rustysunshine.bsky.social
Air traffic controller, cat lady (she/her/that bitch), hockey fan (#GoAvsGo), weather geek, reader, writer. Missing my dad. Colorado isn't bad, but I'd rather be in Las Vegas...or on a cold-weather cruise.
114 posts
569 followers
696 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
From an air traffic controller in Colorado - I think this is absolutely gorgeous. Lovely work!
comment in response to
post
OPM handles background investigations, and determines fitness for security clearances
Millions of people, myself included, had our background investigation information and SF-86 forms compromised in a previous OPM data breach. I would rather not deal with that again, please and thank you.
comment in response to
post
HOW ADORABLE 😍
comment in response to
post
I just have a hell of a time sleeping when flying. It almost never happens, and when it does, I usually only sleep for around 15-20 minutes.
comment in response to
post
We did DEN-ATL-EZE for our Antarctic cruise in January, and that ten-hour no-WiFi red-eye wasn't exactly amazing, either (though totally worth it).
comment in response to
post
Ooooof, no. LAX to Sydney was enough, and I was a LOT younger then 😂
comment in response to
post
Great choices all around this evening.
comment in response to
post
The people deserve to know the truth 👹
comment in response to
post
I've told you this one, I know I have.
comment in response to
post
So...enjoy? And may your dreams (and/or hallucinations) be mercifully free of the cast of Full House.
comment in response to
post
The last time I drank that, I had a Technicolor nightmare: I was pregnant. I was tied up, then forced to labor and give birth in public, at a county fair, due to a prophecy that I would be giving birth to the son of Satan.
The real question, then, is: WELL, WHO WAS SATAN?
AJ, Satan was Bob Saget.
comment in response to
post
Oh, I'm exactly as you'd expect, given...*waving around wildly*...this nonsense 🤣
So glad to see you here! ❤️
comment in response to
post
PAUL!!!
comment in response to
post
It's not my story to tell, of course. But everyone can relate to needing to pay their bills, right?
comment in response to
post
Some of my colleagues used to be waiters, bartenders, or even strippers. Then again, some were professional pilots, engineers, or architects. Some have multiple degrees in different disciplines.
Regardless of education or background, though, we all met the qualifications. That's what matters.
comment in response to
post
Some things that matter: good decision making, pattern recognition, and the ability to task switch very quickly.
I work with people from all walks of life, with different types of intelligence. Some are classically book smart, some aren't. Shit, I had to take algebra twice in high school...
comment in response to
post
By law, the most they could possibly extend past 56 is age 61. Besides most of us couldn't pass the medical requirements now. LOL! I heard a rumor that they're thinking of mandating that any retired annuitants working for FAA contractors *have* to return to ATC. Big mistake. Huge.
comment in response to
post
I bet you do, considering how long you've been an aviation journalist.
I try to consider how long it's taken me to learn what I've learned, and to show some grace to those folks who don't know those things. Lord knows it's difficult sometimes, though 🙃
comment in response to
post
No, you DO need it. Justifications:
1) pretty.
2) it's still soup szn...meal prep!
3) I SAY AGAIN, IT'S PRETTY!
4) why not treat yourself while the world burns?
comment in response to
post
You're welcome! It's been frustrating for me lately, because yes, there's a big spotlight on my career field. Great! However, in many cases, the nuance is being lost, and we're left with headlines full of inaccuracies, rumors, and outright lies. I try to provide real-time information where I can :)
comment in response to
post
That kind of shift happens multiple times a week at my facility. FAA academy staffing has been just as dismal.
From our perspective, it's easy to see where the pain points are, and they don't have anything to do with how old someone is when they apply.
comment in response to
post
Last week, I worked a shift that started with eight controllers (guideline number is eleven for the shift). Four trainees were also on the shift, needing training. My area has seven sectors. Also, someone had to work the Controller In Charge position, since the supervisor called off...
comment in response to
post
That said, we don't suffer a lack of applicants due to age barriers. Tens of thousands of people apply each time there's a hiring announcement. The issue is the bottlenecks that occur during initial training at the FAA academy, or at the first facility. Staffing dictates how much training can occur.
comment in response to
post
Mandatory retirement is age 56, by federal law. Age 56, minus a 25-year career, gets you to 31 as the max hiring age.
The career does take a mental/physical toll on us. The shorter service requirements for a full pension reflect that.
Some reading material here:
apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA...
comment in response to
post
I said this on another platform, but I'll say it here, too: if you voted for this clown show, or, worse, didn't even bother to vote? I hope you get ALL of the delayed flights, late packages, and other aviation-related inconveniences that you have coming to you.
comment in response to
post
Morale is in the toilet. Our pay has not kept up with inflation, let alone with the rest of the aviation sector. Elon Musk is pretending he's the boss of us, and a idiot former reality TV star IS the boss of us. Oh, and hey, if we don't reply to a nonsense email on our single day off, we're fucked?
comment in response to
post
And, that said...we're all human, prone to errors. I don't know a single aviation professional (and I know hundreds) who isn't their own worst critic when things go wrong. I can't tell you how valuable it is for us to learn from past mistakes. Strictly punitive approaches don't enhance safety.
comment in response to
post
It's not for me to say or speculate what should be done in a case like this, nor do I think it serves any purpose. The FSDOs (Flight Standards District Offices) will make the determination about any action regarding the flight crew. See more here: www.fairlifts.com/government-a...
comment in response to
post
The FAA has moved toward a safety culture, meaning that we encourage reporting of safety issues/errors, in every area of aviation operations, through voluntary reporting programs. The goal is less to punish errors, and more to learn from these incidents, and prevent reoccurrences...