Just to clarify. ATNS has been subsidising the service at Wonderboom for the last few years to the order of a Million plus per annum. Lay the blame where it needs to be laid and don't blame the ATC's for the restriction on the frequency due to the contract that stipulates 8 on frequency. They have no choice in the matter.
ATNS cannot help that the rest of the commercial aviation fraternity does not want us to subsidise the training airports. CAA almost suspended ATNS's licence at Wonderboom because the airport cannot provide the minimum required Met equipment. QNH is read inside the tower at the back of the console. Wind speed and direction is measured on the tower roof. The radio equipment belongs to the Metro and has not been replaced since 1992.
We have to make a phone call the JHB approach for each and every IF starter and also for their release. In the last year the IF flights have doubled. Not to mention the phone calls to and from Rand, Waterkloof, Lanseria, Central and Swartkop to liaise your flights between us and them. Also remember that there are only 4 ATC's so this means that there is only 1 person on duty doing all of this. Movement wise Wonderboom reduced a little in training flights due to the training restriction but still manages only 30 movements a day less than Rand. This with an average of less than 40 percent utilisation of the useable slots by the ATO's. Don't forget that you don't book a slot with the tower each ATO has his own allocated slots that he can use. That is the training movements accounted for but in Total movements Wonderboom is No2 in the country to JHB with Rand a close 3rd. (Yes Athol, Rand also counts training flights as 2 movements so too does every other ATNS unit in SA just as they do in the States, OZ and the rest of the world, but I'm sure your "study" will also reflect this).
AVI8TOR
You are right a few years ago there were quite a few more in the circuit but then you had people like Q4, Henry, Kakemas and the late Charles as instructors that actually could do more than 1 thing at a time. The quality of SPL's that went solo was of a high standard and we hardly had to work to keep 5 happy in the circuit. These days I work my ass off with only 3 in the circuit as the basics aren't taught.
Now you clear someone in from the GF directly onto the base and he f's it up and joins early downwind. Ask a person for his endurance and he responds that he "are flying a 172". Ask him again and he says "yes". Change the runway from 29 to 11 and ask 2 solo students to do a 180 on the downwind and they both do 360 orbits and continue on the downwind for 29. Students call their aircraft callsigns as "Indigo Wiki Ester".
If someone does report the traffic in sight and you tell him to follow him to final he ends up turning in ahead of the traffic he reported in sight. Yes you can sometimes missident traffic but when you are only 2 in the circuit then it is not so funny anymore. Students think it's a joke if they go onto the runway without a clearance. What was it "I am just a student I didn't know". Yes you didn't know beacuse you weren't taught that this is life or death and not a game.
Spoke to a wanabe instructor yesterday who can't believe that what he is learning to teach others is what he should have been taught in the first instance. WTF?
We have CTR violations daily runway incursions every other day and altitude busts is a common occurence. The circuit is flown between 4800 and 5500 feet which necessitates the odd avoiding action from those that actually fly at 5100 feet but who cares it's just Wonderboom and the ATC's are the D$#ks.
Yes Avi8tor bring back the good old days I just hope it's sooner rather than later. Walked into the tower the other day just in time to hear 2 helicopter pilots KaK theselves as a Seneca departed off runway 24 with both of them at 4800feet on the left downwind for 29. Missed them both by an ants ballhair and he did not even acknowledge their existence. Must have had the radio on the other frequency. Just like the time he landed a Van at night on 11 with 29 active with 4 in the circuit. That time he blamed the co-pilot for not selecting Wonderboom's frequency wonder what the excuse would be this time. Then he thought it was unmanned never mind it was 6pm in the middle of the week.
Or the crop duster that departs and lands on 06 in the middle of the night (After ATC hours) with 4 in the circuit on runway 29. No problem you might say. Only thing is there are no lights on 24/06 and instead of 06 he was a little confused and he landed on 24. probably saw the landing light of the one on final so he decided to turn left to reposition on final for 24 and give the one a chance to land. Ended up missing the one on downwind by a few feet and then proceeded to land on 24 passing just ahead of another on crossing the threshold of 29. At least he was doing all his radio calls for 06 perfectly.
I for one would not miss Wonderboom if ATNS was to leave I just hope you have full life insurance as you may need it when we are gone.