Four women raise a tower at GSO

Female engineers lead design, procurement, & construction

Besides being the newest air traffic control building in the United States, the tower at Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) has another distinction: women engineers led its design, procurement, and construction. FAA leaders celebrated the accomplishment and the FAA-first during yesterday's dedication ceremony of the Senator Kay Hagan Air Traffic Control Tower.

“In North Carolina where there are many aviation firsts, this is a notable moment,” said FAA Deputy Administrator A. Bradley Mims. “The new tower will allow the airport to keep up with the increased demand in and out of this busy region.”

The GSO tower is 180 feet tall, with a 550-square-foot cab to accommodate up to eight positions for air traffic controllers. The 15,650-square-foot base houses the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) with up to 10 radar positions. The TRACON controls airspace within a 60-mile radius of the airport that includes 20 general aviation airports. It is equipped with the latest communications and navigation technology. 

“The end result is a bird’s eye view of the airfield,” said Air Traffic Services Vice President Jeffrey Vincent. “This expanded line of sight will assist controllers in keeping the skies safe in this pivotal location in our national airspace system.”

Fifty-two FAA employees work at the tower and TRACON: 35 in air traffic services and 17 in technical operations. Construction on the tower began in April 2019 and became operational in late September 2022. The cost of the project was approximately $58 million. It replaces a 90-foot-tall tower that has been in operation since 1974.

Read more about the new tower on FAA.gov and meet the team on YouTube.

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Infrastructure Security Month: We all play a critical role in securing our National Airspace System and FAA facilities from threats.

1. Learn to use Microsoft Bookings, tomorrow at noon ET, part of IT’s training series.

2. Attend tomorrow’s Accountability Board training at 2:00 pm ET.

3. Watch the Justice40 Initiative webinar tomorrow at 3:00 pm ET.

4. Prepare to select new health benefits with upcoming BOC webinars.

5. Join a Community of federal employees in your career field on USAjobs.gov

WorkLife Wednesday: Webinars - Happening today! Emotional wellbeing through the holidays at 2:00 pm ET; And Leading with purpose on December 7. Articles - WorkLife Solutions makes it easy to find the right gym; Grief and the holidays; Arranging care for a senior loved one; And VLTP 4 you.

We’re Just Getting Started…

As the most significant infrastructure law in the country’s history, the FAA has invested nearly $5 billion to create new jobs and improve our aviation system, including upgrading air traffic towers, increasing accessibility at airports and enhanced passenger experiences overall. And that's just year one. Over the next four years, $20 billion more will be dispersed to continue improvements to the NAS. “We are building better airports. We are building a better air traffic system. And, we’re just getting started.”

ATO Administrative Excellence Award

Laurie Owens earned the ATO Administrative Excellence Award for her integral role in supporting Tech Ops field through distance learning amid the pandemic. Owens consistently identifies ways to improve distance-learning procedures for both the administrators and students. The awards emcee LaKisha Price said, “Laurie is a visionary, always looking for ways to improve the Technical Operations Distance Learning Exam Request and improving troubleshooting.”

Today's Headlines

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Employees Return to Work After Furlough

November 16, 1995: Three days after a government-wide furlough went into effect, President Clinton received from Congress and signed the fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations bill, allowing all furloughed DOT employees to return to work on the morning of Nov 16. The furlough ended government-wide on Nov 20. The DOT appropriations legislation provided $8.216 billion for FAA, and included important provisions for FAA personnel and procurement reform. It also cleared the way for the transfer of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to FAA and the director of the new line-of-business organization became an Associate Administrator reporting to the Administrator.

The Power of Hello: Use the OHNO Approach - Observe, Initiate a Hello, Navigate the Risk and Obtain Help - to evaluate and report suspicious behaviors.