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




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