Ok, back to reality. It was busy yesterday, and there was a lot of in-trail spacing going on. I had a few instances that are my least favorite in terms of decision making...The back plane is going WAY faster than the front plane, but they're definitely not tied either. Do I let the back plane run fast and overtake the slower plane, or should I just slow the back one and keep it second? Sometimes its really obvious. These two times were not:
1 - Scandinavian heavy jet approaching HNK from the north. A Porter Dash 8 prop (and yet we have to space it with jets because they are capable of 250 knots)incoming from the west, both landing Newark. There is 20 miles in trail. The heavy jet from the north is going over the ground 150 knots faster than the Dash 8, but the Dash 8 is 4 miles ahead. I make my decision and stick to it. I tell the A330 from overseas to keep it going 310 knots of faster, and slow the Dash 8 to slowest practical (220 knots). I turn the Dash 8 left to follow the A330, but the wind is at the Dash 8's tail more now. I have an Albany lander in there that I get below both Newarks, and then a White Plains (HPN) comes screaming in from the high sector. I step the HPN down as the A330 is descending, but I'm not getting the spacing I was hoping for, as the A330 is loosing tailwind now that he's pushed down below the HPN. The next sector approved a shortcut for the A330, but that new heading gets in the way of the HPN. So we finally settle on a new shortcut, and the planes diverge a little more.
I have a little conversation with myself about whether or not those overtakes really are worth the effort. An hour later....back at DNY sector:
2 - This one involved TWO Dash 8s and an E170 jet. It starts off obvious. The first Dash 8 is about 6 miles in front of the E170, flying 120 knots slower. I'm going to gain 2 miles a minute, and I need to make up at least 11 miles to finish the overtake. I have more than 5.5 minutes to the end of my sector, so its settled then. I assign the Dash 8 slowest practical again and get a few more knots difference working for me. Then NY center flashes me another Dash 8, 5 miles in front of the first one, at 17000. Well well well. So I get control to turn both Dash 8s and I go to a 050 heading. The E170 is really making up ground now. So I turn the two Dash 8s back to HNK on course. Then I realize I STILL have 20 miles in trail to Newark. Crap. So I turn the two Dash 8s back to 050 headings. "I need a few more miles". Like 15 more on the first one, and 30 more on the back one. I couldn't turn that second one back due south like I wanted to because I had to push a TEB jet down to 15000 below the EWR arrivals. It didn't feel very pretty, but it ended up OK.
Today, I'm just gonna slow the back guy and vector to keep my spacing, I think. I was 0-2 for overtakes yesterday. I don't like those odds.
DM
September 19, 2008
September 14, 2008
Priorities
Summer traffic has gone from an unruly rolling boil down to a pleasant simmer. The union office is getting a new carpet. What do these two things have in common?
I have had some extra time to read what the FAA has to say on the intranet, especially last night on the midnight shift. As an American citizen and taxpayer, as well as a controller, I feel obligated to step in and add my two cents. This, and perhaps the next post or two, will be off track compared to the normal theme of this blog. Brace for impact.
A lot has been made of NextGen lately, mostly at the FAA's making. Other blogs and news sources have spent much more time and effort in cataloging the FAA's open ended plan to spend all of our money bringing the National Airspace System into the 21st century.
I've never been one to quote other sites and then run wild into the night pointing out inaccuracies. I almost took a few quotes off the FAA website, grabbed a bottle of water, and started running, but I changed my mind. I don't know where to start my marathon of wrath.
Wait! Lets just do this one:
"The next president needs to make the NextGen initiative a national priority, and ensure that it is given the resources, management attention, and sense of urgency that it warrants"
-- Chairman House Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn)
This was part of his closing statement after being given, what I consider, a few good one liners containing inaccurate, misleading, or irrelevant information regarding NextGen and the state of the NAS.
The article can be found here. Hopefully that works and you can access the employees page.
There were no specifics mentioned in the FAA article with this quote. All other quotes where as vague as the one printed above. And yet, as I look around the FAA website, and peruse other recent articles about the future benefits of NextGen, I see nothing but increasing efficiency, reducing emissions and fuel burn, and saving flying time for airliners. It sounds good in the context of today's green tinted social fabric, and to many airlines who can't buy a clue about how to make money, but none of this is going anywhere that will improve the NAS as a whole. I have seen NOTHING in regards to increasing SAFETY or CAPACITY. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe all the important subjects are being worked on so feverishly, no one has time to talk about them.
Maybe the next administration will have different priorities than what the current NextGen has to offer in the news column.
DM
I have had some extra time to read what the FAA has to say on the intranet, especially last night on the midnight shift. As an American citizen and taxpayer, as well as a controller, I feel obligated to step in and add my two cents. This, and perhaps the next post or two, will be off track compared to the normal theme of this blog. Brace for impact.
A lot has been made of NextGen lately, mostly at the FAA's making. Other blogs and news sources have spent much more time and effort in cataloging the FAA's open ended plan to spend all of our money bringing the National Airspace System into the 21st century.
I've never been one to quote other sites and then run wild into the night pointing out inaccuracies. I almost took a few quotes off the FAA website, grabbed a bottle of water, and started running, but I changed my mind. I don't know where to start my marathon of wrath.
Wait! Lets just do this one:
"The next president needs to make the NextGen initiative a national priority, and ensure that it is given the resources, management attention, and sense of urgency that it warrants"
-- Chairman House Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn)
This was part of his closing statement after being given, what I consider, a few good one liners containing inaccurate, misleading, or irrelevant information regarding NextGen and the state of the NAS.
The article can be found here. Hopefully that works and you can access the employees page.
There were no specifics mentioned in the FAA article with this quote. All other quotes where as vague as the one printed above. And yet, as I look around the FAA website, and peruse other recent articles about the future benefits of NextGen, I see nothing but increasing efficiency, reducing emissions and fuel burn, and saving flying time for airliners. It sounds good in the context of today's green tinted social fabric, and to many airlines who can't buy a clue about how to make money, but none of this is going anywhere that will improve the NAS as a whole. I have seen NOTHING in regards to increasing SAFETY or CAPACITY. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe all the important subjects are being worked on so feverishly, no one has time to talk about them.
Maybe the next administration will have different priorities than what the current NextGen has to offer in the news column.
DM
September 10, 2008
Lenticulars
A few Novembers ago, Sam took these on his descent into Calgary, Alberta. "It was surprisingly smooth", he recalls. He has since moved on, from Dash 8s to E-jets.
September 5, 2008
Summer Finale
The weather has settled down out here in New England, though we're getting lined up for a left-over tropical storm or two. The end of August definitely left its mark upon our little air traffic world here at Boston Center. I'll fondly reminisce about it in the near future, I think. No one died, and we'll leave it at that. If I wanted to count the number of times I turned to my D-side with a frantic look on my face and said "Holy crap, that was close", I'd need another hand full of fingers.
Leaving the insanity behind for a week was tough to do........... I guess.
My buddy Erik flew into Logan on a Thursday night (ok, it was actually Friday Morning at 1am), so I swapped my shift to work until midnight. We left the next day for a 9 hour drive to Maryland. It was the weekend before labor day, the weather was perfect, and the entire world was driving west on the Mass Pike. We covered 7 new states that Erik had never been to on that one day alone, since we "deviated" around traffic on the NJ Turnpike and went through Allentown, PA. Saturday was action packed. We drove around DC for a few hours, ending up at Gravelly Point and watched planes fly the River Visual into National.
We skipped out of DC in time to catch the Yankees beating the Orioles at Camden Yards that evening.
The next day was spent touring Philly around lunchtime. We played some ball with my Cousin Dave, and then we all watched a great game as the Phillies beat the Dodgers in walk off style in the 11th inning.
It was late when we finally got out and drove up to Queens, NY. Yet, we had no trouble waking up for our tour of LGA tower the next morning. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Oh, and after that we saw two great baseball games at Shea and Yankee Stadiums...
More Air Traffic next time perhaps!
DM
Leaving the insanity behind for a week was tough to do........... I guess.
My buddy Erik flew into Logan on a Thursday night (ok, it was actually Friday Morning at 1am), so I swapped my shift to work until midnight. We left the next day for a 9 hour drive to Maryland. It was the weekend before labor day, the weather was perfect, and the entire world was driving west on the Mass Pike. We covered 7 new states that Erik had never been to on that one day alone, since we "deviated" around traffic on the NJ Turnpike and went through Allentown, PA. Saturday was action packed. We drove around DC for a few hours, ending up at Gravelly Point and watched planes fly the River Visual into National.
We skipped out of DC in time to catch the Yankees beating the Orioles at Camden Yards that evening.
The next day was spent touring Philly around lunchtime. We played some ball with my Cousin Dave, and then we all watched a great game as the Phillies beat the Dodgers in walk off style in the 11th inning.
It was late when we finally got out and drove up to Queens, NY. Yet, we had no trouble waking up for our tour of LGA tower the next morning. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Oh, and after that we saw two great baseball games at Shea and Yankee Stadiums...
More Air Traffic next time perhaps!
DM
August 17, 2008
Interlude
My sources indicate there are some more eye popping weather pics on the horizon. Until then, here are a few shots I took en-route to Denver last month. No weather per se, just a little experimenting with exposure times over Chicago.
August 10, 2008
Meooowwwwww
Saturdays are supposed to be slow. Especially after 8am. There is little weather over NY today, so all is well, although a spinning low approaches from the west.
After the morning push of New England departures bound for the Midwest subsides, a second wave heads for the west coast. These aircraft are filed over Lake Ontario into Canada to miss the low pressure aforementioned. A mental red light comes on when Toronto Centre doesn't have any of these flight plans in their computer. A quick mention to the supervisors sets off more red lights, and CAATS (Canadian Automated Air Traffic System, or close to that) is deemed busted.
While CAATS calls itself automated, it still is not completely linked to our computers here in the US. We still have to call the receiving sector for every hand off in a manner similar to an old-school manual hand off:
ZBW "Valley, Watertown, on the 75 line, hand off"
YUL "Valley"
ZBW "Hand off two zero miles east of Watertown, Air Canada 966 Flight Level 280, your control for lower"
YUL "Air Canada 966 radar contact, check my control"
"DM"
For the ATC folk out there, you'll notice there was no beacon code or other information passed that would normally be apart of a true manual hand off. Items like route, type aircraft, beacon code, and equipment on board is automatically passed to Canada through CAATS.
Before CAATS, flight plans were passed to their computers, but only initially. Any further amendments that were made to the flight were coordinated 15 minutes in advance by the D-side controller on the dial phone line (we actually dial a number and it rang in their heads annoyingly). The 75 line mentioned above is used for hand offs, and we simply key up and "shout" to them in their overhead speakers to ask them to pick up the line. They answer with their sector name (Valley Sector). Flight plans sent to us were handled in a similar way. Departures off Ottawa would have to be manually departed by the controller with a Departure Message. Incoming flights from Toronto and the Montreal High sector would be activated with an message to the computer to activate the flight over a certain point at a certain time. Either way, the flight plan would be in the pending departures list.
With this particular CAATS failure, incoming flights where either automatically acquiring (as if CAATS was working as designed), pending departure like the old system, or, all too often, there simply was no flight plan anywhere to be found. I found myself sitting at Watertown D-side, and I would have to write down the flight plan as read to me on the data line from one of the Canadian sectors, and then type it into the computer myself, so the the rest of the US would know who this plane was.
This, of course, is VERY time consuming, especially compared to what we have become accustomed to regarding workload. To add to the fun, all the overseas IAD and ATL traffic was routed over ART..SYR..PSB due to the winds aloft (I'd be the first US sector to work them all). Most of them were not in the computer at all. In addition, we get a lot of arrivals from Toronto Centre around this time period (again, we're the first US sector to work them). So the phone started ringing off the hook. I pick up the first call:
YYZ "Do you have any info on Cathay 830?"
ZBW "uh.....negative..go ahead..."
YYZ "Cathay 830 is a heavy Boeing 772 slant Quebec, off Hong Kong for Kennedy at FL370, estimating TULEG at 2126, then direct Kingston, Kingston 8 arrival....code is...1432"
ZBW "Roger I got it thanks" (after writing furiously on a blank strip)
Then its time to enter it, as a phone line from Montreal Centre starts ringing. They'll have to wait a minute:
FP CPA830 H/B772/Q 1432 450 TULEG E2126 370 VHHH..TULEG..IGN.IGN8.KJFK ENTER
Now to pick up the next call. Two inbound IAD arrivals from Aylmer sector in Montreal, which goes similar to the last call. Only this time, the routes are a tad longer, and I ask them to issue the appropriate arrival route into IAD. ZNY just won't take PSB direct.
FP UAL930 H/B763/Q 3534 450 YOW E2133 400 EDDM..YOW..ART..SYR.J59.PSB.PSB2.KIAD ENTER
Then repeat for company traffic in trail.
Call Valley sector with two arrival estimates to Montreal. Call Toronto for a hand off on a previously passed flight plan. Make a point out to Delancy. Valley calls back with a departure off Ottawa.
DM 493 ENTER (Departure Message, Computer ID number, Enter)
Two more flights from Toronto that I copy down, I give two to them, plus another one of them is in the computer already. Valley calls to hand off that departure I departed before. I start typing in the two flight plans from Toronto, and the phone rings from Montreal with three more. I call out for an A-side (flight data assistant). I think everyone thinks I'm joking. Am I!? Meanwhile, as I type the flight plans I just got into the machine, I'm getting heckled for not picking up the next phone call, bearing 2 more inbounds. Good news is on the line when I'm finally done typing:
ZBW "Watertown, thanks for waiting"
YYZ "Any joy on a COA88"
I check and find it! Its waiting to be activated! Whoo hoo.
So I get the estimate and activate that flight.
YYZ "How about China Eastern 981?"
ZBW "DOH!, I got nothing"
And back to the frantic writing and entering flight plans yet again, for another hour of hell...
DM
After the morning push of New England departures bound for the Midwest subsides, a second wave heads for the west coast. These aircraft are filed over Lake Ontario into Canada to miss the low pressure aforementioned. A mental red light comes on when Toronto Centre doesn't have any of these flight plans in their computer. A quick mention to the supervisors sets off more red lights, and CAATS (Canadian Automated Air Traffic System, or close to that) is deemed busted.
While CAATS calls itself automated, it still is not completely linked to our computers here in the US. We still have to call the receiving sector for every hand off in a manner similar to an old-school manual hand off:
ZBW "Valley, Watertown, on the 75 line, hand off"
YUL "Valley"
ZBW "Hand off two zero miles east of Watertown, Air Canada 966 Flight Level 280, your control for lower"
YUL "Air Canada 966 radar contact, check my control"
"DM"
For the ATC folk out there, you'll notice there was no beacon code or other information passed that would normally be apart of a true manual hand off. Items like route, type aircraft, beacon code, and equipment on board is automatically passed to Canada through CAATS.
Before CAATS, flight plans were passed to their computers, but only initially. Any further amendments that were made to the flight were coordinated 15 minutes in advance by the D-side controller on the dial phone line (we actually dial a number and it rang in their heads annoyingly). The 75 line mentioned above is used for hand offs, and we simply key up and "shout" to them in their overhead speakers to ask them to pick up the line. They answer with their sector name (Valley Sector). Flight plans sent to us were handled in a similar way. Departures off Ottawa would have to be manually departed by the controller with a Departure Message. Incoming flights from Toronto and the Montreal High sector would be activated with an message to the computer to activate the flight over a certain point at a certain time. Either way, the flight plan would be in the pending departures list.
With this particular CAATS failure, incoming flights where either automatically acquiring (as if CAATS was working as designed), pending departure like the old system, or, all too often, there simply was no flight plan anywhere to be found. I found myself sitting at Watertown D-side, and I would have to write down the flight plan as read to me on the data line from one of the Canadian sectors, and then type it into the computer myself, so the the rest of the US would know who this plane was.
This, of course, is VERY time consuming, especially compared to what we have become accustomed to regarding workload. To add to the fun, all the overseas IAD and ATL traffic was routed over ART..SYR..PSB due to the winds aloft (I'd be the first US sector to work them all). Most of them were not in the computer at all. In addition, we get a lot of arrivals from Toronto Centre around this time period (again, we're the first US sector to work them). So the phone started ringing off the hook. I pick up the first call:
YYZ "Do you have any info on Cathay 830?"
ZBW "uh.....negative..go ahead..."
YYZ "Cathay 830 is a heavy Boeing 772 slant Quebec, off Hong Kong for Kennedy at FL370, estimating TULEG at 2126, then direct Kingston, Kingston 8 arrival....code is...1432"
ZBW "Roger I got it thanks" (after writing furiously on a blank strip)
Then its time to enter it, as a phone line from Montreal Centre starts ringing. They'll have to wait a minute:
FP CPA830 H/B772/Q 1432 450 TULEG E2126 370 VHHH..TULEG..IGN.IGN8.KJFK ENTER
Now to pick up the next call. Two inbound IAD arrivals from Aylmer sector in Montreal, which goes similar to the last call. Only this time, the routes are a tad longer, and I ask them to issue the appropriate arrival route into IAD. ZNY just won't take PSB direct.
FP UAL930 H/B763/Q 3534 450 YOW E2133 400 EDDM..YOW..ART..SYR.J59.PSB.PSB2.KIAD ENTER
Then repeat for company traffic in trail.
Call Valley sector with two arrival estimates to Montreal. Call Toronto for a hand off on a previously passed flight plan. Make a point out to Delancy. Valley calls back with a departure off Ottawa.
DM 493 ENTER (Departure Message, Computer ID number, Enter)
Two more flights from Toronto that I copy down, I give two to them, plus another one of them is in the computer already. Valley calls to hand off that departure I departed before. I start typing in the two flight plans from Toronto, and the phone rings from Montreal with three more. I call out for an A-side (flight data assistant). I think everyone thinks I'm joking. Am I!? Meanwhile, as I type the flight plans I just got into the machine, I'm getting heckled for not picking up the next phone call, bearing 2 more inbounds. Good news is on the line when I'm finally done typing:
ZBW "Watertown, thanks for waiting"
YYZ "Any joy on a COA88"
I check and find it! Its waiting to be activated! Whoo hoo.
So I get the estimate and activate that flight.
YYZ "How about China Eastern 981?"
ZBW "DOH!, I got nothing"
And back to the frantic writing and entering flight plans yet again, for another hour of hell...
DM
August 9, 2008
My head hurts.
Ok, Ok. Its summer, we get it. Between moving into a new place north of Manchester, to working 6 days a week, I haven't had much time to spare to update the blog here.
Its been a rough couple of weeks. The weather has gone from anything between solid lines of tornados to huge areas of dreary embedded thunderstorms. I can't remember the last time it didn't rain around here. The toll collected from the controllers around the center has been steep. We've had 12 operational errors in the last 14 days, with 9 days in a row at one point. Somehow, my area has escaped without one during this time. We've had a few close calls though, and with hardly a day off to recover, its a struggle to keep the focus level high.
Its been so busy I can't pick out one good session to write about.
Instead, in the theme of this headache of a post, I'll explain some of the things that cause such mental turmoil.
Last week ended with a few long lines of weather that didn't have any breaks to speak of. So, with no way to get from one side of the squall line to the other, airplanes just wait on the ground for the storms to pass their destination. This is fine, until the storm passes around 10pm, and everything is done with their shift. Some people have to stay late on OT, and help the midnight shifters work all the traffic that we didn't work during the daytime. The supervisors go home, Traffic Management goes home, and here come all the planes. Fantastic.
The squall line situation is better than what we had this week. With a squall line, everything is cut and dry. Either planes are going through on certain routes or they're not. They don't depart unless they're on a route that is going to keep them away from the line of storms. The main variable is the actual location of the line, and when it passes though the NY Metro area. Those two factors decide how crazy it will get late at night.
Lately, we've had widespread overcast IFR conditions with embedded thunderstorms. Small individual storms are dotted all over the landscape at random intervals. The kicker is, pilots can't see them visually and they don't always get a good look on the radar, due to the low visibility and rain. There is no sure shot way to get out of the center and on course. The best anyone can do is just try to space departures out enough so we can let planes deviate as best they can around the cells. Delays were routinely up around 3, 4, even 5 hours long to get out of New England airports, from what I understand. Meanwhile, the scope is filled with our crummy Nexrad display and data blocks flying all over the place, looking for holes. As planes slowly climbed though layers, they would see a new buildup and ask for a deviation. Then they'd go around that cell and see the one behind it and want to turn the other way. On and on for each plane for hours on end. We normally use 2 frequencies for Watertown/Utica, but we asked the sector around us to only use Watertown's frequency, so planes wouldn't talk on two transmitters at the same time. This made it a LITTLE better.
Its hard to convey the type of brain cramping you get when you're working 25 airplanes, and they're all deviating in different directions (although they're all trying to go west in general). There is no pattern. That's why summer traffic sucks. I'll leave it at that.
DM
Its been a rough couple of weeks. The weather has gone from anything between solid lines of tornados to huge areas of dreary embedded thunderstorms. I can't remember the last time it didn't rain around here. The toll collected from the controllers around the center has been steep. We've had 12 operational errors in the last 14 days, with 9 days in a row at one point. Somehow, my area has escaped without one during this time. We've had a few close calls though, and with hardly a day off to recover, its a struggle to keep the focus level high.
Its been so busy I can't pick out one good session to write about.
Instead, in the theme of this headache of a post, I'll explain some of the things that cause such mental turmoil.
Last week ended with a few long lines of weather that didn't have any breaks to speak of. So, with no way to get from one side of the squall line to the other, airplanes just wait on the ground for the storms to pass their destination. This is fine, until the storm passes around 10pm, and everything is done with their shift. Some people have to stay late on OT, and help the midnight shifters work all the traffic that we didn't work during the daytime. The supervisors go home, Traffic Management goes home, and here come all the planes. Fantastic.
The squall line situation is better than what we had this week. With a squall line, everything is cut and dry. Either planes are going through on certain routes or they're not. They don't depart unless they're on a route that is going to keep them away from the line of storms. The main variable is the actual location of the line, and when it passes though the NY Metro area. Those two factors decide how crazy it will get late at night.
Lately, we've had widespread overcast IFR conditions with embedded thunderstorms. Small individual storms are dotted all over the landscape at random intervals. The kicker is, pilots can't see them visually and they don't always get a good look on the radar, due to the low visibility and rain. There is no sure shot way to get out of the center and on course. The best anyone can do is just try to space departures out enough so we can let planes deviate as best they can around the cells. Delays were routinely up around 3, 4, even 5 hours long to get out of New England airports, from what I understand. Meanwhile, the scope is filled with our crummy Nexrad display and data blocks flying all over the place, looking for holes. As planes slowly climbed though layers, they would see a new buildup and ask for a deviation. Then they'd go around that cell and see the one behind it and want to turn the other way. On and on for each plane for hours on end. We normally use 2 frequencies for Watertown/Utica, but we asked the sector around us to only use Watertown's frequency, so planes wouldn't talk on two transmitters at the same time. This made it a LITTLE better.
Its hard to convey the type of brain cramping you get when you're working 25 airplanes, and they're all deviating in different directions (although they're all trying to go west in general). There is no pattern. That's why summer traffic sucks. I'll leave it at that.
DM
July 27, 2008
Just getting warmed up.
Life can sure be as unpredictable as the weather.
I had a last minute trip to Denver last week. It was mostly unplanned, but went well. There were two of us flying out there, and only myself on the return red-eye back to Boston, to the betterment of all involved. I'll let you figure that one out.
The week since has been quite the learning experience. I'd like to say its been typical summer weather, except for the "worst night ever" part. Wednesday and Thursday night were long and hard with lots of weather and holding. Aircraft remained ground stopped till TMU went home around 11:30 on both nights. I stayed till 2am the first night, watching BDL and EWR arrivals spin around in circles, in bumpy IMC, I might add. I was just glad I was getting paid overtime to sit at Albany sector, instead in one of those planes. A few of them eventually got in, but most of them ran low on fuel and diverted.
At one point, we were holding 7 HPNs over ART since the stack at RKA was full of them already. JFK's didn't fare much better, and EWR was still holding when I left. For the first time this year, the line of storms hardly had any holes, and with the storms sitting right on top of the NY Metro, airports were down for the count most of the night. My buddy Sam had a 5pm flight out of JFK, and when he called me on my last break around 11pm, he was still on the plane, on the ground at JFK. I guess the left seat on that 8pm flight out of MSP had to find another captain.
Thursday went a little better, since the storms moved off the coast of Maine a little after dinner. I was able to escape without overtime the rest of the week, which was good, since I've been under the weather since I've been back from my trip. By Friday, I was scraping by without my A-game.
I'll be busy the next week or two moving across town, but I try to find a few minutes to keep ya'll updated.
DM
I had a last minute trip to Denver last week. It was mostly unplanned, but went well. There were two of us flying out there, and only myself on the return red-eye back to Boston, to the betterment of all involved. I'll let you figure that one out.
The week since has been quite the learning experience. I'd like to say its been typical summer weather, except for the "worst night ever" part. Wednesday and Thursday night were long and hard with lots of weather and holding. Aircraft remained ground stopped till TMU went home around 11:30 on both nights. I stayed till 2am the first night, watching BDL and EWR arrivals spin around in circles, in bumpy IMC, I might add. I was just glad I was getting paid overtime to sit at Albany sector, instead in one of those planes. A few of them eventually got in, but most of them ran low on fuel and diverted.
At one point, we were holding 7 HPNs over ART since the stack at RKA was full of them already. JFK's didn't fare much better, and EWR was still holding when I left. For the first time this year, the line of storms hardly had any holes, and with the storms sitting right on top of the NY Metro, airports were down for the count most of the night. My buddy Sam had a 5pm flight out of JFK, and when he called me on my last break around 11pm, he was still on the plane, on the ground at JFK. I guess the left seat on that 8pm flight out of MSP had to find another captain.
Thursday went a little better, since the storms moved off the coast of Maine a little after dinner. I was able to escape without overtime the rest of the week, which was good, since I've been under the weather since I've been back from my trip. By Friday, I was scraping by without my A-game.
I'll be busy the next week or two moving across town, but I try to find a few minutes to keep ya'll updated.
DM
July 1, 2008
Installment Number 1
These come from Capt. Chris while flying a King Air around central Texas on June 29th.
DM
DM
June 26, 2008
Mammatus, and a free car wash.
I enjoyed my lone day off, and while it wasn't nearly as long of a day as I'd hoped for, it was decent enough.
I headed down to Boston, got some lunch, watched some planes at Logan, and then got some good views of some thunderstorms as they headed southeast out to sea. The strong sea breeze blew in the ocean air, and it was very relaxing from atop the central parking garage. The drive home offered some quiet time in traffic as a storm passed over, offering the free car wash.
I have done some storm chasing back when I lived in Denver, and even though there isn't much to chase around here in the northeast, I still get to soak up some towering cumulus clouds now and again. And this got me thinkin':
I don't really know who my readership is for certain, though a few comments here and there are cluing me in (thanks for them all). I hope there are a bunch of pilots out there who read occasionally, and I invite them to read this post and consider this blogger's request for more cumulonimbus satisfaction.
Note above that I said I storm chased, as opposed to tornado chased. I've seen a tornado or two, but semantics aside, huge thunderstorms are amongst the most awe-inspiring events nature can conjure up. The only thing that beats a thunderstorm from the ground is a thunderstorm from a safe distance when airborne. This is where you, the pilot, comes in. I often read a blog called FL390. The posts often include a picture or two from the flight deck looking out at something interesting (often times, weather related), and the blog reflects upon the moment and how it was handled from a flight crew perspective. I really can't get enough of the thunderstorm pics.
************
I invite all pilots out there, when possible (I certainly don't expect safety to be compromised!), to snap a shot or two of thunderstorms next time you're deviating around one, and then send them in to Nas-Confusion. If I can get a bunch of good ones, I'll post them periodically here, and add some color and light to this dim blog. Pics can be submitted in .gif, .jpeg, or .png form, zipped preferably, and emailed to deltamike172@Hotmail.com. Hopefully we can spread the beauty of mother nature at her finest this summer. I look forward to any and all you can find.
P.S. This invitation is open to passengers as well! Please include location, date, time, and any other info about the flight you want (Airline, Aircraft, route of flight, etc).
P.P.S The subject line of the email should be "Blog Thunderstorm Pics". Thanks!
************
DM
I headed down to Boston, got some lunch, watched some planes at Logan, and then got some good views of some thunderstorms as they headed southeast out to sea. The strong sea breeze blew in the ocean air, and it was very relaxing from atop the central parking garage. The drive home offered some quiet time in traffic as a storm passed over, offering the free car wash.
I have done some storm chasing back when I lived in Denver, and even though there isn't much to chase around here in the northeast, I still get to soak up some towering cumulus clouds now and again. And this got me thinkin':
I don't really know who my readership is for certain, though a few comments here and there are cluing me in (thanks for them all). I hope there are a bunch of pilots out there who read occasionally, and I invite them to read this post and consider this blogger's request for more cumulonimbus satisfaction.
Note above that I said I storm chased, as opposed to tornado chased. I've seen a tornado or two, but semantics aside, huge thunderstorms are amongst the most awe-inspiring events nature can conjure up. The only thing that beats a thunderstorm from the ground is a thunderstorm from a safe distance when airborne. This is where you, the pilot, comes in. I often read a blog called FL390. The posts often include a picture or two from the flight deck looking out at something interesting (often times, weather related), and the blog reflects upon the moment and how it was handled from a flight crew perspective. I really can't get enough of the thunderstorm pics.
************
I invite all pilots out there, when possible (I certainly don't expect safety to be compromised!), to snap a shot or two of thunderstorms next time you're deviating around one, and then send them in to Nas-Confusion. If I can get a bunch of good ones, I'll post them periodically here, and add some color and light to this dim blog. Pics can be submitted in .gif, .jpeg, or .png form, zipped preferably, and emailed to deltamike172@Hotmail.com. Hopefully we can spread the beauty of mother nature at her finest this summer. I look forward to any and all you can find.
P.S. This invitation is open to passengers as well! Please include location, date, time, and any other info about the flight you want (Airline, Aircraft, route of flight, etc).
P.P.S The subject line of the email should be "Blog Thunderstorm Pics". Thanks!
************
DM
June 21, 2008
Going to nEWRk?
I get into work today at 7am sharp. At 7:05am, I'm sitting at DNY sector with one airplane. And it's trying to get to Newark. Area E has already been shut off by New York Approach, and they have 10 of them spinning. So I take mine and assign holding as well. Fantastic.
Later in the day, at Albany (ALB) sector, I'm working the standard international arrival rush to Newark around 11am. This time, they're running smoothly, for the most part. Cumulus clouds are starting to build, but no one is deviating yet, and there are lots of VFR planes cruising around. We spot one of them northwest of Albany at 16500 feet acting like a decent twin prop plane. Its flying south right along V213 (the arrival route that we deliver the Newarks to Area E at 16000 feet). Meanwhile, I'm getting pretty busy with BDL departures crossing Manchester arrivals, mixed in with a prop or two and a Quonset, RI arrival.
The Newarks start coming in droves, each one higher and faster than the one before. My D-side-in-training calls the high sector to get control to slow them down, since the downstream sector just called and wants 250 knots on all the Newarks. There is a TEB and HPN arrival in the mix converging with the Newarks from the east, and they must get down below everyone else. The VFR traffic is 10 miles south of ALB, still at 16500, and I have to get these two biz-jets down to 14000 quickly so I can get the Newark jets down below the VFR. The last thing I want to do is have to go over the top of a VFR prop with a B767. This is where the link to the definition of wake turbulence would go.
The first two get down no problem, keeping their speed up until they level at 16000, then I assign 250 knots. The high sector has assigned the oncoming string 310 knots, and now the compression is really getting tight. I need to slow them to 250 knots first, and then have them descend, but they can't stay high for too long, or they'll nail the VFR guy along the airway. I am talking constantly, stepping all the traffic down on top of other traffic, and calling traffic advisories to the Newarks as they narrowly descend under the VFR. I wonder if that pilot every saw the B767s fly 500 feet below at less than a mile laterally. I hope he got a good show.
Another day shift in the books. Two more to go this week.
DM
Later in the day, at Albany (ALB) sector, I'm working the standard international arrival rush to Newark around 11am. This time, they're running smoothly, for the most part. Cumulus clouds are starting to build, but no one is deviating yet, and there are lots of VFR planes cruising around. We spot one of them northwest of Albany at 16500 feet acting like a decent twin prop plane. Its flying south right along V213 (the arrival route that we deliver the Newarks to Area E at 16000 feet). Meanwhile, I'm getting pretty busy with BDL departures crossing Manchester arrivals, mixed in with a prop or two and a Quonset, RI arrival.
The Newarks start coming in droves, each one higher and faster than the one before. My D-side-in-training calls the high sector to get control to slow them down, since the downstream sector just called and wants 250 knots on all the Newarks. There is a TEB and HPN arrival in the mix converging with the Newarks from the east, and they must get down below everyone else. The VFR traffic is 10 miles south of ALB, still at 16500, and I have to get these two biz-jets down to 14000 quickly so I can get the Newark jets down below the VFR. The last thing I want to do is have to go over the top of a VFR prop with a B767. This is where the link to the definition of wake turbulence would go.
The first two get down no problem, keeping their speed up until they level at 16000, then I assign 250 knots. The high sector has assigned the oncoming string 310 knots, and now the compression is really getting tight. I need to slow them to 250 knots first, and then have them descend, but they can't stay high for too long, or they'll nail the VFR guy along the airway. I am talking constantly, stepping all the traffic down on top of other traffic, and calling traffic advisories to the Newarks as they narrowly descend under the VFR. I wonder if that pilot every saw the B767s fly 500 feet below at less than a mile laterally. I hope he got a good show.
Another day shift in the books. Two more to go this week.
DM
June 18, 2008
Missing out on all the fun.
I had two days off this last week (first since January, so it feels weird) and flew to Nashville to meet up with my parents who are on a typical summer road trip. Denver-Laredo, TX-Nashville-Atlanta-Denver. We ate some good food, listened to some "good" country music (it actually was pretty decent), and enjoyed sweltering in the heat. I flew out there Saturday morning. The reroute around storms in the DC9 was entertaining, and then we narrowly survived a line of thunderstorms descending back into Manchester on Tuesday night. No more summer flying for a while, I promised myself. Pilots are crazy.
Since then, my new schedule has avoided most of the weather coming through the area. Not ALL of it, mind you, but definitely the worst of it. With summer travel season upon us, even the airline cutbacks has been hard to notice. And with more controllers taking vacation or retiring, the supervisors are forced to let me work more traffic either one-holed or without a tracker than they have in the past.
All the storms tend to build around the NY/PA border on the southern edge or our airspace, so aircraft often get rerouted up over Canada and Lake Ontario. This adds a plethora of descending eastbound traffic that have Miles-in-Trail requirements to the NY Metro to cross the SYR area in the sector that works all the westbound climbing departures. That sector can work a lot of airplanes, but when these "Can(ada) East" reroutes are in affect, the frequency often overflows with aircraft checking in on two different frequencies. Toronto Centre only puts aircraft on 135.25 and all the westbound traffic gets 123.87. Sometimes you just wish everyone would shut up, and if the rides are bad, I'll gladly take the D-side.
The weather has consistently been the worst on Saturday night. This night is generally the slowest, traffic wise, although, when a huge line of storms go over every major Northeast airport at the same time, the planes stack up in a hurry. On my old schedule that I had during training, I would have worked every one of these crazy Saturday nights. This year, I'm going home at 2:30pm, leaving the scramble to my old crew mates. I return Sunday morning to hear fun stories about refusing handoffs from Canada, and how there were 7, no, make it 9 planes holding over ART (and by the afternoon, they had been holding 12!) and the narrowly avoided mid-airs. I can't help but appreciate my new schedule a little more each day.
The only other weather I worked was as a D-side at Albany. It was steady traffic, but the constant flow was almost enjoyable, as my R-side and I work well together. The BDL arrivals were few and far between, as they were quickly cut off by a blob of storms 20 northwest of the field. This weather also got in the way of the few PVD arrivals we had, but a point out to Kingston sector solved that deviation. BDL departures occasionally would depart with hope of finding a hole, and would often enter our airspace about 30 miles west of normal, and we'd cut them direct SYR since they were head on with EWR arrivals. EWRs were deviating west of a storm over ALB, and the LGA and HPN arrivals would go east of it, affording us "Cumulonimbus separation." ALB departures were also few and far between, and the northeast bound headings were weird, as they normally fly a northwest heading initially. The situation was never out of control, and planes were clearly flying between the precipitation depicted on our scope, so we were able to keep a good plan the whole time. I left to go home soon after, leaving behind a chaotic energy of controllers, airplanes, and uncertain deviations and reroutes...
DM
Since then, my new schedule has avoided most of the weather coming through the area. Not ALL of it, mind you, but definitely the worst of it. With summer travel season upon us, even the airline cutbacks has been hard to notice. And with more controllers taking vacation or retiring, the supervisors are forced to let me work more traffic either one-holed or without a tracker than they have in the past.
All the storms tend to build around the NY/PA border on the southern edge or our airspace, so aircraft often get rerouted up over Canada and Lake Ontario. This adds a plethora of descending eastbound traffic that have Miles-in-Trail requirements to the NY Metro to cross the SYR area in the sector that works all the westbound climbing departures. That sector can work a lot of airplanes, but when these "Can(ada) East" reroutes are in affect, the frequency often overflows with aircraft checking in on two different frequencies. Toronto Centre only puts aircraft on 135.25 and all the westbound traffic gets 123.87. Sometimes you just wish everyone would shut up, and if the rides are bad, I'll gladly take the D-side.
The weather has consistently been the worst on Saturday night. This night is generally the slowest, traffic wise, although, when a huge line of storms go over every major Northeast airport at the same time, the planes stack up in a hurry. On my old schedule that I had during training, I would have worked every one of these crazy Saturday nights. This year, I'm going home at 2:30pm, leaving the scramble to my old crew mates. I return Sunday morning to hear fun stories about refusing handoffs from Canada, and how there were 7, no, make it 9 planes holding over ART (and by the afternoon, they had been holding 12!) and the narrowly avoided mid-airs. I can't help but appreciate my new schedule a little more each day.
The only other weather I worked was as a D-side at Albany. It was steady traffic, but the constant flow was almost enjoyable, as my R-side and I work well together. The BDL arrivals were few and far between, as they were quickly cut off by a blob of storms 20 northwest of the field. This weather also got in the way of the few PVD arrivals we had, but a point out to Kingston sector solved that deviation. BDL departures occasionally would depart with hope of finding a hole, and would often enter our airspace about 30 miles west of normal, and we'd cut them direct SYR since they were head on with EWR arrivals. EWRs were deviating west of a storm over ALB, and the LGA and HPN arrivals would go east of it, affording us "Cumulonimbus separation." ALB departures were also few and far between, and the northeast bound headings were weird, as they normally fly a northwest heading initially. The situation was never out of control, and planes were clearly flying between the precipitation depicted on our scope, so we were able to keep a good plan the whole time. I left to go home soon after, leaving behind a chaotic energy of controllers, airplanes, and uncertain deviations and reroutes...
DM
May 24, 2008
Failed and Forgotten
Another busy week has passed. Albany claimed our area's first operational error in the last 290 days. We had the longest running streak in the center. Now to begin another one, though they seem to happen in bunches.
The only other hubbub of note involves a little airport in upstate NY. The story begins when someone realized that Massena (MSS) VOR was unreliable at low altitude. Approaches to MSS, Malone (MAL, the airport in question) and Cornwall in Canada were immediately deemed unsafe and made unavailable. The FAA sent in flight check aircraft to survey the scope of the limited use of MSS VOR. Flight check concluded that MSS was unusable below 10000 feet (we only own 6000 and below) and they shut it down to supposedly fix it. Then they sent us a notice that SOME of the airways around MSS would have a minimum en route altitude of 10000 when MSS came back on the air, an increase of 5000 feet in some places. Meanwhile, MSS is still broke and shut down.
There is a little used rule in the 7110.65 that is outdated and needs revising. In a nutshell, it states that any aircraft that is non-radar (in this case, below radar coverage) and/or does not have a GPS/FMS to navigate by cannot be cleared anywhere it can not receive a ground based radio aid signal. The rule is complicated, and very inconvenient. Someone upstairs in Saftey Assurance has started cracking down on this rule being used when we give clearances out of MSS, PTD, OGS, and MAL. Since MSS is dead "indefinitely", we are forced to clear ALL aircraft departing these airports to navaids that are within range of the airport when the aircraft enters controlled airspace (about 1200 feet about the ground, give or take). OGS has the OG radio beacon; PTD has an associated beacon as well. MSS has MISSE outer marker. All of these beacons are issued as clearance limits on departure, with no delay expected, and the radar controller must then clear the aircraft beyond the beacon once the aircraft is radar identified. This increases workload significantly.
MAL doesn't have a beacon. No other VOR or beacon is close enough to be used appropriately. Keep in mind, when these aircraft are forced to be cleared short to these beacons, they are mostly all equipped with GPS, and subsequently cleared to far off points via direct routing, as if to spite the very rule we're so concerned about breaking. The rule shouldn't apply to GPS equipped aircraft, but the rule hasn't been updated lately.
So, after considering all options, we decided that we were unable to issue an IFR clearance off MAL airport in any direction. Aircraft would be forced to depart VFR and then receive clearance once airborne. When the weather is marginal, this is widely considered much less safe than having an IFR clearance before taking the runway for departure. In addition, there are mountains to the east and south of MAL airport. The preferred procedure would be to clear aircraft direct MSS (northwest of the field) and then on course (away from the higher terrain). Keep in mind, an actual VOR signal is not required to navigate to a VOR with a GPS. All the fixes are stored in a GPS so that it can be overflown regardless of its operational status. This is allowed in radar coverage, but for some reason, flying direct to a broken VOR isn't allowed below radar coverage.
We haven't cleared an aircraft off MAL airport in months, so all of this was brushed off with a "don't worry, this won't ever be a factor anyway, no one flies out of MAL". Lo and behold, no less than an hour after this realization that we can't clear anyone out of MAL, an aircraft needs a clearance because the clouds are low enough that the pilot can fly VFR east over the mountains. "Unable" is the reply. So Safety Assurance scrambles for a solution. They decide that Plattsburgh (PLB, about 40 southeast of MAL) is usable for this departure procedure rule (officially known as Nav-aid use limitations). Montpelier sector is called to block for the departure, and they note that Burlington approach control owns about 15 miles east of MAL. Our sector doesn't have a line to ask them to block either, so we ask around and figure out a way to dial their number. They begrudgingly approved the block and we issue the clearance.
A few hours later, another aircraft requests IFR clearance from MAL to somewhere in Wisconsin. We get Montpelier and Burlington to block for the departure, and issue the clearance "cleared via revised routing, direct Plattsburgh, direct London (Ontario), then as filed, etc etc". The pilot of course is scratching is head why he has to fly eastbound towards mountains instead of flying westbound towards low terrain and his destination. Ultimately, it becomes more of a climbing right turn loop departure, as the jet is quickly radar identified and turned on course. While the rules are being followed, and the staff folks are happy upstairs, its hard to believe breaking the rules wouldn't make the world a safer place for the pilots departing westbound out of MAL.
The next day, Burlington refuses to block all the way to PLB, and we have to refuse IFR clearance again. I never found out what happened, as it was right before my time to go home. I'm sure he's safe, somewhere.
DM
The only other hubbub of note involves a little airport in upstate NY. The story begins when someone realized that Massena (MSS) VOR was unreliable at low altitude. Approaches to MSS, Malone (MAL, the airport in question) and Cornwall in Canada were immediately deemed unsafe and made unavailable. The FAA sent in flight check aircraft to survey the scope of the limited use of MSS VOR. Flight check concluded that MSS was unusable below 10000 feet (we only own 6000 and below) and they shut it down to supposedly fix it. Then they sent us a notice that SOME of the airways around MSS would have a minimum en route altitude of 10000 when MSS came back on the air, an increase of 5000 feet in some places. Meanwhile, MSS is still broke and shut down.
There is a little used rule in the 7110.65 that is outdated and needs revising. In a nutshell, it states that any aircraft that is non-radar (in this case, below radar coverage) and/or does not have a GPS/FMS to navigate by cannot be cleared anywhere it can not receive a ground based radio aid signal. The rule is complicated, and very inconvenient. Someone upstairs in Saftey Assurance has started cracking down on this rule being used when we give clearances out of MSS, PTD, OGS, and MAL. Since MSS is dead "indefinitely", we are forced to clear ALL aircraft departing these airports to navaids that are within range of the airport when the aircraft enters controlled airspace (about 1200 feet about the ground, give or take). OGS has the OG radio beacon; PTD has an associated beacon as well. MSS has MISSE outer marker. All of these beacons are issued as clearance limits on departure, with no delay expected, and the radar controller must then clear the aircraft beyond the beacon once the aircraft is radar identified. This increases workload significantly.
MAL doesn't have a beacon. No other VOR or beacon is close enough to be used appropriately. Keep in mind, when these aircraft are forced to be cleared short to these beacons, they are mostly all equipped with GPS, and subsequently cleared to far off points via direct routing, as if to spite the very rule we're so concerned about breaking. The rule shouldn't apply to GPS equipped aircraft, but the rule hasn't been updated lately.
So, after considering all options, we decided that we were unable to issue an IFR clearance off MAL airport in any direction. Aircraft would be forced to depart VFR and then receive clearance once airborne. When the weather is marginal, this is widely considered much less safe than having an IFR clearance before taking the runway for departure. In addition, there are mountains to the east and south of MAL airport. The preferred procedure would be to clear aircraft direct MSS (northwest of the field) and then on course (away from the higher terrain). Keep in mind, an actual VOR signal is not required to navigate to a VOR with a GPS. All the fixes are stored in a GPS so that it can be overflown regardless of its operational status. This is allowed in radar coverage, but for some reason, flying direct to a broken VOR isn't allowed below radar coverage.
We haven't cleared an aircraft off MAL airport in months, so all of this was brushed off with a "don't worry, this won't ever be a factor anyway, no one flies out of MAL". Lo and behold, no less than an hour after this realization that we can't clear anyone out of MAL, an aircraft needs a clearance because the clouds are low enough that the pilot can fly VFR east over the mountains. "Unable" is the reply. So Safety Assurance scrambles for a solution. They decide that Plattsburgh (PLB, about 40 southeast of MAL) is usable for this departure procedure rule (officially known as Nav-aid use limitations). Montpelier sector is called to block for the departure, and they note that Burlington approach control owns about 15 miles east of MAL. Our sector doesn't have a line to ask them to block either, so we ask around and figure out a way to dial their number. They begrudgingly approved the block and we issue the clearance.
A few hours later, another aircraft requests IFR clearance from MAL to somewhere in Wisconsin. We get Montpelier and Burlington to block for the departure, and issue the clearance "cleared via revised routing, direct Plattsburgh, direct London (Ontario), then as filed, etc etc". The pilot of course is scratching is head why he has to fly eastbound towards mountains instead of flying westbound towards low terrain and his destination. Ultimately, it becomes more of a climbing right turn loop departure, as the jet is quickly radar identified and turned on course. While the rules are being followed, and the staff folks are happy upstairs, its hard to believe breaking the rules wouldn't make the world a safer place for the pilots departing westbound out of MAL.
The next day, Burlington refuses to block all the way to PLB, and we have to refuse IFR clearance again. I never found out what happened, as it was right before my time to go home. I'm sure he's safe, somewhere.
DM
May 15, 2008
Wednesday is the new Monday.
For me at least. Whether or not I like my new schedule, one thing is for certain: My first day at work is a lot busier now than on my old schedule (Saturday night). I can't ease into my Monday anymore. I gotta bring my A-game. This Wednesday was no exception.
There was lots of training going on (5 different positions) and I ended up rotating through all positions except Albany D. I never worked anywhere for more than a half hour because there was always training resuming or ending somewhere that forced me to switch around. This does make the night go pretty quick. I spent lots of time on position, but I was always changing things up, keeping things new and exciting.
A weak front passed through the area during the shift, so the rides where crappy everywhere, and it was pretty busy (not a good combo). Pilots keep complaining, and then all the traffic gets forced into using only a few available, relatively smooth, altitudes, which makes things very complicated. Speeds get assigned when normally a different altitude would allow normal speeds. The hardest part is all the questions and lack of answers, or lack of good answers, depending on the location. Its hard to get everyone to just be quiet. The turbulence has to go on the back-burner occasionally so we can separate the aircraft first, and then worry about the rides second. And then we have to teach all the newbies how to communicate in this crazy environment.
Soon they'll learn you gotta tell the pilot as much as possible when they check in, so they don't interrupt with questions later: "United 1234, Boston Center roger, expect light chop ahead most altitudes, and I'll have lower in 15 miles clear of traffic." "United 1234, Roger thanks sir."
This long speech is required for everyone as they check in, lest the conversation goes something like this: "United 1234 with you FL350" "United 1234 boston center roger" "How are the rides ahead at 350 and lower for United 1234?" "United 1234, they're a little better down lower" "Roger, United 1234, can we get lower then" "United 1234, expect lower in 15 miles" "united 1234 thanks." Do that times 20. Or loose your mind. Its up to you.
Other than the rides, the highlight of the shift came at Rockdale high sector, when an aircraft was westbound at FL400. There was converging traffic at FL400 coming from NY Center, so I took the aircraft down to FL390. There was a bunch of traffic eastbound at FL370. Another jet was climbing just north of them on a heading to miss everyone climbing to FL390. Just then, as Cleveland Center takes the hand off on the westbound at FL390, that aircraft advises that their primary autopilot has malfunctioned, and they are no longer allowed to use 1000 feet separation (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum, or RVSM). While this doesn't pose a threat to my aircraft in MY sector, there is traffic at FL400 about 20 miles ahead (the reason I went to FL390 in the first place). This jet is now required to get out of RVSM airspace (FL290-FL400) as soon as possible and certainly can't get within 5 miles of the traffic only 1000 feet above at FL400. So I stop the eastbound climber at FL370, I turn the non-RVSM biz-jet hard right to the north, and coordinate with Cleveland, giving them control to descend this guy once he's clear of all the eastbound traffic he just gave me at FL370.
Its amazing how a simple problem can get tricky at just the right/worst time. I've been fully checked out now for 4 months, and I've seen 2 emergencies, 2 rapid decompression descents, a few medical issues, this RVSM issue, and one aircraft had a collapsed gear on the runway after I cleared him for approach. I'm starting to think I should call in sick more...
DM
There was lots of training going on (5 different positions) and I ended up rotating through all positions except Albany D. I never worked anywhere for more than a half hour because there was always training resuming or ending somewhere that forced me to switch around. This does make the night go pretty quick. I spent lots of time on position, but I was always changing things up, keeping things new and exciting.
A weak front passed through the area during the shift, so the rides where crappy everywhere, and it was pretty busy (not a good combo). Pilots keep complaining, and then all the traffic gets forced into using only a few available, relatively smooth, altitudes, which makes things very complicated. Speeds get assigned when normally a different altitude would allow normal speeds. The hardest part is all the questions and lack of answers, or lack of good answers, depending on the location. Its hard to get everyone to just be quiet. The turbulence has to go on the back-burner occasionally so we can separate the aircraft first, and then worry about the rides second. And then we have to teach all the newbies how to communicate in this crazy environment.
Soon they'll learn you gotta tell the pilot as much as possible when they check in, so they don't interrupt with questions later: "United 1234, Boston Center roger, expect light chop ahead most altitudes, and I'll have lower in 15 miles clear of traffic." "United 1234, Roger thanks sir."
This long speech is required for everyone as they check in, lest the conversation goes something like this: "United 1234 with you FL350" "United 1234 boston center roger" "How are the rides ahead at 350 and lower for United 1234?" "United 1234, they're a little better down lower" "Roger, United 1234, can we get lower then" "United 1234, expect lower in 15 miles" "united 1234 thanks." Do that times 20. Or loose your mind. Its up to you.
Other than the rides, the highlight of the shift came at Rockdale high sector, when an aircraft was westbound at FL400. There was converging traffic at FL400 coming from NY Center, so I took the aircraft down to FL390. There was a bunch of traffic eastbound at FL370. Another jet was climbing just north of them on a heading to miss everyone climbing to FL390. Just then, as Cleveland Center takes the hand off on the westbound at FL390, that aircraft advises that their primary autopilot has malfunctioned, and they are no longer allowed to use 1000 feet separation (Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum, or RVSM). While this doesn't pose a threat to my aircraft in MY sector, there is traffic at FL400 about 20 miles ahead (the reason I went to FL390 in the first place). This jet is now required to get out of RVSM airspace (FL290-FL400) as soon as possible and certainly can't get within 5 miles of the traffic only 1000 feet above at FL400. So I stop the eastbound climber at FL370, I turn the non-RVSM biz-jet hard right to the north, and coordinate with Cleveland, giving them control to descend this guy once he's clear of all the eastbound traffic he just gave me at FL370.
Its amazing how a simple problem can get tricky at just the right/worst time. I've been fully checked out now for 4 months, and I've seen 2 emergencies, 2 rapid decompression descents, a few medical issues, this RVSM issue, and one aircraft had a collapsed gear on the runway after I cleared him for approach. I'm starting to think I should call in sick more...
DM
May 3, 2008
bore-D
Its been a slow and rather boring week. I was scheduled (I use that term lightly, as my "schedule" changes weekly and often changes with little notice at the last minute) to help out in the simulators on Wednesday, running radar for two D-school students who are coming to the area to start training next week. I can't say I was impressed by their performance, but luckily we're not paying them anything to not do well. That last part was meant to be bitter and sarcastic at the same time, a new skill I'm learning....
Back on the floor Thursday night, I worked mostly as a D-side, since there is real radar training going on at two of the four open sectors most of the time. Traffic has been light due to the cloudy weather and thunderstorms in the Midwest. Once Memorial Day hits, I'll gladly take a D-side position, but until then, I'm just struggling to stay awake. There have been a few interesting moments watching the trainees attempt to separate airplanes, but nothing spectacular. The rides have been crummy lately, and the new radar controllers often have trouble keeping control of the frequency, with all the pilots constantly asking how the rides are. With that said, experienced radar controllers can have the same problem, but we don't get nearly as flustered for the most part.
I was able to off-load my Mid shift on another controller (at his request, so he can go to the Sox game on Sunday), and when all was said and done, I had three day shifts to end the week (ooooo...ahhhhh).
The highlight of my last few days was one of the few sessions I actually got to talk to airplanes. There wasn't all that much going on at DNY sector, but I did have to hold 3 LGA arrivals over RKA. Enjoy the results here, here and here.
DM
Back on the floor Thursday night, I worked mostly as a D-side, since there is real radar training going on at two of the four open sectors most of the time. Traffic has been light due to the cloudy weather and thunderstorms in the Midwest. Once Memorial Day hits, I'll gladly take a D-side position, but until then, I'm just struggling to stay awake. There have been a few interesting moments watching the trainees attempt to separate airplanes, but nothing spectacular. The rides have been crummy lately, and the new radar controllers often have trouble keeping control of the frequency, with all the pilots constantly asking how the rides are. With that said, experienced radar controllers can have the same problem, but we don't get nearly as flustered for the most part.
I was able to off-load my Mid shift on another controller (at his request, so he can go to the Sox game on Sunday), and when all was said and done, I had three day shifts to end the week (ooooo...ahhhhh).
The highlight of my last few days was one of the few sessions I actually got to talk to airplanes. There wasn't all that much going on at DNY sector, but I did have to hold 3 LGA arrivals over RKA. Enjoy the results here, here and here.
DM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)