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I was listening to NPR the other day and they had on an Air Traffic Controller, an employee of the now privatized FSS, and a representative of the FAA. Interesting hearing all sides as they discussed the ATC system and changes etc. However, when the FAA employee was asked about the effects of privatization, he refused to answer and the ATC fellow very quickly offered his opinion.

He strongly felt that since the change, the workload for ATC has significantly increased with pilots calling them for services they can't access from FSS. Further if ATC were to become privatized it would be devastating to the entire system. He also indicated these were the feelings of the other employees in his sector. Interesting hearing the other side.

doesnt surprise me. i am thankful that the airports i regularly fly out of are capable of getting an IFR clearance on the ground over the radio. i saw on avweb a few weeks ago that someone started a wiki devoted entirely to telling others how to get instrument clearances from all the airports in the country, without having to go through the nationwide FSS hotline. direct phone numbers to ATC facilities etc. ive heard many stories of 20-40 minute waits for the FSS clearance delivery folks to get anything back, that is just ridiculous, and is definitely not going to help safety

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Everyone must believe in something, I believe that I will go flying.