controllers all around me, my area was just
minding its own business as usual.<br />
<br />
So, about half way through the first day of this new update, on November
17th, someone realized that the HUO Sector, which works NYC departure
traffic immediately adjacent to my area's DNY sector, was changing its
altitude limits. When the new procedures were being tossed around the
administrative side of the building months earlier, the HUO sector
didn't seem to concern anyone. Now, suddenly, the support staff sprung
wildly into action, re-changing the maps in our area and creating a new
briefing item that we could sign claiming we now knew everything again.
We were assured that nothing else was overlooked.<br />
<br />
On the Boston
Center side of things, there were a few changes to Area E's airspace.
Most notably, to allow for the fancy new RNAV STAR's into Boston that
were set to be launched during the next chart date. <br />
<br />
----------- <br />
<br />
Last year, or was it two years ago (let's call it a year and a half
ago), I was sitting in a meeting upstairs in the administrative wing of
the Center, trying to stay awake. Years before <i>this</i>
meeting, MASSPORT, with local community groups hounding their shadow at
every turn, studied the traffic patterns in and out of their Logan
Airport and determined that changes should be made to the arrival and
departure tracks to decrease fuel burn, decrease the number of flights
over noise sensitive areas, and to save the world by letting frogs yell at each other in the elevators of the central parking garage. Aforementioned local
community groups appreciated the second benefit and loudly announced
that the new flight paths NEEDED to be implemented. The frogs may have had their own agenda, but as far as we're concerned, they just like riding the elevator.<br />
<br />
<br />
These fancy executive-type chairs are too comfortable, so I struggled to stay awake waiting for the controllers from the
Boston TRACON (approach/departure) to arrive. Our counterparts at the
TRACON used a fancy computer program to plot all the new arrival and
departure procedures according to their newly completed study with the
assumed encouragement of many land-based Boston natives. The idea was
that planes would stay as high as possible as long as possible and
remain on an off-shore flight track as long as possible. The airlines
liked the idea and determined that if air traffic controllers simply let
them fly at whatever altitude they wanted, they could save millions of
dollars a year. A few members of our group were invited down to
Charlotte to fly in a flight simulator to show how awesome the new
procedures would be if they were adapted with only USAirways in mind.
It would be our mission to find a compromise so that all users of
the NAS could benefit from these procedures. Am I jealous that I didn't get to fly in the simulator?....maybe. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The departure procedures were already being implemented on a
voluntarily basis within the TRACON's airspace (fly this if you want, if
not, we're still using the old procedures which include vectors
mainly). Now it was time to finalize the arrival procedures. This was
more complicated, since the arrival routes start hundreds of miles from
Boston, in Center airspace. It was up to our group to tie<a href="http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058OOSHN_C.PDF"> their</a> new procedures together with <a href="http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058OOSHN.PDF">our own</a>
at the Center level, and in doing so, create procedures which were
operationally feasible and beneficial to the actual airplanes,
regardless of the weather. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out
the altitude limits along the arrival route at each fix. The airlines
want to be able to descend on idle thrust from cruise altitude all the
way down to the altitude onto which they turn final approach. As I've
mentioned here before, each plane descends differently based on all
sorts of variables, including the wind. Boston arrivals fly through
VERY congested airspace, so we can't just give it all away and let them do whatever they want all the time. After a few
days of working out the details, we were ready to publish our new
procedures. All the information went up, down and all around the chain
of command, and would be ready sometime near the end of the 2011, a year
later. The FAA has a thorough process to ensure that the procedure is
legal, can be physically flown without complications, and then to have
all the of the charts printed correctly and the data entered into all of
the flight management computers in the airplanes and for the
dispatchers. Oh, and then the controllers need to be training on
everything.....<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is a small part of our results: <br />
<a href="http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058QUABN.PDF">http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058QUABN.PDF</a> <br />
<br />
<br />
The updates to Area E's airspace, as mentioned above in
the previous chart date were to facilitate Boston arrivals entering the
Danbury sector at FL270 as shown in the new KRANN arrival, as opposed to
FL230 with the old ORW arrival.<br />
<a href="http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058KRANN.PDF">http://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1203/00058KRANN.PDF</a><br />
<br />
<br />
---------------<br />
Cycle 1113<br />
---------------<br />
This
cycle, introduced on December 15th, included these major changes for
Boston arrivals. All of the major routes in and out of Boston were now
officially on RNAV procedures. Since many airlines
pushed for these new procedures, we didn't have to work very hard to get
them to file their new flights plans correctly (there's always at least
one airline that doesn't get the memo).<br />
<br />
From an Area A controller standpoint (me), not much has changed. The real benefit to my area will be during the upcoming thunderstorm season, when aircraft are often rerouted off of the GDM/QUABN arrival to avoid weather. Reroutes to the ENE.OOSHN1 arrival will be much easier to issue compared to the previous reroute. <br />
<br />
!!!!!<br />
<br />
Please note how many of the fixes along the route in Center's airspace (WIKID, YEARS, PAHTI, BAWLL, STRKK,
OUTTT) have altitude limitations shown between two horizontal lines. We
spent a lot of time working on those in our meetings. But Boston Center controllers
are not allowed to issue "Descend via..." clearances (which is why those altitudes are there) (and we're not
expected to be able to in the near or far future). Why are they
published, you may ask? Just because. <br />
<br />
New procedures in Canada have shown light on an issue with these altitudes. In Canada, when an aircraft is "Cleared to Ottawa via the DEANS5 arrival", any descent clearance issued assumes compliance with the altitudes listed in a similar manner on the Canadian charts. Controllers do not need to issue a specific "descend via the DEANS5, maintain 11000" clearance. "Descend and maintain 11000" implies that. In the US, "cross LOBBY at 11000" permits the deletion of all previous altitude limits shown on the chart. The only one that matters is LOBBY at 11000. Altitudes beyond LOBBY are in TRACON airspace, and they say "descend via" and issue an approach transition. This causes confusion among Canadian pilots. Many of them have not flown a STAR in the US with altitude restrictions (known as VNAV - Vertical Navigation). At least they ask.<br />
<br />
Another issue arises when the approach controller issues the approach transition, which instructs the pilots which track to fly after RSVOR or MYSTK (in the case of the QUABN1). This clearance must be issued in time to give the pilots enough time to enter the new route into the computers. This often occurs prior to LOBBY. A descend via clearance is sometimes issued at the same time as the approach transition, which can then make the Center's clearance of "cross LOBBY at 11000" turn into "descend via the QUABN1 arrival, runway 4R transition, maintain 7000." That clearance then allows the pilot to cross LOBBY <i>between</i> 11000 and 13000. This is a discussion between Area B, C and D and the TRACON (those area's actually hand the plane off to approach). I'm gonna stay out of it beyond this simplified explanation. <br />
<br />
Secondary to this issue is a display issue of the actual chart with the horizontal lines that define the altitude restrictions on digital screens. Certain zoom levels may cause the horizontal lines to disappear or be very difficult to see. We can't use them, we sometimes can't see them, and none of them are in Area A's airspace. Word on the street is they are being taken off the STAR next chart date. No sweat off my back, really.<br />
<br />
For now, everything dealing with Boston is mostly under control. The vast majority of aircraft are filing the RNAV routes though I don't know exactly how Boston TRACON is handling the approach transitions. <br />
<br />
Slowly but surely, change is happening. In the end, the goal is simple. Save the world. One happy frog at a time. <br />
<br />
Till next time....<br />
<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-57784621331761996952011-12-08T02:19:00.001-05:002011-12-08T05:16:32.474-05:00Multi-core CraniumThe past few months have been filled with the trials and tribulations of training. My trainee (TQ) has spent the last few months training on the HNK/DNY sectors. This is my first main project (it seems strange to refer to my friend/coworker/trainee as a
"project", but it is hard to categorize anything that takes over two
years to develop as anything different - I would never mean to
dehumanize....) as a primary instructor where the trainee was not already a controller somewhere else before transferring to my area. It has been a learning experience for everyone.<br />
<br />
After spending the obligatory two months in the classroom and simulators, honing phraseology and so forth, TQ hit the ground running, so to speak, and left me with a false sense that this might be easier than I thought. This was right after Labor Day, and the weather in our area was really quite horrendous that first week he was back on the floor. There were epic levels of traffic (since we were working all of our normal traffic, plus all of New York Center's traffic, and some of Washington's traffic, and they were all deviating). I took over the frequency for a few extended periods of time, but only because I couldn't keep up, let alone would I expect a brand new radar trainee to keep up. "Just watch for a little while" is pretty much all I could muster as words of wisdom. <br />
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And then the worst of the summer traffic was behind us. It still gets busy, but not for hours and hours at at time at freakish levels. Mentally, we all settled in for a long winter. I took a few days off from work in the early autumn, and the secondary instructor on our training team was involved in a union project of his own, leaving TQ to train with different instructors. <br />
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As thick as our regulations manual appears, the actual performance of the job depends on strategy and actual execution of these imposing regulations. We call it "technique." There is more than one way to get planes A, B, C, D, E and F across the sector to points Q, R, S, T, U, V in a safe, orderly and efficient manner. <br />
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So, TQ was exposed to many new and different techniques from other trainers in the area. Hardly a day would go by without an accusing "who on earth taught you to do it THAT way!?"<br />
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As long as the rules are being followed appropriately, no one is seriously going to judge your technique. But technique is everything. So while I, or someone else, may not agree that TQ's way is the best way, as long as the job is getting done, we'll simply discuss legal alternatives that would work in that same situation. Or theoretically if that one plane was a prop? Or if there was icing at 17000? Or if you gave that clearance and the pilot said "unable"? Or if these planes had to deviate around storms? Or if you had 30 miles in trail to Kennedy. Oh, wait, you do. Get on that!<br />
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So after a while, TQ's brain started turning into a confused mushy sponge. The basics got lost in there somewhere. Life wasn't very fun for a while. It made me start thinking about what was going through his mind. Which made me start thinking about what goes through MY mind when I'm working traffic. After sifting through some weird stuff that I'm sure you don't care about, I may have actually found something useful to dole out as worthwhile instructor-ey type insight. A few weeks later and I have an even weirder thought that maybe some of you non-ATC folks might find it interesting. <br />
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Compared to your math teacher in High School or even the flight instructor at your local airport, Air Traffic Controllers don't receive much of any instruction on how to be instructors. They send us up to the classroom for a few days of team building type exercises, but that's about it. We learn how to control airplanes <i>and</i> how to be future instructors all from the same people: The instructors in our area. And they, of course, learned in the same fashion. Training is supposedly tamer now. No more "power training" with rulers held at threatening angles or random headset unplugging to draw your map for the millionth time with a golf pencil. Heck, they can't even yell at the trainee's for bad strip marking. Strips are gone. The older generation has almost all retired. These things are all myths to me. <br />
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One question always arises in any discussion about ATC training, however. Can you teach someone to "see traffic? This is a two part question. (1)What exactly would be the process of teaching someone how to "see traffic" and (2) do we currently do that or know how to do that?<br />
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Ok. I know some of you may have expected one of those questions to be "what exactly is 'seeing traffic' anyway?" It all revolves around a controller's "scan". <br />
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Let me start by saying that I enjoyed radar classes when I was in college more than tower classes because I preferred having all of the planes right in front of me on the (simulated) radar scope as opposed to being completely surrounded by airplanes in the control tower (simulator). My scan in the radar was better. I rarely have to turn my head around. I like that. I belong in a dark room. Yes, I accept that. Luckily, the FAA called me up 7 years ago and said "you are going to work in a dark room." Yay for me.<br />
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Scanning a radar scope starts with one airplane. Pick one. Generally, you would start your scan on the part of the scope that has a tendency to contain airplanes that have a high chance of being in need of your attention. If nothing pops out at you as extremely urgent (planes about to enter another sector without a handoff, aircraft not at their assigned altitude, two airplanes at the same altitude and very close together, etc) then a quick scan in that area commences.<br />
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When I say quick, I mean spend about one second per plane. That one second of time would contain the follow mental process: Is there anything that I told myself I'd take care of next time I scanned this plane? What altitude is this plane currently at, what did I assign, does it look like they'll make the restriction I issued if I issued one, are they on their cleared route of flight? Where are they going, what do I have to do with this plane based on its type of aircraft and destination, how much do I have left to accomplish? If everything seems normal, and the answer to the last question is "nothing", then I take another second to flash the handoff to the next sector if it isn't already and I move on to the next plane nearby. If there are other planes going to the same place on the same route, I'll check the speeds. This may take a few seconds as speed is not always permanently displayed. If the answer to the tasks accomplished question is not "nothing", then what is there left to do? Here comes the seeing traffic part: What do I have left to do with this plane and what other planes are going to interfere with my goals. And so the eyes will take over again. Where could potential issues come from?<br />
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The extensive training we receive at each sector teaches us that each common traffic flow has a certain number of confliction points with other common flows of traffic. These common danger zones are where we look first. My brain then tends to look in an arc shaped pattern, searching for planes that are a similar distance from where this plane would cross with them. If a plane is 25 miles west of DNY, and other planes tend to cross at DNY, then I'm looking for planes that are about 25 miles away from DNY in all directions, with my arc changing distance depending on the wind. If the wind is strong out of the west, planes traveling south and north will fly a little slower than the eastbound traffic, and the westbound traffic will fly the slowest, so I need to search closer to DNY in those cases. My short term memory should remind me if I have any other planes that are flying abnormally fast or slow, and I should do an extra search for those planes, expecting to find the unexpected. Another common traffic flow is for BDL arrivals. Common conflictions include LGA arrivals along a similar path, but often at a slower speed since they are lower in altitude already (and because Air Canada has been flying <i>REALLY</i> slow lately), PHL traffic coming from the north at FL240 or FL260 most often, and traffic climbing slow out of BDL westbound. ALB arrivals tend to conflict with EWR arrivals first, watch out for HPN and SWF traffic, then LGA props lower, and then ALB departures. There are over a dozen of these common flows in each sector and they all cross in a 3D pattern. <br />
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Once you spend a second or two doing this scan for other conflicting planes, and you've scanned most of the other planes around your original plane, the overall scan order then moves around the scope to areas of lesser priority until we're back scanning the plane where we started. <br />
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When we get really busy, these are the default settings our brains use to increase the speed of our scan. A good scan forces the brain to keep looking for conflicts it doesn't expect. When all the airplanes are deviating around storms and others are on reroutes, this extra scan is required for every airplane every time. So while you're used to a scan taking a second or two for each plane, now its taking maybe five times longer, yet your brain is stressed out and wishes it could scan in half the time. After a while, this gets frustrating. <br />
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Can we teach someone how to go about "seeing traffic" in a way I just explained? Sure. We can. We do. But with limited traffic. It takes time to go through and talk about each and every plane, just from a scanning perspective. Then you have to talk about what to do with that plane, technique wise, and then that changes how that one plane interacts with all the others, of course.<br />
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The issue isn't that we can't teach someone how to scan airplanes on a radar scope. The issue is how do they react to the really busy sessions with a frustrated brain. Do they dwell on little lapses in their scan when they discover their overlooked traffic a few moments later (perhaps when their scan finally gets around to seeing that previously overlooked target)? If they've made it to Radar training, hopefully we've established that they'll never just freak out and give up. That's rule number 1: Never give up. Ever.<br />
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As I list all of these mental questions, keep in mind that while many of them are "yes/no" type questions, or perhaps there is a "well, if this happens, then that will happen" question, the key to being a great controller is taking a busy, overwhelming situation, and generating <i>creative</i> solutions to urgent problems that pop up on a second by second basis. Letting your brain operate like a computer program works great most of the time. But most of the time isn't ALL the time. Most of the time doesn't cut it in ATC, either. And so, in order to create a sense of confidence and creativity, trainees need to start understanding why I use my techniques the way I do, when I use them and when I don't use them, and how to decide when to abandon your first plan and create a better one, quick. <br />
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I don't always have a good answer for why and how I do things. I wish I did. On the other hand, changing plans is a basic ATC function. As a controller scans their airplanes, they are thinking of all of that stuff from a few paragraphs above, but there is always one or more back-up plans in place, and thoughts about how that back up plan will effect everyone else. TQ has reached that point in the last few weeks. He's not afraid to change a plan. He knows he'll find all the new conflicts quickly. He knows he'll figure out a way to solve any issues that come up. It might not be the way I'd do it, or how anyone else in my area would do it, and I might have to pester him for a few minutes to figure out why he thinks that's a good idea...... And why wouldn't I do that!?<br />
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------------------------- <br />
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With all of this maximized use of our mental capacity, I think the hardest and most physically damaging aspect of ATC is that we are constantly changing mental speeds. My brain could be thinking at 100 miles a second, my eyes darting all around the scope, contemplating a plan of action for all of my airplanes, and then forecasting the future position of all of my planes to see if my strategy works out if everything else goes according to plan.........but then I need to TALK to one of my airplanes. I suddenly have to think only as fast as my mouth can clearly issue a clearance. <br />
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I need to precisely READ the aircraft's callsign in the datablock on the scope, then issue the clearance I intend (distinguishing it from all the other ideas I had about my other planes I was scanning) at a speech rate that can be easily understood and that exudes confidence. Then I need to LISTEN to the pilot read the clearance back to me, and decided if that matches what I just said. Often times, while listening, my brain can go back to scanning. In fact, after reading the callsign, I will usually make a visual scan ahead of the plane that I am talking to, as one last check that what I am in the midst of saying is safe, all the while typing away at the keyboard and making glances down in the corner of the scope to make sure my inputs are being accepted. How do I do that? How do I teach someone else to do that? No one ever taught me this last part. I just do it. It seemed necessary to learn how to do all of these things all at once in order to survive training; to feel confident that I could handle anything. I noticed TQ started doing this recently. I'll move my chair so I can see what he's looking at. After he reads the callsign, I see his eyes move ahead of the plane as he's issuing the actual clearance. I couldn't tell him how to get his mind and body to do that, but he taught himself. A few shaky weeks in ATC will motivate a human to do amazing things. <br />
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Till next time....<br />
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<br />
DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-59453455268200536622011-12-02T00:02:00.001-05:002011-12-02T01:38:19.711-05:00EAA Part 2 - Wednesday New power supply has been procured!<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Wednesday, July 27th</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
Wednesday greeted us with cloudy skies. On top of that, I knew, deep down, that the day ahead could never be like Tuesday. Tuesday was amazing. But at Oshkosh, there is always something new to see; I just had to figure out what I wanted to look for. <br />
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First things first: We couldn't all take the bus to the airport again. Wednesday was going to be a half day for me, anyway. I was going to meet my (then) girlfriend's mother (who happened to live in town) for dinner. We hopped in NJ's car and we parked at the seaplane base. A brilliant idea. <br />
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The seaplane base was cool, shady, and just a straight-up chill place to hang out. It was a great, relaxing way to start the day. Yet there were still airplane-type things going on. I have always had a suppressed desire to one day own a float plane.<br />
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......That feeling has become less suppressed since I get to see one bobbing around everyday on the Merrimack River just slightly downstream from my current residence. Perhaps one day I'll just knock on their door and ask if there is a CFI around.........<br />
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So I meandered my way over to an on-going presentation in one of the tents set up around some picnic tables. It was a detailed discussion about how pilots who fly float/sea planes can easily make themselves wet, inverted corpses if they don't act more cautiously. A pleasant thought, indeed. I learned a lot of other useful tidbits over the next hour (calm water is hardest to land on since it becomes invisible as you are about to land on it), but it was getting late in the morning by now, so we hopped on the school bus/shuttle to the main gate. The seaplane base had revitalized us to a certain degree, so we were ready to hop right to it. <br />
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Front and center, a jetBlue A320 was proudly on display on the main ramp, 12 oclock and 1 mile. Tours were not currently available when we arrived.<br />
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New arrivals to the main ramp were some of Burt Rutan's principal works. Apparently, Erik has a Starship fetish, so he was happy.<br />
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I mentioned last time that planes just randomly fly over in formation for no good reason.<br />
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It was drizzling on and off, so the early afternoon was spent in the vendor hangers just west of the main ramp. These hangers were filled with row upon row of stuff you can buy for your airplane. I don't have an airplane. I had $34,837 burning a hole in my pocket. Must spend....... Highlights included the Garmin section with their new fancy touch-screen GPS's, the guy who can program your GPS to listen to your voice commands "Insert Golf Delta Mike, Victor Four Three One, Lima Oscar Bravo Bravo Yankee, Kilo Bravo Echo Delta Enter", and the super detailed model airplanes (I'm currently saving real money to get a model of Skyhawk N172DM, in which I flew my first solo flight). <br />
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By 2:30pm, it was time for jetBlue to leave so the airshow could get started. They got ground stopped to JFK (or something to that effect). NJ and Erik stayed for the airshow. I caught the city bus back to the house, changed into something a little more respectable than my NAS CONFUSION T-shirt, and found my way across town to my (ex)girlfriend's mother's house. It was very pleasant, the home cooked meal was fantastic, and I got to spend some quality time with her dogs in the backyard. Planes staging for the airshow were constantly flying overhead so I still got the full OSH experience. <br />
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I was to graciously leave my dinner hostess around 8pm to pick up my old college roommate at the Appleton airport, but a massive line of thunderstorms predictably delayed his flight (that which he was actually going to be flying, as Expressjet's newest Captain). As luck would have it, this now delayed flight would have been cancelled, sans a captain, until Josh stepped up and volunteered to fly it to Appleton. The flight from Ohare to Appleton takes about 30 minutes. The drive from Oshkosh to Appleton's airport is also about 30 minutes. We took the dogs for a walk and waited for the flight to depart on flightaware.com.<br />
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Josh's airplane was finally recovered from a Columbus, OH diversion, and in no time flat, both he and I were bound for the farm-set aerodrome known as Outagamie Country Regional. The passengers were all quite flabbergasted by the sheer amount of lighting that had surrounded their plane on the way up. After the terminal area had cleared out, Josh and the rest of the crew followed, also shocked that they had made it!<br />
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We returned to a full house. Chris, another friend from high school, and a coworker from Frontier had arrived from Milwaukee a few hours earlier. Josh's recap of his day led to some passionate aviation nerd-talk. Three airline pilots, two controllers, and an avionics technician. Who gets to sleep on the couch?<br />
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Till next time....<br />
<br />
DM<br />
<br />deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-24866203946979901472011-11-14T23:59:00.001-05:002011-11-16T10:31:18.448-05:00Ignored on so many levels.If you are wondering "Oshkosh is more than just one day...WTF!?":<br />
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I lost power for five days from the Nor'easter a few weeks ago. My surge protector apparently didn't work too well and the contents of my hard drive that has all of my OSH pictures on it is currently unavailable. I have them backed up to another drive, but my photo-editing software is on that other computer, also. The next few days of my OSH experience was shrouded in overcast skies, so editing is definitely necessary to brighten them up a bit. Excuses, Excuses..... I guess I just have been ignoring you all again.<br />
<br />
Allow me to revert your attention to something else.<br />
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Have you seen the IBM commercial about how the IBM'er dude is going to build a better/smarter planet? Specifically, the 30 second episode about how said IBM'er is going to work closely with Boeing to suddenly land a billion airplanes in 5 minutes at LAX with some new software.........<br />
<br />
I tend to be a little cynical when I watch TV, so I immediately asked a few rhetorical questions.<br />
<br />
1) So I guess if you fly an Airbus or an Embraer you don't get to land at LAX anymore?<br />
2) Why wouldn't you work with the FAA to build a better NAS?<br />
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Since I have a blog, I get to make the second question non-rhetorical.<br />
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I bet IBM would love to get their hands on a couple of billion dollars worth of taxpayer money to start working on a system they don't know how to create just yet, and I bet controllers will be ignored throughout most of the process. Or has that already happened? When they show all the planes lined up 5 feet apart in the commercial, how "dramatized" is that intended to be? Is our aviation system safe because we pour money into it at an ungodly rate or is it safe because there is always a person between the planes and the technology (both in the plane and in the tower/radar room) that ignores all the hype and puts safety first?<br />
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This is not something to be ignored. A split second after I asked myself the second question above, I immediately thought "I think I heard about this before at the Praxis Foundation. They might be on to something...."<br />
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Check them out on the tab to the right under Adjacent Sectors. Get caught up.<br />
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I've got a power supply to replace....<br />
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Oh, here is a <a href="http://youtu.be/d3toCBdnxu4">link to that commercial</a>.<br />
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Till next time....<br />
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DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-14784415907600941252011-10-13T23:22:00.034-04:002011-11-16T10:41:10.984-05:00MHT-OSH, EAA Day 1<span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday, July 23</span><br />
<br />
I woke up at 4:45am and reported to work for my "Friday" shift around 5:45am. I was angst-y. I hadn't had a day off in a while. Summer traffic was in full force. Recall a few posts I made earlier.....<br />
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1:45pm arrived as soon eight hours would allow itself, and I gave work nary a rearview glance. I packed my bags, made sure I had all of my necessary camera/iPod/cell phone accessories, and gave my cats a sorrowed expression that told them it would be a while; feel free to take a nap or two, kitties. <br />
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I left around 5pm. <br />
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Rule number one when roadtripping: Don't be in a rush. What's the point of stressing out on vacation? Just chill. So I took Route 9 through Keene, NH and Bennington, VT. There is nothing like a nice, mostly quiet, curvy road through New England to get a road trip started right. The first night was spent near the Albany, NY Airport. Time to get some sleep....<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday, July 24</span><br />
<br />
I slept well and left around 9am. I am a big fan of the Mohawk River valley on a nice sunny summer morning. The water is calm, the trees are green, the old, rusty Erie Canal infrastructure is interesting, and there tends to be enough trains along the CSX mainline to keep me excited. A solid 8 hours of driving rewarded me with a dinner date, so to speak, with everyone's favorite Cleveland Center controller, SK!!! The Feve, in Oberlin, is highly recommended for lunch or dinner, although the company may make everything better than reality. On second thought, any place that makes tater tots about 10 different ways is always a winner. <br />
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After some hearty interfacility ATC banter, I was on my westward way again, sun visors in the down position. I gained an hour just before pulling into my hotel near Gary, IN around 11pm. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday, July 25</span> <br />
<br />
I love it when a plan comes together. And Monday's plan was ambitious. <br />
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One of my best friends from high school, Erik, was flying into Midway airport from Denver on Southwest at 10:35am. So I left my hotel at 9:30am, hopped on the Chicago Skyway, and cut through the south side of town on 59th St. I parked in short term parking, met Erik in the baggage claim, and we were northbound on Cicero Ave by 10:50am....<br />
<br />
We stopped for a quick bite to eat and then met another high school friend, NJ (controllers are initials only), for a tour of ORD tower at noon. A friend from college (JR) was working north local and pushing tin quite impressively. JR was departing and arriving 9R, departing 4L. Another controller was departing 32L from T10 in between the 9R arrivals, and another controller was arriving and departing 10, arriving 4R. Truly a sight to behold. One of many to come....<br />
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After a few hours of that, NJ, Erik, and I got a late lunch/early dinner at a local Chicagoland joint. We beat the traffic north into Wisconsin, arriving in Oshkosh around 6pm. <br />
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We rented a house from a very hospitable family who lived near the lake on the northeast side of town. The bus ran right down the street. We bought our tickets for the airshow online. Everything was all set. <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday, July 26th</span><br />
<br />
Tuesday was the second day EAA was open, but our first. It was 85 degrees, severe clear, light winds. Perfect. <br />
<br />
We caught the bus at 7:15am. We were under the impression that ALL the buses ran until 11pm the week of EAA. Wrong. Only the EAA bus to and from downtown runs that late. The rest of the town stops at 6:30pm. Oh well, we'll worry about that later and figure out alternate plans for the next few days. We transferred downtown to the EAA bus and it spit us out next to the main entrance. I was surrounded. I was overwhelmed. I had a grin on my face that was starting to hurt :)<br />
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At first there are campers and trailers as far as the eye can see. Then there are people as far as the eye can see. And then there are airplanes as far as the eye can see. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEgYC3jmfNUm-PEMYsQnWdANNc3AX6zzVL6d98qQxgptqMetwwrq8fyZd9r0xNkBL0FWyEJXodVGh2Qn0KLI0MACcNWo5aAtNWtrRK0_l6a0JOAGGEitRnHNDgrndSkuDfqu9skLUH8BB/s1600/DSC00090.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663201322319778242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEgYC3jmfNUm-PEMYsQnWdANNc3AX6zzVL6d98qQxgptqMetwwrq8fyZd9r0xNkBL0FWyEJXodVGh2Qn0KLI0MACcNWo5aAtNWtrRK0_l6a0JOAGGEitRnHNDgrndSkuDfqu9skLUH8BB/s400/DSC00090.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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We exchanged our online tickets for wrist bands and entered the sprawling airport/fairground. At ground level, there are immediately vendors everywhere. Cessna, Pilatus, Beechcraft, Cirrus, etc have acres of grass carpeted static displays of their latest and greatest offerings. <br />
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In the sky, there are constantly airplanes flying around in various attitudes, speeds, and formations. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglaPxO6RmY300_LEfJxG6oHCWRbBd5JtQ0PKTngTrQZajgQGVlMfOpwZ9xjm3TsAHuy69eKP7b4pTayA3-SVNKUkNwqr8H-CLobmlg78vfkjjaKLcZesqXwmtd-6DJCB3jf3EXGP1HJ7h/s1600/IMG_3154.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663203401395026642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhglaPxO6RmY300_LEfJxG6oHCWRbBd5JtQ0PKTngTrQZajgQGVlMfOpwZ9xjm3TsAHuy69eKP7b4pTayA3-SVNKUkNwqr8H-CLobmlg78vfkjjaKLcZesqXwmtd-6DJCB3jf3EXGP1HJ7h/s400/IMG_3154.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<br />
Next time I go...I'm riding the Tri-Motor. I'd regret not going up this time, but there was plenty else to see.... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKuZSFQ46wIhUNH3RjDzZJ19HP_oQDFr-RLvge3lwmMBaHsimpFmLcg8r_LzWcXoA16OXOfX01zMvXcpupp3MqRYghyqj4Qi8fr16khtMxZk77eGTUhRxar-ciGungHDCZ4y5bFcmNXmr/s1600/IMG_3157.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663204955264632546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKuZSFQ46wIhUNH3RjDzZJ19HP_oQDFr-RLvge3lwmMBaHsimpFmLcg8r_LzWcXoA16OXOfX01zMvXcpupp3MqRYghyqj4Qi8fr16khtMxZk77eGTUhRxar-ciGungHDCZ4y5bFcmNXmr/s400/IMG_3157.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<br />
The three of us became a group of 5 when we met up with my good friend Sam and his father. You may have read a little about it <a href="http://fl250.blogspot.com/2011/09/pops-and-i.html">here</a>. After watching a Q&A with Bob Hoover (it was Bob Hoover Day, after all) we strolled around the Warbirds area for the rest of the morning. Some DC-3s were parked there, too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxICX9zkvUK9a01cOuWtVp4vnfYX813aIhY7RD-qpUIH3_ayVT1vAsk5lLoLoqdUKH6HC7LV5OIiMSqDnxMs_idAWU3nv0aSQa2vWdjXTuNlkXTIfy07WRcpkrFp3CovcjswFL6tXlGZ8/s1600/aIMG_3184.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663206699241788626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxICX9zkvUK9a01cOuWtVp4vnfYX813aIhY7RD-qpUIH3_ayVT1vAsk5lLoLoqdUKH6HC7LV5OIiMSqDnxMs_idAWU3nv0aSQa2vWdjXTuNlkXTIfy07WRcpkrFp3CovcjswFL6tXlGZ8/s400/aIMG_3184.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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We got some lunch and then split up for the afternoon. The rows and rows of airplanes seemingly went on forever and I never got sick of the variety. NJ and I would tease Erik with "look, another green slash this big (two fingers an inch apart) on the scope, hahaha." Erik fixes and installs avionics on actual airplanes for a living, so he wasn't <span style="font-style: italic;">as</span> impressed with seeing the planes in real life as certain radar controllers were. <br />
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We set up just north of midfield for the afternoon airshow. It started a little late due to an incident involving an F18 overshooting the runway. Once the firetrucks and personnel were back in their appropriate places, the craziness began... <br />
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The Navy is celebrating their 100th year of flight this year and so the EAA attempted to fly every plane the Navy ever flew over OSH airport simultaneously without crashing into anything. They mostly succeeded. <br />
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There were at least 100 airplanes flying various patterns over the field. The choreography was excellent, as it really conveyed the sense of chaos that a Vietnam-era skirmish would emit. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzhv4Yc-GEuvUvV5SFvT-uQutJl2NHLnU2x3mRF-S7lPZpoL7qvVVwjBe6574FRcye4wWSvqsSZfewDEi_Wc02AwMnPXhI5Qf62NssVY1X03HPcV0X3w_WFMbCfobz74KA662UHgKrcHL/s1600/aaIMG_3206.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663210298305474450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzhv4Yc-GEuvUvV5SFvT-uQutJl2NHLnU2x3mRF-S7lPZpoL7qvVVwjBe6574FRcye4wWSvqsSZfewDEi_Wc02AwMnPXhI5Qf62NssVY1X03HPcV0X3w_WFMbCfobz74KA662UHgKrcHL/s400/aaIMG_3206.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 308px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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I couldn't capture it with the wide angle, but there were planes EVERYWHERE low level, and what seemed like hundreds of planes in formation flying overhead in four directions. <br />
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At the end of said demonstration, one of the rare early Vietnam jets also ran off the end of the runway, narrowly avoiding the F18 which was tail up in the grass from earlier in the day. Everyone was OK, and a sigh of relief was heard throughout Oshkosh. This was followed by an aerobatic helicopter. I was a little disturbed by the sounds being made by the short, twirling blades cutting through the air at unnatural angles. <br />
<br />
This was quickly followed by some stunning airmanship by Sean Tucker and the Shell Aerobatic Team. I am still speechless about this. (Sam has some really good pics on his blog of the airshow from his vantage point).<br />
<br />
The grand finale was when a bunch of pilots who aren't as skilled as Bob Hoover tried to recreate the same maneuvers that made Bob Hoover famous. The lackluster performance proved the greatness of Bob Hoover. Success! <br />
<br />
Afterwards, we meandered our way south to the Vintage rows where Sam had his C170 parked. The sun was slowly setting, and we took up a comfortable seat under its wing. At this point, the airport was "open" again, and we had a front and center view near the departure end of Runway 36L/R (the right side is actually a taxiway most of the year). Reduced separation is used for departures. Instead of 3000-6000 feet between departures, most aircraft at EAA are only required 1500 feet. This results in a departure being launched off each of the three runways about every 15 seconds. Departures off of 36L/R would immediately turn out to the southeast (remaining south of runway 9) over the lake and would slowly diverge on course, often with faster climbing planes right on top of lower slower planes. Everything was visual. Planes were also departing runway 9 and turning northeast and west. The math is staggering: Each runway would depart one airplane every 15 seconds on average. That's 4 departures per minute. Times 3 runways. 12 planes per minute would depart OSH. Times 60 minutes = over 700 departures an hour. Ok, so lets say its a little less than once every 15 seconds. 500 ops per hour? It kept up steady and ridiculous for over two hours. <br />
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As the sun set, Sam went off to get a weather briefing for his proposed early morning departure the next day. NJ, Erik and I ended up at the Vintage Restaurant for a fancy sit down meal in the open tent watching dusk colors fade into airplane strobe flashes lighting up the night sky. <br />
<br />
We took the EAA shuttle back to the downtown bus stop and called a taxi. Also waiting for a taxi was our newest friend: A hilarious and partially intoxicated Australian first officer for Qantas Airlines. He flew from Sidney to LAX and then connected a few times en-route to Wisconsin. The four of us shared the cab, which eventually arrived, since this Aussie was trying to get half way between downtown and our rental house. We picked up as much of his cab fare as he'd allow and found ourselves back at the house, not really all that tired, by 11:15pm. <br />
<br />
An amazing day I'll never forget. I'm still smiling!<br />
<br />
Till next time....<br />
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DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-47534007274143673592011-10-12T00:17:00.007-04:002011-10-12T00:51:52.459-04:00I would make a horrible photojournalist....I repeat: I would make a horrible photojournalist. It has been over two months since I took my EAA Oshkosh vacation. I am just now in a position to tell you how freaking awesome it was. I can show you, as well. It was overwhelming then. The mortal life that I returned to back here in NH was less than I could have desired. It is less overwhelming now. <br /><br />I was in, for a year and a half, a fantastic relationship with a smart, funny, amazingly beautiful girl who I honestly could see myself with for a <span style="font-style:italic;">LONG</span> time. By the time I left for my vacation two months ago, it had become obvious that who I was, and, most notably, my strengths as a person and a controller, had become nothing but a list of inadequacies. My decision to end what had become such an unfortunate circumstance took little time to justify in my own mind but the process of re-establishing my own emotional confidence, so that I could sit here at home and tell you a fun and/or interesting story with enthusiasm regarding my work, was much more gradual. <br /><br />So here I am, back with you all. Life has stabilized. But with regards to what I'd like to share with you, I am a little backlogged. <br /><br />Over the next few days, I hope to give you some recap of my experience in Wisconsin this past summer. I had a great time, and I have no idea why it took me so long to go......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3eq5bH0XBzlKNyS1SBDLFCvE8fk4-duXgdkr-chuMiIKjF0_mDLs7YJ90gtW4oDEiNasGH7qTwysi7D59ef0edlmPde2Y2G26kvUTDklDLbX5U6KDxIMUMuLJ5P0v5CyvHyefIcW2PkQ/s1600/aaIMG_3301.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3eq5bH0XBzlKNyS1SBDLFCvE8fk4-duXgdkr-chuMiIKjF0_mDLs7YJ90gtW4oDEiNasGH7qTwysi7D59ef0edlmPde2Y2G26kvUTDklDLbX5U6KDxIMUMuLJ5P0v5CyvHyefIcW2PkQ/s400/aaIMG_3301.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662460200222999042" /></a><br /><br />Till next time....<br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-70434243783255738932011-07-23T16:52:00.002-04:002011-07-23T16:58:57.353-04:00EAA - A week not working for the FAAI am moments away from setting off to Wisconsin for EAA AirVenture 2011. I will be on the scene from Tuesday to Friday, wearing a fabulously nerdy NAS CONFUSION T-shirt with the video map of the Albany Sector on the back. If you see me, feel free to introduce yourself. I'm friendly in real life, don't worry. <br /><br />If you are going to Oshkosh, or not, please join me in wishing everyone involved (especially those flying) a fun and safe week. <br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-51673107760234846872011-06-26T23:36:00.007-04:002011-06-27T01:54:19.618-04:00Losing the flick ; Losing my freqIt's the first session of the day. I'm told to plug in at the Utica/Watertown combined sector as a Tracker. My job, as the third set of eyes, will be to make some phone calls if necessary and to do the typing. I take a seat in front of the scope, fingers on the keyboard at the ready. I am actually the fourth set of eyes, as there is Radar training-in-progress. The training team has just taken a boat-load of handoffs and they are starting to check in. Some of you may remember this map from before:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuSl8OxgkqMp53afXJWbvTZuUWLHAtM9fb34l8YRS8y9fICNYR7Gll0AdNBGdEE0QAeSuhO8XwEInXUOt74gdIY9uXoiP8GwWbjKkHHnPr6g6gvVD_wY0x6bl081R4ST8DP4WvsxurdMa/s1600/ART1.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuSl8OxgkqMp53afXJWbvTZuUWLHAtM9fb34l8YRS8y9fICNYR7Gll0AdNBGdEE0QAeSuhO8XwEInXUOt74gdIY9uXoiP8GwWbjKkHHnPr6g6gvVD_wY0x6bl081R4ST8DP4WvsxurdMa/s400/ART1.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622742118352383506" /></a><br />Green is level traffic, Red is descending aircraft and Blue are climbing aircraft. It looks like a mess, but the main flow of traffic is level or climbing towards SYR VOR on the west side of the sector. There is quite a lot of westbound traffic at this moment, and I'm growing concerned. There are two very well placed thunderstorms in our sector, as shown as elongated north-south green ovals here:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PTe0gjzaIPnXEuZ0SKJqglTTHJCU3ym4VGP3Q7wviAVUQpPxcc-GLvQplttJNIuMfRqAqe451AkFV5fcFtlkIeFJx3MVyyhukxFvIfZ6wOmSHKHPWGdu7GWhOL_9A3Fd415uTeHtW0aA/s1600/ARTwx2.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PTe0gjzaIPnXEuZ0SKJqglTTHJCU3ym4VGP3Q7wviAVUQpPxcc-GLvQplttJNIuMfRqAqe451AkFV5fcFtlkIeFJx3MVyyhukxFvIfZ6wOmSHKHPWGdu7GWhOL_9A3Fd415uTeHtW0aA/s400/ARTwx2.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622742690490331490" /></a><br /><br />The bold black lines show how the deviations will unfold. Planes don't fly through thunderstorms for good reason. Everyone's workload increases. Planes are now checking in three at a time from the CAM sector to our east already deviating around one storm, getting bumpy rides, and asking for something other than "direct SYR when able" (the last sector gave them that not realizing there was another storm at SYR). The trainee needs to kick it up a notch (and so do I, frankly) as the frequency is now completely full of nonstop chatter about turbulence, altitude requests, weather deviation requests, needs for shortcuts, etc. A few ALB departures check in, and they need a westbound turn to miss the first storm. They are cleared to do so, but as they make their turn to SYR, they realize there is a storm there. Planes are keying up their mic's at the same time and there is a frustrating moment of squealing and garbling in my ear. I take that moment to look for something better to do. <br /><br />All of these westbound flights are going to deviate left of course into RKA's airspace, so I make the keyboard entry to force a full datablock onto their scope for as many planes as I can. But the Radar is giving climb clearances, and I'm struggling to keep up. I'm rushing to put in the step climb inputs. <br /><br />INT 320 439 ENTER <br /><br />INT 300 032 ENTER<br /><br />"amend altitude, maintain FL260, deviate left of course, Buffalo when able"<br /><br />INT 260 876 ENTER<br /><br />QS DL/BUF 876 ENTER<br /><br />Crap, since he's stopped under RKA's airspace, he'll need a pointout to DNY sector instead. I get the D-side to do that, pointing frantically at datablock....<br /><br />PVD 24 876 ENTER<br /><br />Uh, what just happened? Who was that climb for? <br /><br />I hear numbers in my head, but I'm not getting complete information and I don't know what to do about it. <br /><br />The instructor has taken over at this point and is now talking even faster. This is one impressive rush of planes in the middle of our scope now. The trainee needed to ramp up his speech rate and overall speed, but didn't. He was still cruising down a dirt road in Kansas in his rusty ole' pick-up truck, takin' it slow to avoid the rumblings of the washboard. I was right there sitting next to him in the passenger seat, barely keeping up. Now we're on the autobahn, in HV's Porsche. Oh crap, what on earth is going on. I think I'm 6 transmissions behind now. Airplanes are climbing, but the data blocks don't reflect it. No one has time to let me catch up. The planes are still moving, they're going left around the storms no matter what. Every plane that we have requires at least four of the following: a climb, a stopped climb for crossing traffic, a turn for traffic, a weather deviation and the amendment to the datablock so Cleveland knows what they are doing, a pointout to RKA or DNY sector, and a handoff. An arm keeps reaching around me to use the trackball.... At least someone knows what is going on. <br /><br />My D-side is helping me catch up, too, but other sectors are calling both of us because I'm not taking handoffs from them, or they have their own traffic that they need to pointout to us..... <br /><br />I'm typing as fast as I can, but it isn't fast enough. I'm not hearing callsigns very clearly, so I don't know which plane got that last clearance. Holy crap, the planes are everywhere. <br /><br />My Radar controller says:<br />"Delta xxxx, for traffic climb and maintain FL380, deviate left of course, direct YWT VOR when able." <br /><br />I type: <br />ALT 380 739 ENTER<br />QS DL/YWT 793 ENTER<br /><br />The D-side puts in QU YWT 793 ENTER to take out all the intermediate, and now obsolete, fixes in the flightplan. <br /><br />PVD 10 793 ENTER<br />C 793 ENTER<br /><br /><br />"793" (the three numbers before ENTER) is the computer code for that airplane. I changed the altitude, put "DL/YWT" (deviate left, YWT vor when able) in the fourth line of the datablock, pointed the plane to Sector 10 (RKA) and flashed the plane on to Cleveland Center. That is one plane taken care of, 26 more to go. <br /><br />All these planes want FL340-380 as a final altitude. You could cover 8 of them with a fingertip, and your hand would be surrounded by 10 others. Not too many planes are coming the other way at odd altitudes eastbound, so we start using those, too, as a temporary <span style="font-style:italic;">I'm-running-out-of-altitudes</span> move. (We generally keep westbound planes at even thousands (FL360 FL320 etc), and eastbound planes at odd thousands (FL310 FL370 etc)). <br /><br />Since I'm spending all my time catching up, my D-side is trying to keep the datablocks apart in his spare time, while not taking phone calls from everyone around him. Not sure exactly what is going on over there. I'm not sure exactly what is going on in front of me on the scope either, for that matter. Uh, where was I?<br /><br />I hear an Ottawa departure get a "Deviate right, when able direct EXTOL, J59" <br /><br />As I type the QS DL/EXTOL I realize that when that plane comes around the west side of that storm at FL360, there is a definite conflict with another plane deviating around the south side that storm, also at FL360. I point, again frantically at the soon-to-be-imminent situation. It got the Radar controller's attention and he wisely descends the southbound plane to FL350.<br /><br />INT 350 938 ENTER 10 938 ENTER<br /><br />I look over at RKA's scope and motion to the plane now at FL350 and make sure they are OK with it. They start scanning for any conflicting eastbound planes already at FL350....there is a Hartford arrival out there in Cleveland's airspace....RKA's D-side makes the call to start an early descent into Hartford....They take the handoff from us. <br /><br />Uh, what else is going on. I have no idea. A plane is climbing above the last altitude I put in for it a while back. Is that supposed to be happening? "Yah, I gave him 34" <br /><br />INT 340 103 ENTER PVD 10 103 ENTER<br /><br />Is he deviating yet? <br /><br />"Yah, these four are."<br /><br />PVD 10 303 ENTER PVD 10 993 ENTER PVD 011 ENTER Crap forgot the sector number.... The datablock drops off the scope when you forget the sector number. How stupid is that!<br /><br />PVD 011 He's back.<br /><br />PVD 10 011 PVD 10 644<br /><br />I gotta put all the deviations in there too. Hey, D-side, do that, thanks! <br /><br />Cleveland is getting overwhelmed now as we've begun to hand our mess off to them. I hope we weren't supposed to give them spacing. We went into survival mode and just made sure everyone was at different altitudes. Now that the big blob of planes is abeam the main SYR storm, we are trying to figure out how to get them to diverge a little so we can give them all even-thousand altitudes before they cross Cleveland's boundary. I'm still mostly confused and trying to catch up with my keyboard entries. Our D-side is all over it and points to each plane in order "JHW, Jossy, Peck, London" A vector or two and they're all laterally separated. They're quickly approaching the Cleveland boundary without a handoff so a few phone calls need to be made to sort it all out. <br /><br />Stueben, Utica, 97 Line...........<br /><br />------------------<br /><br />I wish I could go into more detail, but I truly didn't have much of a clue as to what was going on. To say that I was out of breath and, at times, a little scared would be an understatement. I will note also that I do not believe that HV owns a Porsche. For keeping everyone separated for that half hour someone should get him one! <br /><br />------------------<br /><br />So, there is a thunderstorm over SYR. Thus, TMU is rerouting planes that would not normally fly over SYR through our sector over SYR. I know this doesn't make any sense, but apparently since we didn't kill anyone before we must be able to handle anything. <br /><br />Since more planes are coming, and the storms are growing, it is determined that we should split Watertown and Utica sectors up. This does not happen very often, and it tends to lead to some confusion. On the bright side, since we normally have both Watertown's and Utica's frequencies on at the same time, and since different sectors put planes on different frequencies, splitting the sectors means that planes won't talk all over each other without knowing it. Planes sometimes end up on the wrong frequency, but at least they can only talk one at at time. <br /><br />So, the training team and my D-side went across the aisle open up Watertown sector. I was left to chill at Utica. A nice, simple, high altitude sector with a thunderstorm slowly moving eastbound. Watertown sector owns below me and all the airspace north of me. I now own just a rectangular shaped sector, FL310 and above, as shown below:<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d52HUBj0Mv6H5fS6CJXZxlsro4vMtsz7FJ538801-3ZbrwZ1ji3gUJOMsciLlcXn_KT4gZkVrfGGU43thREPXc9Yuv1vvenU5d7l0ETTAvZ5ue3gVo0zCUu4WSwp-K_4iDJGC48dASUB/s1600/UCA1.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d52HUBj0Mv6H5fS6CJXZxlsro4vMtsz7FJ538801-3ZbrwZ1ji3gUJOMsciLlcXn_KT4gZkVrfGGU43thREPXc9Yuv1vvenU5d7l0ETTAvZ5ue3gVo0zCUu4WSwp-K_4iDJGC48dASUB/s400/UCA1.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622760224932170274" /></a><br /><br />Many of the planes comprising the next rush of traffic ended up below FL300, so the move to split the sectors worked out well. I was still a little distraught over my still-fresh-in-my-mind performance as a Tracker. Well, at least I had everything under control now. In the rarefied air above FL310, I had a much more manageable number of airplanes and was able to keep up an enjoyable pace. <br /><br />Cah-SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH<br /><br />What the hell is that? It comes out over the speakers. I hear it in my earpiece. My lone frequency, plus the UHF emergency frequency light up orange as if they are being transmitted on. What the......?<br /><br />I ask someone how their ride is. No response. I issue a new frequency for a plane entering Cleveland Center. No response. Does anyone hear me? No response. <br /><br />Sigh. <br /><br />I attempt to switch to my standby frequencies. It won't let me. How about the Back-Up Emergency Channel (BUEC - yes, lots of car references tonight). Ok, that works. Sort of. It always sounds like a tin can. But, tonight it's especially tin-ey. After a few transmissions it sounds like someone else is keying up at the same time as I am. There is a buzzing, whirring sound as if someone has a stuck mic. But no one does. The planes can hear me enough.... Half of my planes get sent to RKA's frequency. I get Cleveland to take the handoff's early on a few more and switch them over. The rest are fine for now. They are deviating but are altitude separated. So much for the benefit of having one frequency to myself. <br /><br />I'm told I should try to switch back to my main transmitters. It won't let me. I have no frequency. They must have been struck by lightning. I need to stop blogging about how much I love or hate data-link. I must have jinxed myself. CAM sector is flashing me 4 airplanes. I tell that controller to hold on them for a while. I don't have a frequency right now. I get a puzzled look over the land line. Time to combine Watertown back up with Utica and use Watertown's frequency. I broadcast to everyone left on my frequency to change over to Watertown. Once they all check in across the room, we start the process of combining the sectors back together at the scope where I am sitting. They aren't done training yet so it is now my break. I will take it, thank you. Gotta get ready for the remaining 6 hours of my shift. Anything could happen. <br /><br />Till next time....<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-28506011655137035752011-06-24T01:26:00.010-04:002011-06-24T11:32:38.616-04:00Thrown, for a loop....I am not ignoring you. Don't worry. <br /><br />I have a lot of things I could be blogging about since the last few weeks have been complete chaos due to the weather and higher volumes of traffic after Labor Day. <br /><br />However, I can't bring myself to relive those stressful moments during my breaks or over my weekend. Its been that bad, especially on Thursdays. <br /><br />Here is a flightaware.com sampling from this evening:<br /><br /><a href="http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N567MC/history/20110623/1930Z/KUES/KFRG">http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N567MC/history/20110623/1930Z/KUES/KFRG</a><br /><br /><a href="http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL590/history/20110623/1843Z/KORD/KBDL">http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL590/history/20110623/1843Z/KORD/KBDL</a><br /><br />Planes were deviating around and/or staying high to top the thunderstorms in the middle of my sector at Rockdale and then when they finally could start down they were too high to meet their normal restrictions. Sometimes other planes got in the way...among other issues.....<br /><br />It all seemed hellish, hectic, borderline out-of-control. And that feeling didn't go away for over three hours. In the end, though, what was left were some pretty little loops to admire and share with you. Sorry to the pilots and passengers... Storms happen.<br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-85275225397750050092011-05-31T02:04:00.003-04:002011-05-31T02:29:52.801-04:00Data-Comm ContinuedMy last post started a discussion. I continued thinking about what I wrote and how I feel about what I wrote. My guess is that if you are very involved selling data-link to the government you would not invite me to your party. And that is a shame, because I want it, and I'd like to help you make it work for me as a controller. I know it doesn't seem like there's room in this world for moderation or flip-flopping or whatever. As a safety minded controller, I just came right out of the gate with two good reasons not to dismantle the air-ground radios we use now. I may have prefaced it all with "this is why data-link isn't getting off the ground", but I digress. <br /><br />Data-link (text messages to flight decks) should be expanded beyond the current use of issuing route clearances to airliners at major airports. But it shouldn't be the only form of communications available. Can we afford voice and data-link? Can we afford not to have both? Can we have this conversation?<br /><br />Let me give you two situations where data-link would <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> help:<br /><br />1 - A plane is flying along and has a radio failure. We exchange clearances via text message. YAY!<br /><br />2 - An Iberian A340 is flying westbound to Ohare through my sector. There are storms over central and southern Michigan. All Ohare traffic is now being rerouted. Have you ever tried to issue a long reroute to a pilot that speaks English as a third language when your sector has 25 other planes in it? How about the other 6 Ohare arrivals in my sector? It sure would be nice to say "American 734, American 12, Emirates 866, Iberian 38, United 792, Eagle Flight 3941, and Flagship 7833, there is a reroute to Ohare, please check your printer, thank you, acknowledge with an ident". And my D-side highlights those planes in his URET, types SYR..YWT..TVC..GRB..MSN.BULLZ1.KORD, SEND. Roger that. Eliminating all repeats on routing clearances would be VERY nice. <br /><br />And now that that ball is rolling, there are other things that would be nice to see in the 21st century. My D-side could select "send route as displayed in URET". There could be a "Contact Center on (whatever sector has track control's frequency)" button" When a message is sent, the datablock would indicate that somehow, and then change when the message is received. We'd only need to send one message to each plane at a time since we still have voice communications as a primary way to issue clearances. <br /><br />Any other ideas? <br /><br />Thanks for the comments so far. <br /><br />Till next time....<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-72667610791090627952011-05-27T23:22:00.004-04:002011-05-28T00:07:44.111-04:00Time Out - NextGen RamblingsApparently, we skipped spring and jumped right into summer. Every single shift this past week was a doozy, and I've resorted to a triage of sorts to decide if any of it is blog-worthy. So far, I've been distracted by the latest article at the Praxis Foundation (link on the right). <br /><br />I'd like to talk to you about "data-link communications." <br /><br />Some older controllers in my area dismiss the whole thing; Data-link has been "imminent" for 15 years. That may be the case. As a member of the newer generation of controllers, I'm not afraid of change for changes sake. But, even I can't see this integral part of NextGen getting off the ground. Here is why:<br /><br />1 - What is the last thing you want your bus driver/airline pilot/train engineer doing when you're sitting in the back with your life in their hands? Texting on the cell phone, right? Data-link is texting while driving. A message is received, and one or both pilots have to put their head down and read the message, and then presumably, they have to text someone back that they received the message. Currently, pilots respond on the radio by holding down a button, either on the control stick or nearby in an easy to reach spot (see picture below, arrow points to a little red button - push to talk). Left hand on the yoke, with one finger dedicated to talking on the radio, the right hand is on the throttle. Where in this cockpit would you put the screen to get ATC clearances? I say we keep the clearances in the headset so the eyes can stay focused out the window looking out for things like other airplanes, weather, mountains and/or the runway. <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugJdLsU4uKeSqnM1Ya-mptvH4s8TMJVb_trsyS4qsJRL8Hp0LlyU49_6zDEiv-S07c-o1IT4cepI0DSMQ_Am0a1wZ9x4mkJTeMvJF-ulauHJ8QrIvXzOJTWlCkvRkrj1p1Dd257vCvP7w/s1600/aIMG_1882.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugJdLsU4uKeSqnM1Ya-mptvH4s8TMJVb_trsyS4qsJRL8Hp0LlyU49_6zDEiv-S07c-o1IT4cepI0DSMQ_Am0a1wZ9x4mkJTeMvJF-ulauHJ8QrIvXzOJTWlCkvRkrj1p1Dd257vCvP7w/s400/aIMG_1882.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611605898958419474" /></a><br /> <br />2 - As pilots fly around, they often ask controllers if there is any turbulence ahead. Sometimes this comes off as annoying, but at least when we answer the first call "light to moderate turbulence from FL310 to FL360, everything gets smooth west of SYR", others around hear it, and can simply request FL380 without further conversation. Granted, pilots sometimes stop listening after someone else's call sign is used.....<br /><br />There are many benefits to having everyone on one frequency together. Pilots hear turbulence reports, as I've mentioned, but they also get a sense of how busy the controller is to a certain extent. They hear about weather deviations, they hear holding instructions and other delays. From personal experience, "verify you are declaring an emergency?" is the quickest way to shut everyone up. <br /><br />If everyone just got the messages meant for them, they would have NO IDEA what is going on around them. Situational Awareness would be significantly sacrificed. This is a clear case of safety taking a back seat to <span style="font-style:italic;">supposed</span> gained efficiency. This issue would be much more magnified in the Terminal environment around and on the airport. <br /><br />Obviously, this is a much more significant issue for single pilot operations, of which airline flying generally isn't subject, but I would assume pilots try to spend as little time as possible with their head down entering data into their flight management computers (or being distracted by burnt out landing gear light bulbs....). Lets not encourage them to take a 40 year step back in safety. <br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-21597033837751000752011-05-10T14:16:00.008-04:002011-05-10T14:55:24.286-04:00Crossing TrafficIt always strikes me as odd how the same airline will file different routes to the same place, often causing their aircraft to cross paths. The most common example that I have noticed are the BDL/ALB/BTV flights going to MSP. On more than one instance, the BDL (most south) flight ends up taking a routing north of Lake Ontario, the ALB (middle) flight takes a more direct (and most often flown) route over Waterloo (the one in Canada, YWT), and the BTV (most northern departure point) will head southwest over Buffalo and Milwaukee. Being oddly curious about things that don't really matter, I have wondered which flight got there first. Here are two recent examples where I have remembered to keep a copy of the strips so I could look them up on the fabulous flightaware.com (thanks flightaware!) after my shift. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DELTA</span> <br /><br />Two Delta flights departed Albany and Bradley bound for Atlanta on a Friday afternoon. There were some thunderstorms around, but there wasn't an official weather reroute in effect at the time. <br /><br />DAL1913 departed Bradley (BDL) first, at 1:09pm, with a flight plan filed over upstate NY to central PA and south over West Virginia. DAL1023 departed Albany (ALB) a few minutes later at 1:12pm flight planed over NJ, eastern PA, overhead DC and then over the Carolinas. Both flights usually fly the eastern route that DAL1023 flew. Both flights' targets merged over the ACOVE intersection just south of ALB, as you see below, and the race was on. DAL1913 was about 2000 feet higher than the DAL1023. <br /><br />The first flight to arrive was DAL1023, which flew the normal routing to Atlanta (and appears to have deviated around some storms over Maryland), at 3:26pm. Two minutes in-trail was DAL1913, arriving one or two planes back in sequence at 3:28pm. <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCALGY2ac-iDiOsSdde0O8XTI8bvp44-MekMKQL_5k0CcR-YFca11GCKMSBobJ9FDojca_hXA7u307JGJpecC-iRKXkxblPJ8ELXAqcoyhciHCOzSUQsjNgk-IwEj8g0gW752MFM2Gch1/s1600/DELTAS.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 395px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCALGY2ac-iDiOsSdde0O8XTI8bvp44-MekMKQL_5k0CcR-YFca11GCKMSBobJ9FDojca_hXA7u307JGJpecC-iRKXkxblPJ8ELXAqcoyhciHCOzSUQsjNgk-IwEj8g0gW752MFM2Gch1/s400/DELTAS.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605156663779973794" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">REPUBLIC (BRICKYARD)</span><br /><br />A few days ago, I was sitting in the D-side at Utica and we had two E-170s tied over SYR, both requesting FL360. RPA3305 had departed Montreal (YUL) at 7:47am and RPA3124 who departed Ottawa (YOW) at 7:53am, both bound for Charlotte (CLT). My R-side gave the Ottawa departure, who was a few thousand feet lower in the climb, a vector to the east behind the Montreal departure. <br /><br />The Montreal departure had filed the normal routing over central PA, West Virginia and and then onto the CLT arrival from the northwest. The Ottawa departure filed Syracuse direct to Roanoke, VA for a different arrival route from the northeast. As strange as this was, it was a Saturday morning, so we simply vectored the Ottawa flight east a little and gave him direct Roanoke, which allowed both flights minimal delay up to FL360 once we had crossed them out and established them on perfectly parallel routes. <br /><br />Something happened half way to CLT, though. The Montreal departure, who was now west of the Ottawa departure, got massively vectored back east and put well behind the Ottawa departure on the arrival route from the northeast. After all was said and done, RPA3124 (YOW) arrived first at 9:48am, and RPA3305 (YUL) arrived at 9:55am. I'm not sure what happened, as this reroute occurred well beyond my airspace, but I can only assume the YUL departure would have arrived first if nothing had been done, since the flight arrived only 7 minutes behind the other despite the extensive delay vectors. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNsjcJLhzEAc63Tgj5pqZygjSHajxo7J3o2QSB2QvRi9dIp9t8mF7-OdRZzEZb167tUpavGq4YU4v0U3TmjPVNTpK6S8ga7QQIk-BNh5GRPyrcKfb9AoYCZBj7jDWPgpPx1lPAc1JrvxO/s1600/BRICKYARDS.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 389px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNsjcJLhzEAc63Tgj5pqZygjSHajxo7J3o2QSB2QvRi9dIp9t8mF7-OdRZzEZb167tUpavGq4YU4v0U3TmjPVNTpK6S8ga7QQIk-BNh5GRPyrcKfb9AoYCZBj7jDWPgpPx1lPAc1JrvxO/s400/BRICKYARDS.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605161997519678578" /></a><br /><br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-90041757177978776232011-04-25T12:20:00.005-04:002011-04-25T13:13:16.442-04:00Show OffThe public suddenly has its eyes turned on the Air Traffic Controllers. Really? <br /><br />There has always been something missing from this Blog, in my opinion. Examples of my actual job, unedited. When I have a fantastically busy session at HNK/DNY -- my perfect phraseology, creative crossing restrictions to ensure separation, subtle vectors when a crossing restriction won't work, my D-side calling New York to get control for lower on the ALB arrivals, delivering Area E some awesome looking in-trail -- I can't ask my supervisor for a recording of my frequency and land lines to upload here, and I can't take a quick screen shot from the Falcon program to show off to you how proud I am of the work that we all do on a daily basis. Giving you access to that information is a security risk, a violation of policy, and copyright infringement. And if you're not a pilot, you'll never get access into my building for a tour to see it all first hand. Instead, I do my best to explain what happened using rudimentary maps, some excellent Flightaware.com links, and my words. I appreciate all of you for following along and your comments and encouragement. <br /><br />But there are people hovering. Folks just waiting for me to screw up. They're pretty sure I will; I'm human, after all. And when I do screw up there is a major possibility that what I have done, what I've said, and how horrible of a person I am, will be plastered all over the media-scape. Life really isn't fair, after all. I'm not allowed to share with you the 99.9999 percent positive aspects of my work with you here, or anywhere, but that .00001 percent may be used against my entire profession without rebuttal. <br /><br />Perhaps what I want to show off to you all is too complicated, and people could be afraid of what they don't understand. But the point would be made. What I, and 15000 other air traffic controllers in the US, and tens of thousands more around the world do every day, cannot be explained to the general public in specific terms. And if the public can't understand the positive details, how can they judge us on the negative details? <br /><br />So maybe we should stay locked up behind windowless doors and just do our work everyday in quiet perfection. Have we created an unfair expectation of ourselves because we do our jobs perfectly almost all the time? Have we silenced ourselves by focusing on undramatic things like "safety"? When the specifics of our rare mistakes are made public but we can't defend ourselves with details of our constant and habitual commendable actions but <a href="http://www.natca.org/conferences.aspx?zone=Conferences&pID=223#p223">once a year</a>, getting the flying public home in a safe and efficient manner, then we're loosing an unfair fight. The only thing that gets shown off is a negative image. But that isn't how I see my work at all. If only I could show you. <br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br /><br />DMdeltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1509900465677846838.post-68951018141090866872011-04-19T22:20:00.008-04:002011-04-20T02:27:21.540-04:00OpportunitiezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzThere are a few things that are certain about Air Traffic Control as a career:<br /><br />1 - The schedule is crazy. Whether I claim to like it or not, working two nights-three days, three nights-two days, or two nights-two days-mid is NOT healthy for humans. I think my best alternative would be working five night shifts, but I pretend to have a social life after my day shifts occasionally. <br /><br />2 - This job is stressful. I have only recently realized what this means, although I'm not sure if has to do with the soulless, windowless room that I work in, full of computer air or the actual controlling of airplanes. Sometimes its none of the above, sometimes is some of the above, and sometimes its everything and I just want a month off. <br /><br />The FAA begrudgingly throws money at us to make us stop complaining about how stressful it can be working a crappy schedule. But is that why we make decent money? <br /><br />Apparently, money is supposed to make me less tired at 4am when I have ZERO airplanes and there is nothing to do but stare at a blank computer screen. Fun experiment: At 12am tonight, turn off all the lights in your house, except for a reading light nearby, sit in front of your computer screen, and stay up until 5:30am. Emailing, reading, phone calls, text messaging, listening to music and "cat naps" are <em>not</em> permitted. Did you make it? Nice job! Do that again every Friday night for the next 20 years. Act professional, stay awake, and quit your bitchin'. <br /><br />So, I'd like to say that I'm glad this is something we can finally talk about. We have a problem that has not been addressed. Controllers are tired at 3am. Shocker. So instead of ignoring it until we get caught (oh, wait, we're talking about this because we DID get caught), lets do something about it that makes sense and helps us perform our jobs effectively 24/7. None of us like being really tired. Those of us that work the Mid tend to start our weekend off half-dead. This schedule is slowly killing all of us. So lets be open to change for the better. This is an opportunity to increase the safety of the NAS. <br /><br />Also, I'd be willing to start a conversation about truth number 2 at any time. Stress seems to be something that controllers shrug off. Its an inside joke. But maybe there are ways we can make the stress screw us up less. I can feel it building sometimes, and I don't know what to do about it. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to talk about that. Sorry.<br /><br />Till next time...<br /><br />DM<br /><br />That is all I have to say about this.<br /><br />Oh. NERD ALERT: I read the entire Northeast US Airport Facility Directory (AFD) to stay awake one night. The preferred routes to the Cape were on page 444. Not sure if that is still true....(FAA related documents are approved reading).deltamike172http://www.blogger.com/profile/03440111329857048591noreply@blogger.com5