I’ve enjoyed a love affair for more than 40 years, no not with a woman, rather an industry. Clearly I’m not alone as so many of my friends and colleagues feel the same way. I’ve seen so many changes from my earliest days in Air Traffic Control (ATC), and I still enjoy watching airplanes land and take-off. Watching a heavily laden B747 climb out of Dulles Airport always makes me wonder how that big beauty can actually stay aloft. I think about all of the men and women in this industry that come together to make it all happen.
Early on in my FAA career, I had the opportunity to work in the New York area. From an ATC perspective, it was all about big egos pushing lots of “tin” to get the job done. There was a time when I thought I knew all there was to know about our industry, but clearly, all I knew was a lot about air traffic control, and really only in New York. A paltry sum when one considers the “industry as a whole.” Being the consummate professional (by New York) standards, I could “cuss” and “fuss” with the best of them. Somehow that seemed quite normal to me. If you went ugly early, you’d likely win most arguments. We argued all the time, especially with adjoining facilities (in my case, being an approach guy, with the center and towers). I recall frequent battles with what was then the central flow control facility (CF2), when they suggested we do something a way and we didn’t agree. Reason, was the first avenue pursued, but was often quickly followed by threats and worse.
