Ask Me About Air Traffic Control. You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask Me About Air Traffic Control. You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

Tommy 2.0: Apr 26, 2008; My fabulous CoX shall live forever!

fknlo posted:

Yeah, our transfer from ZJX has been special to say the least. Got checked out on all the highs and then decided he didn't like the cold or something. While he was in the back for DYSIM training he went down for sleep apnea. Finally got that figured out and now he's been retraining for months on sectors he'd already been checked out on. We're pretty sure he was doing it to get sent back there. They told him that wasn't going to happen.

Also, hearing rumors it might be like a month before things get fixed. Just saw on stuckmic that he apparently torched the mains, standby, and backup frequencies as well as loving up flight data and radar data stuff too. One guy just royally hosed some stuff up.

Yeah he was most likely from one of our high side only areas, or the gulf (no volume or complexity), it sounds like. If he was from the West area there is a chance he is garbage also simply due to the fact they have zero volume of aircraft, even though their complexity is almost to the level our area is (North). Our area just does literally more than double what the Gulf and the West area do combined. We do more traffic than all the other areas. If he came from the South area, I'd guarantee he must be trying to just get back. They aren't bad controllers. I remember you mentioning you got a guy from ZJX and saying "lol good luck" if he came from one of our high sides. :P

MrYenko posted:

You're ZJX, aren't you? What area? Just wondering if our poo poo feeds make it up to you or not.

If you talk to Torry/Knemo that's the area I am in. And yes, poo poo feeds is exactly it. Our TMU does jack and poo poo and we take every other center's poo poo because of it. We have a transfer from ZTL who did TMU there, LOVED TMU. Felt like they made a difference. Came here, got checked out, went to TMU. Won't outright admit it, but you can tell they hate TMU here because they are told to accept a BOHECA mentality.

Tommy 2.0 fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Sep 27, 2014

# ? Sep 27, 2014 16:43

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# ? May 11, 2024 09:09

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Tommy 2.0 posted:

Our TMU does jack and poo poo and we take every other center's poo poo because of it.

Same for us. Indy and Chicago basically run what we do. I don't know why they don't just officially get rid of our TMU and let them run it from outside the building. Couldn't be any worse. Any time someone has the balls to ask why we're doing something or try to say no the command center just shuts them down and we bend over and take it.

# ? Sep 27, 2014 17:27

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Tommy 2.0 posted:

If you talk to Torry/Knemo that's the area I am in. And yes, poo poo feeds is exactly it. Our TMU does jack and poo poo and we take every other center's poo poo because of it. We have a transfer from ZTL who did TMU there, LOVED TMU. Felt like they made a difference. Came here, got checked out, went to TMU. Won't outright admit it, but you can tell they hate TMU here because they are told to accept a BOHECA mentality.

We're adjacent to Cedar Key/Mayo/Zephyr and St Johns/Green Cove/Keystone.

To quote a retired controller from my area: "TMU IS THE ENEMY."

fknlo posted:

Same for us. Indy and Chicago basically run what we do. I don't know why they don't just officially get rid of our TMU and let them run it from outside the building. Couldn't be any worse. Any time someone has the balls to ask why we're doing something or try to say no the command center just shuts them down and we bend over and take it.

At least you get it from other centers. We seem to take our marching orders from Miami approach. :suicide:

# ? Sep 27, 2014 19:50

Sinbad's Sex Tape: Mar 21, 2004; Stuck in a giant clam

Latest union email says we're all on admin leave until October 6th. They have us volunteering at other facilities ripping strips and processing flight plans.

# ? Sep 27, 2014 22:53

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Sinbad's Sex Tape posted:

Latest union email says we're all on admin leave until October 6th. They have us volunteering at other facilities ripping strips and processing flight plans.

I've heard some rumors that at least a few of you might be going to surrounding centers to take over the makeshift sectors we're working. I'm honestly kind of interested in the legality of us working the airspace we are. Extraordinary circumstances kind of stuff I assume?

# ? Sep 27, 2014 23:17

Tommy 2.0: Apr 26, 2008; My fabulous CoX shall live forever!

MrYenko posted:

We're adjacent to Cedar Key/Mayo/Zephyr and St Johns/Green Cove/Keystone.

To quote a retired controller from my area: "TMU IS THE ENEMY."

At least you get it from other centers. We seem to take our marching orders from Miami approach.

You deal with our south area guys (good controllers for the most part) and our gulf area guys (lol level 5 enroute ahoy!).

# ? Sep 28, 2014 15:57

Zochness: May 13, 2009; I AM James Bond.; Pillbug

JohnClark posted:

2007, I actually transferred there from Minnesota after...misspending my first couple college years. How about you?

I was a 2010 grad. I guess you missed out on the new AT building they built out at the airport huh? It's pretty slick, had most of my senior year classes in it.

Anybody going to convention this year? My fac rep offered to let me tag along so I took the chance to get out of Amarillo for the week. Looks like it's gonna be fun with the dues stuff up for vote.

# ? Sep 28, 2014 19:15

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

NATCA just released a statement on what has been going on.

quote:

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS KEEP SKIES ABOVE CHICAGO SAFE, EFFICIENT FOLLOWING FRIDAY FIRE

WASHINGTON � Following a fire last Friday that closed the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZAU) in Aurora, Ill., hundreds of air traffic controllers at more than a dozen key facilities are continuing to safely move as much air traffic flow into, out of and around the Chicago area as possible.

This work will continue into the coming week as the Federal Aviation Administration develops a plan to repair critical communications infrastructure that was destroyed in the fire.

�This is one of the most challenging situations that air traffic controllers and other FAA employees have faced since 9/11,� NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said. �The damage to this critical facility is unlike anything we have seen before. Since the first moment when radar scopes went dark at Chicago Center Friday morning, controllers have ensured the highest level of safety at all times. We know this has been a tremendous disruption to the travel plans of many people. We are working diligently to re-establish as close to normal operations as possible to minimize the inconvenience to travelers while keeping safety above everything else.�

There are four en route centers that border the ZAU airspace; Cleveland Center (ZOB), Indianapolis Center (ZID), Kansas City Center (ZKC), and Minneapolis Center (ZMP). Each of these facilities has helped assume the ZAU airspace responsibilities, and worked very well with Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities in Chicago, Milwaukee, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and elsewhere (see full list in final paragraph), as well as with many control towers, including both O�Hare and Midway Airports in Chicago.

�We have seen a plan of action established by the adjacent centers and other key facilities that is evolving and improving by the hour, and providing safe service that is increasing in efficiency,� NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert said. �Air traffic controllers are trained to expect the unexpected and make a new plan work safely. The level of resourcefulness and ingenuity that has been demonstrated over the past three days is truly astounding. Controllers and other FAA safety professionals will continue to implement outside-the-box thinking to get the system functioning well while Chicago Center repairs are made.�

As of Sunday afternoon, arrival traffic into O'Hare and Midway is being fed to Chicago TRACON (C90) directly from ZMP and ZKC. Arrivals into Chicago airports from ZOB and ZID are being descended down first into South Bend TRACON, then into C90. Departure traffic from O'Hare and Midway continue to be worked directly from C90 to ZKC, ZID, and ZOB, while traffic to the north continues to depart the tower en route through Milwaukee TRACON.

Updates below:

ORD: The arrival rate has been increased to 72 per hour. Departure restrictions are still in place in all directions. Manual handoffs with other control facilities are still in place in the absence of a fully functioning automated flight plan system. We are seeing departure delays of up to 15 minutes. That could increase to 30 by later today.

C90: An already short-staffed facility is utilizing ZAU controllers to help with increased coordination to different centers. That is ensuring that the operation is as efficient as possible. �We continue to work hard, and I am so proud of the controllers� professionalism and work ethic,� NATCA Facility Representative James Hall said. �We are C90 - we will always figure out a way to move the airplanes. I anticipate increasing our efficiencies with continued out-of-the-box thinking. That is, of course, with continued ZAU controller support, and staffing to hold.�

ZAU: This is the first time since 1963 that ZAU air traffic controllers have not worked the airspace. �The controllers at Chicago Center are currently providing as much assistance to other facilities as possible,� NATCA Facility Representative Toby Hauck said. "I have attempted to put into words what we have been through and it is impossible to describe. I thank all those facilities and controllers who have stepped up.�

ZID: �So far, the arrival process seems to be going well,� NATCA Facility Representative Jim Larson said. �We have had to make manual handoffs to the approach controls on all of the arrivals, but our controllers have done a good job of dealing with the increased traffic and complexity.� ZID's radar and radio coverage has been exceptional, and is allowing them to radar identify the aircraft while they are still within Chicago TRACON airspace, but until the problem with the automated flight plan data is solved, it remains a tedious operation. Extra staffing has been called in to assist with the new procedures and airspace in both areas. This will most likely continue for the duration of the ZAU outage.

ZKC: ZKC has set up a new sector that is working a chunk of Chicago Center's (ZAU) airspace to allow for O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) arrivals and departures to be worked. They have a plan in place in which they own 16,000 feet and above from Joliet (JOT), which is just in Chicago TRACON's (C90) airspace, west to Des Moines (DSM) and south to Centralia, Ill. (ENL). They have radar and frequency coverage, so ZKC is working directly with C90 to accomplish handoffs and transfer of flight plans.
Additional personnel is helping the areas adjacent to ZAU�s boundary with the extra position being opened and transferring of flight plan information. �We also have a dedicated phone brought in that is dialed into C90, acting as a direct line for the ease of passing flight plans to and from C90,� NATCA Facility Representative Aaron Merrick said. �Once we got our plan implemented Friday, things began to move smoother than they were after the initial phase of the situation.�

ZMP: They are doing a very similar operation as ZKC. They have created a sector that works what is called the "Bullz" arrival and two departure routes - one west and one north - as well as the tower operations en route from Milwaukee and Green Bay. �We have extra staffing in the facility to help with the situation,� NATCA Facility Representative Mike Thompson said. �There are many great people doing many great things with very little to work with.�

ZOB: As of noon on Sunday, ZOB was receiving about 85 percent of ORD departure flight plan information. However, everything is still manual coordination whether they have the flight plan info or not.

ZOB's airspace plan is also very similar to ZKC. The facility has basically extended their western boundary 60 miles further to the West, almost to C90�s eastern boundary. With the extra airspace they�ve attained from ZAU, they were able to create two new departure sectors. These sectors handle all east, northeast and southeastern departures.

�The affected areas of the facility handling the additional sectors are all requiring extra staffing to handle the extra workload and complexity,� NATCA Facility Representative Drew MacQueen said. �We expect this to continue as work to increase traffic levels out of ZAU continues to mount.�

TRACONS IN ZAU AIRSPACE: Controllers working radar positions at the TRACONS in Cedar Rapids, Champaign, Des Moines, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Milwaukee, Moline, Muskegon, Peoria, Rockford, South Bend, Springfield, Waterloo, and also Grissom Air Reserve Base in Kokomo, Ind., have played a crucial role in the effort to get traffic moving as a temporary solution while ZAU is down. In the case of traffic flowing into and out of Chicago airports, they are providing a conduit between the adjacent centers and Chicago TRACON. �These employees are working a staggering amount of traffic, using new procedures and methods being altered almost constantly, and ensuring safety in very difficult and pressure-filled situations,� Gilbert said. �It�s a great team effort in progress.�

Now is probably the best time to do it while it's still out of the news because of the weekend. Tomorrow is probably going to be a loving mess. Gonna be fun!

# ? Sep 28, 2014 22:16

Tommy 2.0: Apr 26, 2008; My fabulous CoX shall live forever!

I saw the time frame this happened, and if it had happened at around 9-10am, I feel certain there would have been some serious mishaps. And it is pretty scary being at work and people talking about how easy this scenario is to pull off. Centers are sitting ducks. It is nuts and scary.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 00:14

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Tommy 2.0 posted:

I saw the time frame this happened, and if it had happened at around 9-10am, I feel certain there would have been some serious mishaps. And it is pretty scary being at work and people talking about how easy this scenario is to pull off. Centers are sitting ducks. It is nuts and scary.

This entire thing has literally been the best case scenario of a worst case scenario. Happening at the time with the slowest traffic, no weather, leading into a weekend, etc...

Hell, it's already fallen almost completely out of the news. I think tomorrow will change that, but we'll see.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 00:51

Tommy 2.0: Apr 26, 2008; My fabulous CoX shall live forever!

fknlo posted:

This entire thing has literally been the best case scenario of a worst case scenario. Happening at the time with the slowest traffic, no weather, leading into a weekend, etc...

Hell, it's already fallen almost completely out of the news. I think tomorrow will change that, but we'll see.

I'm definitely using this when talking about this for now on.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 01:04

The Ferret King: Nov 23, 2003; cluck cluck

My close close friend works at Chicago TRACON and he's telling me some crazy stuff. Guys, these controllers are working their asses off and it's all off the cuff.

# ? Sep 29, 2014 02:38

Thunderhawk: Dec 31, 2011

So, I happen to work for a certain contractor, for a certain weather program the ARTCCs use. I'm sure you can put two and two together there. You should see how FTI is scrambling to rectify the situation. This guy did some major damage to both comm racks and other equipment racks before they found him.

I've worked with that tech in particular, and honestly there had to have been something else going on behind the scenes for the guy to flip out the way he did. A lot of those techs are one of only two techs on site to work for multiple programs. I worked with one of them out at ZOA and the guy was doing ridiculous hours. I know this one was in a pretty similar situation. While Hawaii maybe paradise, the company has a tendency to drop the bomb and say "well get ready to move cause in 2 days you're being transferred" type thing. These guys were originally 711 techs that worked on the gas pump systems so they were all local. I can't imagine them really being the I want to move types either.

So I guess now would be a bad time to ask if there was any new word on the off the street hiring process was opened?

# ? Sep 29, 2014 16:09

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Thunderhawk posted:

So, I happen to work for a certain contractor, for a certain weather program the ARTCCs use.

Is it the one that our approach controls tells us is fabulous, and our TMU ignores because it's new, and they don't understand it, and new things that they don't understand are literally Hitler? I don't think I've ever seen them make a call regarding weather that the affected sectors haven't been screaming about for fifteen minutes.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 03:44

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Things have generally been going a lot smoother than expected so far. I think that's going to change on Wednesday with some weather forecast and Obama visiting Chicago....

That is gonna gently caress things up for sure.

The ZAU guys hadn't shown up as of last night but I guess we keep taking more airspace and they're going to be opening another arrival or departure track. Hopefully they aren't biting off more than they can chew. If the extra people show up it shouldn't be an issue.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 11:51

Thunderhawk: Dec 31, 2011

MrYenko posted:

Is it the one that our approach controls tells us is fabulous, and our TMU ignores because it's new, and they don't understand it, and new things that they don't understand are literally Hitler? I don't think I've ever seen them make a call regarding weather that the affected sectors haven't been screaming about for fifteen minutes.

Depends how new is new. I know how long it takes certain individuals to pick stuff up, but I'll stop beating around the bush and just say it's WARP.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:24

two_beer_bishes: Jun 27, 2004

So two flights takes off out of ORD going east bound and are told to contact ZOB after departure but none of the flights going eastbound can get in contact for about half an hour. I'm told they're being separated 30 miles in trail, but if they aren't in contact with anyone, how are they providing separation?

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:25

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

two_beer_bishes posted:

So two flights takes off out of ORD going east bound and are told to contact ZOB after departure but none of the flights going eastbound can get in contact for about half an hour. I'm told they're being separated 30 miles in trail, but if they aren't in contact with anyone, how are they providing separation?

Probably assigned speeds. For us they're climbing to FL230 with no speed restrictions, but we can somewhat communicate with them as soon as C90 ships them.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:27

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

Thunderhawk posted:

Depends how new is new. I know how long it takes certain individuals to pick stuff up, but I'll stop beating around the bush and just say it's WARP.

Ah. We don't have WARP yet.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:31

two_beer_bishes: Jun 27, 2004

fknlo posted:

Probably assigned speeds. For us they're climbing to FL230 with no speed restrictions, but we can somewhat communicate with them as soon as C90 ships them.

Gotcha, thanks

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:46

The Ferret King: Nov 23, 2003; cluck cluck

two_beer_bishes posted:

So two flights takes off out of ORD going east bound and are told to contact ZOB after departure but none of the flights going eastbound can get in contact for about half an hour. I'm told they're being separated 30 miles in trail, but if they aren't in contact with anyone, how are they providing separation?

Well, non radar based separation doesn't require constant 2 way communications except for specific procedures. They can be separated by minutes in trail, altitudes, or "paper stops" at fixes along their route (withholding authorization to pass a certain point on their route until separation is ensured with the preceding aircraft).

Of course, this sort of procedural separation requires vast amounts of extra space between aircraft compared to a radar operation.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 13:51

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

The Ferret King posted:

Of course, this sort of procedural separation requires vast amounts of extra space between aircraft compared to a radar operation.

Vast... Tracts of land.

# ? Sep 30, 2014 14:50

Thunderhawk: Dec 31, 2011

So I'm going to be heading to ZAU to help rebuild our system there on site and whatnot. Do any of y'all know what kind of a circus I'll be walking into?

# ? Oct 1, 2014 15:30

unnoticed: Nov 29, 2005; That's odd...

I asked this in the pilot thread but didn't get a response...

Are controllers able to do flight following for VFR traffic in the Chicago area at the moment? I've heard they are really overworked due to the fire. I'm planning a skyline lakefront flight for this weekend and I prefer to get following over there since there tends to be a lot of traffic.

# ? Oct 1, 2014 17:03

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

unnoticed posted:

I asked this in the pilot thread but didn't get a response...

Are controllers able to do flight following for VFR traffic in the Chicago area at the moment? I've heard they are really overworked due to the fire. I'm planning a skyline lakefront flight for this weekend and I prefer to get following over there since there tends to be a lot of traffic.

They should be able to depending on workload. Same general rules apply. The only places you absolutely won't be able to get flight following is in airspace in Chicago center not currently being run by an approach control. I've had a few guys go in VFR at 17,500 and I make sure to let them know in no uncertain terms that they're on their own but they can try X approach if they want to descend.

I'm assuming these videos are shareable since they got sent out by email, but this is what the ORD/MDW flow has looked like for a couple of days:

Sept 28, 2014

Sept 29, 2014

I believe blue are ORD arrivals, red are MDW arrivals and everything else is departures. Keep in mind that this is all being done buy surrounding centers and approach controls.

fknlo fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Oct 1, 2014

# ? Oct 1, 2014 18:18

Sinbad's Sex Tape: Mar 21, 2004; Stuck in a giant clam

Thunderhawk posted:

So I'm going to be heading to ZAU to help rebuild our system there on site and whatnot. Do any of y'all know what kind of a circus I'll be walking into?

The only thing I've heard is that it smells terrible in there

# ? Oct 3, 2014 03:16

Sinbad's Sex Tape: Mar 21, 2004; Stuck in a giant clam

unnoticed posted:

I asked this in the pilot thread but didn't get a response...

Are controllers able to do flight following for VFR traffic in the Chicago area at the moment? I've heard they are really overworked due to the fire. I'm planning a skyline lakefront flight for this weekend and I prefer to get following over there since there tends to be a lot of traffic.

I can't tell you for sure but Chicago approach doesn't have the best history of giving flight following

# ? Oct 3, 2014 03:19

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Busy approach controls are notorious for that kind of stuff. I know St. Louis approach wouldn't accept hanoffs on overflights of any kind back in the day.

# ? Oct 3, 2014 03:26

The Ferret King: Nov 23, 2003; cluck cluck

Regional Approach at DFW has always provided VFR services for me, and even cleared me through the bravo on many occasions.

# ? Oct 3, 2014 03:28

unnoticed: Nov 29, 2005; That's odd...

Sinbad's Sex Tape posted:

I can't tell you for sure but Chicago approach doesn't have the best history of giving flight following

I've never had a problem in the past although maybe I fly at quieter times. Anyway, I did go up this weekend and was able to get flight following but there was a lot more traffic on the frequency than usual. After they switched me from the northern sector to the one near downtown I had to wait a couple minutes just to do my quick call in.

# ? Oct 8, 2014 23:09

fordan: Mar 9, 2009; Clue: Zero

unnoticed posted:

I asked this in the pilot thread but didn't get a response...

Are controllers able to do flight following for VFR traffic in the Chicago area at the moment? I've heard they are really overworked due to the fire. I'm planning a skyline lakefront flight for this weekend and I prefer to get following over there since there tends to be a lot of traffic.

There's this:

quote:

!FDC 4/3282 (KZAU A0016/14) ZAU IL..SPECIAL NOTICE..CHICAGO, IL..CHICAGO ARTCC OUT OF SERVICE. TRANSITING OPERATIONS PROHIBITED UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY ATC. OVERFLIGHTS CAN EXPECT REROUTES AROUND ZAU DESIGNATED AIRSPACE. THIS NOTAM REPLACES FDC 4/1552 ZAU 1410042000-1410132359

Not sure how much It'd apply to VFR flight.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 04:55

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Got an email today saying they're hoping to have ZAU back up Monday morning. Hopefully it works. This whole working more traffic for longer periods of time thing sucks.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 19:17

Thunderhawk: Dec 31, 2011

They're standing up the site tonight I guess. Not sure how they're going to transition it to the rest of the NAS, but I know FTI finished everything 330PM today and all our WARP stuff is back operational as of 2 days ago.

# ? Oct 12, 2014 21:47

Kilonum: Sep 30, 2002; You know where you are? You're in the suburbs, baby. You're gonna drive.

Reading through this thread makes m shudder to think of the kind of poo poo show that would have happened if the rear end in a top hat had pulled this stunt on the day before Thanksgiving.

# ? Oct 13, 2014 00:05

fknlo: Jul 6, 2009; Fun Shoe

Kilonum posted:

Reading through this thread makes m shudder to think of the kind of poo poo show that would have happened if the rear end in a top hat had pulled this stunt on the day before Thanksgiving.

It wouldn't have had to be a higher than normal traffic day. 9 am on the day he did it and:

All of the sudden ZAU can't talk to any planes. Surrounding centers aren't able to hand planes they have to ZAU. Any planes in the air in ZAU going to other centers/approach controls are going to be nothing more than a transponder code with an altitude flying at them. ZAU can't communicate with these planes to give them frequencies to change to or talk to surrounding centers to try to pass whatever information they can.

It would have been complete pandemonium.

# ? Oct 13, 2014 03:05

The Slaughter: Jan 28, 2002; cat scratch fever

A lot of people broadcasting on 121.5 I'd imagine.

# ? Oct 13, 2014 03:35

KodiakRS: Jul 11, 2012

2+ hour edcts for ORD on a Sunday at 2200L. It is now officially time for this fiasco the be over.

On the plus side My clearance shorthand is the best it's been in years...

Do you ATC guys have some sort of standard shorthand for writing stuff down or is it your own personal method?

# ? Oct 13, 2014 04:54

The Ferret King: Nov 23, 2003; cluck cluck

Writing stuff on flight progress strips is done with a method straight out of our manual: 7110.65V 2-3 Flight Progress Strips

You'll notice a lot of tables in this section detailing approved abbreviations and symbols. Flight progress strips are legal documents so if a facility uses them, they're retained as a paper record for a certain amount of time (I think 45 days).

Lots of radar facilities no longer use strips for most operations, as the information they need is either displayed on the radar screen itself or on another computer display of some sort. Towers still use them to manage clearances and sometimes keep track of aircraft moving about the airport area.

A facility may also establish the use of notepads to record certain traffic information. My tower records arrivals/departures/overflights and pattern aircraft on a single notepad that's later filed with the day's strips at the end of the day as a manual backup to the automated traffic count system and as a method to help keep track of active traffic. The traffic count is validated periodically to ensure we're getting credit for the work we're actually doing since traffic type/volume makes up a significant portion of what determines our facility's pay level.

# ? Oct 13, 2014 11:26

Tommy 2.0: Apr 26, 2008; My fabulous CoX shall live forever!

Yeah dude, there isn't a short hand people just come up with. The stuff is straight from the .65 on the method to be written in. This is frightening.

edit: Even if you don't have strips any more you should have to know how to write down/type stuff out. That is atrocious.

# ? Oct 14, 2014 02:32

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# ? May 11, 2024 09:09

WD40: Nov 25, 2005

I remember once I was in a passenger jet and another plane passed beneath ours, big 747 type thing. It couldn't have been less than 100 feet below. I remember thinking 'that's awfully close'. That shouldn't have happened, right?

# ? Oct 14, 2014 03:39

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask Me About Air Traffic Control. You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

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