Oct. 6, 2017 // This Week’s Notebook: 100 Percent NATCA Facilities; Runway Safety Forum Update; and More!
Champaign, Ill. ATCT (CMI) and Monterey ATCT (MRY) are proud to announce they are 100 percent NATCA this week! Congratulations brothers and sisters!
Read National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Christopher Hart’s recap of the NTSB Runway Incursion Forum, highlighted in the NATCA Insider on Sept. 22.
It has been more than five years since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began implementing and deploying the latest version of the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) at terminal air traffic control facilities across the country. Now, the Agency is in the home stretch of upgrading all eligible facilities with the foundational NextGen technology. The agency began deploying an earlier version of STARS in the early 2000s but put that effort on hold. Since 2012, the Terminal Automation and Replacement (TAMR) team has deployed the latest version at new facilities and upgraded previous versions.
TAMR replaces the 30-plus-year-old analog flight-tracking system at Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities (TRACONs) and control towers with a fully digital system that supports essential NextGen technologies, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). With these upgrades, air traffic controllers can more safely work aircraft on their scopes, which are now flat-panel LEDs that use STARS.
On Thursday, Sept. 28th, 2017, Youngstown (YNG) ATCT and TRACON transitioned from ARTS IIE to a STARS Elite. The smooth transition was made possible by the hard work of controllers throughout the entire facility including the YNG TAMR team: FacRep John Kelly, TAMR Rep. Nick Yochman, and NATCA support specialist Charles Parker.
“The facility was ready for change and has done a fantastic job adapting to the new equipment,” Yochman said. “Our controllers are excited about implementing new automation and tools that we never could have had access to in ARTS.”
Check out a side-by-side comparison and post-transition photo below!
NATCA Member Portal
Have you moved recently and need to update your mailing address? Do you have a new email address? No problem!
Simply log in at the Member Portal and update your contact information. If you’re registering for the first time, you must have your NATCA member number ready as it is needed when you register. For further assistance, contact Customer Service at 800-266-0895 or email [email protected].
Benefits Spotlight: Theme Parks
Don’t wait for next summer to plan a vacation. Disney, Six Flags, and Kings Island theme parks await the kid in all of us, and at discounted prices that won’t break your vacation budget. NATCA also has discounts for all Great Wolf Lodge and Schlitterbahn parks across the nation. You work hard all year taking care of the flying public, as well as your family. If you haven’t yet had serious fun on a vacation, it’s not too late to do it now.
For more information, click here.
Oklahoma City Q&A Dates: 2017 Schedule
NATCA leadership makes it a priority to educate ATC Academy Students about NATCA and their rights as part of the future air traffic controller workforce.
NATCA will be hosting a lunch meeting in Oklahoma City at 12:30 p.m. local time and a dinner meeting at 6 p.m. local time in Oklahoma City.
The last Q&A of 2017 will take place on Oct. 12.
NATCA EDGE — Designed exclusively for NATCA members!
Can’t get to an in-person retirement seminar? We’ll bring the seminar to you! Presenting an all-new, flexible access, web-based session of our popular retirement benefits seminar.
There is one remaining 2017 seminar: Eastern Time Zone – Dec. 6 (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
To register for the Dec. 6 session, visit the NATCA Portal. Click “Events” on the menu bar on the home page, then select the “2017 NATCA Edge Online Retirement Webinar” link. Follow the questions and directions from there.
Personalized benefit estimate for participants paid for is an exclusive benefit for NATCA members. You will never be solicited or sold anything, ever!
For any questions or problems with registration, please contact [email protected].
Register for these seminars by signing on to the NATCA Portal. Please verify the personal information listed for you including email and cell phone number. If any information is incorrect or missing, please correct or add it under the “My Profile” tab.
To register for a seminar, click the “Events” tab, followed by “2017 Retirement Seminars.” Complete the requested information and click “Next.” When you come to the screen listing the seminars, select the one you wish to attend, hit “Next,” verify your requested seminar information and then click “Done.” You will receive a confirmation email that your registration was complete.
A second email will be sent two to three weeks prior to the seminar giving you the logistical information for the seminar. Also included in this email will be instructions on how to obtain a benefits estimate at the seminar.
Spouses and significant others are also invited to attend. Please ensure that you add them to the registration when asked if you will be bringing a guest. Please try to register three weeks prior to the seminar. Walk-ins are permitted to attend as long as they can provide their membership ID number. However, you will be unable to obtain a benefits estimate at the seminar.
The 2018 NATCA Academy Schedule has been released. The Academy Courses will be held on the following dates:
