>From: "Brian Casteel" >Reply-To: listserv@azgeocaching.com >To: >Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Humboldt Fire >Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 00:48:48 -0600 > >Very interesting pics. If you look REAL close, you can see my Lime Creek >Cache in the first pic. =) > >I am certainly glad the fire didn't reach the towers up there. That FAA >dome is of vital importance to the region. > >Brian >Team A.I. For anyone wondering.... the big white FAA 'dome' up there on Humboldt Mnt is a center radar facility. It is called Albquerque Center. It provides radar services for all aircraft flying in about the eastern 2/3rd of Arizona, all of New Mexico, and I think a small bit of far west Texas. Much like Sky Harbor Intl Airport has a radar facility that controls aircraft within a 30nm radius of that airport, once the aircraft leave this airspace they are switched over to ALBQ Center who will take over from there while the aircraft is enroute. All aircraft flying above 18,000' and also aircraft that request to be provided with a 'flight following' below that are on the radar of ALBQ Center. Of course, radar is used to keep all aircraft flying around up there 'seperated' and so there are no mid air collisions. Aircraft must hold a given altitude assigned by ALBQ Center while flying thru this airspace (at which time they are then transfered over to the next radar center and so on). Far western Arizona is under the Los Angeles Center. When I made a long distance balloon flight from Queen Creek to near Sasabe (near the Mexico border)... I was in communication with ALBQ Center. The radar facilities are a very well orchestrated program... there are thousands of aircraft flying up there and there are only a small number of people in each of these facilities that are keeping them all seperated! I beleive that is one of the most difficult jobs out there. They have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. There was a documentary on the Discovery Channel that took you inside one of these radar facilities to demonstrate how it all worked. I am sure it will repeat again someday. Actually, I think it was on Discovery-Wings Channel. Anyways, back to geocaching! :) Scott Team Ropingthewind _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement