ATC commercial

GatorFC

GatorFC

Well-Known Member
What's with the ATC commercial recently?

I don't have any problem with it, but it seems that CNN lately has started to show it regularly. Its the one where you hear radio chatter in the background while a radar screen is shown and then ends with "he gets you home safely" or something similar.

More power to the controllers if it gets them more awareness, I just thought it was kinda wierd/cool seeing a commercial out of the blue about them.
 
I've seen it, and similar ones on and off for the past couple years.

Pre-emptive strike against privitization, perhaps?
 
Yeah, I was wondering what other underlying motives could be there other than just "awareness."
 
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Yeah, I was wondering what other underlying motives could be there other than just "awareness."

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They are going to be renegotiating their contract with the FAA shortly. Unfortunatly NATCA and the FAA aren't exactly good buddies. NATCA blames the FAA for its failure to properly staff, which is now leading to a significant shortage. FAA says NATCA is overpaid and underworked. Should be interesting to watch...
 
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Yeah, I was wondering what other underlying motives could be there other than just "awareness."

[/ QUOTE ]

They are going to be renegotiating their contract with the FAA shortly. Unfortunatly NATCA and the FAA aren't exactly good buddies. NATCA blames the FAA for its failure to properly staff, which is now leading to a significant shortage. FAA says NATCA is overpaid and underworked. Should be interesting to watch...

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Well, at least ATC and pilots can agree on one thing: We hate the FAA
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ATC is one of those groups that, no matter what, I don't want them disgruntled. The fine line is that they shouldn't just off and strike (ala PATCO), but they should get a nice raise and some benefits.
 
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ATC is one of those groups that, no matter what, I don't want them disgruntled. The fine line is that they shouldn't just off and strike (ala PATCO), but they should get a nice raise and some benefits.

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ATC salaray is nothing to sneeze at. I just think they're too picky about age limits. Which is the only reason I'm not going the ATC route.
 
I think ATC does a fantastic job and for the most part, the FAA.

Most of the problems with either, I think, are created when we create little micro-fiefdoms at the local level.

Most of my problems with either are usually an instance or two. Every day there's something you could complain about with ATC, but when there's an emergency situation you need their help with, they're good people. Personally, I'd be a little cranky if I had to work the weekends at a high density airport and had to deal with blocked transmissions, people veering from clearances and dealing with folks looking for 'ride reports' and 'short cuts' in high density airspace.

On the behalf of the FAA, it depends on whose in your local FSDO. The Oakland FSDO was almost a guaranteed bust on your initial CFI checkride, whereas the San Jose FSDO had a better reputation. But on a national level, I've had to deal with them across the desk during an investigation of my old flight school and I found them to be somewhat fair.
 
I agree completely.

ATC can be a bit snotty with little bug smashers like mine when they have to deal with us due to the DC ADIZ.

But when you need them, they hook you up.

I got caught in a situation where the winds went from eight knots to 30 gusting over 40 in about two minutes, and asked them for help. They vectored me through the DC area class B airspace to an airport where I could actually put down the airplane without committing suicide.
 
When controllers get snotty with me, I tend to get pretty snotty right back. I pay their paychecks, and they're MY employees. They snap, I snap. They're nice, I'm nice. I have absolutely NO PROBLEM asking to speak to one of the sup's when I get on the ground, and I have no problem telling them to play the tapes back.

OK, I'm done ranting now . . .
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Not meaning to hijack this thread too far off topic, but what do you all think about contract towers? My home airport has a Serco contract tower, and I have been consistently unimpressed. They get overwhelmed if more than two aircraft want to stay in the pattern, they get chatty on the radio, and they give some incredibly useless information sometimes. I once had a controller literally say, "Ah, there is some virga off to the southwest of the field, and, ah, not sure how far away it is...or, ah...how fast it's moving...but it's out there." They act as though they're trying to babysit all the pilots whenever weather moves through the area, even though none of the controllers are pilots or know much more about weather than what their computer printouts show them.

Maybe you'd just have to work with them for a while to know what I'm talking about, but they really irritate me sometimes. I don't know if it is because they're contract or because they're in a small town, but I wouldn't mind if they disbanded the tower here and went uncontrolled.
 
I tell you, JRH, some of the contract towers are pretty silly! We have one down in Smyrna, and we used to have one in Kinston. Both of them were more like glorified Unicom operators!
 
I'm not talking to the point where they're not doing their job, more along the lines where you can tell they're frustrated with one of my fellow bug smasher pilots. Like when they call someone multiple times, and that person doesn't reply, or when someone makes a request multiple times and ATC says I'm working on it, but that guy keeps on calling back.
 
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