EWR radios and radar fail again

[GolfChuck]

Any idea how that relates to maintaining your medical as a controller? I know the FAA has softened their stance on therapy for airmen and allow some conditions to receive treatment, is there similar guidance for the other side of the radio?

The trauma involved is considered a work injury, hence workman's comp. I have never heard of it happening but I'd imagine if one never returned to work it would be on the FAA to find an office job for them or give them a medical retirement.

 

[CFI A&P]

The trauma involved is considered a work injury, hence workman's comp. I have never heard of it happening but I'd imagine if one never returned to work it would be on the FAA to find an office job for them or give them a medical retirement.

That makes sense on how it could be an OJI. Through the special issuance process there is a path to a medical with certain cases of depression and medication. I wasn't sure if this would have the same impact.

 

[guywhoflies]

MMU cfi’s and their students, somehow, after all this time, pick the WORST possible spots to do their training. What’s this fix? METRO? Let’s use it for a practice hold at 6,000.

Sounds like somebody in your facility needs to have a sit down with MMU airport management and the CFIs/flight schools. I remember seeing blown up sectional charts in various FBOs that showed practice areas, preferred approaches, local procedures, etc.

Not saying you should do it, but somebody (I.e. secretary road rules) needs to get the various stakeholders involved to improve things across the board.

 

[T/O w/FSII]

Any idea how that relates to maintaining your medical as a controller? I know the FAA has softened their stance on therapy for airmen and allow some conditions to receive treatment, is there similar guidance for the other side of the radio?

To be clear the FAA hasn’t changed anything. You have always been able to go to therapy if you pay cash and don’t get insurance involved.

If you want insurance to pay for it, they need to diagnose you with something.

No insurance = no diagnosis. No diagnosis and it’s not reportable (it’s not asked) on your medical.

However that means thousands of pilots across the country that can’t afford 300 dollars a week for weeks on ed, can’t get help.

It also means the pilots that do have the money (91/135 guys without a union or short/long disability or Loss of License insurance) are also not in the position to spend 6+ months without a job just to go through the program because of depression.

TLDR: The system is still •ed.

 

[CFI A&P]

To be clear the FAA hasn’t changed anything. You have always been able to go to therapy if you pay cash and don’t get insurance involved.

If you want insurance to pay for it, they need to diagnose you with something.

No insurance = no diagnosis. No diagnosis and it’s not reportable (it’s not asked) on your medical.

However that means thousands of pilots across the country that can’t afford 300 dollars a week for weeks on ed, can’t get help.

It also means the pilots that do have the money (91/135 guys without a union or short/long disability or Loss of License insurance) are also not in the position to spend 6+ months without a job just to go through the program because of depression.

TLDR: The system is still •ed.

Yes, the system could still be better, but there are improvements, and I think Dr. Northrup is making changes that are favorable to airmen.

There is now a FAST TRACK program that expedites the issuance process. It doesn't appear to be something the AME can process in their office, but if approved by this worksheet, the downtime is reduced waiting for OKC. It would be great if the CACI list continues to expand and reduces the conditions requiring special issuance.

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/media/Anxiety_Depression_Fast_Track_Pathway.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/certification_ws

We could get into the minutiae of MedExpress and the language of the form versus "I paid cash, I don't have to report that."

 

[NovemberEcho]

Sounds like somebody in your facility needs to have a sit down with MMU airport management and the CFIs/flight schools. I remember seeing blown up sectional charts in various FBOs that showed practice areas, preferred approaches, local procedures, etc.

Not saying you should do it, but somebody (I.e. secretary road rules) needs to get the various stakeholders involved to improve things across the board.

I have had tower issue the phone number to several ATP flights when they land. Always stert out the conversation with

“Ok, you did nothing illegal and you’re not in any trouble, BUT…”

 

[CFI A&P]

I have had tower issue the phone number to several ATP flights when they land. Always stert out the conversation with

“Ok, you did nothing illegal and you’re not in any trouble, BUT…”

Time for a Brasher Warning lite? "Possibly pilot stupidity, advise you contact a CFII..."

 

[T/O w/FSII]

Yes, the system could still be better, but there are improvements, and I think Dr. Northrup is making changes that are favorable to airmen.

There is now a FAST TRACK program that expedites the issuance process. It doesn't appear to be something the AME can process in their office, but if approved by this worksheet, the downtime is reduced waiting for OKC. It would be great if the CACI list continues to expand and reduces the conditions requiring special issuance.

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/media/Anxiety_Depression_Fast_Track_Pathway.pdf

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/certification_ws

We could get into the minutiae of MedExpress and the language of the form versus "I paid cash, I don't have to report that."

There isn’t any minutiae to get into. The medical application asks for visits to actual doctors, and for question #19 it says “List visits for counseling only if related to a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition”

Of which therapy is neither.

Unless you use insurance, in which case they MUST diagnose you with a psychiatric condition.

So you can get therapy, if you have a lot of extra money. Otherwise the FAA thinks you can’t fly a plane anymore because of that one time you had to use insurance.

Not sure what your experience is but the fast track is anything but past when your paychecks stop coming in. That’s my point. And you must be essentially “cured” and not allowed on ANY medication to qualify for it.

You can not answer yes to any of these. Absolutely ridiculous. Take a look.

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/media/Anxiety_Depression_Fast_Track_Pathway.pdf

 

[KLB]

I might have checked in with Toronto and a “how are ya now?”

"Good and you?"

 

[ahw01]

"Good and you?"

I’m good eh

 

[NovemberEcho]

Apparently it went down again last night on the mid

 

[killbilly]

Apparently it went down again last night on the mid

@drunkenbeagle - I'm really curious what the network topology is that they're using. Seems like this is the perfect candidate for a solid SD-WAN buildout but I've been out of the game for a long time and not sure what all the cool kids are running these days. I know this sure as hell doesn't remotely hit the five-nines threshold.

 

[Fixtur]

If anyone needs any pointers on VFR into and out of EWR/LGA/JFK/TEB I'm your huckleberry.

Helps if you can accept intersection departures and tailwinds >10knots.

Down the Hudson, right base 29, land long past the intersection traffic on 2 mile final.

 

[ERfly]

I’m good eh

Unfortunately, the only answer the judges will accept is:
"Notsobad"...all one word.

 

[drunkenbeagle]

@drunkenbeagle - I'm really curious what the network topology is that they're using. Seems like this is the perfect candidate for a solid SD-WAN buildout but I've been out of the game for a long time and not sure what all the cool kids are running these days. I know this sure as hell doesn't remotely hit the five-nines threshold.

Not my area of expertise. Whatever they deployed, it may well have five nines availability. That's still over 5 minutes of outages per year. So it could go down for 90 seconds three times, which sounds like what has happened.

SDWAN or not, they would still need to eliminate single points of failure. Redundancy is expensive, that means circuits on different paths, from different vendors. Which is expensive enough that not many customers do it.

 

[killbilly]

Not my area of expertise. Whatever they deployed, it may well have five nines availability. That's still over 5 minutes of outages per year. So it could go down for 90 seconds three times, which sounds like what has happened.

SDWAN or not, they would still need to eliminate single points of failure. Redundancy is expensive, that means circuits on different paths, from different vendors. Which is expensive enough that not many customers do it.

Ah, for some reason I thought network engineering was in your background. I'd ask Sasha on this thread but I don't know how to @-mention her screen name because I think she has some background in that as well.

Academic at this point.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Goodnyou?
Notsobad.

Penaldy. P-e-n-a-l-d-y penaldy.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

I will be SO GLAD when the US adopts the "monitor Indianapolis Center on X" during frequency changes.

Another pet peeve -- using ICAO English for hours on end, hitting ANC center and then it's "anything goes" for a few hours, then back to ICAO English over Canada and then the "Minnneapolis, Airliner 123 checkin' in onboard at tree tree zerrah howyadoin' how are da rides"

• airline radio work was already a twitch topic for me and then I went to Europe a bunch and now I'm just like "what's our excuse again"

 

[GroundPilot]

@NovemberEcho

Do you guys have portable radios there? Like if sht hits the fan can you run a coax with a magnet mount antenna and at least have something in range?

I know it sucks but if I were in your shoes I'd ask around and see if you guys would split the cost of a radio, antenna and coax to cover yourselves.

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theantennafarm.com

+PL256 male connector

ICOM K220A 108-512 MHz Aviation - VHF - UHF Tunable Mobile Antenna with Magnetic Mount - 12 ft RG58A/U coax cable - Connector Choice

ICOM K220A 108-512 MHz Aviation - VHF - UHF Tunable Mobile Antenna with Magnetic Mount - 12 ft RG58A/U coax cable - Connector Choice

theantennafarm.com

 

[nabbyfan]

I will be SO GLAD when the US adopts the "monitor Indianapolis Center on X" during frequency changes.

Another pet peeve -- using ICAO English for hours on end, hitting ANC center and then it's "anything goes" for a few hours, then back to ICAO English over Canada and then the "Minnneapolis, Airliner 123 checkin' in onboard at tree tree zerrah howyadoin' how are da rides"

We turned CDPLC on at our Center last year, and we were told by the Cadre guys that have done this at every ARTCC that “Monitor” frequency changes were turned off specifically because SWA wasn’t doing them correctly, and their company freaked out when the FAA requested them to give their pilots extra training on the “Confirm Assigned Altitude” function. So they decided it was easier to just make folks keep checking in even with a CPDLC Change.

I use it mostly for crossing restrictions and re-routes, which has been super helpful. But for everything else I find it almost easier to just use voice.