Hear what LM has to say...

Standard operating proceedure for Lockheed Martin is to ask the government for lots more money to fix the problems they create after taking on a contract.
Google "Pit 9" for instance.
Oh wait, looks like the sanitized version is online. LM won contract to clean up a bad waste pit (nuclear), got into the job with technology they developed, determined their tech was bad, asked gov't for more money, started suing everyone including their sister companies. Thankfully they are no longer doing business in Idaho.
 
They had the cajones to not only have a booth at AOPA Expo but to man it. They would agree heartily with any pilot who stopped by to say they suck.

I gotta guess they had to have a lot of training to learn to hide the big grins and laughing out loud as they knew they were still getting fully paid and they had succeeded in their first priority - to make it so that the contract award can never be unwound.

What would be good is if LM got paid the same as DUAT and DUATS, by the briefing BUT where the CUSTOMER had to hit a phone key at the end to say they got a satisfactory briefing. You gotta bet they would answer the phone then!

BTW, the closing General Meeting presentation where AOPA said they would be in touch daily with LockM and the FAA about AFSS...was sponsored in part by Lockheed Martin.
 
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Government contracts are a scary sub-world. My old consulting company had a big GC business. Once a contract starts, it seems to morph into a perpetual motion machine. The LM FSS thing will be one of those GC monsters that eventually (if not already) becomes a self-sustaining entity.

I didn't get one of those tshirts they had on the rack- I guess that was for the folks who sat through the presentation. My daughter loves the notebook/pen combo that came in the bag though.

The FSS privatization is great, in theory. They're still working on the execution. I'll give 'em a year. In the meantime --- DUATS baby, just DUATS!!
 
Does anyone else find the voice prompts for the TIBS line IMPOSSIBLE to use? I have tried several times and the damn voice keeps saying it is unable to understand and tries to roll me to a briefer. If I wanted a briefer I would have mashed 1. Sometimes I just want to hear recorded information for my local area but I guess that went the way of the Beta tape.:(
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kevin47881 said:
Does anyone else find the voice prompts for the TIBS line IMPOSSIBLE to use? I have tried several times and the damn voice keeps saying it is unable to understand and tries to roll me to a briefer. If I wanted a briefer I would have mashed 1. Sometimes I just want to hear recorded information for my local area but I guess that went the way of the Beta tape.:(
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At the Expo, AOPA was handing out cards with numbered shortcuts that I didn't know existed. Very useful. I can't stand the voice prompts.

Link to the page with info about this:
http://www.aopa.org/events/expo/071004fss.html

Here is the direct link to the PDF file for the card:
http://www.aopa.org/flightplanning/articles/2007/071004card.pdf
 
The card is a great refernce. But, I'd still never use the national number for an IFR clearance. There's still too many horror stories on slow reaction time. As long as I'm able to call the local TRACON or ARTCC direct, that's what I'll do.
 
KennyFlys said:
The card is a great refernce. But, I'd still never use the national number for an IFR clearance. There's still too many horror stories on slow reaction time. As long as I'm able to call the local TRACON or ARTCC direct, that's what I'll do.
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Hahahaha...

Yeah, it took me nearly 40 minutes to get my clearance out of Hartford last weekend. I called the LM clearance number. They answered, then put me on hold to call ATC. ATC was busy, so she came on and told me so a couple of times. Then, after she reached ATC, she came back and said they had no clearance for me because there was no flight plan on file for me.

:mad:

The briefer asked if I filed a flight plan. Of course I filed a flight plan! "With us???" Yes, with you. :mad: :mad:

So, we went back through and filed the flight plan again, and started over from square one. All told, I was on the phone for around 40 minutes to get my clearance. Sheesh.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
So, we went back through and filed the flight plan again, and started over from square one. All told, I was on the phone for around 40 minutes to get my clearance. Sheesh.
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I sure as heck hope you didn't have a Hobbs running this whole time.
 
KennyFlys said:
I sure as heck hope you didn't have a Hobbs running this whole time.
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Naah, it was Mike's plane. :D

OK, so it wasn't running. Ceilings were low enough that I didn't want to mess with getting a clearance in the air, and if I'm gonna get it on the phone, the engine ain't gonna be running - At least until I can get a phone that works through my Lightspeeds.
 
Originally Posted by KennyFlys
"The card is a great refernce. But, I'd still never use the national number for an IFR clearance. There's still too many horror stories on slow reaction time. As long as I'm able to call the local TRACON or ARTCC direct, that's what I'll do."


I have been calling Atlanta Center on my cell for a clearance while on the ground the ground here in NC for the last several years. The number I have been using is one that is listed in "The Cellular Pilot". I have known for some time that ATL might not like me to do that, as they have seemed surprised to get such a request but have always forwarded my call to someone working my airspace. The last time I did that, however, the person on the line told me that I had reached the supervisor's desk and he was not going to help me, suggesting that I get my clearance in the air (which I was not going to do, as it was IMC) or call an 888 Clearance Delivery number which he gave me.

The number I had stored in my cell phone for Clearance Delivery was apparently an old number. It rang and rang, and I was assuming that it was just Lockheed Martin too busy to answer it!

Wells
 
W. Stewart said:

The number I had stored in my cell phone for Clearance Delivery was apparently an old number. It rang and rang, and I was assuming that it was just Lockheed Martin too busy to answer it!
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What number do you have? Is it TRACON or Center?

I used to enjoy calling the Macon FSS direct. That's not possible these days. While I'm supposed to end up at an adjoining area at most, I've been sent clear across country. To be sent anywhere the briefer does not appreciate the significance of a referencing a chicken house in North Georgia is an insult!
 
That's a mighty big oops. If they proceed against any of those pilots, I'm sure Lockheed attorneys will be expecting a subpoena.
 
KennyFlys said:
That's a mighty big oops. If they proceed against any of those pilots, I'm sure Lockheed attorneys will be expecting a subpoena.
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I had a similar FSS "oops" pre LM but I didn't violate the airspace. I was just sent out into Lake Michigan to do a JFK, Jr. I doubt that Lockheed will get the blame.

Watch for a new rule that you have to use ALL sources AFSS AND DUAT/DUATS - where you have to read through 40 pages of FDC NOTAMS to see the cryptic TFR NOTAMs.
 
mikea said:
Watch for a new rule that you have to use ALL sources AFSS AND DUAT/DUATS - where you have to read through 40 pages of FDC NOTAMS to see the cryptic TFR NOTAMs.
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Heck, that may become a necessity just for safety's sake. When you can't be certain a briefer (read :authorized source who knows what you require) is providing the material, using alternative sources may be mandatory.
 
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