1. Radar Map Changes -
So, after getting feedback from some of you, the ACV glideslope tick marks are going to remain on the scope as they are now.
Al has another change on the way to help us out. He is making a couple waypoints to route people around VARMIT. Attached is a picture of the change. I'm not sure exactly when we'll see those, but they are on the way.
2. ZOA LOA Changes -
Al has definitely been busy in the airspace office and is working on LOA changes in the ZOA letter. Please let myself or Al know what you think about these changes:
1. In addition to giving and receiving control for 15 degree turns, we will also give and receive control for speeds and beacon code changes to and from ZOA.
2. Instead of ZOA calling us every time the RENO MOA goes active, we will have something in the letter that says as long as ZOA turns on the airspace in the EDST that will serve as notification to us. This will reduce the amount of calls that we have to answer from ZOA.
(For the record, I'm in favor of both of these changes)
3. Big Wig Meeting -
Facilities from all over the northwest came to ZSE last week to discuss collaboration between NATCA and management. Most of it wasn't too groundbreaking, but there were a few things I wanted to pass on from it.
ERR's - The ERR policy is likely going to change within the year. It isn't finalized yet, but we were told that it will be soon. They are basically going to have a "target" number for staffing at each facility. If your facility is "well-staffed" (over 100% of the target number) you will be guaranteed a release within 3 months. If your facility is around the target number (90-100%) you will be guaranteed a release within one year. If your facility is under staffed (below 90%) your ERR won't be considered until your facility reaches target staffing (or 90%). Again, this isn't finalized and I was scribbling this down as fast as I could, so these numbers could be a little off. If you are considering an ERR, you may want to do it soon as I'm fairly sure ZSE is currently understaffed.
Distractions in the control room - Jim Ullman (our Regional Vice President for NATCA) was at the meeting and was particularly concerned with distractions in the control room. He seemed to be mostly referring to cell phones, but other distractions as well. This is a direct quote from Jim, "You guys want to be treated like professionals, you guys want to be paid like professionals, then you guys need to act like professionals." So, be careful about using your phone in the control room. Jim said NATCA doesn't have any moral ground to stand on to try and defend you.
Flight Surgeon - Most of you guys have heard about the new flight surgeon we have and how he has created a lot of problems for controllers at our facility. Well, the equivalent of Jim Ullman was there on the management side (I forget his name, but I think the last name is Osterdahl?) and he hadn't heard anything about the problems the flight surgeon has been giving us. Troy Harrison spoke up first about it and told Osterdahl about the problems we were having, and numerous other facilities spoke up as well regarding situations they've had also. Osterdahl said he was definitely going to follow up on that. He did admit he doesn't have much authority over the flight surgeon, but said he would look into some of the claims.
4. GA Fam ride potential -
The following comes from Garret about an exciting possibility:
Greetings everyone,
The purpose of this e-mail is to solicit interest among ZSE controllers that would like to go on an unofficial (non-duty time) FAM flight with a local general aviation pilot.
Since March I have been volunteering with the FAA Safety Team doing pilot outreach & educational work. The goal is to improve safety through better communication, mutual understanding and teamwork between pilots/controllers.
One of the contacts I’ve made within the local general aviation community is Jim Posner from the Bremerton Pilots Association, a chapter of the Washington Pilots Association with about 1,000 members. I’ve arranged 4 pilot tours at ZSE during the next 2 months so that they can see/hear the environment we work in.
Jim and several other members of the BPA have generously offered to donate their time & money so that ZSE controllers’ can ride-along with them on a flight. This is a great opportunity for anyone that has never been in the cockpit of a small airplane before.
Understand that for liability reasons the pilots have made it clear they would rather keep these flights “unofficial”, aka, on your own schedule. This keeps the process much simpler and does not put any additional stress on our staffing. Although most of the pilots are based in Bremerton, in most cases, they should be willing to meet you at the nearest suitable airport that is convenient for you. Depending on the pilot you might be able to see IFR and VFR operations. There is no financial obligation whatsoever.
If you are interested, please e-mail me (garretwilk@gmail.com) your contact info and if you have ever been up in a small airplane before. I’ll use a first-come, first-served priority for those that respond with interest. If the demand is great enough I’ll give further priority to first-timers.
Please feel free to e-mail/call/bug me anytime with questions you might have. Once I get at least 5 people on the list, Jim and I will begin putting pilots in contact with controllers directly so that you can work out the timing/location details on a one-on-one basis.
As of now, I’m sending this out to the D-area ONLY. But by next week the other areas will get this e-mail as well…so jump on it now if you’re in!
Thank you,
Garret Wilkerson
ZSE, D-Area
E-mail: garretwilk@gmail.com
Cell: 206-290-5737
5. Leave and the Lack Thereof -
I've been saying this, but just to reiterate, staffing is going to be very thin throughout this year. Thursday and Friday swing shifts are going to be the shortest that we have throughout the week. Most shifts are one over guides and some two over with everyone showing up, so there isn't much wiggle room.
There are already some of you that aren't getting your non-primetime leave approved, and I'm sure there will be more of that. We basically have to make sure that management is doing everything they can to get you that day off (short of overtime). So, they should be borrowing somebody from the day/swing if they are able to or using trainees for staffing, etc. I had to clarify that to Russ this week, so there could be other supervisors that don't realize that either.
We discussed leave at our latest e-board meeting as negotiations for next years MOU's are going to happen soon between Troy, Jeff, and management. Would you guys be interested in less leave spots that were guaranteed? Or more slots, but not as many guaranteed? There were differing opinions in our meeting, and I wanted to get your feedback that I can take back to them.
Whew, that was a lot of info...