Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. – Johnny Carson Celebrates Thanksgiving. The day before Thanksgiving is one of the heaviest travel days of the year. This is true of all modes […]
My Irish Roots Remarkable In Marriage And Unlocked Through Air Traffic Control?
céad míle fáilte! An Irish Greeting. While posted in Brussels as the FAA Air Traffic Representative, I went to a lot of meetings. These were meetings at various levels with delegates from European countries. The countries represented at a particular venue varied but there tended to be a core group of which the Irish were […]
The Value of Margins – Six lessons From Ladders and Air Traffic Control
I have come to appreciate the value of margins. This happened during a season when my husband took too a tumble from a ladder while trimming a tree. Yes, there was a running chainsaw involved. We are thankful the only damage from the incident was a broken left heel bone. Nonetheless, crutches in a three-story […]
So You Want To Be An Air Traffic Controller?
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” ― Jack Canfield I spent thirty-eight years in public service as a Federal Employee. The first four in personnel, now called human resources, for the Air Force Reserves. The last […]
What It Takes To Be A Crazy Air Traffic Controller
I spent thirty-eight years in public service as an Federal Employee. The first four in personnel, now called human resources, for the Air Force Reserves. The last thirty-four as an air traffic controller. Almost twenty of those were active air traffic control in en route and terminal radar as well as a tower environment. The […]
How To Tame Time Like An Air Traffic Controller
They say the job of air traffic control is telling pilots where to go, and this for the most part, correct. That definition, of course, includes a tongue-in-cheek double entendre which makes it fun! However, behind that privilege and responsibility is another skill: Telling Time Where To Go. Air traffic control is the ultimate in […]
Scarfing Doublers – Intriguing New Vocabulary For Aircraft Building
You can’t build up a vocabulary if you never meet any new words. – Rudolf Flesch and Abraham Lass Each time I find myself in a new experience realm intriguing new vocabulary appears. For this new amateur airplane builder, each time my EAA Chapter workgroup gathers around the chapter biplane project, an adventure ensues: learning curves, applied physics, […]
Multiplying Days On Earth With Airplanes
“That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.” Deut 11: 21 A couple of years ago I was privileged to be part of a delegation who converged at the Textron Customer […]
How To Resurrect An Airplane In Style
“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes My roots in aviation came from my father. His sprouted in the 1960s. I do not know what or who influenced him. He had not flown in the military nor been involved in aviation prior to his decision […]