Journal

10/11/2010 Columbus Day I spoke to Mr. Everett via telephone. He explained to me what he does at the FAA. He is the FAA contact for lobbyists and Congressional staffers who need information about airport projects. We spoke about what my project plan and what my goals were for the project. We decided that the project will happen on November 1st or 2nd. Mr. Everett said that he would reach out to his contacts at the Washington D.C. area airports. I would get a tour of airport operations and possibly a tour of the control tower

10/14/2010 Mr. Everett sent an email. He said that he had tried to set up a tour for me at National, Dulles and BWI airports but was unsuccessful. He said that there were security and logistic issues with air traffic centers in Northern Virginia. He said that he didn’t think he would be able to get me into JFK, LaGuardia or Newark airports either since they are large hubs and he would have the same type of security, logistics and access issues as the airports in the D.C.area. He said that if I was willing to travel, he thought that he could get me to see behind the scenes at Syracuse Hancock International Airport, which is four hours away from Philadelphia. He used to be head of Airport Operations at Syracuse International. He said that Syracuse International is more flexible and does outreach to youth to expose them to careers about other than just being a pilot.

10/15/2010 After talking it out with my Mom and Dad, it was decided that I would make the trip to Syracuse. Mr. Everett will reach out to his contact at Syracuse International and let them know about my project and that I would like a tour of airport operations.

10/18/2010\ Ms Christine Reale contacted me via email. She is the Public Information Officer at Syracuse International Airport. She said that aviation education is important to her department and that they want to encourage students to pursue careers in the field. Mr. Reale said that she has me scheduled to visit on 11/1. I will have a full day at the airport. I will be meeting with her at 9 am. She is still trying to obtain clearance for me to tour the tower.

10/19/2010 Ms. Reale cc’d me on an email where she contacted the various area managers to inform them of my visit. She is still awaiting clearance for me to tour the tower.

Journal#2

11/5/2010

On Monday November 1st I was in Syracuse, New York and visited the Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Ms. Christine Reale was my contact. She is the Airport Public Information Officer. She arranged for me to meet with different departments that are responsible for the operation of the airport. I visited the Airport Fire Department, Ops, who are in charge of clearing runway of snow, airport security, maintenance, the control tower, the store keeper who makes sure runways are clean and the Airport Security Coordinator. I was able to see various jobs that make an airport run. I thought that it was a neat experience getting to see behind the scenes of an airport. It really takes a team effort to get a plane from airport to airport. Running an airport is more than just moving planes. It really is a business.