NetHeads, Today I needed to run by the airport and buy a Charlotte sectional to fly to Dan's in the morning. HSV is closer than any other, so I planned on dropping by on the way home from work. It was a really crappy day, so I thought maybe the folks in the tower would let me visit, since the workload couldn't be very high. I called and the guy said he was pretty busy but "come on out right now", so I did. We spent 15 minutes just looking at all the stuff on the scope, explaining every detail. I got a very good explanation for how the whole controller thing works, how you get handed off, picked up, the various airspace sectors, and all kind of good stuff. The last guy I met was the controller that I talked to in June during my emergency landing. He remembered every detail, and we had a good time talking the whole thing over.
The point of this is that if you get the chance, take that tour. You can find your local towered airport at http://www.faa.gov/arp/ and pick your region, find your "local" airport on the list, and give them a call. He said it was a 15 minute tour, but I ended up standing around talking to all the controllers, and after an hour figured I'd held them up long enough and bowed out. They seemed to enjoy the conversation, and I came away with a much better understanding of what the guys on the other end of the radio are doing... Mark Langford, Harvest, AL see homebuilt airplane at http://www.N56ML.com email to N56ML "at" hiwaay.net