Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649

Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649

Most of us experience Air Traffic Control sitting in an airline seat. We don’t think about the processes behind getting airplanes from point a to point b. President Trump and Congress are in the process of detaching Air Traffic Control from the FAA. We’ll talk about it in Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649.

General Aviation Is Big Business

Air shows like this one don’t just showcase war birds and experimental aircraft. Osh Kosh has become synonymous with the business of aviation. It all started with the innovation of home builders. Over the years smaller companies have come here to sell their services and products. These days hundreds of small companies and all the large corporations are here. OSH17 isn’t just an air show it is a convention of aviation enthusiasts and the business of aviation in all its forms. In Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649.

Not Taking The Easy Way Out

As a podcaster it would be easy for me to walk the flight line. Record the B-29 arrival. Get the thunder of the B-1B flyover. Of course we will get some of those things in podcasts from this show but on the first day, I decided to dig deeper. Forgo the flight line and spend some time at EAA Press Headquarters to cover the opening press conference for EAA President Jack Pelton. You’ll hear his press conference live in Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649.

Is This Really A Free Market Reform?

These days politics finds us even when we try to escape. In what some feel is a first attempt in a raft of similar ‘privatization’ efforts, President Trump is pushing congress to ‘reform’ the nation’s air traffic control system. Trump’s form of privatization isn’t something out of a free market text book though.

Remember The War Board?

Part of HR 2997, the 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act is to appoint a board of members from industry, labor and government. The job of this board is to modernize the US ATC system. As the whipping goes on in Washington (or sausage making) congressmen may not be aware of the vehemence of opposition to this plan from General Aviation. Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649.

Pilots And Air Traffic Controllers

In Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649, EAA, Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots talk about the ATC. Is this the right formula for modernization of the US Air Traffic Control system? Is the US on the verge of losing its advantage in aviation? Will this new board take a dark view of General Aviation which has been a source of innovation and business development for decades?

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Flight Line Uprising-Live at EAA AirVenture 2017-Podcast 649

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A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640

A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640

A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640 hits home, for me. Glouster Ohio is home to most of my family on my dad’s side. It’s been a long time since I visited. You hear a lot of talk these days about how towns like this are struggling. I’ve seen a lot of towns and cities on America’s back roads. Seems like this is one of the most challenged places I’ve been to.

King Coal

For over a hundred years it’s been all about coal mines in this part of the country. Back in the day, the idea was to get the coal out of the ground. Period. Companies didn’t care about the environment in those days and I would assume they didn’t care too much about their employees. This part of Ohio is the scene of mining disasters and pitched battles when the unions began organizing workers in the early twentieth century. My grandfather told me people carried guns in Glouster like the old west. My dad and uncle confirmed that story. In A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640.

Better Days

The Buckingham Coal Mine still exists a few miles from Glouster. There’s talk about opening a mine closer to town. I imagine there are still miners here. On the other hand, Glouster has been better days. I know there are people in town working to save it. As I walked the streets I wonder why this town decays while other small towns a few miles away seem to thrive. In conclusion, now I understand my Grandfather’s drive to get to a better place.

Sometimes Things Don’t Work Out

One thing you learn from travel is things don’t always work out. Glouster is already on a list of America’s most forlorn places. Especially relevant is the idea that this is the kind of town hit hardest by movement away from coal. Maybe that will change. In A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640. (Editor’s Note: In this podcast I refer to the location of a mining disaster as Mill City. It is, in fact, Millfield. A few miles away from Glouster. My apologies.)

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A Southern Ohio Mining Town Decays-Podcast 640

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Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Blue skies and sunshine on this Storm Chasing Trip. With no storms, it’s a good time to visit the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center at Norman, Oklahoma. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center is where where all severe weather predictions and updates originate. We’ll go in inside, In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Storm Chaser Valhalla

Storm Chasers use information that originates at Norman. Why? Doppler Radar was developed here. Scientists in Kansas City spent springs here back in the day, to research storms. There was a naval air station here. So, there was plenty of room to locate a brand new radar system.

NEXRAD

Doppler Radar has been a game changer since its inception in the 1990’s. NEXRAD changed and continues to change how the world learns about severe weather. In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Secure Facility

The radar control center is in a secure building shared by several government agencies. One of those agencies is the department of defense. Needless to say, I could not get into this facility. Persistence pays off and after a few calls, NOAA Public Affairs Specialist Keli Pirtle invited me to come over to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Weather Geek Out

It’s all about weather geeks. Thanks to Keli Pirtle for inviting me in on short notice and for the history lesson. How did the radar system get built at Norman? Finally, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Patrick Marsh gives us complete rundown of how the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center works. Plus some stories about what it is like in this center when major weather is breaking.

Storm Chasers

The idea behind tax payer funded NEXRAD is data products should be available to everyone, and this is one of the reasons we get radar and other NWS products on our smartphones. However, severe weather can be unpredictable. A town, person or chaser can be right under a tornado and not be able to to see it until it’s too late. While the National Weather Service does not have an official position on Storm Chasing Even the National Weather Service is not immune as you will hear. Be Safe.

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Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

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