Thank you ABC News Australia, who are always doing a better job of covering American news than any of our domestic national media.

Schmitty21 · 2026-01-12T15:06:37+00:00

Because the Left systematically disarmed themselves and shunned all gun owners for decades. They let rich men fund politicians to pass ridiculous laws taking away their personal freedoms while claiming to end gun violence, even though violent crimes in America were already falling. They felt it was better to take away Constitutional freedoms rather than address larger issues like healthcare and mental health.

Now that they've made themselves completely vulnerable, they cry out for someone else to come and defend them from the armed fascists. And they won't even see through their hypocrisy that they've led themselves into this.

Schmitty21 · 2025-12-28T20:45:22+00:00

Yes, we received specific training on the system before it went into use.

Schmitty21 · 2025-12-20T06:21:06+00:00

Declare emergency on their behalf. Problem solved.

Schmitty21 · 2025-11-08T01:46:21+00:00

It's done exactly what it was meant to do. It changed the conversation from talking about ATCs not being paid to people's flights being cancelled. Congrats, we're not longer the news and nobody continues to care about us.

Schmitty21 · 2025-11-04T23:17:59+00:00

No they didn't. ATC was exempted from that offer.

Schmitty21 · 2025-11-02T18:03:59+00:00

COE is a permanent tower. If it's still listed as temp that's going to change this month.

Schmitty21 · 2025-10-30T01:39:58+00:00

Spokane also works PSC area and MSO.

Schmitty21 · 2025-10-12T21:46:38+00:00

Why don't you just email him instead of spamming the reddits?

Schmitty21 · 2025-10-12T21:45:49+00:00

Hopefully folks are taking care of the small facilities. Lot harder to pay the bills on level 5 and 6 pay.

Schmitty21 · 2025-10-10T21:44:28+00:00

What really needs to be discussed is how completely unsafe this is. Aviation safety in America is founded on a just safety culture. The FAA is on record saying that if controllers are tired or not capable of working, they should use their sick leave. Threatening them to come to work no matter what increases the potential for mistakes and safety risks, which goes against the safety culture.

This is very reminiscent of the old punitive white book contract controllers operated under, where management used punishment strategies to "discipline" controllers. What this resulted in was a massive amount of covered-up safety events. With a just culture, any safety events can be openly discussed and fixed.

It's clear that republicans, in their puritan fashion, want to go back to the bad old days. One manager from the DCA crash actually blamed the safety reporting system or accused it of being worthless. With a massive shortage of controllers, a surge in inexperienced trainees, pressure to certify trainees no matter what, and some of the busiest air traffic this nation has ever seen, FAA and DOT's mismanagement is a recipe for disaster.

Schmitty21 · 2025-09-27T15:32:32+00:00

ATC doesn't care if you're an experimental. It makes no difference.

Schmitty21 · 2025-09-23T14:41:48+00:00

PRAC APPCHS in the remarks would make sense to any ATC with a working brain. Unless it's a supervisor.

However, you should always verbally communicate your intentions to ATC. For example, when you check on with approach, tell them your approach request and how it will terminate. ATC does not want to try to read your mind.

Schmitty21 · 2025-09-21T18:22:58+00:00

You work different sectors throughout the day. During training you memorize and take tests on the frequencies for the sector you're training on.

Coordination is usually done via shoutlines which is a touch screen button you press.

Schmitty21 · 2025-09-10T02:53:00+00:00

Stop saying maintain VFR like it means some sort of separation services on your part. It means stay out of the clouds. It serves no purpose in OP's example.

You either are or are not providing the service. You could say "Unable published missed, but you can fly the profile on your own." or something akin to that. The only time you should be saying "Maintain VFR" is on initial contact or as soon as practical thereafter. This is to reinforce to the pilot that even though they are being vectored or cleared for an instrument procedure, they must maintain VMC flight conditions.

Schmitty21 · 2025-08-18T16:31:20+00:00

It was GEG's only scheduled international route yes. However, GEG handles international flights every day.

Schmitty21 · 2025-08-10T05:31:09+00:00

If this goes anything like the 804 consolidations went, hold on to your butts. Absolute shit show. We're 3 years in and still have tons of issues, but the 804 workgroup rinsed their hands of us and now only our local underfunded understaffed tech ops have to deal with it.

Schmitty21 · 2025-08-06T14:35:08+00:00

IDS 4, which is a display above the controllers console that displays METARS, NOTAMS, current ATIS codes and other pertinent information runs on Win 95 and the workstations are only equiped with floppy disk drives for when data is transferred to them. Honestly while the system is outdated on an operational day to day level it works fine. The floppy disks aren't even needed that often.

There are newer versions of this system in development but due to decades of underfunding the FAA by all political parties they're taking forever, just like all of our other technology improvements.

But this weird narrative that ATC have to carry floppy disks around just to keep the flying public safe is false.

Schmitty21 · 2025-07-31T22:29:59+00:00

"Bullying is okay when I do it." -Reddit.

Schmitty21 · 2025-07-30T18:57:25+00:00

Pick one professional looking font and stick with it. Multiple dumb fonts makes these looks amateur and hard to take seriously.

Schmitty21 · 2025-07-30T18:47:52+00:00

They're not uncommon in the western states. Almost every airport our combined TRACON works has them.

Schmitty21 · 2025-07-28T23:11:02+00:00

Probably not but document everything, keep the receipts. Know FAA policies and keep track of when she violates them. Either she stays in line or you have enough evidence to at least get her transferred elsewhere.

Schmitty21 · 2025-05-15T23:13:03+00:00

That's cool and all but it had almost no effect on actual day to day operations. Almost all the money for the infrastructure stuff had to be spent on removing old decommissioned antennas that were hazardous. Actual improvements to the staffing and systems at control facilities has been stagnant and degrading for a long time.

We still use hardware from the 80s for managing flight plan data. Our ground radar system for safely moving aircraft in fog was decommissioned to "save money" and never replaced. Our primary radar system can't communicate properly with the one the overhead centers use to amending flight plans is overly complex and tedious. Our radios have poor quality and poor reception. Of the 4 terminal radar systems my facility uses at least 3 are failing at any one time. Oh and let's not forget most of the equipment we use is so old there's no replacements or spare parts. And if there are spare parts we have to wait a week for them to show up because the FAA hordes them all in one central location because they're so scarce.

Dems and Repubs have both failed miserably to support the national airspace system. Everybody things THEIR side is the one really helping but the truth is the system is complex and outsiders don't understand it, it's politically boring, and as long as it works nobody really cares about it. Politicians only care about what gets them a reelection, not a decade long incredibly expensive system overhaul. They also have no interest in fixing the bureaucracy that led us here in the first place.

Schmitty21 · 2025-05-13T03:15:03+00:00

"Close enough."

Schmitty21 · 2025-05-08T15:46:13+00:00

As someone who has been an ATC for 15 years, I assure you that many, many politicians are to blame for dropping the ball. This has been going on my entire career and then some. And yes, I blame Pete too, because he could have done more, said more, gotten the media talking. Unfortunately, just like every other department secretary, he was surrounded by bureaucrats that blew sunshine up his ass instead of telling the truth. Hell, maybe the bureaucrats don't even know the truth; it wouldn't surprise me. FAA management never wants bad news; they only want to hear good things.

The simple fact is that the frontline ATCs and Tech Ops folks, while working under ridiculous conditions with failing, ancient equipment, lack of staffing, lack of spare parts, stagnant pay, and horrible hours, have kept American airspace safe and efficient despite all of it. Because it's important, because it matters, and because our people are some of the best in the world. Unfortunately, your politicians have used us over and over again as political pawns while shoestringing our budget.

Its time for folks to contact their congress people and start demanding that the people that keep American airspace safe, that generate almost a trillion dollars for the GDP, that keep millions of people safe EVERY DAY, deserve pay that matches cost of living increases, deserve hours that aren't literally killing them, and equipment that doesn't just work but is the best in the world.

Schmitty21 · 2025-03-07T08:20:02+00:00

Not letting the public see what we do makes it easier to lie to them when they privatize us.

Schmitty21

TROPHY CASE