End of an Era

The Administration building at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City

April 17, 1991. I walked into the Administration Building at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City to begin my orientation for the screen program, beginning my journey as an air traffic controller. That chapter comes to an end at midnight this Saturday, as I officially retire from the FAA after 27 years, eight months, and five days. For the first time since late summer of 1988, I won't have a job when I wake up Sunday morning.

It's been a long trek - the air traffic control career has been infuriating, exhilarating, fulfilling, and frustrating, but the one constant was that every day was different. I worked with some of the best mentors and colleagues I could ever hope to have, and our joint commitment to excellence and safety fills me with a sense of pride I kept all throughout my career.

Tabletop exercises at the FAA Academy (yes, some tower training still involves walking around carrying toy airplanes)

The memories are thick: Driving away from my wife and 15-month-old daughter that April morning as I headed from Minnesota to Oklahoma, unsure of exactly what lay ahead; the folksy instructors and the lab grades that determined your future; the bathroom graffiti at the Academy from all the students there before you; the unexpected move to Cedar Rapids; training, lots of training, and learning to dread the sight of aircraft in the touch-and-go pattern on my drive to work; the early morning when a cargo plane veered off the icy runway into the snow when I was getting some under-the-table training time on local control, then taxiing back and taking off (without anyone present whispering a word about it to anyone else - this was in 1992 so I think the statute of limitations is up); the changes at the airport, as the old terminal building came down and new structures and taxiways were built; the time I spent as the training specialist, and a temporary supervisor; the frantic pace of air traffic we saw in the late 1990s, before the dot-com crash; visits from Presidents and presidential candidates and rock bands and college football teams (the pilot of the Delta jet bringing the Miami Hurricanes in to play the Hawkeyes actually trash-talked us, that was fun); the effects of 9/11 on our jobs and on travel in general; the Chicago Center fire and the mad scramble to keep the air travel system working over those weeks; and the emergencies, the pilots lost in snowy weather, the aircraft running out of fuel, the ones landing without gear or tipping nose-first onto the runway, the smoke-filled jets evacuating on the ramp or the runway, and the last-minute traffic calls that prevented possible collisions.

Not actually me entering training at the FAA Academy - but the nonradar screen I went through in 1991 was set up much like this

So many good people I've worked with over the years, some of whom retired, some of whom moved on to other facilities, and some of whom still work in the tower at Cedar Rapids. You guys didn't always work traffic the same way I would have, but you all had the safety and best interests of the flying public at heart. Working with so many people dedicated to this public trust fills me with pride.

Cedar Rapids Tower

And so, I move forward, on to a new chapter. One involving, it appears, more culinary activities (which is exciting in its own regard!) as well as a chance for me to take on the multiple tasks and projects I've been able to get started, but not had enough time to move ahead with. My yard will get more attention, that's for sure.

And for my friends and acquaintances here in Cedar Rapids ... if you know about a part-time position with flexible daytime hours that would work well for a guy just entering his crotchety years, hit me up. I might be able to use something to do for a few hours a week.