BF2S Forums mmmm- more senate bailout robbery.

A state-of-the-art radar system that has sat idle for years at a local airport has never been used because there has been no one to operate it, officials said.

    The Digital Airport Surveillance Radar, or DASR, was built at the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in 2004 with $8 million from the Department of Defense.

    “It’s been out there spinning, ready to go. But, there’s no manpower,” said airport manager Scott Voelker.

    Voelker said for a small airport like Johnstown, DASR is a big deal. It would help air traffic controllers track airplanes up to 120 miles away, instead of five or 10 miles. It would give pilots the weather forecast an hour before it happened.

    The radar system was built with the help of earmarks form Rep. John Murtha and was paid for by the Department of Defense. When it was built five years ago, DASR was expected to give an economic boost by creating 14 air traffic control jobs and lure more and bigger planes into the region.
    But, because it’s also a training ground for the Pennsylvania National Guard, it’s never been manned.

Last edited by {M5}Sniper3 (2009-04-23 19:35:54)

AussieReaper wrote:

Murtha airport's manager said taxpayer money is going to waste at his facility, but not on the runway project. He points to an unstaffed $8 million air traffic radar system installed in 2004. "It's been sitting over there, and that radar has been spinning for all those years with no purpose. Just sitting there," Voelker said.

Voelker said he has brought the matter up with both the FAA and Pennsylvania Air National Guard, which uses the air traffic control facility. But he said nobody can explain why the radar system hasn't been staffed.

Sounds like a systemic problem with the airport for a while now. This is just getting beyond ridiculous. I couldn't believe this:

Earlier this year, the airport found a new revenue stream, receiving $800,000 from the stimulus to repave a crosswind runway that's used as a backup to the facility's main landing runway.

For a backup runway.... to an airport that has 3 flights.

Last edited by DBBrinson1 (2009-04-23 19:44:25)

ATG wrote:

I swear, the best profession for criminals is politics.
The best way to rob a bank is to own one.