Did you know?

  • Published
  • By Mark Tartt
  • 439th Airfield Operations Manager
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  ...that the airfield operations staff manages one of the largest runways on the East Coast? Runway 5-23 is more more than 11,600 feet long. The staff also:

-- Conducts all braking action runway condition readings for aircraft. This task informs all aircrews what to expect when landing or taking off concerning a surface condition such as ice, loose and or packed snow. The aircraft commander then can make a qualified decision to land or depart in the current conditions.

-- Enters flight plans and flight follow all aircraft arrival and departures. Initiate preliminary communication searches for potential overdue and/or missing aircraft.

-- Monitors all concrete and asphalt surfaces for damage or incorrect markings that could cause damage to aircraft, then report them to civil engineering for repair.

-- Inspects all airfield lighting for operation 365 days per year. These systems are the pilots visual reference when departing and arriving at the airport.

-- Is highly involved in air shows, developing the static aircraft parking plans, to establishing proper placement of pyrotechnics demonstration.

-- Is a main player involved with aircraft safety when responding to emergencies, bird strikes, bird dispersal and potential hazards to aircraft.

- Monitors and trains all airfield drivers for the wing. Controls the data for more than 3,000 drivers annually at the base, to include contractors working on the airfield.

-- Is the main distribution point for all flight information publications for the wing. These documents are the equivalent to road maps for the sky.

-- Coordinates the annual United Nations assembly aircraft staging here. This involves more than a dozen aircraft from different countries.

...now you know.