After climbing the steep steps into Friedman Memorial Airport's traffic control tower in Hailey, it would be easy to believe you entered into foreign territory, as it's veritably impossible for the common bystander to understand anything that's being said.
On a Thursday afternoon in the middle of August, two air traffic specialists sat side by side, listening as reports from inbound and outbound pilots crackled over the loudspeaker. Facing the runway, they responded using phone handsets, answering in aviation jargon, unintelligible to those without the requisite training.
The controller in the southernmost chair, known as the "local," faced the approach and controlled all air traffic, departing and arriving, that's not on the runway. On that day, Dan Berry carried this duty, often scouting the southern horizon as he spoke into the phone.
Sitting to his right was Evan Hubbard, the ground and flight data controller, responsible for all airplanes on the taxiways, as well as the collection of weather information.
Huge windows offering a 360-degree view and an intimidating bank of computers and other equipment surrounded the pair.
Along with two other air traffic specialists, Alex Ortiz and Kelly Wilde, and Air Traffic Manager George White, the control crew combines for approximately 65 years of experience in the tower, a large portion of that courtesy of either the Air Force or Navy. With all five having served in one of the two military branches, it's no wonder they seem utterly unfazed when there's as much traffic in the air as on state Highway 75 during rush hour.
"We're all pretty experienced and don't stress too much," White said, standing behind Berry and Hubbard, doing his best to explain their actions to a complete neophyte.
For a small airport with only one runway, Friedman sees more than its fair share of airplanes.
"I was surprised at how busy it is," said White, who has been at the airport for less than a year. In fact, other than Kelly Wilde, who's worked at Friedman for 11 years, all of the controllers arrived in Hailey within the last 12 months.
This fact was originally a cause of concern for Airport Manager Rick Baird on the eve of the Allen & Co. media and business conference in mid-July, the busiest time of year at the airport. At the August meeting of the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority, Baird commended White and his staff for the level of professionalism they demonstrated.
"They did a miraculous job," Baird told the board members and citizens in attendance. "We have one of the best crews of controllers in the country."
With 7,400 aircraft either arriving or departing during July—approximately 17 percent of the year's total operations—and an estimated $2 billion to $3 billion worth of aircraft parked on the tarmac during the six-day span of July 10 through 15, Baird's praise isn't excessive.
So how does handling the mix of commercial and private aircraft compare to controlling multi-million dollar fighter jets?
"Honestly, I think it was easier in the military," White said. "There were fewer airplanes and here in Sun Valley we never know what we're going to have."
This unpredictability is one of the main attractions of the job, both Hubbard and Berry agreed.
"It's the challenge. It's never the same from day-to-day," Hubbard said. "You realize there are people on these planes and you have to have three or four alternative plans for every situation."
This isn't such an easy feat considering the airport is hemmed in on both sides by mountains, and planes only have one viable approach and departure direction, to the south.
"It ties your hands a bit," White said, explaining that the geographical limitations create a situation where the controllers have a minimal margin for error.
Like any job, the controllers have to deal with minor daily annoyances, as exemplified by a pilot radioing in, clearly annoyed that he wasn't cleared for landing before another aircraft.
Then there are the noise complaints, which the two on-duty controllers agreed was perhaps the toughest part of the job.
"We don't try and put planes over people's houses, but sometimes it does happen out of necessity," Hubbard said. "We're just doing our jobs."
And don't forget the call of nature, an action that doesn't usually require a whole lot of thought by those with "normal" day jobs.
"There's also procedures for going to the bathroom," Hubbard said laughing. "But you pretty much just hope you don't need to go."
"Part of the job is dealing with tough situations and not losing your composure," Berry said, never once expressing dismay over the fact that their hard work goes almost entirely unnoticed by the passenger on the hundreds of planes they're responsible for every day.
"The only real negative is not getting any holidays. I've had one Thanksgiving off in seven years."
Express photo by Jon Duval--
Evan Hubbard, air traffic specialist, and George White, air traffic manager, stand in front of their office?the control tower at Hailey?s Friedman Memorial Airport. The five-man air traffic control crew is responsible for approximately 44,000 safe arrival and departures per year.
