I listen to Opa-locka (OPF) tower frequency on a scanner most of the day seven days a week unless I'm out of the house or downstairs. The ATC's there are top notch professionals. OPF is a private contract tower. Many, if not all, of the guys at OPF are retired FAA ATC's. Jose Prize In a message dated 1/30/2004 6:20:11 PM Eastern Standard Time, exatc@xxxxxxxxxx writes: > Subj: Re: Tripling of Capacity for Air Traffic > Date: 1/30/2004 6:20:11 PM Eastern Standard Time > From: exatc@xxxxxxxxxx > Reply-to: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent from the Internet > > Once again I am not necesssarily endorsing contract towers but we've had > them for almost twenty years. If they were that unsafe the municipalities > that operate these airports would be raising all kinds of hell. In 1974 I > was the CTO (Control Tower Operator) Examiner for Waukesha Wisconsin Tower. > I certified all their initially qualified air traffic controllers. > Cleveland Burke Lakefront (where I was the Chief in 1976-77) and Cleveland > Cuyahoga County are two prime examples of Contract Towers. In Waukesha's > case had they not obtained a Contract Tower they wouldn't have had one > because they did not qualify for an FAA tower. You needed more than 50,000 > itinerant operations per year. Touch and goes and low approaches do not > count for the 50M. > Al > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Alireza Alivandivafa" <DEmocrat2n@xxxxxxx> > To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 5:56 PM > Subject: Re: Tripling of Capacity for Air Traffic > > > >ATC is something that is inherently governmental, just from the sheer fact > that it crosses state lines and deals with safety. Privatized ATC is an > invite for disaster > > >