Factor
Woodstock, VA
Male, 65
My life in ATC began with 4 years Air Force then another 30 years with the Federal Aviation Admin. working tower & radar at some big international airports. I fought in the 1981 war with PATCO, survived the strike and kept a job that was just too exhilarating to walk away from. While there was nothing better than working airplanes, I did move on through several air traffic supervisory and management positions. It was a long, crazy career but I wouldn't trade a moment of it for love or lucre!
Hi there Starfox! That’s one of the first questions they answered for me when I began my Air Force ATC career. We were encouraged to use the first and last letters of our last name; a method that seemed to coincide with nearly everyone’s initials in the facility. Being “Starfox, you would probably have taken “SX” for your initials.
Once I signed on with the FAA, the ‘operating initials drill’ was still one of the first things they addressed at my first tower. I picked the same initials I used in the Air Force, using the standard method. Trouble was; another controller working there already had those initials. In such cases, the junior employee (me) had to pick different initials.
There really is no rule or regulation pertaining to this. If the first and last letter of the last name doesn’t work; you can actually choose any letters you want. I ended up using the first and second letter of my last name. Thank goodness it is now that easy! Back during the Punic Wars (264 to 146 BC), controllers traditionally settled such disputes with swords and javelins. Last man standing got the initials. To this day I hate sword fights :)
Thanks for writing,
Factor
Share Answer: 
Hi Mike! Yes, it is quite common to bid a flight “Adieu” when it leaves a controller’s jurisdiction. Flight crews usually do the same; whether entering or leaving a particular controller’s world. It’s a way of injecting a bit of calm into the cold, clinical chaos of air traffic control.
Err, have a nice day . . . ?
Factor
Share Answer: 
Now there’s an interesting question. When it came to clever quips and scorching sarcasm, most controllers I knew were quicker with their tongues than a rattlesnake. By necessity though, we stuck to our script most of the time – the ‘script’ being a voluminous FAA Order that specifies precise phraseology for every normal and most abnormal situations a controller might encounter. The main reason for this is to standardize the way controllers communicate, thus standardizing what pilots and other controllers expect to hear in a given situation. It’s about safety. Standardized communication even helps compensate for hard to understand accents – foreign or domestic. When you are familiar with the script, you are more likely to understand, even if the person speaking is not fluent in your language or dialect. But there are exceptional moments.
Controllers can be like a jack-in-the-box. The crank turns, the music plays and everything sounds normal. At some point though, a situation occurs that triggers an irresistible urge to step out of the box – often at the cost of our better judgment. When this happens, the lid flies open and out pops anything from the very humorous to the wildly inappropriate. I should add that pilots are equally skilled at this. I’ll tell you though; if anything goes wrong enough that other parties, such as other FAA offices, lawyers or the NTSB, have to review the recordings (it’s all recorded); we end up looking extremely unprofessional – at best.
Thanks for the question!
Factor
Share Answer: 
Will answer soon.
Share Answer: 
Freelance Writer
How do you go about getting your first clients?
Veterinarian
How do you break the news to a kid when his pet dies?
HR Executive
What's the worst reaction you ever witnessed during a lay-off?
All I can say for certain at this time is that it’s unwise for anyone to postulate or prognosticate about what happened or why. Yet that is the only kind of narrative we’ve been receiving up till now. No surprise. Whenever such things happen; the news media drags out the same writers and “talking heads” that blathered on about the last tragedy and all those before. Each of them amply compensated and hoping to be proven correct at some point, which could enhance their credibility and careers. Tripe. About the only thing I haven’t read or heard yet is the possibility of an alien intervention.
Once air traffic control loses visual, radio and radar contact with an aircraft; it is nearly impossible to determine what happened next and why until hard evidence is found. I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty though. Gravity eventually intervened and the plane returned to Earth; either in one piece or in fragments.
Factor
Share Answer: 
Hello, Hello! Although the Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of transitioning to a hybrid GPS for tracking air traffic; it is not completely there yet. Most ATC controlled flights are still tracked by radar. The labeling you refer to is done by computer. Each radar controlled plane transmits a discrete code to the computer; which then uses that code to label the radar target with a”data block.” Data blocks typically contain information such as the aircraft’s call sign, current altitude, groundspeed and several other pieces of information the controllers can use. If,for any reason, the airplane stops transmitting that discrete signal; the ATC computer can no longer track that flight. However, radar will still be able to see it.
Airline employees do not work in ATC towers. Thank goodness for that! Given all the different airlines; each with their own special interests at heart – the tower would become a very crowded and contentious place! Instead, there are airline advocate groups that meet periodically with ATC to bring the airline’s concerns forward. Similar associations exist to represent non-commercial or “private” flyers. These various groups help keep the FAA informed of their customer’s current and future needs.
Thanks for stopping by!
Factor
Share Answer: 
“Thank you for writing. Your question is important to us. Please stay on this site. All questions are answered in the order they were received.” Make yah wanna scream? Well don’t! Fortunately, Jobstr doesn’t allow patronizing, pre-recorded messages.
Good question! Runway use at airports with multiple runways is determined by several factors. As you know; planes like to land and take off into the wind so the wind direction always plays a key role in runway selection. Other things to consider include the size of the planes involved and how much runway they need to safely conduct landings and takeoffs. What we refer to as “operational advantage” also influences runway assignments. Many times, a pilot will request to land on a runway that is closest to where the plane will park. Although ATC can’t always approve such requests, we try to help out when we can.
I should also mention that controlling perpendicular flight operations simultaneously can be extremely challenging for both controllers and pilots. When projected flight paths cross (like when one plane takes off on one runway while another plane is approaching to land on a crossing runway), timing is everything! Controllers must set the operation up so as to ensure both planes don’t meet up at the point where their projected flight paths cross. Accomplishing this often requires some tricky radar vectoring and speed control for the landing airplane and perfect timing for the controller in the tower who ultimately clears the departure for takeoff. Think of it as trying to throw a bowling ball into a particular window of a speeding train. This is one game where you never want to get a ‘strike.’
Thanks again for writing!
Factor
Share Answer: 
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
