"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:jD83d.99902$yh.97342@fed1read05...

The FAA wastes most of its budget. The Wall Street Journal makes a
favorite
target of air traffic control systems that cost ten times what off the
shelf
equipment could do better. The FAA spends decades and millions of
dollars
developing new technologies and programs which were obsolete before they
even began studying them and then cancels them at the last minute.

They build architecturally monstrous ATC facilities that don't work
right
from the day they are opened, have leaky roofs, cracks in the walls and
floors, substandard plumbing, inadequate parking, and poor security. The
moldy LA facility that they are complaining about is moldy because of
managerial negligence, not age.

The FAA budget should not only be cut, but much of the management should
be
brought up on charges for criminal dereliction of duty.

I did my Master's Thesis on the first 10years of FAA after the 1981 PATCO
affair so I really don't want to get started on it again. But the above
statements are correct about the FAA studies for equipment and
cancellations
and the comparison to COS (Commercial Off the Shelf) implementation costs.

Getting the ATC system up and running after 1981 took more than 10yrs and
more than 10 times the original estimated cost than originally promised to
President Regain in 1981.

Let's just go look at what happened last week to LAX ARTCC. A computer
that
controls the communication switching has a built in self test (BIT) that
needs to be reset every 30days, a "reset" of the computer so the computer
knows it's still a computer. Some "maintenance" was not accomplished in
time
so the 30day bit timer ran out and rather than flag a warning on day 29
the
system just shuts down at the end of day 30.

The poor computer maintainer will be fired.. not the FAA higher ups that
bought the POS and approved it in the beginning.

Think about this, manpower studies have told the FAA leadership that more
than 1000 new controllers need to be hired and trained every year to try
and
make it through the future controller retirements. Right now they are
getting less than 1/2 that number.

Most of the current ATC manpower were hired after 1981 and were younger
than
30-35 yrs in age. The work force now has at least 20 yrs (Civil Service
Retirement eligible?) and the FAA MANDATES retirement at age 56.

If they were hired in 1982 at age 30, they will turn 56 twenty-six years
later. That is 2008, current information shows that 75% of the controller
workforce is eligible to retire in the NEXT 4 YEARS !!!

Hang on to your hats boys, we are in for a rough ride.

I don't see them hanging around, either. I do see more and more people
hanging around the flight schools talking to students about a career in ATC.