Kinda sad...

Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and flew
to Ft. Dodge for the first time.

Located in north central Iowa, Ft. Dodge is the site of Iowa's only Flight
Service Station. We have talked to them literally hundreds of times over
the years -- but we had never actually flown there. The promise of a
courtesy car made our decision easy, and off we went, bucking a 40 knot
headwind all the way.

It was a smooth and beautiful -- if slow -- ride. That part of Iowa is
incredibly rural -- one of the reasons we'd never been there, before -- and
soaring over places and people who are so isolated from what we consider to
be the "real" world was a humbling experience. What different lives they
must lead!

Ft. Dodge has a very nice airport, with huge runways, an ILS, and a fairly
new terminal. Northwest Airlink still serves them three times daily,
thanks to federal subsidies, but their FSS is slated for closure under the
Lockheed-Martin privatization agreement. We wanted to see what a real FSS
looked like, before they were all gone, so we strolled over after enjoying a
fantastic, dirt cheap breakfast at "Brownies", a great locally-owned cafe in
town.

Out front of the FSS stood an older guy sporting a pony tail, smoking a
cigarette. He told us what code to dial to get in, and we entered a large,
darkened room with dozens of computer terminals -- and no people. There was
one lonely guy in sight, the supervisor, and he came over to greet us.

It seems that even though they are not slated for closure until July 2007,
the closure is already all but complete. Most of the older guys with
seniority have bid on other FAA jobs and left, or retired, and the only ones
left are the folks who didn't want to leave the area. The two guys we met
will retire when the station closes.

Lockheed has already diverted 50% of their calls to the FSS in Kankakee, IL,
so even though there were only two guys working, they had nothing to do.
There was a big electronic sign on the wall showing "Calls Waiting: 0", and
the only noise was the hum of cooling fans. It was eerie, and more than a
little sad, to see such a big, vital facility in its death throes.

Ft. Dodge is yet another dying farm-industrial town in the heartland, and
it's clearly seen better days. The City built this structure for the FAA,
they were so desperate to get the jobs, and now this beautiful building will
soon sit empty, another relic of another upgrade to our national airspace.
We all understand that it makes little sense to have 60 separate Flight
Service Stations in the age of computers and satellite weather, but it's
still melancholy to see the end of an era.

Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of
NDBs and radio ranges...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

The FSS at Green Bay will also be closing. I've been fortunate enough to
fly 3 separate plane loads of students over there to get the 10 cent tour.
A real great bunch of guys that, even after 9/11, went through the trouble
to get our tours approved, then took the time to answer all our questions,
and explain how everything worked. They also took the time to answer our
questions about their training, their previous jobs, and the way the
transition would effect them.

Many of us have come to recognize and remember their voices. Those of us
that are truly lucky can match the voices with a name, a face, and a
handshake.

Thanks Capt' Jake, you've been a invaluable resource.
We'll miss you.

Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:iYELf.796015$_o.666924@attbi_s71...
Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and
flew
to Ft. Dodge for the first time.

Located in north central Iowa, Ft. Dodge is the site of Iowa's only Flight
Service Station. We have talked to them literally hundreds of times over
the years -- but we had never actually flown there. The promise of a
courtesy car made our decision easy, and off we went, bucking a 40 knot
headwind all the way.

It was a smooth and beautiful -- if slow -- ride. That part of Iowa is
incredibly rural -- one of the reasons we'd never been there, before --
and
soaring over places and people who are so isolated from what we consider
to
be the "real" world was a humbling experience. What different lives they
must lead!

Ft. Dodge has a very nice airport, with huge runways, an ILS, and a fairly
new terminal. Northwest Airlink still serves them three times daily,
thanks to federal subsidies, but their FSS is slated for closure under the
Lockheed-Martin privatization agreement. We wanted to see what a real FSS
looked like, before they were all gone, so we strolled over after enjoying
a
fantastic, dirt cheap breakfast at "Brownies", a great locally-owned cafe
in
town.

Out front of the FSS stood an older guy sporting a pony tail, smoking a
cigarette. He told us what code to dial to get in, and we entered a
large,
darkened room with dozens of computer terminals -- and no people. There
was
one lonely guy in sight, the supervisor, and he came over to greet us.

It seems that even though they are not slated for closure until July 2007,
the closure is already all but complete. Most of the older guys with
seniority have bid on other FAA jobs and left, or retired, and the only
ones
left are the folks who didn't want to leave the area. The two guys we
met
will retire when the station closes.

Lockheed has already diverted 50% of their calls to the FSS in Kankakee,
IL,
so even though there were only two guys working, they had nothing to do.
There was a big electronic sign on the wall showing "Calls Waiting: 0",
and
the only noise was the hum of cooling fans. It was eerie, and more than a
little sad, to see such a big, vital facility in its death throes.

Ft. Dodge is yet another dying farm-industrial town in the heartland, and
it's clearly seen better days. The City built this structure for the FAA,
they were so desperate to get the jobs, and now this beautiful building
will
soon sit empty, another relic of another upgrade to our national airspace.
We all understand that it makes little sense to have 60 separate Flight
Service Stations in the age of computers and satellite weather, but it's
still melancholy to see the end of an era.

Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of
NDBs and radio ranges...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the
country. I will always fondly remember approaching Harrison, Arkansas
from the north as a thunderstorm approached from the west. The FSS guy
gave me a blow by blow description of its progress as I eventually lost
the race and diverted to another airport. That was flight service at
its finest. But I also understand we can't afford to continue providing
that service to 6 airplanes a day. ;(
--
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight - http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

In Wisconsin, I can remember FSS stations in:
Wausau
La Crosse
Green Bay

I "think" I can also remember that Madison, Eau Claire, and Milwaukee also
had FSS's. It would make sense, I just can't remember talking or visiting
those.

Jim

On 24 Feb 2006 14:14:25 -0800, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

I began flying in the days when FSS were scattered all across the
country.

I've heard that there were Flight Service Stations at virtually every
medium-or-better-sized airport in America at one time. True? I
know Iowa City had one.

Back in 1969, there was even one at Bryce Canyon. In a trailer next
to the big old barn hangar.

I know because I flew into there with clenched cheeks from a case of
food poisoning I'd given myself by eating a 3-day old roast beef
sandwich at Kanab. The faxt I'd made a bad mistake hit me as I was
passing Zion Canyon on my way from St. George. I spent about two hours
in their john.

Those guys were saints.

(That's a joke for Mr. Campbell.)

Don

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:iYELf.796015$_o.666924@attbi_s71...
Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and
flew to Ft. Dodge for the first time.

Hey, that's MY neighborhood! And you didn't stop by???

I have visited FOD-FSS a few times but not lately. There were only 2 or 3
people around each time I stopped.

I use that airport regularly for airline flights; I have found that flying
out of FOD is sometimes cheaper than flying out of Minneapolis and is a lot
more convenient for parking (free!). I flew out of there last fall to
Pittsburgh, a month ago to Phoenix and was just there from a Detroit trip on
Tuesday night.

Fort Dodge is one of only two airports that I have flown a plane into and
also flown as an airline passenger. One of these days I'll make Mason City
my third.

-Greg B.

Did the same thing with the Cedar City UT FSS Station a couple of months
ago. Those eligible to retire did, and many of those signed on under
contract with Lockheed. Those not eligible to retire are looking for other
positions to move to within the civil service system.

Many of the Cedar City calls are already diverted, and I think sometime this
summer it will complete it's closeout.

BT

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:iYELf.796015$_o.666924@attbi_s71...
Yesterday was gorgeous, CAVU weather in Iowa, so we took advantage and
flew to Ft. Dodge for the first time.

Located in north central Iowa, Ft. Dodge is the site of Iowa's only Flight
Service Station. We have talked to them literally hundreds of times over
the years -- but we had never actually flown there. The promise of a
courtesy car made our decision easy, and off we went, bucking a 40 knot
headwind all the way.

It was a smooth and beautiful -- if slow -- ride. That part of Iowa is
incredibly rural -- one of the reasons we'd never been there, before --
and soaring over places and people who are so isolated from what we
consider to be the "real" world was a humbling experience. What
different lives they must lead!

Ft. Dodge has a very nice airport, with huge runways, an ILS, and a fairly
new terminal. Northwest Airlink still serves them three times daily,
thanks to federal subsidies, but their FSS is slated for closure under the
Lockheed-Martin privatization agreement. We wanted to see what a real FSS
looked like, before they were all gone, so we strolled over after enjoying
a fantastic, dirt cheap breakfast at "Brownies", a great locally-owned
cafe in town.

Out front of the FSS stood an older guy sporting a pony tail, smoking a
cigarette. He told us what code to dial to get in, and we entered a
large, darkened room with dozens of computer terminals -- and no people.
There was one lonely guy in sight, the supervisor, and he came over to
greet us.

It seems that even though they are not slated for closure until July 2007,
the closure is already all but complete. Most of the older guys with
seniority have bid on other FAA jobs and left, or retired, and the only
ones left are the folks who didn't want to leave the area. The two guys
we met will retire when the station closes.

Lockheed has already diverted 50% of their calls to the FSS in Kankakee,
IL, so even though there were only two guys working, they had nothing to
do. There was a big electronic sign on the wall showing "Calls Waiting:
0", and the only noise was the hum of cooling fans. It was eerie, and
more than a little sad, to see such a big, vital facility in its death
throes.

Ft. Dodge is yet another dying farm-industrial town in the heartland, and
it's clearly seen better days. The City built this structure for the FAA,
they were so desperate to get the jobs, and now this beautiful building
will soon sit empty, another relic of another upgrade to our national
airspace. We all understand that it makes little sense to have 60 separate
Flight Service Stations in the age of computers and satellite weather, but
it's still melancholy to see the end of an era.

Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of
NDBs and radio ranges...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:iYELf.796015$_o.666924@attbi_s71...
snip

Go visit your FSS soon -- if it's like ours, it's about to go the way of NDBs and radio ranges...

I stopped by KGAG on the way back from the county seat yesterday. Gage once was an auxiliary airbase for Liberal,
Ks. It had an FSS up until the '70's IIRC. The reason I stopped by was that behind the derelict FSS buildings and
the modern ASOS that took its place, buried in knee high Bluestem grass is an old beacon. A fellow EAA'er told me
about it and his description intrigued me. This relic sits on about a 3" pipe approximately waist high. The light
housing is non-adjustable and stationary. It points within a few degrees of straight up in the air. The lens is
about 12 inches in diameter and the filament is about 2" long and very heavy duty. The reflector is a very highly
polished mirror and there is what appears to be a heating element inside the housing. The metal tag on it was
stamped Crouse-Hinds WSO 700. I searched the net for an hour or so last night and found nothing that resembles it.
I thought it was an old airway beacon but the ones I came across on my search looked like you could aim them and most
if not all were colored. Why would anyone want to point a stationary non-colored beam straight up in the air like
that? Anyone have any clues? Was it for the military base or the civilian FSS or what?

I wish someone would salvage one of these old FSS's and set the equipment up in an airplane museum. Can you imagine
what our great great grandkids would think of the old vacuum tube radios.

BTW, your description of the farm economy echoes that of what is happening here. We are on an accelerated time scale
as this was what would be considered by many to be mostly marginal farm land to begin with. In our day though, our
family farm raised seven kids, employed two hired hands, and put five of us kids through college. Most of the small
towns are down to one school and a convenience store / get & go. The CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) that all of
the tree huggers rave about caused the majority of the Farmer's Co-ops to go under. Now the mid sized towns that
have the Wally Worlds are hurting as the kids move away to find jobs. Americana as we know it is dying an agonizing
death in the heartland.



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I stopped by KGAG on the way back from the county seat yesterday.


Sounds like you are in my neck of the woods. The same can be said here
(O53) the farm economy is failing here and we are down to one
convenience store and one school as well. I have a aircraft maintenance
shop here and over the years it has been failing as well, many planes
based here haven't been flown in years, and most are not airworthy
anymore.

Hey, that's MY neighborhood! And you didn't stop by???

No kidding? I still think of you as living up in Minnesota, hey, doncha
know?

Next time we'll grab lunch at Brownie's with ya!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"