From your Air Traffic Control Tower Manager: Any Given Fly-Day

The time is 7:00 am (or 1200 Zulu) and the opening air traffic controller has turned on the recorders, made their way upstairs, and has completed the watch checklist. They have turned the beacon off, switched the airport lighting over to manual and has advised Austin Approach that, “San Marcos Tower will be opening on the hour.” The controller keys up the handset or headset (we all have different preferences) and utters, “Time one two zero zero Zulu, San Marcos Tower is resuming class delta services….”

At this moment the IFR clearances for the early departures have been copied verbatim (more than likely it’s one the McCoy’s Citation 525) and the controller is probably thinking: I hope the morning is quiet at least until I finish my breakfast. There is nothing more terrifyingly exhilarating than having four airplanes in the pattern with three or four inbounds, all while trying to get three or four departures off the ground.

The mind is moving a million miles per hour: How is my spacing? Can I get this aircraft off? Can I land and depart another runway other than the active? I need to extend this aircraft. I’ll bring this aircraft in over the top to the right downwind to sequence them in with the rest of the aircraft. Who is going to be number four or five for landing?

Whew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Controlling air traffic is a team effort because there is so much to focus on at any given time. The ground controller and the local controller must work in unison in order to be efficient and effective. The pilots also play an integral part; from pilot reports to spotting traffic and adjusting on the fly (pun intended) when asked to do so by the control tower. Speaking of the pilots, we have some the best instructors, student pilots (Coast Flight, Texas State, Black Hound, Austin Aviation Academy, Berry Aviation) and general aviation pilots around in my opinion. You all make our jobs easy, thank you!

The thing is no two days are alike. Some are slower than others and some are frustratingly hectic; that is why everyday can be any given fly-day.  

Sincerely,

André L Murphy
Air Traffic Manager, HYI FCT