David McMillan's ATC Home Page
Welcome to my web site, last updated in September 2016.
I've retired after 37 years. What follows is history....
I'm an air traffic controller with Airservices Australia at Melbourne Centre, Victoria, Australia.
From here I control the air traffic around Perth, Western Australia, 2000 miles away, using The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS).
(Disclaimer: My ATC in W.A. pages are well out-of-date but provide some insight into the air traffic controller's job.
Those of you who found this site researching your ATC application to Airservices Australia will find more info here and here. The current enterprise agreement is here.
For anything you want to know about ATC, I recommend SKYbrary).
Updated: News on 25 September 2015: "New Karratha Terminal".
the Western Australian State Aviation Strategy is here.
It was decided at the recent Narooma reunion to have the 2018 venue at Caloundra, Qld.
Cheers,
John Cooper.
Open Letter from Roger Meyer
As you may by now know, I have been commissioned by Airservices to write a report on the history of the Aeradio / Flight Service organisation. Apart from producing an historical record of the service, Airservices is particularly interested to know of the locations of surviving Aeradio / Flight Service buildings and related structures, still owned by the Commonwealth.
The next step would be for Airservices to initiate a professional heritage assessment of the site/s, and possible preservation.
The report will, I hope, demonstrate 'significant heritage values of the service that demonstrate a high degree of creative or technical achievement by Australia' during that era (1938 - 2000). I have already assembled a great quantity of information, including information gleaned from DCA files at the National Archives of Australia.
HOWEVER, I do need lots of information about individual stations, working and living conditions, daily routines, special events and the general evolution of the service. Also, I would like to hear your understanding of the various FS restructures, and industrial relations with 'the department' I am also keen to see photos or old documents that you may have.
My email address is roger.meyer@bigpond.com
Regards
Roger Meyer
The Flying Vet (1984) - The FSO is Chris Warner, who served at the Kununurra FSU during the early ‘80s.
Five miles or 1000ft...how hard can it be? Find out here: CASA Review of Airservices 2013. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to access other chapters of the report.)
Where it all started - Port Hedland Flight Service Centre, Western Australia, 1981.
Me, Jane and FS Supervisor, the late Neil Hood.
Port Hedland Flight Service, W.A., 1981. Jane on a quiet Sunday. Photo by Peter Mustoo, FS Supervisor.
Jane at Melbourne Flight Service Centre, Victoria, about 1987. This photo hung for many years in the main foyer of the Department of Aviation's Vic/Tas regional office in Melbourne.
More photos of Melbourne Flight Service Centre.
More photos and info at Damien Brennan's Listening Watch website.
The cut-over to the digital age, Steve Clarke and me working the Perth sectors in Melbourne Centre for the first time, 1999.
Other sectors were still in Perth and transitioned shortly later.
Transition to digital ATC: Peter Drake, Chris Idle, Ian Bresland, Shane Stopp, Jason Harfield, me and Chris Murray (obscured). The West Procedural boys are "shadowing", using the old procedural board, whereas West Radar has fully transitioned to the new system.
In 1999 I completed my Master of Education (Adult and Workplace Education) at the Queensland University of Technology. My dissertation, Miscommunications in Air Traffic Control, is available in pdf format (about 300kb) for you to read here.
When I'm not at work I ride my Moto Guzzi Metal Stone or Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 with the Moto Guzzi Club of Victoria.
Drop me a line: motoguzzimackers<at>yahoo.com
