The Flick -- A term used by air traffic controllers to describe a mental model representing the current and future positions of air traffic in a section of airspace. Controllers visualize the paths of multiple aircraft in terms of position, altitude, trajectory and speed. Controllers also refer to this as "having the picture." But the picture moves -- like a movie -- hence the term “the flick.”
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Bedtime
1:45 AM. Two o’clock was a pretty good guess. I’m tired. Glad I had that nap.
You know, I could be a grumpy old man (I’m a pretty good at it) about this midnight business and just say the young guys will have to tough it out. I did. And so did most of the guys that I worked with. But before I got to be a grumpy old man, I was a safety rep. for air traffic controllers. And the safe thing to do is provide the staffing and scheduling for controllers to nap on the midnight shifts. One day, we’ll wish we had.
See you in the morning.
Don Brown
April 20, 2011
Labels:
air traffic control,
Fatigue,
Safety
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