Category Archives: Author

September 9, 2011 · 12:05 am

The View from the Control Tower—Ten Years Later


It was a calm Tuesday morning when I arrived early for my 6:30 A.M. shift at the El Paso Airport Traffic Control Tower in far West Texas.  The winds were light.  The golden glow advancing from the east revealed the promise of a relatively cloudless day ahead, and the sun would soon be peeking over the horizon.  Sunrise in El Paso would arrive at 6:48.

In New York City sunrise had occurred some two hours earlier, at 6:32 A.M. Eastern time.  As I entered the tower cab in El Paso just before 6:30 my time, it was approaching 8:30 on the eastern seaboard.  The attack on One World Trade Center —the North Tower—was some twenty minutes away.

Nationwide, there were 3,786 IFR aircraft (Instrument Flight Rules) in the air.  There would be thousands more VFR airplanes (Visual Flight Rules) not under ATC control flying as well.

The radio in the back on the Control Tower softly filled the air with easy music as I opened up the Ground Control position in anticipation of the early morning airliner rush.  At the Ground Control position, I would be responsible for handling aircraft taxiing to and from the runways.  The controller to my right, working Local Control, would handle the actual runways and the airspace immediately surrounding the airport.

Downstairs, another controller began the procedures necessary to assume Radar Approach Control responsibilities from the Local Controller, shifting those responsibilities to the radar room downstairs.  A second controller would be assisting and standing by to open a second radar position if things got busy.

Things were about to get very busy.

I don’t recall from where the word first came—the radio in the back or a call from downstairs—but we heard that a light aircraft had impacted into the World Trade Center.  A light aircraft.  We took that to mean a single-engine airplane most likely being flown by a private pilot.  It would be a short while later before we would learn the true nature of what had occurred.

This time the news came from the radio—news that a second aircraft, far larger, had just flown into Two World Trade Center, the South Tower.  And then came the chilling correction on the first impact—not a light aircraft after all.  Something much, much larger.

By now the number of airborne IFR aircraft had grown to 4,205.

It was then that I instinctively knew what was happening.  I called my wife at home.  I told her that I didn’t have time to talk.  I told her to turn on the television.  I told her we were at war.  I hung up the telephone and turned back to my immediate duties—guiding the morning rush of airliners to the runway for departure.

Within minutes of the attack on the South Tower, word spread that other aircraft had been hijacked as well.  All aircraft nationwide scheduled to fly anywhere near New York City or Boston were ordered held on the ground.  Those already in the air began receiving orders to divert.

El Paso International Airport was unaffected, as we had nothing filed for those areas.  Nevertheless, I began mentally reviewing the covert signals a pilot would use to indicate to me that an aircraft was being hijacked.  I was confident that my colleagues working Local and Approach would be doing likewise.

But El Paso soon would be affected, as would every air traffic control facility in the nation.  It was 7:25 A.M. when our orders changed.  We were to stop all departing aircraft regardless of destination.  Not just airliners on IFR clearances, but all VFR aircraft as well.  Nothing was to take off.  Anywhere.  No matter what.  Thirteen minutes after this order was given, a helicopter was reported to have crashed into the Pentagon.  It wasn’t a helicopter; it was American Flight 77.  United Flight 93 had begun flying erratically only three minutes before the Pentagon crash and was also presumed hijacked.

4,360 IFR aircraft now plied the skies above.

The unprecedented order to clear the skies came at 7:45 A.M. El Paso time.  Everything.  IFR and VFR.  The only exception—military aircraft.

The number of potential flying bombs now stood at 4,452, and we all knew that every second counted.  That number still did not include the thousands of VFR aircraft also flying around the country.

At El Paso, as everywhere else in the nation, controllers began doing something for which they had no training and no frame of reference.  They began emptying the skies.  Aircraft were lined up on final approaches to runways all over the country, strung out from each other like never-ending strands of carefully spaced individual pearls.

From Ground Control I looked out onto the final for Runway 26 Left.  Aircraft stretched out for as far as I could see.  A glance at the radar display showed that the line of mostly airliners stretched out for dozens of miles to the east.

I soon ran out of room at the Airport Terminal.  There were no more gates available to handle an influx of people who had never been to El Paso, and who probably never had any intention of ever going there.  I began directing large passenger jets to every spot of empty, available ramp space I could find as Airport Operations rounded up mobile stairs to disembark the passengers and buses to transport them.

Eventually the stream reduced to a trickle, the trickle to a dribble, and the dribble to sporadic drops before the flow finally subsided completely.  Then, and only then, did I accept a break, strip off my headset, and let out a long sigh of relief as I mentally processed and analyzed what had just occurred.  I made my way downstairs, into the break room, and plopped down in front of the television, greeted by repetitive images of the impacts into the Towers and their eventual collapse in ominous twin clouds of dust that only served to validate the wisdom of that day’s grounding order.

One final word about that day:

During this never-before attempted feat, there was not even one Operational Error (loss of approved separation standards between aircraft) reported anywhere in the country.

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Filed under Author, Aviation Safety

September 5, 2011 · 12:05 am

Summer’s Last Day—Don’t Squander It


The vernal equinox is the astronomical end of summer, which this year falls (pun intended) on September 23.  It is the first day of September that marks the end of meteorological summer, that point when we expect the temperatures to begin their inevitable decline from summer’s heat to winter’s cold.  But it’s the Labor Day weekend that signals like no other event the end of summer for those of us here in the United States.  That is because Labor Day represents the symbolic last day of picnics, beaches, and perhaps a long weekend with the promise of travel and leisure before buckling down in school or heading back to work.

Enjoy this day, the last hurrah of summer.  Take in the blue skies and bright yellow sunlight.  Sit back and watch that softball game, hit the golf course, or visit the local park or zoo.  Commune with nature and enjoy the fading sounds of the birds’ final songs before they take flight south.  Stop and enjoy the final flowers of approaching fall.  Let your nose command your mouth to water at the smell of broiled hamburgers and perfectly prepared porterhouses.  Cherish these sights, scenes, scents, and sounds, and let their memory warm you during the coming long, cold winter nights ahead.

Take full advantage of today, for the months ahead will bring you this:

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Filed under Author, Humor, Photography, Writing

September 2, 2011 · 12:05 am

Firearms for Formulators of Fiction—Semiautomatics Part 2


Today we continue our look at semiautomatics, and give tips for fiction writers incorporating these weapons into their stories.

Since the advent of the Glock, many gun manufacturers have since come out with their own polymer-framed pistols and many have emulated the Glock trigger.  Others have gone a different route, coming out with polymer pistols that retain the traditional hammer, single-action/double-action trigger, and manually operated external safety.  Others have dropped the external safety, choosing to rely upon a long, stiff, double-action first pull on the trigger to increase handling safety and reduce the chances of an unintended discharge.

My personal favorite of these post-Glock weapons is the Walther P99 AS.  The P99 AS (anti-stress) is a polymer-framed semiautomatic pistol that incorporates an internal striker with a trigger that has three modes—a long, stiff double-action mode; a light, short single-action mode; and a long, light “anti-stress” mode.  This “anti-stress” trigger mode is what the weapon defaults to when the slide is racked to chamber a round.  A de-cocking button atop the left rear portion of the slide de-cocks the striker and places the P99 in double-action mode for safer carry.

Lately, a new breed of semiautomatics have begun to flood the market.  These are light-weight, medium- to large-caliber, polymer-framed, striker-fired, double-action only subcompacts that are very easy to hide.  In other words, these are the logical evolution of early “pocket” pistols such as the Walther PPK, only they are smaller, lighter, and equipped to fire more powerful ammunition.  However, because of their double-action triggers, these weapons are generally not very accurate beyond close range and they sacrifice capacity in favor of larger caliber ammunition.  Examples include the Ruger LC9, The Kahr P-series, the Kel-Tec P-11, and the Rohrbaugh R9.

Common mistakes and misconceptions involving semiautomatics:

How many times on television and in the movies have you seen somebody “unload” a semiautomatic by removing the magazine and then handing the pistol back to the person who was carrying it?  A lot, right?  Well, guess what—that still leaves one round in the chamber of the pistol unless the person “unloading” it also racks back on the slide, ejecting the cartridge.  This means that supposedly “unloaded” gun can still fire one round . . . unless the gun is one of the recent crop of weapons that has a magazine disconnect that renders it inoperable as soon as the magazine is removed.  The excludes the vast majority of all semiautomatics currently in circulation.

Is your character walking around with his finger on the trigger?  Don’t let him do that!  It’s dangerous.  Modern Glock-style triggers and the light, short triggers of recent single-action only weapons such as the new Walther PPQ have only amplified this danger.  The proper way for your character to hold his weapon is with the trigger finger resting above the trigger, along the lower frame of the weapon just below the slide.  When your character visually acquires and sights in on his target then—and only then— should he shift his finger to the trigger in anticipation of  firing the weapon.

I cringe whenever the hero has exhausted all his bullets and pulls back on the trigger only to be greeted by the deafening sound of a dull, metallic click and no “bang.”  That’s not the way it works with a semiautomatic.  When semiautomatics have fired their last shot, the slide locks back leaving the chamber open and the barrel exposed.  That’s to facilitate a fast reload.  When this happens, the shooter hits the magazine eject (this can be a button on the frame, a lever built into the trigger guard, or a catch built into the base of the butt), the spent magazine falls to the ground, and a loaded magazine is inserted into the grip.  If there is danger still about, the experienced shooter will ram the magazine into the grip (magazine well) forcefully and immediately chamber a round by either thumbing the slide release, if the gun is so equipped, or pulling back on the slide so that the slide catch drops away from the slide.  What cannot happen when the last shot is fired and the slide is locked back is for the hero to hear that frightening “click,” to which our hero inevitably replies, “Oh, heck!”  The hammer or striker simply will not function with the slide locked back.

How many times have you seen the hero show you, the audience, that he’s ready to take on the bad guys by racking back the slide and chambering a round?  Looks cool.  Sounds even cooler.  Shows he means business.  Or does it?  If your character is just now, in the face of imminent danger, chambering a round into the pistol’s firing chamber, he’s already far too late.  Experienced gun carriers would never dream of leaving their house without, “one in the pipe.”  If police officers needed to charge their weapons to ready them for firing, there would be a lot more dead cops on the street.  Same with everyone from Ferrari-driving private detectives in Hawaii to suave spies dressed in tuxedos and playing baccarat in European casinos.  In the real world, it’s simply not done . . . except in Israel.  There, the heavily armed civilian populace is trained to draw, rack, aim, and fire, and through extensive practice most of them are very good at it.  But if your character isn’t Israeli, forget the dramatics and go with the more commonly accepted practice.

But don’t confuse that with the gun toter who pulls back just slightly on the slide and peers into the chamber.  This is called a “brass check,” and it’s a way of visually verifying that a round is in the chamber.  If your character has ample time to do this before entering into a dangerous situation, then you’ve shown your audience that this guy really knows his stuff—he’s double checking that his weapon is ready before he needs it.

Additional tips:

Know your weapons.  I simply cannot stress this enough.  Recently, a fellow writer solicited opinions about a new book cover for their novel.  The title of the novel contained the name of a fairly recent producer of modern firearms, but when I took a look at the cover I noticed an error that reached out and slapped me across the face.  The gun on the cover, a black silhouette against a light background, was not a modern firearm.  It was instead the silhouette of one of the most famous guns ever made—a German Luger P08.  The Luger was a weapon first produced in 1900 and used by the German military from 1909 until 1945!  Fortunately, alerted to the mistake, this author was able to get their design artist to change the profile of the weapon so that it matched the make mentioned in the title of the book.  Whew!  Close call.  Just dodged that bullet.

Where does a writer go to learn what they need to know to make their handgun scenes believable?  That’s easy.

Visit your local gun shop and talk to the owner.  Not the salesman.  The owner.  The store owner is probably a gun enthusiast who knows his stuff.  That sales clerk may not, and many will give you bad information.

Go to the local police department.  They are, obviously, proficient in firearms, and many of them are gun enthusiasts.

Take a trip to the local shooting range.  These people not only love to shoot, they love to talk guns and they will talk off your ear answering your questions and giving you their opinions on various weapons.  And, boy, do they have opinions.  Glock fanboys versus Glock haters.  Sig lovers versus H&K (Heckler & Koch) devotees.  Walther PPK versus the Bersa Thunder or Firestorm.  1911 people against practically everybody else.  The opinions will rain down on you nonstop.  But don’t forget ear and eye protection, because . . .

While you’re at that range, ask somebody to show you how to handle a gun and ask them to let you try firing a weapon or two (politely offer to reimburse the owner for the cost of the ammunition).  Experience firsthand the dynamics of shooting a handgun, from loading the weapon to the intricacies of manipulating the controls.  From the proper techniques for holding the weapon, to the art of sighting and aiming at your target.  From the feel of the trigger and the precise moment it trips, to the sudden recoil that pushes the gun back into your hands and raises the barrel upward.  Learn this last dynamic well, as it directly impacts how fast you (and consequently your character) can reacquire the target for a follow-up shot if necessary.

After you’ve done that, ask your new-found friends to show you what can go wrong with a semiautomatic, and how to most expeditiously fix a malfunction and bring the weapon back online—from the tap, rack, bang drill to a more detailed tear down and clearing of the weapon.

You may not like handguns.  You may even loathe them.  But if you’re going to use them in your writing, then you owe it to your readers to get it right.  If you don’t, you stand to lose a significant portion of your potential audience and damage your credibility on other points of detail in your story.  And the only way to get it 100% correct is to actually get your hands on a semiautomatic or revolver and try it for yourself.

Who knows?  You might find you even enjoy it.  I know I certainly do:

Weapons:

Walther P22 target pistol (.22LR)
Interarms Walther PPK/S chambered in .380 ACP (9mm Kurz)
Smith & Wesson Walther PPK/S chambered in .380 ACP (9mm Kurz)
Smith & Wesson Walther PPK chambered in .32 ACP (7.65mm)
Walther P99c AS chambered in 9mm Parabellum
Taurus PT 24/7 Pro DS (double-action/single-action) chambered in .45 ACP

Holsters:

Don Hume H721 “Double Nine” fitted for the Walther PPK and PPK/S
Don Hume H721 “Double Nine” fitted for the Walther P99 and P99C
Galco Miami Classic Shoulder Rig fitted for the Walther P99 and P99c

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Filed under Author, Firearms, Writing