Displaced AFSS "controllers" heading for BIL and GRB

Chip Jones wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...

What is a "Flight Service Controller"?
-Robert, CFI



The FAA specialists who worked in Flight Service Stations were air traffic
controllers by government job title (GS-2152). Thus, they called themselves
air traffic controllers, although they didn't control air traffic. The
Flight Service Station "controller" jobs (2500 of them) have been
privatized, given to Lockheed Martin in a huge money grab. LockMart pays
the salaries, and your tax dollars pay for everything else in the deal. FSS
will now be a "for profit" business and Lockheed will reap a profit at the
expense of their employees, who stand to lose their pensions, benefits etc
after years and years of government service. The FSS "controllers" who are
eligible to remain in the FAA (about 250) have been offered tower jobs at
the smaller FAA terminal facilities.

But every one of these guys knew this was coming. Twenty years ago
everybody going into FSS was told that it was forseeable that technology
would eliminate their jobs. Personally I think the new FSS will be many
orders of magnitude better than what we have now.

Newps wrote:

Chip Jones wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
oups.com...

What is a "Flight Service Controller"?
-Robert, CFI




But every one of these guys knew this was coming. Twenty years ago
everybody going into FSS was told that it was forseeable that technology
would eliminate their jobs. Personally I think the new FSS will be many
orders of magnitude better than what we have now.

It certainly has the potential of being better.

The old rumor around the flight line was that many FSS specialists were controller
initial-hire trainees who couldn't complete the course at OKC or perhaps at their
first ATC facility.

wrote in message ...

The old rumor around the flight line was that many FSS specialists were
controller
initial-hire trainees who couldn't complete the course at OKC or perhaps
at their
first ATC facility.


That's not a rumor, many FSS specialists are ATC washouts. Back when there
were ATC washouts, that is. The pattern was if you washed out on manual
control you went to a FSS, if you washed out on radar you went to a VFR
tower.

wrote:



The old rumor around the flight line was that many FSS specialists were controller
initial-hire trainees who couldn't complete the course at OKC or perhaps at their
first ATC facility.

FSS had two pipelines. They did hire new people on their own that went
to the Academy to become FSS. They then also got some Center washouts
who didn't qualify for a tower. The last I heard was that if you had
two radar sectors and then washed from a center you went to a level 3
tower like here at BIL or Des Moines. If you washed after only one
radar sector you went to a level 1 or 2 VFR tower. If you washed with
no radar then you could go to FSS. Once those guys got there very few
ever tried to move back up. Some of these places are in the middle of
nowhere and GS-12 is a pretty good living out there doing nothing. As
soon as the internet came along their fate was sealed.