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Post by TCU 2U2 on Apr 19, 2013 11:46:08 GMT -5
I assume they will try, but since the service standards were developed with a group, one would expect the 'group" would be brought into any consideration of a revision.
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Post by stardustwx on Apr 19, 2013 15:56:11 GMT -5
TCU 2U2, is the FAA changing FR 32887 behind closed doors also? I have sent correspondence to my congressman who is on the Aviation Subcommittee, no reply to my letter, but I did get spam email stating his support of the 2nd amendment. I know who I will not be contributing to, and voting for. The problem with contacting congressmen and senators is that there is an election coming up. Notice how the responses are all blather about what they supported, etc. and NOTHING about the question at hand? Disgusting and self serving, nothing more. |
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Post by snowspinner on Apr 19, 2013 18:24:06 GMT -5
I am in the process of getting addresses for the parties listed in EO 12866. I will have them on Monday.
Does anyone have addresses for the airline CEO's?
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Post by sluroots on Apr 19, 2013 18:38:56 GMT -5
Ultimately, other than contacting (via email, letter, phone, or any other means) my Congressmen (and aviation sub-committees), the A4A heads, and my local TV weather station/news reporters, who else should we specifically contact? skobie PS - maybe a list should be started so we are all on the same page I plan on getting a list together this weekend of every major person at every major airline and emailing them with this news. Get some of them or all of them on our side will help tremendously. In fact, emailing just once probably won't do it...so I will bombard them with emails every other day or so. We've got months to do it, and by then I am sure some of them will know my email address by heart, hopefully! |
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Post by stardustwx on Apr 19, 2013 18:43:00 GMT -5
Ultimately, other than contacting (via email, letter, phone, or any other means) my Congressmen (and aviation sub-committees), the A4A heads, and my local TV weather station/news reporters, who else should we specifically contact? skobie PS - maybe a list should be started so we are all on the same page I plan on getting a list together this weekend of every major person at every major airline and emailing them with this news. Get some of them or all of them on our side will help tremendously. In fact, emailing just once probably won't do it...so I will bombard them with emails every other day or so. We've got months to do it, and by then I am sure some of them will know my email address by heart, hopefully! That'll be helpful! Thanks |
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Post by coldlover on Apr 19, 2013 22:06:41 GMT -5
I am in the process of getting addresses for the parties listed in EO 12866. I will have them on Monday. Does anyone have addresses for the airline CEO's? SNspinner-- I have DELTA and UNITED CEO emails on a different computer-- will get back to you. |
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aurbo
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Post by aurbo on Apr 20, 2013 1:31:52 GMT -5
I sent this out to my Senators and Congressman. Feel free to use any parts you like:
Dear Senator XXXXX,
I am an Aviation Weather Observer at XXXXX. I am writing to you about reports of an FAA plan to eliminate the Contract Weather Observer (CWO) program at all airports nationwide. Documents and pdf files bearing the FAA header (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0_PwbQU2INkeWttQ25aNTJmamM/edit?usp=sharing ) indicate this plan is to be implemented over the next few months with all CWO duties to be transferred to the Air Traffic Control towers no later than August 31 of this year. ATC controllers are to be Limited Aviation Weather Reporting Station (LAWRS) certified by then, athough it does not seem likely they can meet this deadline given the furloughs and their current busy workload.
Sen. XXXXX, I believe this plan is very reckless. Accurate up-to-date weather reporting at our nation's airports is an integral part of air safety. It is simply not possible for ATC personnel to devote much time to weather monitoring and reporting when traffic is heavy and the weather turns foul. Air traffic is their first priority. Everything else is secondary at best, even things like monitoring thunderstorms, squall lines, and rapidly changing visibility. Also, the current plan does not allow the ATC personnel to leave their towers while on-shift. This means they will not be able to detect or report dangerous conditions like freezing drizzle, or perform manual observations of temperature and dewpoint when automated systems fail, or accurately report surface visibility.
This plan will also directly affect the National Weather Service's ability to accurately forecast weather events. The NWS relies on airport weather observing stations for climatological data such as daily high/low temperatures, beginning and ending of precipitation, precipitation amounts, peak winds, fastest sustained winds, and more. The LAWRS reporting will not include this information and the automated systems cannot be relied upon for accurate data. The FAA plan to shut down the CWO program by the end of August does not allow enough time for the NWS to formulate it's own plan to see it's needs are met.
As a member of XXXXX, and as [someone] who understands the hazards weather poses to our flying community, I hope you will look into this matter as soon as possible and act to preserve the safety of airfield operations both here in XXXXX and nationwide.
Sincerely,
XXXXX
CWO XXXXX Airport
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dlfwx
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Post by dlfwx on Apr 20, 2013 3:36:03 GMT -5
interesting
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Post by coldlover on Apr 22, 2013 2:03:09 GMT -5
I am in the process of getting addresses for the parties listed in EO 12866. I will have them on Monday. Does anyone have addresses for the airline CEO's? SNspinner-- I have DELTA and UNITED CEO emails on a different computer-- will get back to you. This is what I have. I didn't receive a response from the 1st letters I sent out, but those letters were fairly early in the letter writing process and more info has been divulged since. richard.anderson@delta.com jeff.smisek@united.com |
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Post by sluroots on Apr 22, 2013 3:04:20 GMT -5
Well done on the email addresses. I tried to find the safety person's email at the corporate offices of the airlines and found nothing pretty much. However, I did compile all (or the one's I could think of) the airlines' corporate phone numbers and plan on calling them throughout the week and weeks ahead until I get through to somebody that cares. I suggest many do the same, to where we convince them that they can not approve this proposal put for the by the FAA. Here are the numbers I have gathered. I am sure I missed a few airlines, but these are the big boys. Apologies if these have been posted before.
Southwest 214-792-4000
US Airways 480-693-0800
Delta 404-715-2600
United 312-997-8000
American 817-963-1234
Frontier 720-374-4200
Spirit 586-791-7300
Alaska/Horizon 206-392-5040
Skywest 435-634-3000
Jet Blue 718-286-7900
Hawaiian 808-835-3700
Allegiant 702-851-7300
Virgin Atlantic +44 1293-562-345
Fed Ex 901-818-7500
UPS 404-828-6000
I am looking forward to lots of press 1 for English and crappy recordings of how each airline is so great! Can't wait to be on hold for so long, but got to do it!
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Post by coldlover on Apr 22, 2013 4:18:23 GMT -5
especially with Virgin Atlantic.  |
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Post by coldlover on Apr 23, 2013 3:42:39 GMT -5
Also- as mentioned, contact your state climatologist. At first this doesn't seem like much. But something I learned about 5-6 years ago is that most state climatologists have nothing to do with the federal government and the NWS. They get paid from the "state". And my hunch is that some/many will be upset about the climate being degraded and some being upset that the NWS doesn't care. Anything "federal" in this fight I think is a dead end. Being that most state climatologists if not all,are paid by the "state" might help our cause.
Just another possible friend in this fight against the Big Bully.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2013 5:21:22 GMT -5
Since the FAA plan requires the airports to supply people to back up missing temps and dew pts and to report freezing precip to the tower I have been making the AAAE aware of this additional responsibility they will assume. Contact info at the link and some board members email addresses below. www.aaae.org/contact_us.cfmChair Mr. Bruce Carter, A.A.E. bcarter@qcairport.com Moline , IL (309) 757-1725 First Vice Chair Mr. Mark Brewer, A.A.E. mbrewer@flymanchester.com Manchester , NH (603) 624-6539 Second Vice Chair Mr. Randall Berg, A.A.E. randy.berg@slcgov.com Salt Lake City , UT (801) 575-2411 Secretary/Treasurer Mr. Jeffrey Mulder, A.A.E. jeffmulder@cityoftulsa.org Tulsa , OK (918) 838-5000 First Past Chair Ms. Kelly Johnson, A.A.E. kelly.johnson@flyxna.com Bentonville , AR (479) 205-1000 Second Past Chair Mr. James Bennett, A.A.E. AAAEjim@gmail.com Vienna , VA (703) 938-0877 |
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Post by TCU 2U2 on Apr 23, 2013 6:04:48 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2013 6:10:48 GMT -5
^^
Here is what I sent to AAAE
Hello - Attached is a document that gives the details of the FAA's shortsighted and potentially dangerous plan to assign the responsibility of taking timely and accurate weather observations to the air traffic controllers at every large and bad weather airport in the nation. Please take the time to read this document since some of the weather reporting responsibilities will be picked up by the individual airports your organization represents. Listed below are some of the requirements of the plan that directly effect the individual airports.
Paragraph 3.1 describes the airports responsibilities under the new plan. As someone who has worked with ASOS since it's inception I can tell you that the system is no better or no more reliable then it was when it was commissioned nearly 20 years ago. The temperature back up required by this transition plan will be an ongoing 24/7 requirement.
Table 6 CWO Transition Challenges number 3 - Now to me this seems to be an ultimatum from the FAA saying that if the Airport Authorities do not provide non Federal observers at their own cost at airports regularly impacted by winter weather certain operations can not occur. That seems like an unfair cost and burden for the airports to take on, your member airports are already receiving this service at no cost to them but the FAA is now requiring your airports to pay for services they are already receiving or face not being able to operate during certain weather conditions.
I would ask that the AAAE challenge this FAA plan and leave things the way they currently exist with certified experienced weather observers providing the weather at large and bad weather airports and air traffic controllers controlling the air traffic. If you wish to contact me about this matter I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thank You
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