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Aviation Forum / General / Aviation / February 2006Kinda sad...
Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and flew to Ft. Dodge for the first time. Located in north central Iowa, Ft. Dodge is the site of Iowa's only Flight Service Station. We have talked to them literally hundreds of times over the years -- but we had never actually flown there. The promise of a courtesy car made our decision easy, and off we went, bucking a 40 knot headwind all the way. It was a smooth and beautiful -- if slow -- ride. That part of Iowa is incredibly rural -- one of the reasons we'd never been there, before -- and soaring over places and people who are so isolated from what we consider to be the "real" world was a humbling experience. What different lives they must lead! Ft. Dodge has a very nice airport, with huge runways, an ILS, and a fairly new terminal. Northwest Airlink still serves them three times daily, thanks to federal subsidies, but their FSS is slated for closure under the Lockheed-Martin privatization agreement. We wanted to see what a real FSS looked like, before they were all gone, so we strolled over after enjoying a fantastic, dirt cheap breakfast at "Brownies", a great locally-owned cafe in town. Out front of the FSS stood an older guy sporting a pony tail, smoking a cigarette. He told us what code to dial to get in, and we entered a large, darkened room with dozens of computer terminals -- and no people. There was one lonely guy in sight, the supervisor, and he came over to greet us. It seems that even though they are not slated for closure until July 2007, the closure is already all but complete. Most of the older guys with seniority have bid on other FAA jobs and left, or retired, and the only ones left are the folks who didn't want to leave the area. The two guys we met will retire when the station closes. Lockheed has already diverted 50% of their calls to the FSS in Kankakee, IL, so even though there were only two guys working, they had nothing to do. There was a big electronic sign on the wall showing "Calls Waiting: 0", and the only noise was the hum of cooling fans. It was eerie, and more than a little sad, to see such a big, vital facility in its death throes. Ft. Dodge is yet another dying farm-industrial town in the heartland, and it's clearly seen better days. The City built this structure for the FAA, they were so desperate to get the jobs, and now this beautiful building will soon sit empty, another relic of another upgrade to our national airspace. We all understand that it makes little sense to have 60 separate Flight Service Stations in the age of computers and satellite weather, but it's still melancholy to see the end of an era. Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of NDBs and radio ranges...  SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" The FSS at Green Bay will also be closing. I've been fortunate enough to fly 3 separate plane loads of students over there to get the 10 cent tour. A real great bunch of guys that, even after 9/11, went through the trouble to get our tours approved, then took the time to answer all our questions, and explain how everything worked. They also took the time to answer our questions about their training, their previous jobs, and the way the transition would effect them. Many of us have come to recognize and remember their voices. Those of us that are truly lucky can match the voices with a name, a face, and a handshake. Thanks Capt' Jake, you've been a invaluable resource. We'll miss you. Jim > Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and flew > to Ft. Dodge for the first time. [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of > NDBs and radio ranges... I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the country. I will always fondly remember approaching Harrison, Arkansas from the north as a thunderstorm approached from the west. The FSS guy gave me a blow by blow description of its progress as I eventually lost the race and diverted to another airport. That was flight service at its finest. But I also understand we can't afford to continue providing that service to 6 airplanes a day. ;( -- Gene Seibel Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html Because I fly, I envy no one. > I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the > country. I've heard that there were Flight Service Stations at virtually every medium-or-better-sized airport in America at one time. True? I know Iowa City had one. Just curious: What paid for them? Gas taxes? Were they eliminated by technology, or did they just price themselves out of existence with high wage demands? I'm always amazed at the level of service we once expected, yet can (for some reason) no longer afford. Some examples: 1. When I was a boy in Racine, WI, the garbage men used to walk around to the BACK of the house to pick up our garbage cans, carried them out to the street, dumped them in the truck, and then carried them -- CAREFULLY -- back. Imagine! 2. When I was born in 1958, my mother was in the hospital for six days, the nurses gave her foot massages, she was allowed to smoke in her room -- and the charge was less than $100. Compare that to my kids, who cost many thousands, and poor Mary was booted out after 48 hours. 3. When I was a kid, every service station had a fleet of guys on the payroll to pump the gas, check the oil, inspect the tail lights, etc. Gas cost 39 cents a gallon. And we thought THAT was high. The list goes on and on. How is it that we once valued "service", but no longer do today? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" In Wisconsin, I can remember FSS stations in: Wausau La Crosse Green Bay I "think" I can also remember that Madison, Eau Claire, and Milwaukee also had FSS's. It would make sense, I just can't remember talking or visiting those. Jim >> I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the >> country. > >I've heard that there were Flight Service Stations at virtually every >medium-or-better-sized airport in America at one time. True? I >know Iowa City had one. Back in 1969, there was even one at Bryce Canyon. In a trailer next to the big old barn hangar. I know because I flew into there with clenched cheeks from a case of food poisoning I'd given myself by eating a 3-day old roast beef sandwich at Kanab. The faxt I'd made a bad mistake hit me as I was passing Zion Canyon on my way from St. George. I spent about two hours in their john. Those guys were saints. (That's a joke for Mr. Campbell.) Don > The list goes on and on. How is it that we once valued "service", but > no longer do today? I think it's the other way around. We are more inclined nowadays to do it ourselves. This is especially true when we can save a little money - why pay somebody to hand the phone to you when you are sitting right next to it. But there is no "logical stopping point", and so it can continue as long as people are willing. Also, probably starting around the fifties, consumerism really took hold, probably fueled by television, and in order to buy all the goodies we were supposed to want we had to make better use of our money. So we skimped on service to spend on goods. We also had a sense of greater destiny - how many kids these days =want= to get up at four am and clean out the stable and milk cows all day? In the old days there wasn't much choice, but now there's a big city they can actually go to and do something worthwhile with their lives. (I know.. like flip burgers :) As things got bigger (and more efficient), they got more anonymous, which made them easier to get bigger... That's the trend I see, and the FSS system is just a part of it. And it might be nice to wander over to the FSS building and talk to the briefer over a real chart (made of fuzzy blue lines that were hard to read), but it is also nice to see the actual color radar traces on my computer, a 3D color plot of wind intensity and icing potential, and pull up an animated sequence across my flight path. What I really miss though is being able to talk to an actual meteorologist. Jose SignatureMoney: what you need when you run out of brains. for Email, make the obvious change in the address. >1. When I was a boy in Racine, WI, the garbage men used to walk around >to the BACK of the house to pick up our garbage cans, carried them out >to the street, dumped them in the truck, and then carried them -- >CAREFULLY -- back. Imagine! cost of employees. >2. When I was born in 1958, my mother was in the hospital for six days, >the nurses gave her foot massages, she was allowed to smoke in her room ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ well ... >3. When I was a kid, every service station had a fleet of guys on the >payroll to pump the gas, check the oil, inspect the tail lights, etc. >Gas cost 39 cents a gallon. And we thought THAT was high. cost of employees. >The list goes on and on. How is it that we once valued "service", but >no longer do today? cost of employees. if you have to downsize at your hotel: where can you save HUGE amounts of money? cancelling the morning paper? #m SignatureWe reject Gilmores right to travel argument because the Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any particular form of transportation. http://makeashorterlink.com/?P27712B8C > cost of employees. if you have to downsize at your hotel: where can you > save HUGE amounts of money? cancelling the morning paper? Our biggest expenses are, in order: 1. Taxes 2. Utilities 3. Employees Eliminate our woefully inefficient, never-satisfied, ever-expanding, incredibly stupid government, and just imagine what we could actually pay out to "We the People"... SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" >> cost of employees. if you have to downsize at your hotel: where can you >> save HUGE amounts of money? cancelling the morning paper? > >Our biggest expenses are, in order: > >1. Taxes well, you have to pay the infrastructure you use somehow. You might afford to pay directly for what you use, but there are also other expenses. Democaracy is bad, but it is the best of all forms. Sure, there are ways to spend money wiser than it is done now, but some say "reduce military expenses", others say "more welfare" ... and here we go ... >2. Utilities you can save there. you just have to invest first. but it will pay for itself. >3. Employees here we go. :-) >Eliminate our woefully inefficient, never-satisfied, ever-expanding, >incredibly stupid government, and just imagine what we could actually pay >out to "We the People"... o what would you change? toll roads? user fees for aviation? less military expenses, less social security? whatever you will do: it will be wrong. #m SignatureWe reject Gilmores right to travel argument because the Constitution does not guarantee the right to travel by any particular form of transportation. http://makeashorterlink.com/?P27712B8C > I'm always amazed at the level of service we once expected, yet can > (for some reason) no longer afford. Some examples: Hey, if I call our local weather briefing number here, I get to speak to the actual *forecaster* :-) SignatureDylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net >> I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the >> country. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > technology, or did they just price themselves out of existence with > high wage demands? El Dorado AR (ELD) had one through the mid '80s and it is a small airport. They were great. The next best thing to having a tower. For someone learning to fly they were better in a lot of ways. You didn't have to follow their instructions but they were more than happy to give you traffic that had called in and their approximate location and would warn you if there was someone they knew was NORDO in the pattern or on the ground. They also had DF equipment so the young student pilot who misplaced themselves while practicing maneuvers could quickly, request a practice DF and be headed back in the general direction of the airport. They also took all the weather reports and posted them. Uncle Sam paid for them the same way he pays for the FSS now. And technology is what killed them it just became cheaper to consolidate them. In El Dorado it was a done in phases. First the briefers went away and they hired guys to come in and do the weather report duties then they did away with them and replaced them with automated equipment. ELD's switch to automation was accelerated by a year or two when the 23 year old kid that was doing the night shift got caught with a cooler full of beer and 6 friends, 3 of which were underage females in various states of undress, in the "tower." > I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the > country. I will always fondly remember approaching Harrison, Arkansas [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html > Because I fly, I envy no one. I too remember - FSSs were always nearby - near Hoxie (where I grew up) at GLD and maybe at HLC (where the HLC is closer to Hoxie than to Hill City). Thank goodness, since that was before toll-free telephone service (long distance phone calls were expensive) and we didn't have the Internet, etc. My most memorable visit was at Tuscaloosa - Mother's Day, 1966. On the spur of the moment, a friend and I flew down from Wright Field in a T-34 to drop in on his mother. We enjoyed a great flight down and had a wonderful day - southern hospitality and all. We visited the FSS on the field in preparation to return. We got the usual full briefing - over the counter, in person. We settled on going northeast, then north. Just as the door to the FSS was closing behind us, the briefer called after us - reported he had been advised that thunderstorms had increased in intensity on our route and advised that we should consider going north then northeast. Whew. We changed the route of flight, climbed through scattered to 10500, watched the activity east of us, and landed at DWF before dark. Those 'old days' were 'good'. Gene: I've been enjoying your publications on your web site - thanks for sharing your experiences and love of aviation. george > We visited the FSS on the field in preparation to return. We got the usual > full briefing - over the counter, in person. We settled on going [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Those 'old days' were 'good'. Thanks for sharing your recollections. It's amazing how much EVERYTHING has changed in just 40 years. Personally, I like having the live satellite and radar on my computer before launching, as opposed to a system of weather observers scattered around the country. True, it's not as personal, but I can gather more pertinent data from a glance at the live radar than I can from a five minute briefing. In this case, a picture truly IS worth a thousand words, IMHO. SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" > > Those 'old days' were 'good'. > > Thanks for sharing your recollections. It's amazing how much > EVERYTHING has changed in just 40 years. You haven't seen anything yet. Because of the advances in computing, communications, and genetic engineering, society in 40 more years will be completely different than today. Assuming the stupid people don't destroy everything first. > You haven't seen anything yet. Because of the advances in computing, > communications, and genetic engineering, society in 40 more years will be > completely different than today. Assuming the stupid people don't destroy > everything first. A couple of months ago, there was soemthing on the radio about Britain's oldest man dying (he was 109, IIRC it was especially notable because I think he was the last WWI vet in Britain). Consider this. He was born in 1896, and as a child in the early 1900s, his household would probably NOT have had: - a car - central heating - washing machines or vacuum cleaners - electricity - an inside toilet Television wasn't invented. Recorded music was a strange thing and was so poor quality it really wasn't worthwhile. The first transistor was still 50 years away. Aeroplanes hadn't been invented. In 1956, this man was of pensionable age. The transistor was a brand new invention, and the idea of an integrated circuit still hadn't been had. The world had already massively changed: most people had cars or motorcycles, hot water, indoor toilets, at least a radio and possibly a television. Everyone had electricity, city streets were brightly lit by low pressure sodium streetlights. Most people had telephones - but long distance dialing was still done by calling an operator who connected trunk calls manually. When he died in 2005, anyone could cheaply publish music, writing, photographs and video on the Internet. Supersonic passenger travel had been and gone. Computers had gone from gigantic house sized things stuffed with vacuum tubes to something you could put in your pocket. Your telephone was now something you could put in your pocket, too, and use all over the world, and you could do things like send photographs. Travel across the Atlantic was cheap enough that a working class person in Britain could afford a trip to Disneyland with the family. The Soviet Union had risen and fallen. Between hitting retirement age and passing away, entire generations of jet aircraft had come and gone. Even as an old man, he saw tremendous change. The changes this man saw in his lifetime were tremendous. Now think of where we are now. Where will we be when you are 109? SignatureDylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net > Now think of where we are now. Where will we be when you are 109? ...Probably still waiting for Lowrance to come out with XM weather for my 2000c... ;-) SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" > Now think of where we are now. Where will we be when you are 109? Considering how networked computers are so effective at deliniating our options, I'd rather not think of the next 50 years. Jose SignatureMoney: what you need when you run out of brains. for Email, make the obvious change in the address. > Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and > flew to Ft. Dodge for the first time. Hey, that's MY neighborhood! And you didn't stop by??? I have visited FOD-FSS a few times but not lately. There were only 2 or 3 people around each time I stopped. I use that airport regularly for airline flights; I have found that flying out of FOD is sometimes cheaper than flying out of Minneapolis and is a lot more convenient for parking (free!). I flew out of there last fall to Pittsburgh, a month ago to Phoenix and was just there from a Detroit trip on Tuesday night. Fort Dodge is one of only two airports that I have flown a plane into and also flown as an airline passenger. One of these days I'll make Mason City my third. -Greg B. > Hey, that's MY neighborhood! And you didn't stop by??? No kidding? I still think of you as living up in Minnesota, hey, doncha know? Next time we'll grab lunch at Brownie's with ya! SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" Did the same thing with the Cedar City UT FSS Station a couple of months ago. Those eligible to retire did, and many of those signed on under contract with Lockheed. Those not eligible to retire are looking for other positions to move to within the civil service system. Many of the Cedar City calls are already diverted, and I think sometime this summer it will complete it's closeout. BT > Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and > flew to Ft. Dodge for the first time. [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of > NDBs and radio ranges... snip > Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of NDBs and radio ranges... I stopped by KGAG on the way back from the county seat yesterday. Gage once was an auxiliary airbase for Liberal, Ks. It had an FSS up until the '70's IIRC. The reason I stopped by was that behind the derelict FSS buildings and the modern ASOS that took its place, buried in knee high Bluestem grass is an old beacon. A fellow EAA'er told me about it and his description intrigued me. This relic sits on about a 3" pipe approximately waist high. The light housing is non-adjustable and stationary. It points within a few degrees of straight up in the air. The lens is about 12 inches in diameter and the filament is about 2" long and very heavy duty. The reflector is a very highly polished mirror and there is what appears to be a heating element inside the housing. The metal tag on it was stamped Crouse-Hinds WSO 700. I searched the net for an hour or so last night and found nothing that resembles it. I thought it was an old airway beacon but the ones I came across on my search looked like you could aim them and most if not all were colored. Why would anyone want to point a stationary non-colored beam straight up in the air like that? Anyone have any clues? Was it for the military base or the civilian FSS or what? I wish someone would salvage one of these old FSS's and set the equipment up in an airplane museum. Can you imagine what our great great grandkids would think of the old vacuum tube radios. BTW, your description of the farm economy echoes that of what is happening here. We are on an accelerated time scale as this was what would be considered by many to be mostly marginal farm land to begin with. In our day though, our family farm raised seven kids, employed two hired hands, and put five of us kids through college. Most of the small towns are down to one school and a convenience store / get & go. The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of the tree huggers rave about caused the majority of the Farmer's Co-ops to go under. Now the mid sized towns that have the Wally Worlds are hurting as the kids move away to find jobs. Americana as we know it is dying an agonizing death in the heartland. > I stopped by KGAG on the way back from the county seat yesterday. Sounds like you are in my neck of the woods. The same can be said here (O53) the farm economy is failing here and we are down to one convenience store and one school as well. I have a aircraft maintenance shop here and over the years it has been failing as well, many planes based here haven't been flown in years, and most are not airworthy anymore. > The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of the tree huggers rave > about caused the majority of the Farmer's Co-ops to go under. What's the "CRP" do? SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" >>The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of the tree huggers rave >>about caused the majority of the Farmer's Co-ops to go under. > > What's the "CRP" do? Pays farmers to set land aside for wildlife. >>>The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of the tree huggers rave >>>about caused the majority of the Farmer's Co-ops to go under. >> >> What's the "CRP" do? > > Pays farmers to set land aside for wildlife. I mean in relation to the Farmer's Co-ops. How did they kill the co-ops? SignatureJay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" >> The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of the tree huggers rave about caused the majority of the Farmer's >> Co-ops to go under. > > What's the "CRP" do? type "Conservation Reserve Program" in Google. You'll get all of the "positive" points of view. |
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