Flight Service

AFSS5602 Junior Member

I am a Lockheed Martin Flight Service Specialist and this is for controllers who ponder why flight service does some of the things we do.

Tower Light Notams = We all know how annoying these things are. We hate having to coordinate these things with air traffic just as much as controllers hate us calling them with these. Unfortunately the FAA requires us to do this and very closely monitors this. We are constantly fighting with the FAA to drop the coordination requirement on these.

IFR flight plan amendments = We dont have FDIO so we have no way of ammending anything on any IFR flight plans 30min or less prior to departure as they leave our system and go into the NAS system. Therefore we have to call FD at the centers and tracons to make amendments. This also means we cant amened info on active IFR plans. Several times I have had aircraft call me up in the flight levels requesting amendments. While it would be nice to do for ATC since they are quite busy we can't since we dont have FDIO. I wish we did have it, becauase it would make things easier for all of us.

Cant reach the right person looking for a clearance = Lockheed has 3 hubs, Prescott which handles the whole western 1/3 of the US, Dallas which handles the central 1/3, and DC which handles the eastern 1/3. Each hub has AOR's which handle several states. Flight Data recieves the calls from pilots for these. However each AOR has several flight data people. The easiest thing to do is just say the airport and callsign and we will find who has the pilot on the line and have that specialist pick up the line you are on.

Lost radar and or radio contact on IFR or IFR aircraft didnt cancel FP = Flight Service is not responsible for IFR aircraft and is technically only obligated to help you find them once an ALNOT is issued. Now, personally I help ATC out right away by digging through our database as we often have pilot info from briefings they requested and we have the phone numbers to just about everywhere. Some specialists however will tell you they wont do anything untill an ALNOT is issued. Its not that they are lazy, but that they are fearful. Once they begin helping you they are now partly responsible.

A bit about me. I am a commercial pilot and worked as a controller for a short time with the FAA. I am young (early 20's) and went to college for aeronautics. My plan was to do air traffic. However the low pay was too much of a burden. I was assigned a level 11 ATC facility and make more money in flight service than I would as a CPC there. Pretty sad isn't it. Plus I work with great people and got to pick the schedule I wanted with no problems. Years ago I would have laughed if someone said I would work flight service. It really is a job very much misunderstood. It gets crazy busy and can be very challenging and stressful. In the end I actually ended up liking flight service better.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

I've always wondered what all a job with FSS entails. We hear of people graduating from a CTI program, getting a job with FSS while their waiting to get hired by the FAA, then end up declining the offer because they like FSS too much!

FSS is deffinalty one of my backup plans...

AFSS5602 Junior Member

Flight Service has several operational positions.

Preflight = Giving pilots weather briefings.
Flight Data = Issue and coordinate notams, search and rescue, input weather observations, manage military and civilian flight plans, and relay clearences and other atc info.
Inflight = Provide weather and aeronautical info to pilots in the air, relay clearances, take pilot reports, and file airborne flight plans.
EMU = Manage notams that come in via email from airports and ensure notams are being coordinated.
Flight Watch = Provide current weather info and take pilot reports
SAR Coordinator = make sure that VFR aircraft that are overdue are being searched for in a proper and timely manor.

If your looking to work your way up the ladder you can become a lead specialist, supervisor, quality assurance, traffic management, or even become management eventually.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

So, if someone says..."I work at FSS", does that mean that they're proficient in all of these positions? Or is it a ladder system, and you start off in preflight and work your way up?

AFSS5602 Junior Member

All of the positions I listed above are done by flight service specialists.
When you are hired you start out as a Level I Developmental. You begin training on flight data and preflight. Once you check out on preflight you being inflight. Once you are fully checked out on preflight, flight data, and inflight you are considered to be fully certified (FPL). In order to work flight watch you need 2 years FPL time and must take a 2 week weather course program and check out. You get trained on the EMU and SAR positions after you become an FPL.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

So, essentially, it's a similar step by step training process like in ATC?

What's the pay scale like? I'm not asking you to post what you make lol, but I imagine you get raises as you go? Does it top out at a certain point?

AFSS5602 Junior Member

At my facility starting pay for a Level I Developmental is $65,000.
Level II pay is $85,000.

The current rule is that you don't get level II pay until you have been with the company for 2 years. It used to be 1 year after being FPL that you got it. None the less $65,000 is a pretty good salary for someone coming in with no experience what so ever. I should mention there is a 10week academy in Prescott Arizona you have to go to first. You get paid travel expenses, per diem, and I believe they still give you a $2,000 moving bonus if your facility is more than 50 miles from your current residence.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

WOW! That's VERY impressive!

How many locations are there around the country? I always heard around the airport I flew out of, that they were consolidating them and this that and the other?

AFSS5602 Junior Member

They have been gradually consolidating. The hubs which are Prescott, Dallas, and Washington DC do all of the job functions I listed above. The satellite facilities just do preflight weather briefings with the exception of 2. The satellite sites are Honolulu, Seattle, Princeton Minnesota, Columbia Missouri, Kankakee Illinois, Lansing Michigan, Raleigh Duram North Carolina, St. Petersburg Florida, and Mimai. Honolulu and Miami still have flight data and inflight positions due to the unique traffic and geographical area. The hubs will always be there and have the most job diversity so I would apply to one of those if you ever decide to do flight service. The satellite sites have the potential danger of closing and then you will be left frantically trying to get into a hub.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

Some very interesting food for thought! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!