My first experience trying to get a clearance on the ground via
Lockheed today. Weather was very marginal VFR. I normally wait
to get the clearance in the air, but with 1500 broken, I would
have to fly pretty close to Fayetteville before they could hear
me and I just didn't feel comfortable puttering along that low.
Tried the GCO, but no one answered. Plane behind me on taxiway is
asking whether I'm trying GCO. "Yeah, but they're not answering.
I'll try the cell phone." He says, "Yeah, I can't get through either,
but it's always a crapshoot with GCO here." Actually, I usually
have pretty good luck with the GCO, but I've got a nice Lightspeed
headset that I can plug my phone into and WXBRIEF takes me directly
to RDU FSS. Well, it used to...

"Welcome to Lockheed Martin flight services. Please speak your
response at any time..."

"Briefer"

"What state are you departing from?"

"North Carolina"

"I think you said South Carolina. Is that correct?"

"No"

"Please speak your response at any time..."

"Briefer"

"What state are you departing from?"

"North Carolina"

"I think you said North Dakota. Is that correct?"

"No"

"Please speak...."

Finally they seem to break through my pseudo southern drawl.

"Hi. I'm Dan Corrain, the Lockheed Martin Flight Service Program
Manager. I am very aware that you are currently experiencing unacceptable
wait times..."

this message from Dan continues for about two minutes. I have no idea
whether this would get interrupted by a briefer or whether they
are so certain that I can't get an answer in that time that they
feel they may as well make me listen to an apology as Muzak...
Fifteen minutes pass.

Guy behind me: "Did you get through?"

Me: "I'm on hold"

"Me too..."

Five more minutes.

"Macon flight service"

"Um, N2325Q on the ground at Sanford, North Carolina. I'd like to pick
up my IFR clearance to Sierra Uniform Tango."

"Hold on... uh... I need to transfer..mumble mumble mumble..."

30 seconds of nothing.

Me: "Hello"

Macon: "Yeah, hold on, I'm trying to find the number for Raleigh. You
didn't do anything wrong, but they sent you to the wrong controller..."

Guy behind me: "I'm going leave VFR, can you move off the taxiway?"

Me (to the guy behind me): "Yeah, I'm still trying to get a clearance"

Macon: "Sir, I'm trying to get you that, please hold on"

Me: "I was talking to the plane behind me, he's going to leave VFR"

Macon: "Are you leaving VFR?"

Me: "Negative, I had to exit the taxi way to let the plane behind me
leave VFR".

Macon: "Ah... ok..." click.. buzzzz... dial...

"Raleigh Flight Service."

"N2325Q on the ground at Sanford...."

"Hold for your clearance..."

5 minutes later, the line goes dead. Am I going to go through that
again? No. ASOS is now saying 2000 broken. Good enough for me.

Hooray for privitization. The free market Peter Principle is in
full swing. And 45 minutes of my 400 minutes a month cell phone
time gone into the ether.

--
Don Poitras