Aren't You Happy You Voted For Baby Bush? (ATC Privatization)

Newps wrote:


Now, every once in a while a substation goes down and nobody notices
(happens once in about 50 years or so). In that case, somebody loses
service after about two days. Think ATC would notice a problem by then?

The generators already come online on automatically, we have one for the
tower itself and one for the radar.

With the phone company, the unmanned substations run from commercial power
(where available) with battery backup. If one goes down, an alert sounds
at local Central Office. If it stays down, someone goes out with a portable
generator to keep the station up. The only time I heard of the system failing
was ten years or so back in Brooklyn (IIRC). They had a power outage, someone
shut off the alarms, but someone dropped the ball and never dispatched
the repair crew. The batteries died after two days, and one section of
the net went dead. Cost the phone company some outrageous sum because of
the loss of service to parts of the Wall Street community.

In the Central Offices, the generators kick in automatically.

George Patterson
The optimist feels that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The
pessimist is afraid that he's correct.
James Branch Cavel

"Bob Noel" wrote in message
...
In article , "Chip Jones"
wrote:

I have never understood why we are trying to move everything these days
to a
"paperless" environment. Why? That may work at Walmart, or in the
cockpit
of a well-equipped airplane (I bet they still carry charts...) but it is
a
*bad* idea for enroute ATC no matter how "cutting edge" the technology
gets.

That's exactly the user pushback we got around 1995 when considering
electronic strips for STARS. Most of the controllers we dealted with
wanted nothing to do with them.


If you mean that most controllers don't seem to like dealing with paper
strips, I won't argue with you. Of course, many controllers that I know
don't like dealing with airplanes all that much anymore either, although
they all seem to like the paycheck...

The question to me is "why don't they?" Strips don't break. A person can
*easily* learn to write as accurately and as fast as one talks and with far
less effort than typing in data. Strips can be cocked out indicting things
that need to be done or things that have been done etc etc. Strips in a bay
representing overdue aircraft stand out like sore thumbs. Dunno why the hue
and cry that strips are obsolete. What are obsolete IMO are the archaic
flight data computers, not the strips.


Chip, ZTL




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On Fri, 13 Jun 2003 10:47:26 -0400, "Chip Jones"
wrote in Message-Id:
:

Privatize ATC and GA is gonna be the first casualty... Terrible
idea.

And it appears Jr. hasn't abandoned his "ideological jihad for
privatization":


-------------------------------------------------------------------
AVflash Volume 9, Number 42a October 13, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

....OHIO SENATOR WAFFLING...
A spokesman for DeWine admits the senator is reconsidering his
previous position. Mike Dawson told The Columbus Dispatch that the
senator must weigh whether the ban is worth risking all the funding in
the bill for Ohio airports and other provisions. According to the
Dispatch, DeWine still favors the privatization ban but he's not sure
he'd vote against the reauthorization bill if the current language
remains. Despite what must be enormous pressure from the White House
to change his vote, DeWine's fellow Ohio Republican George Voinovich
has apparently indicated to NATCA that he won't alter his position.
Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) accused the White House of mounting
an "ideological jihad for privatization" and said the public won't
stand for it in the case of air traffic control.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#185851
--

Irrational beliefs ultimately lead to irrational acts.
-- Larry Dighera,

-------------------------------------------------------------------
AVflash Volume 9, Number 44b October 30, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

FAA BILL AMENDED AGAIN
A conference committee of the House and Senate has agreed to strip
language relating to the privatization of 69 FAA control towers from
the long-delayed FAA Reauthorization Bill but privatization opponents
say that's not the end of the debate. The bill, which should have been
passed in September, has been held up over the privatization clause
and it's still not clear how the latest move will affect its passage.
FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the new conference report will likely
be put in front of the House today and passage is expected. But
passage by the Senate is expected to take longer and Martin said a
continuation of the current temporary spending authority, which
expires Friday, will almost certainly be required.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#185961

----------------------------------------------------------
AOPA ePilot Special Expo Update November 1, 2003
----------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE PASSES FAA FUNDING BILL
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the FAA
reauthorization bill that had been bogged down in Congress over debate
about contract air traffic control towers and concerns over future
privatization of air traffic services. The bill was sent to the Senate
where action is pending, and continuing battles there are possible.
AOPA expressed concern over the FAA reauthorization bill after a
passage was deleted that opposed any future privatization of the air
traffic control system. The bill would provide $60 billion in funding
for airport upgrades, security enhancements, and safety programs. For
more information, see AOPA Online
( http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsite...03-4-080x.html )


On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 22:07:53 GMT, Larry Dighera
wrote in Message-Id: :


-------------------------------------------------------------------
AVflash Volume 9, Number 44b October 30, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

FAA BILL AMENDED AGAIN
A conference committee of the House and Senate has agreed to strip
language relating to the privatization of 69 FAA control towers from
the long-delayed FAA Reauthorization Bill but privatization opponents
say that's not the end of the debate. The bill, which should have been
passed in September, has been held up over the privatization clause
and it's still not clear how the latest move will affect its passage.
FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the new conference report will likely
be put in front of the House today and passage is expected. But
passage by the Senate is expected to take longer and Martin said a
continuation of the current temporary spending authority, which
expires Friday, will almost certainly be required.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#185961