StuckMic.com, FAA, natcavoice, aviation enthusiasts, ifr

(Chat and discussion topics: FAA, natcavoice, aviation enthusiasts, ifr, air traffic control, chat room, aviation, approach, faa, TRACON, union, ATC, air traffic controllers, RADAR, artcc, center, tower, facility, pilot, airline, airplane, chat, air traffic controller, tower controller, tower controllers, approach control, approach controllers, controller, approaches, tracons, aircraft, control, ARTCC, NATCA, IFR, VFR, PATCO, ALPA, DOD, ATA, AOPA, federal employee, labor union, bargaining unit, contract, discussion, federal employees, unions, labor unions, bargaining units, contracts, discussions, news, natcanet, national, association, aviation enthusiast)

Welcome to StuckMic.com, an aviation and air traffic control discussion forum!

Below is a sample message posted by one of our hundreds of users.

	THREAD:	Want to be a controller?
	SUBJECT:	NO_SUBJECT/321545573
	TO:	hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
	FROM:	oldude
	POSTED:	2/4/2008, 12:02PM EDT

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wrote: [TO: ALL]
Put down your copy of Pushing Tin
The truth is, the job sucks
Even for those of us who LOVE it
We are not appreciated by those that we protect
We save and protect more lives on a daily basis than any other profession
The pilots don't understand or even listen sometimes
Everything we say is recorded, and we are responsible to back it up in a court of law should the unthinkable happen
We are responsible for knowing more rules than humanly possible
No mistakes
We have a God complex
We are in control
We control everything in our environment
It effects our personal life in ways that a non-controller cannot imagine
Your spouse will not understand you or your job
You can't bring the job home - but you will have crash dreams
You will control traffic in your sleep
You cannot imagine the stress
You will more than likely have an affair with another controller
You married a controller

Good luck with that - that's a whole other subject
You can never again tolerate a read-back error at a drive thru restaurant
Indecision is unacceptable in any scenario - especially from those you love
You will have a lack of tolerance in communication
You expect people to say what they mean and mean what they say
Life is black and white
Driving will never be the same again - you will use anticipated separation
Controllers come in 2 varieties: the home schooler/Bible thumpers or the drunks
There is something "not right" about ALL of us
You will either look 10 yrs older than your age or 10 yrs younger than your age
You will be on blood pressure medication
You never get normal sleep
You will work in the middle of the night
You will never have "normal" days off
You will never have a regular social life
You can't participate in your kids school activities
Your friends won't understand that you can't leave or get off work
People will think that you are the idiot on the ramp with the lights
You will be the last person a pilot talks to
You will hear the terror in his voice, and his wife and kids screaming in the backgroung
You will never forget it
You will relive it again and again
You won't make the money that we do
We have the house
and the cars
and the vacation home
We have the clothes,the watch, the shoes, the attitude to go with it
We are rock stars
In our own mind
We are unbeleivably hard on eachother
Thick skin is an understatement
We would eat our young
When you fail we will laugh at you
When you succeed we won't acknowledge it

I make the money, and have all the goods. There is no way in hell that I would do it for 30k. I'm worth more than they pay me now.
I hate what the FAA has done to us.
I hate that I can't see a solution.
What I hate the most is that we are a dying breed. The real controllers know what I mean.

oldude wrote: [TO: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]
That took some real effort. Thank you for your post.

JOIN NOW!100% FREE!
< < < -- PREVIOUS MESSAGE		NEXT MESSAGE -- > > >
\|15\|14\|13\|12\|11\|10\|9\|8\|7\|6\|5\|4\|3\|2\|1\|	<-BACKFORWARD->	\|1\|2\|3\|4\|5\|6\|7\|8\|9\|10\|11\|12\|13\|14\|15\|

StuckMic exists for the sole purpose of providing a FREE discussion forum by which issues affecting the world's aviation community can be openly discussed absent formal bureaucratic hierarchies.

StuckMic is an independent, issue-neutral corporality not associated with any labor organization(s) or government entities of any country.

Whether you're an air traffic controller, a pilot or an aviation enthusiast, StuckMic is a great place to exchange ideas and find inside aviation information you won't find anywhere else. We maintain a diverse range of members including pilots, air traffic controllers (Center, Tower, Approach and TRACON), NATCA members, ALPA members, PATCO members and aviation enthusiasts from around the globe.

There are NO requirements ... join for FREE!

JOIN OUR DISCUSSION FORUM
OR PERUSE OUR MESSAGES AS A GUEST!

"Honest feedback from the aviation community with all the usual political and bureaucratic filters removed..."

"Honest feedback from the aviation community with
all the usual political and bureaucratic filters removed..."