In the event some of you missed these comments:
LOVE this. This is what VATSIM SHOULD be about.
Someone up there mentioned "Alex aging before his time", well let me tell you something. Alex was the first person I ever "spoke" to on this network. He took the liberty to exchange upwards of 15 emails with this old hag trying to help me get set up on the network. I'm a retired CPA just looking to have some fun on here, but couldn't figure a damn thing out let alone figure out how to get training to control planes. Alex took the time to explain everything to me in detail and I could tell he had an interest in improving my own experience.
Where is this going, you ask? I'm just some VATSIM rookie that signed up a few weeks ago so I have no dog in this fight, but if he is any indication of how VATSIM operates then kudos to the network. I stumbled upon this damn blog reading through the forums and I can't believe the crap people want to spread over an online network. I want to come on here and kick back. If I wanted to hear this crap I'd go to my daughter's school where she teaches the 4th grade. This is pathetic.
Moral to the story... the VATSIM BoD needs to listen to us new folk who have no agenda and who only come on here to kick my feet up and control some planes, maybe have a beer or ten while I'm at it. If you are wondering why I really care, its because I wanted to join Chicago since I live near the airspace and I took one look at that place and said hell no. The damn deputy director (I think his name is Ron?) there in Chicago wouldn't even answer my damn questions and don't even get me started on what I hav read on the forum topics on here. So I found a niche in another ARTCC.
The VATSIM board of directors or whoever runs the place needs to pay more attention to us. I'm just a good ole country boy that tells it how it is. It sure looks to me like they listen to whoever is gonna grease their palms so to speak.
Thats all I got folks, just thought I'd throw this out there.
I'd like to know who wrote this. Email me.
The politics and ass kissing on the VATSIM VATUSA forum is sickening. I honestly doubt those who are saying Ron stayed on the sidelines in this really believe that. And if they do, they are total morons. Norman Blackburn absolutely makes me sick.
I have read the emails AND text messages he sent Alex telling him STEP BY STEP on what to do to fire Jason. Even telling him not to respond to Jason as to why Alex relieved Jason of his duties. Good ole Stormin' Norman then is the one who renders the "decision" to undo what HE guided Alex in doing. Can you say conflict of interest?? No one cares though. Jason telling Bruce that Alex was gone, Bryan was gone, and David was gone was hilarious. And the 100 dollar incident between David and the rest was the icing on the cake. When I talked to a "Founder" about it on the phone he laughed and said it was $115 not $100. Any ideas where Jason may have gotten this information? Hmmm?? I wonder just how many really know the real story here. Obviously few few from reading the forum. I really don't care if anyone believes what I have said here. Those involved do. From Norm to David to a few others, they know. As I said Alex has the emails and text messages. No one other than a select few outside the loop will ever see them. I am now out of this mess and will get on with my life. This is so sad. I wonder if the leaders of SATCO ever stooped this low?
Bo - while I don't agree with your methods nor delivery, I will admit that you make some good points. I'm not here to agree or disagree with you, but rather to correct some of your information which is incorrect:
1) Jeff Turner did not create the regional director position. It was in place as far back as the Satco days.
2) The scenario where an ATM is removed and takes the website with him is the exception not the rule. I doubt there is any "data" one could refer to for actual percentages - but I'd guess it was <10%. That doesn't make it a good thing, it just doesn't make it a massive issue.
3) While I'll agree that the removal of Marc Sykes had a lot of personal animosity in it which was absolutely disgraceful on the part of vatusa, Marc was anything but a "unifying" force on vatusa. While he had some outstanding vision for ZLA, he failed to see that vatusa must make room for the entire spectrum of "realism". He was only interested in what was good for ZLA - regardless of the negative impacts it had on ZLA's neighboring facilities. While it was an unfortunate situation, his departure resulted in a breath of fresh air for zla, the western region, and vatusa.
Ok, I stand corrected on the RD position. My bad. The rest would be considered opinion, but it's noted.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well Bo, I guess your blog is not turning out to be the hot bed you had hoped. I was hoping it would be too. Now another chapter has been opened. A true politician is mow the Director. Andrew Podner will tell everyone what they want to hear. Obviously no one looked at how he tore down ZME as their ATM? No Over the shoulders, hardly any training and wanting to do away with the letters of agreements with his neighboring ARTCC's are just scratching the surfice. Someone oughta ask Wes and Dustin what kind of crap Andrew gave them when he interviewed for the ATM position. He said a bunch of stuff he did not do. Was not going to change the training he said. He changed it. He did nothing he said he was going to do now, he has posted this on the VATUSA Forum:
ReplyDelete"I am going to forgo the long email/speech that is customary for new Directors. Instead I want to simply layout the ideas that will drive the decision making process going forward:
*Promote fair and equitable treatment of all members under the CoC and CoR.
*Maximize staffing of airspace by qualified air traffic controllers.
*Increase air traffic levels within the division.
*Smoothly implement the policy directives of the VATSIM Executive Committee & Board of Governors.
There's not much more to it than that. I will spend the foreseeable future visitng individually with ARTCCs, VAs, and the USA Staff to get feedback on how they are feeling about the state of things.
In the meantime have fun and enjoy the hobby.
_________________
Andrew Podner
Division Director
VATUSA"
No one yet has posted anything questioning the above. I have spoken with members of ZME but I doubt they will say anything. Most are just glad he is gone. The ATM's who he tried to convince to cancel the letters of agreement are there. Well, one no longer is but his replacement was DATM when Andrew spoke with him and Dan McCabe asking if they could just "do away with all that". The response to Andrew was : "You do that and we will drop them at the border and put them on Unicom". So it didn't happen. Numbers and statistics are all that matter to Andrew. When the new list of Major airports comes out and everyone see's the DRAMATIC drop off, it is ALL because of numbers. Andrew was VERY vocal in that during the review process before Alex left. Sure Alex, to my knowledge, went with almost if not all of the suggested major list Andrew wamted, with only a couple of additions Andrew didn't want added. But old Andrew is now running the show.
Continued in next post due to length
Notice the four things on Andrew's list? There is NOTHING saying how he is going to accomplish these things. This is what he did at ZME. Let's address them:
ReplyDelete1. Fair and equitable treatment? How? Tell us Andrew. Tell us how no one has gotten fair and equatable treatment? Your past speaks volumes of how things will go. You look out for yourself. Your backstabbing is known. Now it is on the national level. Your history of telling people what they want to hear is going to catch up with you quickly. You talk out of both sides of your mouth. Even the "good ole boys" who are there at the national level will soon start seeing it. They may be blind right now but what goes around comes around. Now it will be YOU Andrew who is the topic of discussion when you are not around.
2. Maximize staffing? HOW in the world are YOU going to accomplish this?? You did not do it at ZME and you expect everyone to believe you will do it on the national level? More smoke and mirrors Andrew. How are you going to assure there are instructors and mentors at the ARTCC's?? Qualified Staff? First you must be qualified yourself Andrew. Some say you have done a great job with the website. While I do acknowledge when it "crashed" you worked hard to get things back, that is just about it. The site is bland. Robert Prescott has given you the ideas that are there.
More importantly, let's look at the part of # 2 where you say: "qualified air traffic controllers". First, you would not know what that means if it hit you in the mouth. Again, let's look at what YOU have done in the past, forget your own controllin skills, that is another joke in and of itself. How did you do that at ZME? You did away with Over The Shoulders ( a violation of the VATUSA Training Guidelines), opting to rather give students minimal training with the attitude they would learn once they were on their own. Typical of you Andrew. Alex had to call you out in the VATUSA Forum to change that. Qualified controllers? Those as ZME that you were responsible for were not even remotely qualified. Your TA didn't even know some of the airports in ZME's airspace. Students HAD to teach him. I wonder how you are going to deal with those like ZLA who take over 2 years to certify someone? Again, you will do what you have become good at, talking out of both sides of your mouth. You have even been heard saying "well, they are different out there because of the amount of traffic they have". Hmmm, 180 degrees opposite of what you said at ZME huh Andrew? What a joke.
3. Increase traffic? How Andrew? Be specific. With the attitudes of some of those, including ZLA, tell us how. Tell us how YOU personally are going to increase any thing?
4. This one you will excell in. You can pass the buck and blame the BoG for everything. This won't fly after it becomes obvious that the BoG is not responsible for everything.
Well, this is enough for now. It would have been better for Gary Millsaps to step back in as Director. At least with him we know what he was. You on the other hand will soon be shown to be the self-centered two faced backstabber BS'er you really are. I can't wait.
Thanks for the post. I'll put these questions up top, and maybe Andrew will address them. As far as the blog becoming a barn burner, I was just going to let the train wreck play out without my help.
ReplyDelete