On To Greener Pastures

[Scott Voigt]

Howdy all;

For the few here who know me, I am advising the FAA that I am retiring when I go into work today. Tuesday will be my last day doing what I have loved doing for more than 30 years. The BS factor from the front office has become more than I wish to put up with, so out the door I go... I will probably still hang around here and other aviation forums to keep my toes in the water as it were <G>...

Take care y'all...

Scott Voigt
Soon to be retired ATCS
Fort Worth ARTCC
NATCA Safety Officer

[Lock n' Load]

I wish you well - and I think most of us know what you mean about the office types! Good luck with your golf game. :ok:

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

We've never met, Scott, but I've read many, many of your postings on here and I hold you in very high regard as a true professional. Countless readers have benefitted from your wisdom and good humour. I'm sorry "they" got you down; I never let them worry me and just kept doing the job I too loved.

May you enjoy many, many happy years with your family. Time will really start to fly now so make the most every new day. You never know what may be around the corner.

Very best regards

Brendan McCartney

[niknak]

Scott,

that's a shame, but you've got to do what is best for you and your loved one's.
As much as I consider myself priviliged to enjoy the job I've been doing for 25 years, I know that now, I am just a number and not a name and if I could afford to retire, I would.

If a quirk of fate hadn't turned in my favour, I may well have been doing a job I hated for many more years and for a lot less money.

Enjoy your retirement, all the very best to you and keep in touch.

[Gonzo]

Scott, I first noticed you back in AVSIG on CompuServe, must have been nearly 15 years ago! I think you were the first ATCO I conversed with, but I doubt you remember me from then!

I hope you enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Best wishes

Adam Spink.

[avidflyer]

The first time I post in this forum and it's to say good bye:( Scott, as a humble PPL I've learnt a lot and greatly enjoyed your view of things from across the pond. I wish you a long and happy retirement. Keep posting!

[AlanM]

Good luck old chap..... And be like HD on here - keep offering us your well informed wisdom.

Enjoy the golf... does this mean you will find time to visit the UK?!!? :)

[Lon More]

Your gain - the FAA's and aviation's loss.

A long and happy retirement Scott.

[positionand hold]

Strewth Scott - you're the most authoritive, detailed and sane source of US ATC background and information - do not stop posting!!

Oh, and a fascinating timeframe...decide today, leave Tuesday - gosh!!

[flower]

If it hadn't been for those Ice Storms when I visited Dallas I would have made your acquaintance Scott.
Sadly it seems ATC is going the same way throughout many countries. Enjoy your retirement , I'm just starting mine as well and it is a weird old world no longer controlling.

All the very best
Flower

[PPRuNe Towers]

Danny and I have huge respect for Scott having followed his writing on -line since before PPRuNe was even conceived more than 10 years ago.

We wish you a wonderful retirement but really do hope you can use some of the time to help keep us all talking to each other.

Many, many thanks for all the posts over the years from Avsig onwards
Rob Lloyd

[Scott Voigt]

Thanks all....

It humbles me to read here your thoughts... I just felt that I did what needed to be done in my mediocre career. I decided that I wasn't going to work for a contractor after I left the FAA, mainly due to then having to work for the same FAA that I have come to despise. It has indeed gotten that bad over here.

I do intend to continue on here and the other forums that I play in because I enjoy all of you, as much as I enjoy aviation. The FAA could NEVER take that from me.

As far as retirement, well full retirement is going to have to wait a little while. I have accepted a job in the Town that I live in. You see for the last eight years I have worked as a reserve fire fighter there and for the last 7.5 years as a part time police officer. So I am going to go to work full time as a police officer for the town. Good benefits, a four minute commute to work <G>, get to eat meals at home and start working on a third retirement. It all just looks GREAT!!! I'm only 51 at the moment and have a few more years left in me to get some work done... By 60 I will come to full retirement and enjoy it quite well... If any of you find yourself out in the wilds of the Dallas Fort Worth area, give me a ring.

As to having time to go to the UK, <sigh> not this year I am afraid. We have been planning a trip to Germany for Christmas for the past couple of years and this year it is going to happen. Going to spend time with my relatives in Hamburg and near Salzburg... Now NEXT year may be a different story <G>, we will have to see how the vacation and the money goes. If it works well, I would love to see friends and family in the UK... Would also like to find time to make a quick chunnel trip across to Normandy...

Take care y'all...

Scott

[GroundBound]

Scott,
I have always liked to read your comments, as it is a reminder to all that there is a world outside the UK (OK, it is their forum, I know).

Like you, today is also my last day, after 35 years, and like you the BS has not endeared me to continue.

I wish you well, and will look out for more gems in the future, do not desert us - a bit like letter from America, really.

Enjoy!
GB

[BEXIL160]

Ahhh Scott ol' buddy, the day finally dawns :O :O :O :D :D :D

So, Thank you for all your advice and friendship of the past, oh so many, years. You'll never know just how much you have influenced me, but you should know just how much I respect you.

Time now to sit back and REALLY enjoy life (at a slower pace?)

Very best wishes
BEX

P.S. How's 'laine gonna cope with you in the house
more often? ;) ;)

Love to Timber Ridge :ok: :ok:

[Scott Voigt]

Hi Bex;

Life will indeed be nicer at Timber Ridge <G>... Speaking of which, a hot tub is going up in the back yard as we speak... All you have to do it come on down, bring your hat and your sun lotion (only 81 today) for a nice time out. We've also upgraded the TV since your last visit to a nice 65 inch HD model <G>... Hope you and your family are doing well, and that your mum and dad are doing fine (the world travelers that they are.).

Elaine is doing fine after her eye surgery and hopefully will be fully self sufficient again in another month or so.

Don't be a stranger...

regards

[PPRuNe Radar]

Just to add my own personal tribute to Scott and to thank him for all his professionalism, level headedness, and friendly advice he has offered everyone over the years.

It's been a pleasure to be in your company (both online and in real life) and the guys at ZFW will sure miss having the big guy around. Lots of US pilots will also miss the great Operation Raincheck seminars which Scott championed and conducted with humour, knowledge, and passion.

Have a fantastic retirement from ATC, enjoy keeping Timber Ridge safe, and hope to see y'all sometime real soon.

Best wishes from everyone on the PPRuNe team, and many thanks on behalf of all our readers.

One in a million ..... :ok:

[danceswithsheep]

Scott,
All the best in semi-retirement. Its been a pleasure reading your well balanced comments and its nice to think that some in this profession do not become jaded by it all.
Long live level headed controllers, supportive supervisors and plain speaking management.

[vector4fun]

Goog Luck Scott! I hope to join you in retirement soon. Still have those pesky ex-wife penalty payments to make. I could go now, but would have to get rid of all my toys. Another couple years of watching this agency slide into sub-mediocrity. :rolleyes:

Stay safe and wear that vest. Come down to AUS sometime and play golf, on me. :ok:

Don

[Scott Voigt]

Bex;

Elaine tried to send you something today and it bounced, you may have a new e-mail, if you would send us your current one...

To all...

Well today was the LAST DAY in the building... It was quite a nice day, thunderstorms all around, aircraft going every which way excepted the flight planned route <G>, and the sup would NOT LET ME PLUG IN!!!!!!!!!!! <sigh> Oh well, I had a great time anyway... Did all the signing of papers and turning in of things, then saying bye to folks... I was doing GREAT until the end of shift when I for the last time walked down the isle looking in at everyone busily vectoring their little hearts out in each separate area. It then struck me that after 33 years of doing this wonderfully fun thing called Air Traffic Control, I would no longer have the privilege of doing it <sigh>. It humbled me, and gave me a moment of pause.... I have to admit, I did get misty eyed and then thought on how much I would miss it.... It will pass and I will do other things that will take the place of it, but aviation will NEVER leave me <sigh>.... Enjoy it all while you can... It is indeed one of the best jobs in the world...

regards

Scott

[BEXIL160]

Hi Scott,

you have a PM

Best rgds
BEX :ok:

[Fox3snapshot]

Good luck mate! :ok:

Put your feet up and relax, you deserve it :D

[throw a dyce]

Scott,
I hope you enjoy your semi retirement.If you're ever in Scotland then you'll be most welcome on the golf,whisky,see if you have Scottish roots trail.
All the best.:D
TAD

[Scott Voigt]

Hi Tad;

I don't know when we are going to get to do Scotland again, but it is on our to do list. We've made two trips to that wonderful land and we are both in love with it. My wife goes ga ga over the place <G>... I will post when we make up your way...

regards

Scott

[throw a dyce]

Anytime,
Pm me.:ok:

[Dances with Boffins]

So long Cowboy. I have a couple of mates in Dallas. Go round their house and tell them from me to buy you a beer.:ok:

[ayrprox]

It is a sad day indeed when the office bureaucrats take all of the fun away from the job. My BSmeter overloaded ages ago and no doubt the time will come when we feel the same as scott. That said i wish you a long and happy retirement scott, you've put in the time and now its time to enjoy. I only know you from these hallowed pages but you seem to be a thorough professional and i have nothing but respect for your decision. may your handicap be now reduced to what it should be. Cheers:ok:
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Wee Jock]

Haven't been in for a while and just seen this. Seen you post so much sense in this forum and others over the years, Scott, something that's becoming a rarity in so many walks of life.

Good luck, hope you have a great retirement - if you're like most retired people I know you'll soon be wondering how you found the time to go to work!

Very best wishes,

Wee Jock :ok: :ok:

[Scott Voigt]

Thanks Prox and Jock...

Real retirement is probably about nine years away, as I am still working, but just not as a controller or in aviation... It's my other thing that I really enjoy. But cutting down to just one job is rather nice to say the least <G>...

Like I told the others, if you find yourself in the land of Cowboys, give me a call...

regards

Scott

[Lon More]

Controllers Want Criminal Charges In TRACON CO Incident
Air traffic controllers at the New York terminal radar approach control center (TRACON) are asking for criminal charges to be filed against the FAA after they say they were forced to remain at their consoles despite exhibiting what appeared to be symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to WABC, controllers reported being disoriented and sleepy after diesel fumes from a test of the center’s backup generator got into the building’s ventilation system. They claim the center manager ordered them to keep working traffic, even though some said they could barely keep their eyes open. "I remember just being extremely fatigued ... very tired, very sleepy. It took a lot to stay awake that night," controller Ray Maldonado told the TV station. Several controllers went to a nearby hospital after their shift and carbon monoxide was found in their blood. WABC says the FAA is conducting an internal investigation. The FAA did not reply to AVweb’s request for comment on Friday. The controllers also allege that the manager refused to call the fire department to test the air quality and threatened to bar access to firefighters if someone else called them. National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) representative Dean Iacopelli told WABC he believes the manager took the action because a staff shortage left him without anyone he could call to replace the sick controllers and he was unwilling to shut down the facility. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is calling for a full investigation, and the Nassau County district attorney’s office is considering criminal charges. The New York TRACON has been the scene of high-profile squabbles between the union and FAA management over sick time, working conditions and management/employee relations.



Seems to be going downhill rapidly. I thought things were bad here when I got out but this is ridiculous.

Scott if you make it to Germany, Maastricht is just down the road. Damien is still around. You'd be more than welcome to drop by.

[Scott Voigt]

Hi Lon;

I am going to be making a whirlwind tour this time around if all works out. We will probably fly into Frankfurt, will probably have a rail pass and just go to Hamburg that way as well as get to a little town near Salzburg too. We could rent a car, but then I will be tired from all the driving and I won't get a chance to see the nice views, not to mention have to try to contend with snowy or icy roads... Next time around though I will try to make it by Maastricht... It has been far to long since the last trip <G>...

regards

Scott

[Jerricho]

Hi Scotty!

Mate, all the very best in your soon to be new found life. You'll look years younger.......trust me.

Chris Rieken.