| The History of Flight Service / Rose Marie Kern |
Did you know that Flight Service was originally a division of the Post Office? In combination with the Army, the Post Office developed Air Mail Routes along the east coast. Then in 1918, the military transferred operations to the Post Office and by 1920 a transcontinental route was established with17 Air Mail Radio Stations (AMRS) in activation.
Then, as now, the specialists at the AMRS’s gathered and disseminated weather data, but their duties also included maintaining equipment, servicing the aircraft and unloading mail. As many of them were former maritime radio operators, they were expected to maintain their own equipment.
The Air Commerce Act of 1926 transferred the budding airway systems initially to the control of the Bureau of Lighthouses under the Department of Commerce. But the need for a separate administration was recognized and so the Airways Division was created in 1927. Onc of their first acts was to rename their 45 facilities “Airways Radio Stations” or ARS.
This was an exciting time in aviation as the “rules” of the air were being developed, airways were created and methods of communication were invented. Messages between the ARS’s were sent by teletype starting in 1928, and many of the Q codes still recognized in Flight Service began as short cuts in order to enhance quick communication. Today we still refer to the first stage of Search and Rescue as a QALQ.
Morse Code was the primary method of communication prior to the development of voice transmission. VORTAC’s today still broadcast in that manner. Fortunately for us all, voice communication was recognized early on as the most efficient and effective way to insure safety, and its development was made a top priority.
The Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) was created in 1938, and the ARS became the Airway Communication Station or ACS. Skilled electronic technicians were introduced to the system to maintain the equipment, allowing the specialists more time to serve their primary function of assisting the pilots.
During World War II, the military utilized the ACS;s heavily, and women began “manning” the facilities as the men went off to war. After the war, aviation experienced tremendous growth as air carriers and private pilots surged into the sky.
1958 saw the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency, and the ACS’s finally became what we know today as Flight Service Stations (FSS).
The FSS specialist’s duties by this time were more focused on the needs of the flying public. A Search and Rescue system had been developed and communication was vastly improved. Training and Certification from the National Weather Service enhanced the specialist’s abilities to provide tailored and more complete information to the pilots.
The 50’s also had some nasty aviation accidents that highlighted a need for better radio communications and navigational facilities. This spurred the government to focus on the needs of the Tower’s and Centers, and FSS’s importance faded somewhat in the grand scheme of things. While the others received the latest in computers, Flight Service continued to trudge along with teletype.
The Department of Transportation took over the Federal Aviation Administration in 1967, and recognition of the importance of real time weather information during flights became apparent. This led to what we now know as Flight Watch or Enroute Flight Advisory Service (EFAS) in 1972.
About 400 FSS;s were in operation by the early 1970’s, but advances in technology and the implementation of new computer systems encouraged the FAA to consolidate these facilities into 61 Automated Flight Services from 1984 to 1997. Alaska was the only state to retain just over a dozen of the smaller 1 and 2 man stations.
Three different computer systems were installed in these facilities, which created some interface problems, and the FAA was in the process of changing all of them over to an advanced graphics and data system called OASIS when the US government decided that Flight Service could and should be administrated through contracts with a corporation rather than directly by the federal government.
A study to privatize Flight Service began in 2001, and by 2003 we knew that changes would happen. In March of 2005 it was announced that Lockheed Martin (LM) would be awarded the contract, and the official change of command for those stations in the lower 48 states plus Hawaii occurred in October of that year.
Lockheed Martin invited all the people working in Flight Service to retain their jobs, though staffing was cut by almost a third as many people bid on other government positions in order to achieve retirement. Traffic per specialist subsequently increased, and there have been many internal changes in procedures that have come into play.
As of the first quarter of 2007, Lockheed’s FS21 computer came online, simultaneously the number of physical Flight Service Stations was reduced to today’s total of 19. The three main Hubs are in Washington DC, Prescott, and Fort Worth. These are the administrative centers for the three regions: Eastern, Central and Western.
The FS21 has had a rocky beginning, but improvements are implemented every two weeks or so. Whereas the old computer systems were set up locally and only shared information that was “emailed” between facilities, the main advantage of the FS21 rests primarily in its ability to interface nationally. Specialists in Maine have access to all the data input by Briefers in California.
As part of its overall plan, Lockheed’s FS21 will have a website component that pilots will be able to access remotely. It will contain all the weather data available to Flight Service and provide an entry point for flight plan information.
For more information about FS-21 and LM’s Flight Service Strategies visit their website at www.afss.com.
When the FAA was still in charge of Flight Service, changes were slow – a snail’s pace. The introduction of LM to the picture has caused a lot of internal changes, which hopefully the flying public sees as only for the best. Us old timers are hopping about trying to keep up. Be assured, LM, the FAA and the National Weather Service are performing high volumes of evaluations in an effort to ensure continued excellence of service.
Rose Marie Kern works at Lockheed Martin’s ABQ AFSS. If you’d like to ask Rose a question concerning ATC and the Lockheed Martin AFSS’s, send her an email at solarranch@aceweb.com.
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