Flight Service

"If you can hear me, traffic no longer a factor."
--Actual transmission from Chicago O'Hare TRACON

There was a thin layer of frost on the roof of the S-10 this morning when I trundled out to go to work at the ungodly hour of five-thirty. At least the early shift is easier to take this time of year, when it is daylight. Crawling out of bed in the small hours of the morning when it is cold and dark and going to stay that way for hours to come is a test of one's resolve.



Traffic at the airport was at summertime levels this weekend: lots of student pilots and weekend warriors shaking the dust off their Cessna 172s after the winter hiatus. We worked hard but laughed a lot at silly little air traffic jokes. The trainee (who shall remain nameless in this document out of respect for his privacy) is fitting in very well. He has an extensive Flight Service background and is coming back into the Agency after taking a "sanity break" of a couple years, so he knows the flick and has had his heart broken by the FAA enough so that he isn't entertaining any illusions. When things get bad, he quietly repeats his mantra: "I'm inside, I'm warm and I'm being paid ..." I guess we should all remember that. We are actually obscenely well paid for four people who essentially just stumbled into this job because we couldn't do anything else.

And unbelievably, we were the 1999 National Air Traffic Facility of the Year. All we could figure is that everyone else must have already had their turn.


"Listen up, gentlemen, or something's gonna happen that none of us wants to see."

--Actual transmission from Chicago O'Hare TRACON