NAS North Island Opens New Air Traffic Control Tower
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS060225-01
Release Date: 2/25/2006 7:34:00 PM
By Journalist Seaman Robert C. Long, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific
CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- A new air traffic control tower became fully operational Feb. 18 aboard Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI).
The new 12-story air traffic control tower replaced the old tower, which was not tall enough to clearly see the entire airfield.
“We could not see the entire airport. We had blind spots that we no longer have thanks to the new tower being taller and much larger,” said retired Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Gordon Clark, a base air traffic controller.
Another advantage of the new tower is that there was not enough space inside the old tower’s main control room to train new air traffic controllers.
“Now we have space for daily operations and for the training that we need to perform in the tower,” said Clark.
The building that housed the old control tower also held the radar station and Ground Electronics Department. The tower portion of the building will be removed while operations continue in the remaining spaces, said Chief Air Traffic Controller (AW/SW) Scott M. Hillegeist, flight planning branch chief for NASNI.
“The only people that are in the new tower are the air traffic controllers. The people in the old tower are the radar technicians and those of us that work in the ground electronics maintenance division,” said Electronics Technician 1st Class William Walsh, a shift supervisor for the Air Operations Department, Ground Electronics Maintenance Division.
With the new tower operational and the purpose of the old one re-defined, everyone involved with the operation offered optimistic comments about their new place of business.
“I’m glad we have it. It will be an even better operation now that we can see the whole area,” said Hillegeist.
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