Boise Tower - BOI

UNDATCer Trusted Member North Dakota

Hey everyone, I'm origionally from Boise and have been thinking about maybe putting Idaho down as one of my states because I love the city and state so much. So, I'm just wondering if there is ANYONE on here that works in Boise Tower? I have a few questions about the facility...

1st - Is it still an UP/DOWN facility? Last I heard the Tracon part was going to be handed over to Salt Lake Center, is that still true? If so, what does that mean for the people there?

2nd - If any one works there... how is it? I read a while ago that they were building a new tower, has that been completed yet? How do you like it there?

3rd - What is the majority of the traffic, is it VFR, IFR, Military or what? I know it's a level 8 facility so I'm just wondering how busy it gets?

So I know this is kind of a long shot to get someone that might work there or know something about it but I just thought I would throw it out there and see. So feel free to post if you have any information! Thanks so much!

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

still an up/down. IF the approach control function moves to another facility then BOI would probably be downgraded and lose some of it's manning. i don't know how they choose who goes. probably by seniority

i'm guessing TWF would lose their "approach control" before BOI does.

i have a friend Kevin that works there. he absolutely loves it. but he's an Idahoan type, if that makes sense. there is a new tower being built. at least 80% done. it looks done from the outside. it's pretty huge and located on the other side of the airfield.

SkyWest flies RJ's, Horizon flies Dash-8s, and etc. a lot of the traffic is VFR civil traffic. on the Guard weekends (ANG or Army Guard) there is a lot of military aircraft. i was in Boise last month and saw a flight of 6 A-10's doing the overhead. what a beautiful sight.

as far as how busy it gets...i don't know. my buddy said it's mostly kick back so at least one persons opinion that works there is that it's MOSTLY slow to moderate.

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

i would've loved to have been picked up in Idaho. too bad your only real option is Boise. Twin is a really really slow VFR tower that pays peanuts on the current pay scale. fortunately, it cost peanuts to live in Twin. Idaho Falls would be a sweet facility had it been FAA instead of a contract tower. which makes me wonder...Idaho Falls is busier than Twin Falls, yet Idaho Falls is the contract tower. and Twin is the FAA facility. how does that work??

alangorski Newcomer Colorado Springs

The latest I heard is that BOI is losing the approach control.. Not sure if it was being consolidated to SLC or SEA TRACON... Might want to check before you decide you want to go there...

Butters Stotch Newcomer

NATCA is fighting it as hard as they can, but last I heard the TRACON part of Boise was going to SLC. The facility won facility of the year last year for level 8's and below, so I think it would be an excellent place to work.

JustFlying Newcomer

BOI is an up down facility for now. Will be until completion of the new tower most likely in summer of 2011. (Before government delays) Then, the tracon is planned to be combined with SLC tracon. However, Reno was planned to have been in NorCal some year or so ago and has yet to have moved, with no actual date set yet, because of technical difficulties. These same difficulties exist with the BOI move and many many more. The FAA is spending up to $10M more to move BOI than originally planned and have already signed contracts starting some of the process. I don't think it'll actually move until they get the bugs worked out which could be as long as a few years. Until then BOI will be a UP/across the airport facility.

BOI is a good place to work. Management has a good working relationship with the employees and the workforce is becoming younger by the day. (Retirements and new employees) The training process is greatly improved in the last few years and success rate is up. Facility of the year for two years running speaks volumes.

Traffic levels are declining as they are across the nation. BOI has been above the level 8 traffic count for the past 8 years or more and just the past few months have dipped below that. IFR traffic is steady but not enough to bury you all day long. Plenty of slow down times during the winter months. Summer brings much more VFR traffic and complexity soars. Mixing C172's with B737s and A10s is always a challenge. Level 11's and 12's have volume, (and lots of it) Level 8's have complexity. Makes the job fun but challenging. Certainly not a cake walk.

Many people already on the list to go to BOI so make sure you visit the facility, speak with the manager/supervisors/controllers, and follow up weekly. The TRACON issue is still looming large but this summer should decide most of it.

Hope this helped.

jamie10584 Senior Member

Anyone work at Boise? If so, how do you like it? How long is the time frame to get fully qualified? Where are the best places to live, etc.

jamie10584 Senior Member

Nobody's in Boise??? Anyone used to work there??

PabloFair Junior Member 3rd planet from the sun

...I once did a project on BOI... all I can give you is a crappy power point presentation.

UNDATCer Trusted Member North Dakota

hey there... Just to let you know I started another thread about Boise here... Boise Tower - BOI.

Good luck in your career!