MORE Interesting Observations From Folks On The "Front Lines"
Of Our Aviation Infrastructure
As noted in the first part of this
story, staffers and officials from P.A.S.S.
caught up with ANN Editor-In-Chief at the 2007 AOPA Expo, and
let him know in no uncertain terms that they wanted to get a few
things on the record.
P.A.S.S? What the heck is that? Isn't that what you were always
missing when you caught in the halls, between clases, back in
school?
Not exactly... this "P.A.S.S." is somewhat better and far more
interesting.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) is the union
that represents more than 11,000 employees of the FAA and DoD. The
members of P.A.S.S. are "dedicated to certifying the safety and the
efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS); maintaining and
supporting this nation’s air traffic control system with the
utmost professionalism; and ensuring the integrity, the
reliability, and the safety of the commercial and general aviation
industries." Accordijng to P.A.S.S. officials, "Whenever you fly,
the work our members do behind the scenes helps you get there
safely."
So, during the Expo, several coincerned P.A.S.S. officials
talked to Jim Campbell about just what it is they advocate and do.
Professional Airway System Specialist National Assistant, Kathleen
Carpenter, explained that she belongs to a group of FAA employees
who maintain, certify and repair technical systems such as
navigation aids, surveillance, automation, and communications
systems.
Current issues being voiced center on the breakdown in
communication between PASS and the FAA regarding decisions about
the "Fix on Fail" approach. Facilities across the nation are
lacking the support and funding from FAA legacy systems to repair
such seemingly simple problems as holes in floors, mold, and the
plastic protecting technical systems from the elements.
They noted that this is considered less of a turf-war and more
of a level of pride and professionalism, accoridng to comments by
Mark Dunlap, Chair of the National Legislative Committee. Concerns
regarding the FTI program - telecommunications between FAA centers
and towers - were brought up concerning the aging and ill-repaired
infastructure.
General Aviation can contact local Congresspersons and Senators
to ask that changes be brought about in efforts to take care of
these system problems. "Get the word out there, because the system
is degrading," suggests Carpenter.
Join In On Aero-TV's Conversation With
P.A.S.S. (Part Two)
About Aero-TV: It's DEFINITELY Show
Time!!!!
OK, folks, here we go... we are NOW initiating the first
feature programming series for Aero-TV... we're going to take it
slow, but we're also going to try and be steady about this. DO
UNDERSTAND that this is the most complex media program we've ever
undertaken and what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg...
but from here on out, we will be doing our best to educate,
inform, and entertain YOU about all aspects of the exciting worlds
of aviation and aerospace.
If you've been an observer of the media and associated media
industries over the last few years, it's not hard to mistake the
fact that a massive revolution is taking place. Old sources for
news and information are falling by the wayside, having to change
their modus operandi or risk obsolescence (or extinction).
Electronic media and print media are both under the assault of
progress, and the online world has been a cornerstone for
revolutionary change.
We've been ready to go for a while, but to be honest, there's so
much more to this program than we've alluded to, and so we've been
building and planning a massive new organization within ANN. That
said, we're hiring talented new people as
fast as we can find them (a far more difficult
task than we had imagined -- REALLY good people are hard to find),
and we're brainstorming at speeds that would make a deorbiting
Space Shuttle feel like a slug. Suffice it to say that we wanted to
do this right, rather than right-now, and that the development of
this program has been the most carefully pursued undertaking we've
ever undertaken.
E-I-C Note: The
complete feature shown above is embedded in this
story, with most of the slick and useful functionality
otherwise available on the main Aero-TV
site (which will be upgraded aggressively
over the next few weeks). The ability to embed a video on
another web page is but one of the hundreds of amazing little
features that we've worked hard on, for many months now, to
implement in different phases of the initial release of
Aero-TV. It is, BY NO MEANS, the only way to enjoy unaltered
Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we have
extensive plans for future functionality, but this feature
allows those with an interest in a specific Aero-TV News or Feature
program to embed it on a different web site, though we must
note that we reserve the right to forbid such use for those sites
or purposes that we do not feel fit in with the proper mission of
the Aero-News Network, Inc.
Webmasters or Administrators of well-trafficked aviation or
aerospace related sites, are welcome to contact the Publisher to
start conversations on how they may be able to leverage some of the
immense power of Aero-TV programming for their sites and
constituency by clicking the I Want Aero-TV For
MY Website! link.
Coming Soon!
Aero-TV Shows You How To Build A Glasair Sportsman
2+2 in RECORD TIME, Gets Up Close And Personal With the Newest
Continental Powerplant To Grace A Cessna, Gets A Sobering Briefing
From P.A.S.S., Flies The Piper Matrix, Hears What's Hot At Blue
Mountain Avionics, Gets Some GREAT Rotax Lessons, More On
Gobosh--This Time, Though, On the NEW G800!, Checks Out More "HIGH"
Tech at I/ITSEC 2007, Hears From AOPA On Critical Aviation
Issues, Spills Some Juicy (and HIGHLY Detailed) Cirrus G3
Info, Catches Up On ALL Things SkyCatcher, Scores A BUNCH
of LSA Reports, and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! Do NOT Miss
Them!
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.13.24)
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