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"