The late Bill DeCota was remembered today “as a national leader who was passionate about aviation and the national air transportation system” by the Aero Club of Washington, which named him the recipient of its Donald D. Engen Trophy for

Aviation Excellence. Susan M. Baer, the Port Authority’s aviation director, accepted the award for Mr. DeCota from the Aero Club’s board of governors. Mr. DeCota, who most recently led the Port Authority’s initiative to promote the “Next Gen” satellite navigation system, served as the agency’s Aviation Director from December 1999 until his unexpected death in September 2009. “It’s a great honor to accept an award that recognizes one of the true giants this industry has ever known,” said Ms. Baer, who was named Mr. DeCota’s successor after serving as the Aviation Department’s Deputy Director/ Chief Operating Officer. The Aero Club highlighted Mr. DeCota’s legacy to the aviation industry, saying his “work on behalf of airports, airlines, general aviation and the traveling public make him a very deserving recipient of the Aero Club’s Engen Trophy.”

When you think about it, there are only two things you need to operate an air facility; the tarmac and a control tower. Everything else is gravy. Heck you could wait for an airplane standing on the grass, climb a portable stairway and board. That’s the way it was done in the days before things got complicated by security, luggage handling and all the other amenities that we modern folk need to make travel easier and efficient. People who man control towers are a special breed. They need to be bright – the tests to even get a ticket into the intense training regimen are very tough to pass – they have to have a well balanced and calm attitude the face of crisis, and they need to work fast within the bounds of safety and efficiency. As can be expected, the tower at JFK is one of the busiest in the world. JFK averages between 1150 - 1220 flights per day in 2009 and expect to have approximately 425,000 operations this year. The peak times are in the morning, from 7:30 to 10 am, and in the afternoon/evening time periods. JFK operations have increased nearly 70% from 2003 when the tower averaged about 780 per day. I had the privilege of going up to watch the JFK tower operation last month, and I felt like a kid going to his first baseball game. The control tower entry point is at the rear of IAT Terminal (Terminal 4). You need to walk to the rear of IAT and be admitted through a locked door, and are then met by a guard. From this point, you need to be accompanied by another guard to the entry door where you must be met and escorted by a FAA employee. I forgot to tell you, you had better be invited by the FAA prior to making this trip. At this point, it is a elevator ride and a winding stairway trip up to the tower. While you are in or near the tower,

A Special Feature Article by: Matt Jarvis, Griffith Integrated Services
There is really no such thing as an “average” Northcentral University Learner— except maybe in a context like, “The average Northcentral Learner is a really, really busy person.” By that standard, Barry Hyde may be average. Get past the “really, really busy” part, however, and the word average just does not apply. Mr. Hyde is remarkable in a number of ways. He had tutored students at Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University’s flight training lab in Daytona Beach, where he helped them prepare for their FAA written, oral, and flight tests. Hyde is an FAA-certified advanced ground and instrument ground instructor and was honored for the third year in a

row with a scholarship award from the Air Traffic Control Association in Washington DC. He also recently accepted a visiting assistant professor position at Daniel Webster College. On top of that Hyde is over half way to earning his PhD in business at Northcentral, with a 3.94 grade point average, and he graduated with a perfect 4.0 from Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University. Oh, and one other thing … Barry Hyde is...

And now, in time for the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard. It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. “We have to let them know we care,” Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.