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One of the data display stations available to air traffic controllers.
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Air traffic controllers (from left) Bob Adelizzi, Bill Bartlett and Andy Applegate, a Civil Air Patrol major in the Ohio Wing’s Akron-Canton Senior Flying Squadron.
2nd Lt. Reid Leonard
Public Affairs Officer
Hanscom Composite Squadron
Massachusetts Wing
MASSACHUSETTS — Every student pilot learns the rules for entering controlled airspace. For a Class Delta airport like Bedford’s Hanscom Field, the minimum requirement is to establish two-way radio communication with air traffic control.
The individual on the other side of that radio conversation rarely comes into view for those aboard a plane, but that changed recently for Hanscom Composite Squadron senior members when three air traffic controllers from the Boston Terminal Radar Approach Control facility and the Hanscom air traffic control tower were featured guests at the squadron’s monthly safety meeting in February.
Bob Adelizzi, Andy Applegate and Bill Bartlett, besides being working controllers, are also representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration “FAAST” aviation safety team, which conducts a variety of live and computer-based safety training seminars for the aviation community.
The three presented rules and tips for safe and efficient operation in the Boston terminal area, procedures to avoid airport runway incursions — entering an active runway without permission — and advice on how to coordinate with ATC for special situations, such as a Civil Air Patrol search and rescue mission or training exercise.
The team also provided a fascinating behind-the-scenes view of ATC operations, including images of the radar screens and other technological equipment used to safely guide aircraft, from small Cessna 172s to jumbo Boeing 777s and military aircraft of all types, through U.S. airspace.
The information proved to be of great interest to the audience, pilots and nonpilots alike. Besides the obvious value to fliers operating CAP aircraft, ground team and mission base members benefited from knowing what aircrews have to do to operate safely in complex airspace surrounding a metropolitan area like Boston.
Adelizzi stressed the value of crew resource management, as practiced by airline crews, as a model for CAP flight operations. Specifically, he discussed the importance of aircrew proficiency in communications, which allows the mission pilot to concentrate on flying and communicating with ATC while the observer and scanner handle communications with the mission base and ground teams.
The controllers shared some of their personal stories as well:
- Adelizzi, who controls traffic from the Boston facility, is a 27-year veteran who has worked with many flights by CAP and other emergency service responders over the years. He shared his experiences working with aircrews on actual search and rescue missions, stressing the lengths to which ATC can go to assist when asked.
- Applegate, the Bedford tower manager, is also a major in the Ohio Wing’s Akron-Canton Senior Flying Squadron.
- Bartlett, a controller at the Bedford tower, came to the FAA after a career as a U.S. Air Force controller at Eglin Air Force Base, Texas, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
