Inside ATC - Chicago TRACON (C90)

[@iahflyr4690]

As a retired TRACON controller I found it stunning that the District Manager had such a grasp on the airspace, most District Managers have little knowledge of how the airspace works so good for Kathy.

[@martinpauly]

Yes, she certainly knows the airspace and what everybody is doing at C90. - Martin

[@ronwilliams357]

Those who can't, manage.

[@iahflyr4690]

@@SP-qo1so Are you sure of that Having worked in the ATC world for 36 years I found most good/great controllers did just that, be a controller. Those who were at best average or weaker tended to wander toward TMC and Sup positions and only then did we get them off the floor. HQ is for those who have no clue what the field is all about and they just don't want to get put out to the Level 9 facility when they think they could work Level 12. I was involved in enough projects in RNAV procedures and many more in the day to know HQ folks are just that, happy to be HQ folks who are still employed. Come on, are you on that path to being that manger? :) Kidding man, respect is there regardless if you're in the trenches..

[@Plorxium]

Does the District Manager need to have previous experience as an Air Traffic Controller?

[@iahflyr4690]

@William W. Campbell-Shepherd IX It's "Yankee TRACON at BDL.

[@bonabob]

As a Patco Air Traffic Controller, fired by President Reagan in 1981, this is an excellent video explaining how Air Traffic Controllers work. The most important remark in this video is when the Air Traffic Controller was asked what makes a good day and what makes a bad day. His explanation was team effort and a unified team makes any day a good day. After 12 years in Air Traffic, I spent the next 32 years as the executive director of a large community center in Fort Lauderdale Florida with 26 employees, 13,000 members and a 70,000 sq ft building on 10 acres of land. What made me successful is exactly what I learned and what that Air Traffic Controller stated. With a unified team that works together, every day is a fun and a successful day. I thank every day for my Air Traffic experience and hope I am remembered as what Cosmopolitan Magazine headlined, "Those Ultra Cool Death Defying Air Traffic Controllers" in their October 1978 issue.

[@martinpauly]

Good comment, Robert - thank you! - Martin

[@bonabob]

@Reinhardt Kozlowski Wish Clinton was the president then...he forgave us, but I forgave Reagan a very long time ago.....I think it was a blessing in disguise.

[@bonabob]

@Reinhardt Kozlowski You never know where life will lead you. At the time it was devastation, but after all was said and done, my family grew as the kids married and gave us wonderful grandchildren and our life was so blessed. We are married 50 years and still going....who knows, if Reagan didn't fire me, maybe I would have ended up in a looney bin.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

My grandfather was one of you Bob, and videos like this are so bittersweet to me. I enjoy learning more about what he did, but he loved his job SO much he would have done it till the day he died if he could. Being fired by Reagan was very hard on him - not for the loss of a job but for the loss of what was to him so much of his life and passion.

[@rebellord_gfg]

Massive respect to the hardworking men and woman of ATC!

[@martinpauly]

Agreed! - Martin

[@skycop56]

Martin, I’m a retired controller and give you a big thumbs up. That’s the best video on ATC I’ve seen.

[@iahflyr4690]

Retired TRACON controller as well, excellent job and agree "best video on ATC".

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, John. That means a lot coming from a controller. Best, Martin

[@retabiyo]

I think the same too, I am an ATC in colombia, and i've watched several videos about air traffic control in the US and I believe none of them has been as detailed as this one, this visit and interview to those controllers clear up a lot of doubts,, cool vid overall

[@HappyBuzzCut]

As a hobbyist ATC controller doing it on VATSIM, this has been an awesome video. Thanks much

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure! - Martin

[@StevePalmer92s]

@@martinpauly Would love to learn more how sims work and why we need so many trainees, pilots, and systems to help 1 trainee learn. Curious like games, why isn't there bots to help someone train self-serve?

[@StevePalmer92s]

Cool I didn't know about this @happybuzzcut. I will check out!

[@MaxAcceleration]

Kathy really knows her stuff! What an excellent video!

[@ravingcyclist624]

Kathy and Brock really give you confidence in the Chicago operation! It was great to see the training via people simulating pilots. I worked in computers for a large airline. We had test facilities to emulate any airline functions.

[@tumbleweedweed3691]

Wow! As an av geek, I really appreciated this cool tour of TRACON 👍🏻 thank you ❤

[@martinpauly]

Thank you for the feedback - I remember that TRACON visit well, it was very insightful! - Martin

[@juliescott7894]

Well done Kathy!..retired in 2012 from C90 and almost, but not quite, makes me miss it😉..cheers to all the “best “ at C90...Bob Scott

[@rob_vaughan]

What was your time at C90 like?

[@juliescott7894]

@@rob_vaughan My experience at C90 was probably a bit different from most. I was a PATCO controller rehired by the FAA when I was in my 50’s. It was definitely not easy making it through the training program at C90 but well worth the “pain”. I expect that most of the controllers and sup’s that I worked with have since retired and operations at C90 have also changed. Working at C90 was an honor and something that I will never forget or regret. Best of luck.....Bob Scott

[@doggielama]

Mr. Pauly, this was particularly fascinating to me because I was based at ORD for twenty-five years, but I never had the pleasure of meeting the controllers. Thank you for doing everything you do. Personally, I believe the ORD approach and departure controllers are the best in the world.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Martin - happy to hear you enjoyed this. Regards, Martin

[@anthonymiller7992]

This is the most informative ATC video I've seen. I would think flight following would get a private pilot a better chance at traversing through a busy airspace VS permission to pass through...

[@daneulekowski929]

I used to do deliveries to this facility and thought the security was way overboard. After watching your video and seeing how important this place is to the regions air space, I totally get it now. Thanks to you, and Tracon for the education.

[@aviator_z9188]

This is such an amazing video! I’ve been so interested in becoming an air traffic controller and there aren’t a lot of good KZbin videos that go in depth of what air traffic controllers do. This was outstanding, keep it up!

[@martinpauly]

Happy to hear you've been able to get better insight into ATC from this video. Best of luck to you if you want to make this your career! - Martin

[@RT-qd8yl]

Keep up the interest, good luck!

[@flatspin8718]

Great video, back in the 1980's the FAA had a program called Operation Rain Check, it allowed a pilot or interested person to spend the day in a air traffic control facility. I visited LA center in Palmdale, CA at least three (3) times during the duration of the program. They would give you a tour and then go through training on their simulator in the basement. After lunch you got to sit with an actual controller for the last 3 hours, it was great fun and very informative. I sure wish they would do that again, probably will never happen now due to security.

[@martinpauly]

That would be a GREAT program! I would jump on the opportunity! - Martin

[@nenblom]

Years ago, I was flying with American Airlines from HPN (White Plains, NY) to ORD to ARN (my native Stockholm, Sweden). Due to severe weather in the upper Midwest, we got stuck in Chicago for about seven hours. Legendary thunderstorms! Safety first! Seeing this is incredible!

[@daffidavit]

This is a "must-see" video for all pilots. Simple as that.

[@martinpauly]

Yes, it's good for pilots to seek a better understanding of how ATC works. - Martin

[@PaulGarthAviation]

23:14 - "I'm handing you off to approach" Behind the scenes - "Here." This was a great behind-the-scenes. I remember visiting the facility in Long Island during flight training at 23N. I was able to ask specific questions, and resolved a plan of: being on the ground at 23N; speaking with CD at ISP; getting a squawk code and Class C Transition clearance; launched out at 600' TPA; call up NY Departure; got clearance to transition and was up at cruise altitude by Fire Island vs 1500'. And... all in a Mighty Cessna 152. Also had Flight Following for all my solo XC's. The takeway is to visit these facilities and come away with actionable information. Really enjoyed that facility.

[@yumpinyiminy963]

Thanks! Great job. I have been interested in ATC etc since my 1st flight as a passenger. Back then you could get earphones that plug into the chair arm and there was a dial with 10 channels that you could listen to. They used to actually let you listen to the ATC. They would cut off the channel if there were issues. I knew how ATC works but never saw how much is actually involved in the center. I never thought there was so many people involved.

[@martinpauly]

I think United still has this "Channel 10", but I haven't flown them in a while so I'm not sure. Best, Martin

[@theflyingplumber]

Forgot to thank you Martin for your time to put something like this together. Coordinating the visit, coming up with great material to ask, filming, editing and getting it out to your people. Also thanks to the C90 Tracon to invite the GA pilots into their world. It helps pilots understand what is happening on the other side of the mike and maybe take away the fears some pilots have, talking or even dealing with airspace like that. Great presentation!

[@martinpauly]

Thank you very much, Bill - I appreciate the kind words. - Martin

[@billlee9311]

As a next air traffic controller I really enjoyed watching this. I was very impressed with the controller and with the supervisor or the manager that she prefers to be called things haven’t changed that much since I was working Denver Center in Denver Tricon.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Bill - glad you found it enjoyable. - Martin

[@tickedoffsheikh8587]

Very educational video. Mind blowing. Q:Which of the country's TRACONs is the most advanced? Q:What's the requirement for working at a TRACON? I would love to see a video of O'Hare and/or Midway Control Towers. A very special shout out to Ms. Kathy, GM and her colleague,Brock for taking the time and explaining things so easily. Also, special thanks to FAA Chicago TRACON for granting permission to an exclusive tour this important facility and allowing us viewers to have a first hand view of a TRACON facility. And Martin Keep making more of these videos.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks for the kind feedback - and yes, I'll keep making videos. :-) - Martin

[@randytinsley8927]

During my Air Force career my job was to maintain all that equipment. I'm very familiar with the equipment and operation. Thanks for the memories Martin.

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure, Randall. - Martin

[@Howrider65]

My dad worked at Oakland center for years and went to work with him when I was a kid.. It was to cool and the people were the best. But I ended up working for United at San Fran and loved it..

[@captainkoo]

I worked Oakland Center from 1982-1989. Area A. Maybe I knew him!

[@MrSixstring2k]

Very informative video, very eye opening and a must watch. Thanks to everyone who made it possible and to the great people of atc all over the USA that make GA safe.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks for your kind words - and I echo your comments about the many controllers who keep us all safe in the sky (and on the ground): we appreciate what you do. - Martin

[@mike89128]

Back in the late 70s a classmate of mine was a senior controller at the Albuquerque Enroute Center. He got permission to bring the class in, explained high/low sectors, handoff procedure and we had the opportunity to observe the controllers at work. Very informative. The next week he got us into the control tower at Albuquerque, what a view.

[@martinpauly]

What an experience - great! - Martin

[@jameswikstrom4174]

An absolutely fascinating video. I knew ATC was a complex operation but nothing like I imagined. With all the radar screens and controllers, I am totally amazed with efficiently of the ATC operation. It doesn’t seem that complicated when the controller is talking to an aircraft in videos. I was blown away with everything that happens.

[@martinpauly]

It sure is a complex system, James. - Martin

[@cpuwolf]

after this video, pilots, and ATC they can understand each other better now. Thank you Martin, that is exactly what I need

[@AverageGamezzz]

I fly in Chicago airspace every day and really appreciate this video.

[@martinpauly]

Happy to hear! - Martin

[@StevePalmer92s]

Guys this is just so exceptional. I LOVED to hear the interworking of things such as simulators. Wish I could try one!

[@zappatx]

This is great!! I had a tour of the DFW TRACON back in 95. The technology then was sooo different. They must have upgraded 4 times since then I bet. I found the recording area the most interesting. All these tapes recording across the dozens of frequencies.. Also I toured Burlington Northern control HQ in Ft. Worth - that was no less interesting how they prevent train collisions from coast to coast..

[@martinpauly]

I bet it's fascinating to see the technical evolution over a few decades in this area! - Martin

[@user-ry4xt3sd3i]

Mad Respect Brock

[@pastorhaze9509]

Man, I have never seen a group of more serious individuals. no joy. keep doing gods work tho

[@ginaevans5797]

That's a humorous concept: air traffic controllers being serious. Meet up with them after hours, they're a fun bunch!

[@Windtee]

Martin, you produced and delivered a fine documentary from the perspective of an active GA pilot with an awesome list of questions many of us as pilots would ask! Complementary ATC "pharmaceutical products"... very interesting.

[@martinpauly]

Yes, I was surprised to see so much medication there. Thanks for the kind feedback! - Martin

[@RT-qd8yl]

As a taxpayer and pilot I'm happy to pay for that... I know how a headache or heartburn can affect someone just doing a normal job... I couldn't imagine it while doing ATC.

[@wizbangFLL]

Yeah, all the FAA centers are low light inside. Was told the purpose is to create a area where the screens provide the best contrast with the least glare or reflection in the screens. It also gives less visual distractions from people walking around the center.

[@liveandletflyatc]

Thank you for the fascinating video! Always great to see how ATC operates around the world. I can imagine it can get pretty busy in Chicago!

[@martinpauly]

For sure it gets quite busy. Two large airports (O'Hare and Midway) and several busy GA airports, all in a relatively small area. These controllers earn their pay! - Martin

[@stevecastro22]

Martin, This is a very very informative video. I have watched it several times and appreciate you taking the time to provide it for us.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks for the nice feedback, Steve. - Martin

[@robertobeltramelli4138]

This is fantastic, thanks for doing this ATC series, most information that i have received in my 8 years studying Aviation! This should jump your viewer numbers tremendously! You provided great Training info for the entire population of Aviation You Tubers!

[@martinpauly]

Glad to hear you found it helpful, Roberto. - Martin

[@dave991122]

Great informative vid. Decades ago my wife worked for Sperry and I got to accompany her when she was working at Tampa EARTS and Tracon on Long Island. (Also had tours to Mpls Center in Farmington). Many of the screens then were 'tabletop' with several positions for controllers looking at one screen.. It was 'state of the art'...back then.

[@basilreardon5783]

Amazing & alot to digest for an ATC controller

[@platemod8465]

Martin - Terrific Tour/Interview thanks for you doing whatever it took procedurally to make this possible. As important, I hope Brock & Kathy and all of the FAA PAO folks see that we really appreciate this insight, Thank you.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks for the kind words. - Martin

[@stevelackscheide8307]

Wow, excellent video! Fascinating to learn about the division of workload and resource allocation. I got my ticket late in life and still am intimidated on the rare occasions I fly near the ORD airspace, but the controllers have always been helpful. Looking forward to the tower tour! Thanks.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Steve - glad you enjoyed it. The Tower video will be a few weeks, but I bet it'll be equally interesting. - Martin

[@leakyleekss]

thank you for this great insight of atc! thinking about going atc after graduating college

[@LivingInFortWayne]

@Malik Maillard ATC is a great career. Many aspiring pilots turn to ATC as a viable job if they still want to be in aviation

[@daffidavit]

Wow, Dupage Co. Airport. I was a twenty-something CFI at Dupage Aviation from 1977-79 when "Spence" was the chief pilot for the company. Dupage Aviation was the largest Beechcraft dealership in the midwest back in those days. Joe Boyd Jr. was the son of the owner of Dupage Aviation, Joe Sr. Joe Jr. was a chiropractic student at the time. We became good friends. Mr. Spencer (Spence) was an ex- WWII P-51 fighter pilot who had to make a few "sudden" landings during the war. He must have gone west years ago, but I often wonder about him. Of interest, the Fermilab particle accelerator was a reporting point for pilots at DPA tower. One of my students worked at Fermilab as a scientist and gave me an in-depth tour taking me places where most of the public was not allowed. Fermilab was fairly new at the time and was the largest particle accelerator until CERN took over. I remember the winter of 1979 as one of the coldest winters in Chicago's history. We had snowbanks on the sides of the highways that were solid vertical walls 15 ft. high carved by snowplows brought in from Buffalo N.Y. I was a young flight instructor about age 26 back in those days and a full-time law student at Northern Il. University ( previously Lewis U). As soon as the pilot mentioned DuPage Airport, I had to chime in here for the memories. Thanks for the memories Dupage Co. Airport. DuPage Co. Airport looked nothing like it does now in this video. It was much smaller and was more of a local airport back in those days. But I do remember this: There was a single RW 20. There was no RW 20R at the time. A particular local controller would allow me to fly low over the grass next to RW 20 and the taxiway and make a 90 degree turn to land on the crossing runway, 28. One day I made my left turn a little too fast and came to a stop a little too close to the end of 28. I was admonished for that. But those were some of the best days of my youth. Time is not the only thing that flies.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks for the comment and for taking us back in time. I've seen Fermilab many times from the air - never been there on the ground so far, but I can see how it would make a great visual reporting point. Best regards, Martin

[@RRTrainVideos]

Awesome video! Thanks to you and the controllers in the video!

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Bob. - Martin

[@nicholasfrench3753]

This is so awesome. You guys should make this a regular thing and pose a lot of the same questions to other facilities as you go! Thanks for the great tour

[@martinpauly]

Not sure we can do this on a regular basis, but I appreciate the interest and feedback, Nicholas. - Martin

[@TheGbelcher]

I was shocked to hear that ATC prefers flight following. I always felt like I was bothering them. This is great info. It’s good to hear the ATC perspective. It seems like magic sometimes. But It’s good to hear how pilots can make their life easier.

[@iahflyr4690]

Yep, when I was controlling I'd have much rather had a pilot request flight following for the reason they explained. Makes the job much easier to know who/where the plane is headed as it actually can reduce issuance of traffic calls, where if I'm not talking to you I don't know if your Mode C altitude is correct or not.

[@gcrauwels941]

This was informative. Thanks to ATC for keeping us all safe.

[@jetdoctn]

Thanks Martin once again informative and done top notch. Matt good to see ya. As a side note if I ever said "checking in" my instructors head would explode.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Mike - Matt will be happy to hear that. :-) - Martin

[@randytinsley8927]

If you are ever in the Southeast part of Virginia please let me know, I'll treat you to lunch or dinner and taxi service. Always welcome here Martin.

[@donc9751]

Excellent and interesting video! I watch 310 pilots videos for some time now and believe they (Kevin & his wife Jaimie great young people! ) are controllers at this facility so thought it would be cool if they were here lol! I've more video remaining to be watched yet but am halfway through it, thanks for sharing this! I've seen some of your videos as well and am now a subscriber.

[@martinpauly]

You are right, Don - Kevin and Jaime work at that facility, though we did not meet them there on that particular day. Thank you for subscribing! Regards, Martin

[@brettwest549]

Fascinating video, lots of great nuggets of info. Thanks Martin.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Brett - glad you found it helpful. - Martin

[@pamelastilin7893]

Kathy-Congratulations on becoming the Manager at C90! Nice job doing this video and best wishes to you and your future life goals.

[@jeffreyt991]

Very informative. It is great to hear from the controllers how they manage the traffic. Obviously a well moderated comment section.

[@BelowMinimums]

I know I'm 3 years late but I'm a controller at a smaller airport and when I heard the question of "do airliners have priority over GA" and followed by "occasionally at my airport we've had to go around for an airliner" it's not a sense of "airlines have priority over GA" but moreso at the smaller airports the airlines are going to big airports who have what we call "flow times" where they have to be in the air by a very specific time, typically in 3 minute windows. For example, an airliner needs to be in the air between 12:00 and 12:03 in order to meet a gap in the arrivals to their big airport, and if they miss that 3 minute window they might be delayed 10+ minutes, and I've missed departure windows which ended up with the airliner being delayed for an hour. I will send a GA around in order for the airliner to meet their 3 minute departure window because by letting you land I might delay 70 people getting to their destination, but by sending you around I might delay you 5 minutes. Note though, I *only* send GA around to meet these times. I will not send you around just to let an airliner go, but *only* because by letting you land I will miss my 3 minute departure window. If I can let you land before my 3 minute window expires I will let you land, and one of the airliner flights out my airport is far enough away that they never need flow times so I will always let you land before they takeoff. It's not "airliners have priority over GA" it's about being efficient and balancing workload. If I send you around to meet a 3 minute departure window you just enter the downwind and land 5 minutes later, but if I let you land this airliner holding short blocking my runway will be delayed for who knows how long while also preventing people behind them from using full length. So like I said, it's not "airliners have priority over GA" just balancing efficiency vs fairness. Is it fair for you to go around? No, but is it fair for the 70 passengers on a regional air carrier to be delayed 10 minutes to an hour when sending you around will delay you 5 minutes?

[@martinpauly]

That makes sense to me. The only thing I ask is that the tower controller should try to anticipate this need and ask me to do something OTHER than a go-around on short final. Could be a 360 on downwind, or extending my downwind, or slowing my airspeed - you name it. All of those things are less dangerous and take less time than a go-around on short final for another full pattern. Regards, Martin

[@BelowMinimums]

@@martinpauly I completely agree and I balance my pattern traffic to prevent that. I prefer extending upwinds so I dont have to alternate the landing portion of the pattern, which I know is more important than the departure portion of the pattern. The only time I typically need to send people around is people who get a straight in from the approach controller, because I dont get to decide when approach puts someone on final, but I do get to decide when I put my own pattern traffic on final.

[@scottsimpkins350]

Wow. What an awesome video! I've been trying to explain (as elementary as possible) how the system works to my wife and this video helped me so much to take it to the next level. So now, my wife and I have an even better picture of how ATC works for all of us. Great Job everyone!! And double kudos to you Martin for your hard and endless work. If you ever have the chance to come to Chattanooga (KCHA), give a shout out !

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Scott - glad to hear you found it helpful and interesting. - Martin

[@LWCobra]

I think the guy running the ETG problem did my screen (test to see if they wanted you to work there) back in 92 - I loved working there!

[@FlyTJ]

Awesome video! Last time i toured c90 was when they still had the old monochrome scopes. Aurora (Chicago center) is also awesome.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you - glad you enjoyed it! - Martin

[@MrSeebsy]

Center takes over from Tracon at Transition (18,000Ft to FL190 ) ?

[@martinpauly]

@@MrSeebsy Center's airspace is above and around the TRACON's airspace, but the vertical divider is lower than 18,000. I don't know if it's the same vertical limit everywhere. Here in Cedar Rapids, approach owns the airspace up to 10,000 feet and Center owns it from there on up. - Martin

[@FlyTJ]

I believe Chicago owns it up to 13k

[@_Tommmmmm_]

Never got to tour a tracon before but I did get to go tour Indy Center when I was in college at Purdue. It was so badass. This is way more volume tho

[@TheFamilyman7]

This was fabulous, Martin & Matt!!! I toured the Tracon in the mid 80s when it was located under the old ORD tower + the tower itself. Most of the controllers were huddled around a huge screen, nearly waist-high, at that time. I must say, I appreciate Kathy & Brock taking the time to chat with "us!" Great questions and info was exchanged!

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Ron. I bet back then it was mostly just the radar screens? Whereas today the radar screen is only one of many types of screens, there is so much information available. - Martin

[@TheFamilyman7]

@@martinpauly Absolutely. Almost like steam gauges vs. glass today.

[@rogeranderson2547]

Thanks Ron. I was there then. And we made it work with that steam gauges stuff and minimum staff. Glad you got to see the "old days" when the traffic was World number one and the airport complexity unreal.

[@TheFamilyman7]

@@rogeranderson2547 I was an even bigger aviation geek then. I'd climb to the top of the prkg garage to view the activity then when RW18/36 was actually a runway! The cluster of int'l dep would launch late afternoons off RW14L/R in the summer. Seemed everything stopped just to get those heavies to complete their initial turns. Truly great memories!!! I could go on.....

[@bobninemire6859]

Two Thumbs Up !!! Thank you again Martin for taking the time (and this one I'm sure lots) to show us stories like this.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Bob - glad you liked it. - Martin

[@ElectroAtletico]

ex controller now at FAA HQ, the gang at C90 earns their wages every single day. Outstanding facility.

[@martinpauly]

I didn't expect anything less. I fly in their airspace quite a bit, and their support is always very good and professional. - Martin

[@extremereclusefallows5779]

This is so cool. I was in Jacksonville, FL. TRACON with my medevac pilots out of Ft Stewart, GA. We landed right next to the building with our two helicopters. They did not have a huge traffic flow like Chicago.

[@martinpauly]

TRACONs come in different sizes. This one (Chicago) has got to be one of the largest. - Martin

[@waynetokarz174]

Great video and very informative. I have been denied airspace access several times in the past and was annoyed by it, but now better understand why and use the info for better flight management and planing, with less emotional baggage! Lol

[@martinpauly]

Glad the video could help you get a better understanding of how ATC works, Wayne. - Martin

[@5128goldenrod]

Awesome insight.....pretty sure the “ i wish they would stop doing this” list was longer. I visited Peoria (KPIA) tower during my training, and it was hugely beneficial, although i am english so my accent provoked “ so you are Cherokee N627.....” assuming this was a bad thing...but hey ! My 2 cents, these visits should be a pre check ride log book requirement.

[@martinpauly]

I agree - any pilot can benefit from seeing the inside of a Tower and/or TRACON and from talking to controllers every now and then. - Martin

[@1PickJesus]

Hi Martin! I watched 'cause you said this one was unpopular in your Live Chat Video. Do you feel The Love? I thought it was great! Especially the Conference Room chat. I think its important to get to know Air Traffic Control and Controllers. It helps me by giving me more confidence. I will be recommending it to my students. When are you coming to Boise, Idaho? A whole lot of flying in and out of the beautiful Back-country! Congrats on your Commercial! Now... on to Multi-engine, Eh?

[@martinpauly]

Actually, this video (with the Chicago TRACON) was presented as an example of the one that did very well. Still: thanks for watching it, and for the kind feedback. I do like how it turned out. The multi-engine rating will still come at some point. I've been in Idaho only once and would love to come back sometime - but right now I have no idea when that might be. Best regards, Martin

[@TheDamian418]

This was so great, Martin! Thank you for sharing. ATC is so fascinating how it all works. One of those, if I could go back in time, I'd definitely consider ATC as a career.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Damian. Yes, I think it might be an interesting and rewarding career path. - Martin

[@VaniltonAlmeida]

@@martinpauly Hi Martin, I'm ATC at Twr from Sao Paulo, Brazil. We are undergoing a radical change. Could you tell me how many ATC work in the Chicago or Boston tower, and how is the scale of service. How many ATC work in each shift? Here at Twr we are 54 ATC. We work relay shifts, 8 ATC on each team, each shift for 6 hours and after 4 days, we have 48h days off.

[@wing1178]

wow.. thanks for the video. I hoped to have a chance to see TRACON. really appreciate again. give you thumps up, waiting for next video. sir.

[@martinpauly]

All pilots should get a tower or TRACON tour at some point. There is so much to learn from it. - Martin

[@garyrisley919]

Very good and informative video. Thanks for making the effort to give us a look at the inside.

[@martinpauly]

Glad you enjoyed it, Gary. - Martin

[@davidc5657]

Great job. Glad they let the cameras in even though the tour was like the Blair Witch version of operation Rain Check. So happy to see they have have modernized some of the things they did back then. Loved the Q&A and you asked all my questions-especially the 10.5 over Chicago. Thanks for all your efforts!

[@nbt3663]

I find it amazing how much stuff they keep from pin balling off eachother! Amazing!

[@almarasco8088]

Martin thank you so much for that wonderful video, keep them coming.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Al. Working on the next one already... - Martin

[@Lisa-Tahiti]

Thank you for this video. Very informative and enjoyable.

[@martinpauly]

You are welcome - glad you enjoyed it. - Martin

[@seatravel8536]

Awesome tour and fantastic conversation

[@jamess6656]

Great video, Martin! Watched the whole thing even being slightly north of an hour. Enjoyed both the tour and interview.

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, James. - Martin

[@jesusbrea8807]

Very good video, very informative, thank you so much!

[@martinpauly]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! - Martin

[@padsliderfranco9561]

Lots of hard work there. Thank you

[@marinegrunt6633]

I don't know how you guys and gals do it...i think you do an amazing job..........

[@martinpauly]

Yes, they do. I sure appreciate the controllers every time I fly. - Martin

[@SteveEshom]

Fantastic video Martin! Great info about a very busy air space.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Steve. - Martin

[@neildahle7638]

Very interesting! Thanks for reporting your visit. See you at a third thrs (MCW) in the future!

[@martinpauly]

Thanks, Neil - and I'll try to make it to as many Third Thursdays as I can (though it's easier for me in the summer than the winter). - Martin

[@chriswilcox9650]

Super interesting Martin, thanks for sharing

[@richcibelli1445]

Amazing look at what really goes on, thanks for sharing.

[@martinpauly]

You are welcome, Rich. - Martin

[@donemory7459]

Martin, I'm a little late to the party but I finally watched this video you made. You & your crew did it well that gave out a lot of information during your visit last year. I saw the VID was available but I found an hour or more was a little more than I could sit at the time but now I am glad I did. I was wondering, is C90 the same Chicago Tracon that Jamie & Kevin of Pilot 310 work at...if so did you run into them? Again thanks for providing this very educational & informative VID! Don/NE Ohio :-)

[@martinpauly]

Hi Don, yes, C90 is where Kevin and Jaime work, though we did not see them during our visit. Regards, Martin

[@tangodeltawhiskey6825]

This is outstanding, Martin! Bravo!

[@martinpauly]

Thank you - glad you liked it! - Martin

[@marklawton1795]

Excellent work Martin ! Love your videos.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Mark. - Martin

[@Frank-uy2ck]

Yo is this just Chicago or does every Center in the USA use this old kind of system? Like Dark room, black Radar, pen flight strips and so on

[@martinpauly]

From what I have seen, yes, TRACONs and Centers here in the US generally look like this. - Martin

[@ianneub]

Very cool! I'm surprised they let you film in there. I went to the Seattle ARTCC and recording was prohibited. I can't wait to see the next ATC visit video.

[@martinpauly]

Right, I didn’t just show up for a tour with the camera. This was arranged long ahead of time and agreed with the FAA, through their media relations office. They were actually very supportive and nice to work with.

[@ianneub]

Martin Pauly awesome. Thanks for producing this. I hope the FAA does more of this. It’s great to learn behind the scenes and how we can work better together. 👍

[@jungapo2]

i am wondering too why the faa allowed this recording. hopefully, the faa did not make a mistake for allowing this video recording.

[@fsodn]

4:28. I love that she calls it "Palwaukee" even thought it's officially been "Chicago Executive" for years.

[@martinpauly]

I know; it's hard to lose old habits like airport names which have been around for decades. - Martin

[@theflyingplumber]

Comment regarding traffic priority. I noticed the other day in EWR airspace, where a Bonanza was on approach to TEB. During the approach, the Bonanza was vectored for three inbound jets, that were behind the Bonanza, going to TEB. So the reality is, the slower traffic in the system will be bumped around, either for safety or economics, since it is less costly to vector the Bonanza than the Jet.

[@martinpauly]

I can't speak from own experience of course - though I find it intuitively clear that if all other airplanes fly more or less the same speed, the one odd airplane that's going at a much different speed will be difficult to handle. - Martin

[@BlackOpSource]

The relevant phrase is found in 7110.65 2-1-4 "Operational Priority," which says in part that aircraft are to be handled on a "first come, first served" basis "as circumstances permit." I believe the phrase "operational advantage" used to be part of the wording, but either way the upshot is the same. While we try to handle airplanes in the order they arrive, it may sometimes be more advantageous to (briefly) delay one aircraft to avoid delaying three others. This especially happens at busy airports (like TEB) when one aircraft has different performance characteristics from the surrounding traffic (as with the Bonanza and several jets). An aircraft's operating cost does not enter our decision making, we're only concerned with putting airplanes through the system in an effective and safe fashion.

[@johnnytoobad7785]

I love this "behind the scenes" stuff. Since I live in Mpls (and fly out of MSP) I would love to tour the Farmington facility.

[@martinpauly]

Glad you enjoyed it, Johnny. - Martin

[@shaneboulds5240]

Johnny. Im a controller at the center in Farmington.

[@royrogers3345]

Sheila burn s

[@heythere9380]

fascinating. seeing stuff like this reinforces my faith in trusting others to get me there safely! But who was the guy with the tie hovering in the background while the General Manager was taking us through the floor stations?? Doesn't he know that the X-Files ended a long time ago?

[@douglasgunn8443]

The term "With You" has worked for me if I'm handed off from one controller to another. The second controller already knows my call sign, aircraft type, TAS, and direction of flight. If I say, "Oakland Center, N3053N with you, level ten thousand five hundred". Since ATC was expecting my call, I don't need to give my life's story; also to keep from tying up the frequency.

[@MrSeebsy]

Martin Fantastic video, the most comprehensive I've seen...... I know US ATC is the finest in the world but the equipment they are using looks a generation behind in need of a make over, when compared to videos I've seen of the NATS Swanwick center in the UK or Eurocontrol.

[@martinpauly]

I see what you mean, and I agree to some extend. Europe seems to be a step ahead when it comes to CPDLC and the "modern look" of their radar equipment. Having said that, I believe when it comes to the service provided to pilots, US ATC has an edge over Europe in terms of flexibility, managing a broader mix of traffic, and routings. Maybe this is an unfair comparison since the (enroute) airspace in Europe is more congested than in the US. Best regards, Martin

[@rubenvillanueva8635]

Martin Pauly I am American, retired ATCer, I reside in Spain. The airspace in Europe may seem congested, but it is not as intricate as that in the states. One thing missing here are the "flushes", the 7 am, 13:00 pm and 18 :00 pm massive departure periods. The majority of the traffic is international, then again, the borders s are very close. We do not have the heavy "hub" activity as in the states, so things do run quite smoothly. Excellent videos, and I appreciate your work opening peoples minds as to what it takes to get them from point A to B safely while in flight.

[@michaelhampton6388]

When I saw the computers running Windows XP and a mid-2000s era Linux, I had to double check the date of the video!

[@19Cub]

Great video Martin. 👍👍👍

[@martinpauly]

Thank you - glad you enjoyed it! - Martin

[@tommacbride3654]

Well done, top to bottom! Happy trails, Cheers!

[@martinpauly]

Thank you, Tom. - Martin

[@enjoy110]

Thanks for the info!

[@martinpauly]

My pleasure! - Martin

[@jr13227]

I’m sure I’ve heard many of these people when I listen to ord approach and departure

[@martinpauly]

I think it's fun to meet the people after we've heard the voices a few times! Sometimes we have a picture in our mind of what someone might look like - only to be totally surprised! - Martin

[@JegTreSpillerDama]

I found it interesting that the controllers were using paper flight strips (and digital - the screen with 0 0 15 2 4 6 on it). Great question about visual weather on the RADAR. I was a ground control approach controller and we could chose which Wx to show. There is so much to learn in each respective sector, controllers rarely move positions. I can imagine being a TRACON controller and... NOPE!

[@martinpauly]

I understood from the conversation that some of the large, busy airports have electronic flight strips, but the smaller ones still use paper. Not sure why the paper is used in this day and age, but that's how they do it. Which airport were you at as a ground controller, Michelle? - Martin

[@JegTreSpillerDama]

@@martinpauly I started off at Cairns Fields in Alabama (KOZR), controlling military flights. I was a transition team member from the switch from military to civilian at Giebelstadt Airport (EDQG) in Germany and then moved to Frankfurt (EDDF).

[@VaniltonAlmeida]

Hi, Michelle. I'm ATC at Twr from Sao Paulo, Brazil. We are undergoing a radical change. Could you tell me how many ATC work in the Chicago tower, and how is the scale of service and How many ATC work in each shift? Here at Twr we are 54 ATC. We work relay shifts, 8 ATC on each team, each shift for 6 hours and after 4 days, we have 48h days off.

[@flymorenow]

Great video. You asked if passenger jets get priority over GA and the answer was no, but that answer seemed to just cover inbound traffic. There was a situation when you departed Charlotte and there was a long wait until an American Airline captain asked tower to let you go. So it seems outbound GA's have to wait for commercial traffic on departure?

[@martinpauly]

Referring to the Charlotte take-off: the airliners were waiting, too. I couldn't tell you how exactly they figure out the sequence there since we were coming from different sides of the runway, but the airliners were forming a line, and I'm not sure which of us got to the runway first. - Martin

[@srvafool]

I've heard Kevin say many times "with you". I quit worrying about it after hearing him and now Brock verifies it. I've heard the same aviation forums condemn the phrase repeatedly. I compare them to armchair quarterbacks who always know more than anyone else. Same thing with "any traffic in the area, please advise". Sometimes that phrase is definitely needed.

[@martinpauly]

Matt told me he is going to have to stop making his students cry about this. :-) So we all learned something! - Martin

[@platemod8465]

@@martinpauly Might be that 'with you' has found equal to 'good morning' 'good afternoon' 'good day'. Its a concise moment of courtesy that says we're in this together for success.

[@jdavis7119]

Another great video Martin.

[@martinpauly]

Thank you. I know it's a bit on the long side, but we learned so much that day, I felt it would be a shame to not share it with other pilots. Best, Martin