Gary
@garyscharpf.bsky.social
I'm just the guy who gives the holding instructions.
The FAA started actively creating more unnecessary delays during the shutdown because we weren't creating enough for them. They were using us a political tool for their side. And yet the union continues to collaborate with these people.
November 21, 2025 at 1:24 AM
The FAA started actively creating more unnecessary delays during the shutdown because we weren't creating enough for them. They were using us a political tool for their side. And yet the union continues to collaborate with these people.
Pretty incredible that the ones eligible to retire got 20%, the academy students got a raise, and the ones who spent all of the shutdown on details are getting $10k. While the ones who do the actual shift work get...nothing.
November 21, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Pretty incredible that the ones eligible to retire got 20%, the academy students got a raise, and the ones who spent all of the shutdown on details are getting $10k. While the ones who do the actual shift work get...nothing.
Honestly I don't think they realize how lucky they are tomorrow is holiday pay.
November 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Honestly I don't think they realize how lucky they are tomorrow is holiday pay.
I've had *five* full days off since October 1st and three of them I had to take sick leave to get. Incandescent is putting it mildly.
November 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I've had *five* full days off since October 1st and three of them I had to take sick leave to get. Incandescent is putting it mildly.
Pushing 11 people through training class through July 2026 means one person per month.
You can take the controllers out of New York, but you can't take the New York out of controllers.
You can take the controllers out of New York, but you can't take the New York out of controllers.
May 7, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Pushing 11 people through training class through July 2026 means one person per month.
You can take the controllers out of New York, but you can't take the New York out of controllers.
You can take the controllers out of New York, but you can't take the New York out of controllers.
It's not incorrect. But the only real actions that are going to have any effect are fixing the radar feed and finishing the runway construction. Everything else is just noise.
May 6, 2025 at 6:49 PM
It's not incorrect. But the only real actions that are going to have any effect are fixing the radar feed and finishing the runway construction. Everything else is just noise.
It's funny because every article and press release is just pushing the blame on someone else. There aren't any actual solutions from anyone. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
May 6, 2025 at 2:17 AM
It's funny because every article and press release is just pushing the blame on someone else. There aren't any actual solutions from anyone. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
The plan to move the Newark area to PHL was developed in 2019. Who was in charge back then?
May 6, 2025 at 2:09 AM
The plan to move the Newark area to PHL was developed in 2019. Who was in charge back then?
Nope. They started all this in 2019. Who was president back then?
May 6, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Nope. They started all this in 2019. Who was president back then?
It's only a matter of time before OSHA gets an executive order to start denying trauma leave unless there's an actual accident. The FAA already fights it every time someone takes it.
May 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
It's only a matter of time before OSHA gets an executive order to start denying trauma leave unless there's an actual accident. The FAA already fights it every time someone takes it.
I'm on the RDU side of the line. They all said the big advantage was the one-way airways so less opposite direction traffic.
March 30, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I'm on the RDU side of the line. They all said the big advantage was the one-way airways so less opposite direction traffic.
We do. But almost nobody does. The WARP is much better. But the WARP is delayed by 5-15 min so you have to mentally project where the weather is moving. Usually the planes start deviating and then 5 min later the weather starts showing on the screen. The ARSR just has too much clutter to be useful.
March 30, 2025 at 10:13 PM
We do. But almost nobody does. The WARP is much better. But the WARP is delayed by 5-15 min so you have to mentally project where the weather is moving. Usually the planes start deviating and then 5 min later the weather starts showing on the screen. The ARSR just has too much clutter to be useful.
Also, the Maiden radar site still has a ton of visible ground clutter around it. I don't think they've ever gotten around to fixing it.
March 30, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Also, the Maiden radar site still has a ton of visible ground clutter around it. I don't think they've ever gotten around to fixing it.
I remember the old guys telling us the stories about how they implemented the East Coast Plan. They said it was better than the previous system, but there was basically no training before it was rolled out.
March 30, 2025 at 9:45 PM
I remember the old guys telling us the stories about how they implemented the East Coast Plan. They said it was better than the previous system, but there was basically no training before it was rolled out.
IME lifers at Regional Airlines tend to be weird. They either can't get through a major interview or just like being in charge so much they just never leave. There's definitely a reason this guy didn't jump over to Delta in 2015ish.
March 21, 2025 at 11:48 PM
IME lifers at Regional Airlines tend to be weird. They either can't get through a major interview or just like being in charge so much they just never leave. There's definitely a reason this guy didn't jump over to Delta in 2015ish.
Did you ever work with anyone from Republic? They all call him The Reverend. He is not well liked over there at all.
March 18, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Did you ever work with anyone from Republic? They all call him The Reverend. He is not well liked over there at all.
There are at least two ways to do almost everything in aviation. The way your flight school, airline, or flight department does things is just the way they do things. The next place you fly will do things differently. Nobody at the new place cares how the last place did things.
March 17, 2025 at 12:47 AM
There are at least two ways to do almost everything in aviation. The way your flight school, airline, or flight department does things is just the way they do things. The next place you fly will do things differently. Nobody at the new place cares how the last place did things.
The trade-off was that it was 25 years of rotating shifts and working nights and weekends. Generally you're expected to die younger. Hence the early retirement.
March 14, 2025 at 11:25 PM
The trade-off was that it was 25 years of rotating shifts and working nights and weekends. Generally you're expected to die younger. Hence the early retirement.
The stability of the job used to be a selling point compared to the boom-bust cycles that most aviation jobs are subject to.
You could do 25 years of the same job in the same control room and walk out with a decent pension. Plus, we get good government benefits, etc.
You could do 25 years of the same job in the same control room and walk out with a decent pension. Plus, we get good government benefits, etc.
March 14, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The stability of the job used to be a selling point compared to the boom-bust cycles that most aviation jobs are subject to.
You could do 25 years of the same job in the same control room and walk out with a decent pension. Plus, we get good government benefits, etc.
You could do 25 years of the same job in the same control room and walk out with a decent pension. Plus, we get good government benefits, etc.
The difference is there are big, visible, parts of the federal government even the most nihilistic DOGE guys DO want functioning.
They just nuked the TSA workers' union contract last week. Those workers aren't going to keep showing up UNPAID for a month and act like everything is normal.
They just nuked the TSA workers' union contract last week. Those workers aren't going to keep showing up UNPAID for a month and act like everything is normal.
March 13, 2025 at 11:40 PM
The difference is there are big, visible, parts of the federal government even the most nihilistic DOGE guys DO want functioning.
They just nuked the TSA workers' union contract last week. Those workers aren't going to keep showing up UNPAID for a month and act like everything is normal.
They just nuked the TSA workers' union contract last week. Those workers aren't going to keep showing up UNPAID for a month and act like everything is normal.