A Visit To The Control Tower Cab, Fisk, And A MOOCOW

By Robbie Culver

It's no secret that for one week each year, Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, WI, transforms from a quiet Class Delta airspace to one of the busiest airports in the world. Sorting out all the traffic that arrives, departs, or flies by Oshkosh falls to the dedicated air traffic controllers from across America who bid to work at AirVenture Oshkosh.

In 2009, operations at AirVenture on two separate days exceeded in 10 hours what Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta recorded in 24 hours. On Friday July 31, 2009, Airventure Oshkosh recorded 3554 operations, while O'Hare recorded 2425 and Atlanta recorded 2710 that same day. The sign stating "World's Busiest Control Tower" earned its keep.

The FAA's Elizabeth Cory, Deputy of Public Affairs for the Communication department, and Wanda Adelman, Air Traffic Manager for the Milwaukee ATCT, provided media representatives a tour of each facility used at Airventure, and a thorough explanation of not only the safety procedures in place, but the unique and often very specific procedures used at Oshkosh. The tour began at the base of the control tower on the Airventure grounds, where we were briefed on the required protocols of visitng the world's busiest control tower. No cell phones, no flash photography, and no getting in the way of the controllers.

After each media representative presented a photo ID, we were escorted up to the tower cab without fanfare. Arriving in the cab, the orderly chaos was apparent immediately. Runway 27 was in use on the north side of the field, while runway 18 was in use on the south side. The two runways are essentially handled as separate airports, while the helicopter operations from Pioneer airport and the ultralight operations near the south 40 operate without positive control within very specific airspace limits.

Shortly before our arrival, the wind had forced a switch from runway 36 to runway 18, and the traffic flow had to be adjusted accordingly. Two teams of controllers in the tower worked in separate areas, in proximity to the runway under their control. The constant flow of conversation from controller to pilot, and between the two teams, kept the tower cab at a low level of volume that felt hushed yet controlled. It was an electrifying environment to visit, and the energy of the controllers was obvious.

The controllers that work Oshkosh refer to the experience as the "Super Bowl" of their profession. No other event or airport will present such challenging, unique, and intense activity as AirVenture. The FAA assigns 68 Air Traffic Controllers, 13 Supervisors, and 2 Operations Managers to Oshkosh, from 44 facilities across the United States. This year, 175 controllers bid for the 68 available positions. To state that the controllers working Oshkosh are the best of the best is an understatement - these folks are incredible! 

The physical facilities include the airport control tower, MOOCOW's for each runway (more on that later), and the Fisk approach control facility. Controllers work in teams of four, and rotate through each position during Airventure.

Each team has an Oshkosh veteran assigned as team leader. These controllers must have at least three years of Airventure experience. At least one team member will have one to two years of Oshkosh experience, referred to as the Limited category, and one final team member is an Oshkosh rookie, but even a rookie is a seasoned controller at their home facility. These teams remain intact during the rotations through various facilities at Airventure. Each team has two spotters, using binoculars to visually scan for conflicting traffic, aircraft problems or emergencies, and to ensure the traffic flows are safely separated between the various operational areas.

A waiver allows separation to be reduced and while communication between the facilities is used as needed, typically the only time this occurs is when an aircraft has a unique requirement, an emergency, or when a special event or aircraft operation requires a procedural change.

Our tour continued as we left the tower cab, and drove out to the Fisk Approach Control facility. And I'll take you along, and explain about MOOCOWs, in another report.

FMI: www.airventure.org/atc