See the tower at Oshkosh may be closed???

[Kevin O'Halloran]

http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/medi..._Be_Closed.pdf

I'm sure it would be open during airadventure---could make it interesting if you came into Oshkosh early on a IFR flight plan
Kevin

[Frank Giger]

I think they threw that in as a spoiler for the fiscal fight.

No way they wouldn't have tower operations during Oshkosh.

[Mike M]

agreed, Frank. does anyone else wonder what the traffic counts are at those facilities? last I heard it took 80k ops annually to qualify for a tower. (remember, a touch&go counts as two ops) do not know what it takes to keep one open. but i suspected there is a reason the count was not on the list.

http://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Tower.asp

i live in florida. ECP, GNV, LEE, OCF, PGD, SUA, & TLH have been open all year, all have counts below 80k. yet ECP, GNV, & TLH aren't on the closure list even with with counts as low as 60k. CRG, EVB, FPR, HWO, ISM, OMN, OPF, ORL, SGJ, TIX, & VQQ are all over 100k and are on the closure list. looks political, not safety-related, to this casual observer.

what a surprise.

[gbrasch]

Look at the length of that list, no way.......

[CarlOrton]

Back to the original topic, remember that all of the Pink Shirts (FAA) are VOLUNTEERS the entire week. No pay involved at all. Not a factor....

[Bob Collins]

There's politics and there's good data. yesterday was politics. Notice that LaHood was addressing tower closings but aiming it at airline passengers and talking about giant delays and using words like 'calamity.' Most of the towers being closed have very little to do with airline passengers, nor do many of them have enough IFR activity that it would ripple back in the system. He was asked about why the tower closings would impact airline travelers when the "big" towers aren't going to be closed and he danced a bit. He didn't answer the more pertinent question of controller staffing at centers and sectors. My guess is the immediate impact of the sequester will not be felt on airline passengers; it'll be felt on GA. Flight following? Not a chance. But you can't get the American people all worked up and panicked by talking about flight following, or anything else involving GA. It was political gamesmanship yesterday. Nothing more. It's the way the game is played.

[CarlOrton]

...<snip> ....the more pertinent question of controller staffing at centers and sectors. My guess is the immediate impact of the sequester will not be felt on airline passengers; it'll be felt on GA. <snip>

Centers will be impacted. The result to airline traffic, I dunno. As stated in the media, some operations may operate with increased distances between traffic. Sectors within a center will probably be consolidated, meaning one set of eyeballs potentially watching quite a bit more traffic, hence the increased spacing. Does that mean a total system fiasco? Probably not, just some delays here and there.

Another thing to consider: most center controllers undergo background checks, since they'll potentially be involved in AF1 and troop movements. If a controller is living paycheck to paycheck and takes a 10% hit, that could suddenly impact his/her clearance. "Can't pay the bills" is an invitation to provide some 'splaining to the 3 letter agencies. The question then becomes, does a supervisor knowingly put his/her controllers at risk of losing their clearance, or will there be special dispensation since this will be a nation-wide situation.

Or do we assume that Congress will get it in gear and provide quick resolution? I'm betting on the latter (most likely another extension...).

[FlyingRon]

Oshkosh isn't that busy outside of Airventure. I've been there in March. I could volunteer a few towers to be closed around here. They could start with FDK.

[Mike M]

Back to the original topic, remember that all of the Pink Shirts (FAA) are VOLUNTEERS the entire week. No pay involved at all. Not a factor....

and the rest of the year, atc gets paid at osh. so not a factor for the show, but other times........

[rwanttaja]

Back to the original topic, remember that all of the Pink Shirts (FAA) are VOLUNTEERS the entire week. No pay involved at all. Not a factor....

Yes, but: What will the FAA do to mothball the facility if it's closed? Will they shut down the power to everything but security systems and minimal AC to keep the place dry? Wrap the consoles in plastic to protect them? Remove key equipment for common storage with that of other facilities being closed? If they shut off the power on March 2nd, what's the odds that it'll all power-up normally on July 25th? If it doesn't, will there be technicians/tools/replacement parts available?