I forwent calling the FA A to tell them
what a wonderful a job the controller
did because I was scared of getting in
trouble. I’m sure he probably doesn’t
realize the effect h e had on my life—
and for that, Mr. Harold Baker, I will
be forever grateful.
You see, it’s this event that led me
to apply to be and later become a cer-
tified professional controller myself.
Day in and day out, I see these
events and the quiet professional-
ism that these controllers exert, and
I feel truly proud to be a part of their
team. I encourage all pilots to use
f light following and other services
because we strive to provide a great
product, and we go the extra mile to
make sure that you make it to your
destination safely.
My experience also makes for an
interesting study of the FA A’s hazard-
ous attitudes. Blinded by the thought
of “free” f lying time, I never stopped
and considered the fact that not hav-
ing a checkout, I could have driven to
the airport in Lagrange and picked up
the CFI and student. The time savings
of f lying versus driving would have
been negligible.
Another note of wisdom I’ll leave
with the general aviation commu-
nity from the perspective of being
an active CFI and air traffic control-
ler: Never be afraid to ask ATC for
help or declare an emergency. Many
times, I hear pilots stress that they
didn’t want to cause a lot of paper-
work or get in trouble for declaring
an emergency. Well I just want to saythat the paperwork created is on our
end, and it is our job to do it. Don’t
worry about causing someone extra
work or getting in trouble. Our job is
to provide the best service possible
and get you to your destination as
safely as possible.
Finally, if you do have an expe-
rience like mine, call up your local
ATC facility and let management
know about it. We love to reward
our controllers, especially because
it seems that they go through most
of their days anonymously. Be safe
out there, and remember to never
be afraid to ask for help and never
gloss over the hazardous attitudes
that make us susceptible to intro-
ducing unnecessary risk into our
flying.