Air Traffic Control is there to help, but for many new pilots, the other side of the radio is a mystery. In a video tip, Sporty’s goes behind the scenes with Air Traffic Control to learn what tools they use, how they see weather on their screens, how transponder codes work, and what services are […]
ATC
Debate over privatizing ATC: Us vs. Them?
In the space of one week in February, a report calling for sweeping changes to Air Traffic Control, including taking control of ATC from the FAA and putting it in the hands of a non-profit organization funded by user fees, was released, just days after a survey was released showing that most voters oppose privatizing […]
GA advocates for contract tower program
GA advocacy groups recently joined with other industry groups to ask Congress to fully fund the Contract Tower Program as part of the FAA’s 2018 fiscal year appropriations bill. The March 9 letter to lawmakers asks for “not less than $159 million” in funding for the program. “The FAA Contract Tower Program has provided cost-effective and essential air traffic safety services […]
Senators oppose privatizing ATC
Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), as well as Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), recently sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation opposing privatizing the […]
Privatizing ATC: What could go wrong?
The airlines are terrible at running their businesses, so let’s turn air traffic control over to them, says Andrew Schmertz, the CEO of Hopscotch Air, and a contributor to the Huffington Post. “What could go wrong?” he asks with tongue in cheek in a recent post. He notes that the airlines have decades of losses […]
Paying for ATC at SUN ‘n FUN
In the weeks before SUN ’n FUN opened, fly-in officials found themselves scrambling after the FAA told them the estimate for air traffic control services at this year’s event would be a whopping $325,000. That’s a big difference from last year’s bill of $202,000. “We told them we can’t survive,” recalls SUN ’n FUN President […]
Pictures of the day: The art of the airport tower
A new exhibit, “Art of the Airport Tower,” opened Nov. 11 at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The exhibit, composed of 50 photographs by Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo, explores the varied forms and functions of airport traffic control towers in the U.S. and around the world. The exhibit will remain on display at […]
First phase of remote tower demo ends
LEESBURG, Va. — The first phase of the Leesburg Airport Remote Tower Demonstration Program wrapped up Oct. 26 after four months of collecting data. The next phase of the program will go through mid-2016, with the ultimate goal of operating remote air traffic control towers at airports that are now non-towered. The technology was developed by Saab, […]
Polls show voters overwhelmingly oppose privatizing ATC
By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters oppose privatizing the operations of the air traffic control system by taking it from the FAA and turning it over to a private non-profit entity, according to a new poll. A recent telephone survey conducted by Global Strategy Group of 801 registered voters nationwide between Aug. 8 and Aug. […]