This time of year ATC facilities in Florida see their typical slow down in
air traffic, except for the larger hub facilities. One of the major
concerns ATC has this time of year are the thunderstorms and the effect it
has on air traffic activity. The problems thunderstorms cause air traffic
facilities, such as the lightning hit we took on the ASR-8 radar system is
something we deal with all summer. The effects of this radar outage are
obvious, a reduction in the services we are able to provide to pilots. We
have had to turn down practice approach requests and are unable to assist
pilots with weather information and weather avoidance. We are also unable to provide flight following to VFR pilots and Class C services are
unavailable because of the non-radar below 4000 feet. The CENRAP is
secondary radar only and is very limited in it's data display.  By the time
this letter reaches our pilots I am hopeful the radar will be returned to
service. The one thing I would like pilots to remember is this can happen
to any facility out there that has to deal with thunderstorms. So pilots
should be up on non-radar procedures, VFR/IFR and what the limitations of CENRAP are. Pilots should also be familiar with the terminology and
phraseology ATC uses in reference to weather, understanding the limitations of radar and what a pilot can expect concerning weather deviations.

The facility is still open for visits by pilots and if you are interested
in visiting the facility, please contact Steve Leggett and he will make the
arrangements for a tour.

Safe Flying,
Ron Fisher,
Air Traffic Manager, TLH ATCT
ron.fisher@faa.gov
Office: (850) 942-9642
Cell: (850) 556-1294
ETSU
FAX: (850) 942-9657

Tallahassee CAP providing support at Oshkosh

Operations during the Experimental Aircraft Association's Airventure Oshkosh 2004 will once again be supported by the Civil Air Patrol.  In addition to CAP's role in Search and Rescue, the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program conducts a national level cadet encampment, called "Blue Beret", during this annual Fly-In event.

During the month of January, CAP Cadets from across the nation compete to be selected to participate in Blue Beret.  Out of 27,000 Cadets in the United States, less than 1% are selected for Blue Beret.

This year, two of those CAP Cadets are from Tallahassee.

Cadet Captain Richard Barnard and Cadet Captain David Wesolowski will travel to Oshkosh to join 150 cadets from across the United States to support EAA's largest Fly-In.  Barnard and Wesolowski are 17 year old Cadets that joined CAP when they were just 12 years old.  Both of these cadets are from the Tallahassee Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Both have recently graduated from the CAP's prestigious Cadet Officer School.  While attending the 10-day Cadet Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Barnard and Wesolowski were taught leadership skills by the staff of the USAF Air War College.

During the week of the EAA Airventure, this airport is one of the busiest in the world.  The most visible support role that CAP Cadets contribute at EAA Airventure is directing aircraft movements on the ground.  If you're going to Oshkosh, keep an eye out for the CAP Cadets marshalling aircraft.  A couple of these are from Tallahassee!  -  Capt. James Dodson