 |
Controller Profiles: Rich Ulmes Rich Ulmes ATC Experience: 26 years Dayton Air Traffic Control Tower/Terminal Radar Approach Control What made you decide to become an air traffic controller? "I had a neighbor who worked for the FAA and he took me to the airport as a kid. I was fascinated watching the planes fly and working in the field interested me." How did you become an air traffic controller? "I got into this profession through the military and received my training in the Navy." Describe a typical day at work. "I spend the day talking to airplanes and I also train a lot of new air traffic controllers at my facility. I enjoy training them because it gives me an opportunity to share my experiences and the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping to train others to take my place someday." What's the best part of your job? "I think the best part is the satisfaction that comes from doing a good job and seeing airplanes fly from one place to another, knowing you helped make it happen." What's the worst part of your job? "The worst thing for me is the shift work and the related changes in schedule. My days off are constantly changing, so sometimes you are out of step with everyone else." What's unique about the facility where you work? "The facility where I work has a large midnight operation because we get a significant amount of cargo traffic late at night. This means our facility doesn't have dead shifts, and the airport is busy throughout the day." Why do you prefer working in your type of facility (tower, TRACON or center)? "My facility is up/down meaning I spend half of my time in the air traffic control tower and half in the radar room. I think this provides a good mix; radar is the most challenging but then you are able to go into the tower and watch the aircraft. It's truly the best of both worlds, and watching the airplanes fly is still amazing after all of these years." What are three important characteristics that you believe a controller needs? 1. "The ability to make decisions" 2. "Common sense" 3. "Ability to think quickly on your feet" What's the most challenging situation you?ve ever had to handle? "One situation that is stressful is when the airport is busy with a lot of traffic, and an aircraft has an emergency. This causes a lot of stress. One time we had a number of icing situations during a busy midnight operation. Several airplanes declared an emergency at the same time, so we had to find a place for all of them to land and get the ice off." Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in the future? "I'm eligible to retire in five years, and plan on moving near the water where I want to spend a lot of time sailing and fishing." Main Menu |