Air traffic controllers will be put to the test during AirFest

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AFB, Fla. --  Air traffic around MacDill can be busy at times, as KC-135 Stratotankers, C-37s and various other aircraft come and go. It's enough to keep air traffic controllers busy, for sure, but nothing like what they will see at the end of the month. 

With AirFest quickly approaching, this means planes will be buzzing around MacDill like flies at a picnic, calling on base controllers to step up, put on their concentration caps and stay on their toes at all times. 

"It's a busy time and a big job getting everyone (various aircraft) in and out of here," said Senior Master Sgt. Angela Hull, control tower chief controller. "There's going to be a lot of traffic." 

The team will ramp up efforts beginning March 29, when the first aircraft fly into Tampa. On that same day, Blue Angels team member number seven arrives ahead of the precision flying team to coordinate local media with aircraft incentive flights and provide information about the upcoming weekend events the Blue Angels team will be staging. 

Other early arrivals should be coming in the same day, with even more scheduled for the following day, Sergeant Hull said. 

A lot of aircraft is scheduled to begin arriving early on March 30, including the rest of the Blue Angels team, she said. 

At that point, Dick Cutshall, operations officer for the 23rd Wing, Detachment 1 based at the Deployed Unit Complex, will change hats and step in as AirFest air boss. It's a command performance for Mr. Cutshall, who has been at MacDill for 18 years, heading up air control chores for the event since 1987. 

When Mr. Cutshall is on the job, the air traffic control team will fall back into a support role, said Sergeant Hull, working the main air traffic control tower while he works a mobile tower on the ramp. His job will be to coordinate show aircraft in practice sessions and various performances during AirFest . 

Mr. Cutshall, who has coordinated shows at other bases, said the MacDill show is a challenge due to Tampa International Airport being located just six miles from the base, and operating as usual throughout the AirFest. 

"It takes a lot of communication and coordination with Tampa tower," said Mr. Cutshall, who added a twist this year will be the staging of a MacDill mini air show over the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix April 1. 

With all that will be going on, beefed up manning on the control team will be the rule, said Sergeant Hull, as it is important that controllers get breaks after two hours of intensive seat time. It's a stressful job, she notes, and can take a lot out of a person physically. 

The event will be Sergeant Hull's first time working an air show, having arrived at MacDill just about the time of the last AirFest in 2005. Planning and exercises have been going well and she anticipates a great event. 

"The last three weeks (before the show) are the busiest, but we are ready," she said.
Part of the challenge will be adjusting to the new types of aircraft, some of which will date back to World War II, that will be flying in, Sergeant Hull said. 

It won't be a problem she predicted, but controllers will have to "stay on their toes" regarding timing and watching air speeds of the various planes, as in some cases they will approach at slower speeds and at different altitudes than modern aircraft. 

"We'll be seeing some old planes," she said. "That will be a little bit of an adjustment, but nothing we can't handle." 

The final challenge of the controller team will be getting all the planes into the wild blue yonder once the AirFest concludes April 1. Sergeant Hull suspects that despite the numerous planes and pilots who will be clamoring to get home, the process will be orderly and efficient.