[Az-Geocaching] Humboldt Fire

[Roping The Wind]

>From: "Brian Casteel" <bcasteel@uccinc.net>
>Reply-To: listserv@azgeocaching.com
>To: <listserv@azgeocaching.com>
>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

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