Comments on: The Tower is Now Closed

By: David a. smith

David a. smith — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:10:50 +0000

Some towers are important and there not because of the total amount of traffic, as the FAA likes to use for measure, but because of the MIX of traffic. NEW in New Orleans is a perfect example. There is a real mix of corporate jets and single engine airplanes and it often gets crazy, even dangerous when the part time tower is closed. It was outright dangerous after hurricane Katrina until the FAA finally re-opened the (FAA) tower and yet the total traffic count would mean this tower would be closed with the FAA’s 150,000 annual traffic count system. There probably are towers that could be closed without compromising safety, but a number of the towers on the proposed closure list, as the one above, that have factors which don’t fit this arbitrary determination system.

By: Jose Marrero

Jose Marrero — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 20:17:01 +0000

Control towers at small airports do not increase safety. I’ve flown in the small airport in St Augustine, Florida for 36 years and have seen it evolved to the class Delta it is today(daytime). Too much control of airspace by controllers trying to fly your airplane making it extremely inneficient for flight instruction operations. We would not see a difference in safety if it became a class E full time as it is now when the control tower closes at night. In my view it would become more efficient to flight ops if the control tower does close. Save the Tax payers money and close it now.

By: Richard B Smith

Richard B Smith — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 13:11:44 +0000

BTW, a close-by uncontrolled airport (within 10 miles ) has had 4 fatal mid-air collisions in less than a dozen years, including the last one where the detached engine from one of the aircraft fell through the roof of a local car dealership and killed an employee at his desk. Despite that, the local city and it’ pilots still haven’t put any other safeguards than, “see and avoid.” You can never trust the other guy…..

By: Paul Steger

Paul Steger — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 02:41:59 +0000

How about a hybrid airport, a cross between a towered and uncontrolled field. IFor fields that are not quite busy enough to justify a tower, but with enough traffic to worry about mid-air collisions, you would have mandatory call-outs on the CTAF. Maybe like this: If inbound, pilots must anounce their position no farther out than 5 miles, and then 2 more mandatory call-outs, just before entering the pattern, and then once more before landing. For departing traffic, pilots must call out just before brake release to state the runway they are about to take off from, and their direction of flight. And then one more, when clear of the traffic pattern, but still within 5 miles of the field.

This of course, is what we all should be doing at uncontrolled fields, but making it a regulation at certain designated high traffic non-towered airports would make me feel a lot better about avoiding traffic, my main worry at non-towered airports.

By: Michael R. Denziger

Michael R. Denziger — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:33:14 +0000

Did you know the FAA has a movie studio?

I’ve been flying for over 40 years without so much as an incident, yet have never seen an FAA movie.

Let’s start with that. If they absolutely, positively, must have a movie, there are plenty of private movie production services available.

By: Richard B Smith

Richard B Smith — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:33:10 +0000

Those are FAA towers, guaranteed. I worked for 26 ears in the FAA, and yes, most FAA towers are overstaffed. If I had 4 hours time on position at the end of an 8 hour day, I felt “overworked.” Out here in Contractor Land, where I am now, I don’t get a break off position (acccording to the position log) and eat my meals on position. I have to time my bathroom breaks judiciously, and still I get calls while I am in the can. Vacation time means almost certain overtime for somebody else because of low staffing. This is the best deal the government has, low overhead combined with professionalism. Of course, I work in Southern California, the busiest airspace in the world. Maybe Tennessee is different….

By: Maynard Keppler

Maynard Keppler — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:30:05 +0000

Many towers were started because some politician/VIP wanted one at his/her home airport, regardless of low traffic. Let’s start with those.

This whole scare is so typical. Anytime government growth is rolled back, they start with the items we need the most instead of the waste areas. Locally, it is usually garbage collection, parks and school activities. It’s fraud. Bring on the sequester (a term designed to confuse people). Then hold your representatives feet to the fire to cut waste instead of needed services.

By: Don Schultz

Don Schultz — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:28:07 +0000

I am a retired air traffic controller. I have worked in busy as well as not busy facilities and find that most of them are overstaffed, overpaid, and work many hours that are not necessary.

I now live in eastern TN and live within 5 miles of an airport that is equipped with a tower, a radar room, and very little traffic. I fly here privately and sometimes listen in on the control facility and hear nothing. Most of the time, the positions are combined so one person is working and the rest of the staff is taking a break.

By: Bob O'Neill

Bob O'Neill — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:55:00 +0000

Wholesale close and panic makes no sense. Yes, some towers can be closed with little impact on safety. However decisions need to include number of planes based and daily flight operations. Limited daily hours covering peek periods, urban vs suburban vs rural, number of IFR departures and arrivals, nearby class B or class C airports, area traffic density etc, etc etc all need to be considered for safety of flight and risk to life and property on the surrounding non-flying public. Instead our coward congress has simly applied the meat cleaver with no rhime or reason to a system that isn’t broken. Doesn’t the US Constitution form a republican government to serve it’s citizens through compromise rather than non thinking party lines that harm the people?

By: G mcnamara

G mcnamara — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:07:58 +0000

Ral is Avery important tower with jet,light sport,helecopter and a lot of trainig
Going on and is very close to many other airports.