Members of the Tri-County Flyers and the Morgantown Aero Club, and other local Morgantown Airport pilots and family members recently attended a tour of the Lancaster Airport control tower.
The purpose of the tour was for student pilots, newly minted pilots, and experienced pilots to get a glimpse of what goes on from the other side of the microphone when talking to ATC (air traffic control) from their airplanes.
Regardless of the experience level of any pilot, a tour like this is bound to uncover new insights and was well worth the time and effort (to climb all the stairs up into the “tower cab”). And the view of the Lancaster Airport from the top of the tower could easily be labeled a birds-eye-view.
The hospitality of the ATC tower was great. The tour was conducted by Al Hubler who is one of seven air traffic controllers at the Lancaster Airport tower. Al’s background includes former airline pilot, aircraft mechanic, former FAA employee, current active flight instructor, and speaker at several FAA Safety Seminars each year. Al and Jack (the other controller on duty that afternoon) explained and demonstrated the uses of the various screens and radar feeds, covered the why-fors in the tower, and answering many questions pertaining to ATC operations for both VFR and IFR flight.
The Morgantown Aero Club is a Morgantown Airport based flying club which owns a Piper Cherokee 235. The Morgantown Aero Club has been in existence since 1947 making it one of the oldest continually operating flying clubs in the country.
The Tri-County Flyers is also a Morgantown Airport based flying club, which owns a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 172. New club memberships are available.
For more information, visit TriCountyFlyers.com.
