The Ballad Of Flight Service

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Key Takeaways:

  • The competitive outsourcing of the U.S. Flight Service Station (FSS) system, now run by Lockheed Martin, has been a highly debated subject in general aviation.
  • Despite some initially considering the outsourcing overdue, there is widespread and constant discontent among politicians, aviation groups, media, and pilots regarding the system's service delivery.
  • Flight service specialists, although contractually prohibited from public comment, have privately expressed their feelings of dissatisfaction, summarized in a shared song.
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Probably one of the most surveyed subjects in general aviation in the U.S. is the effect of competitive outsourcing of the Flight Service Station system. Some said it was long overdue but it seems like there is a constant buzz of discontent from all corners on how the system delivers services. Lockheed Martin, which now runs the system, politicians, aviation groups, the media and pilots have all had their say in various forums, including AVweb. The only voices that haven’t been heard are those of the diminished ranks of flight service specialists, who aren’t allowed to comment publicly under their contracts. However, they do chat amongst themselves and one or more of them have come up with a song that the specialist who shared it with us says sums up their feelings.

Download the MP3 (7 mb) here.

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