Airman closed until further notice..

[JonJohn82]

I don't know for sure, but I strongly doubt that. The tower was just recently redone. OU has plenty of sorties each day. Also, there is quite a bit of transient traffic. If Stillwater's tower is going to stay open. Westhiemer's tower will definitely stay open.

 

[minitour]

Didn't westheimer tower just get a new radar too? When I was finishing up out there, we kept getting squawk codes for pattern work...asked why and they said it was cuz of the "new radar".

I can't imagine they're closing any time soon. Too much transient traffic especially combined with OU. It's a pretty busy Class D...and it's only a part time tower anyway.

-mini

 

[phantomdriver]

Didn't westheimer tower just get a new radar too? When I was finishing up out there, we kept getting squawk codes for pattern work...asked why and they said it was cuz of the "new radar".

I can't imagine they're closing any time soon. Too much transient traffic especially combined with OU. It's a pretty busy Class D...and it's only a part time tower anyway.

-mini

I am just wanted to if it is true. I just heard about it the other day. I have been at other airports that had new upgrade then to close the tower.

 

[User546]

Didn't westheimer tower just get a new radar too? When I was finishing up out there, we kept getting squawk codes for pattern work...asked why and they said it was cuz of the "new radar".

Yeap, went up and saw the tower guys a month or two ago and they were proudly showing it off.

From the way I understood it, they're tying off of Tinker or OKC's radar. Pretty cool little gadget they had.

 

[minitour]

Yeap, went up and saw the tower guys a month or two ago and they were proudly showing it off.

From the way I understood it, they're tying off of Tinker or OKC's radar. Pretty cool little gadget they had.

Yep, that's what she told me. I think it was OKC's. I was inbound for some pattern work in the RG and reported crossing the river...she said "you are just getting to the river..." I said "close enough" and she started b!tching about how "at least the radar doesn't lie, but enter the downwind....."

Is "Mr. Grumpy-gills" still there?

-mini

 

[JonJohn82]

Are you talking about Jose mini? If so, yep. The lady, Sherry, is now the tower manager. They also recently hired someone from K-State.

 

[minitour]

That would be him.

He was working both ground and local one morning and I called for taxi for a West departure.
"Ground Cessna xxx Airman AWOS taxi VFR West"
"Taxi to runway ___"
"Runway ___"
"Tower Cessna xxx ready runway __ VFR West"
"Cleared for takeoff"
"Cleared for takeoff"
"Cessna ___ Where are you going?"
"West to Clinton"
"Make sure you tell me where you're going so I know...I cant have aircraft all over my airspace going in a million different directions."

Keeping in mind it was me and something like two other airman planes and 2 OU planes...no one staying in the pattern. At the most we had 5 aircraft leaving the airspace about 2 minutes apart from each other....sheesh!

That sooooo pissed me off. And the time he cleared me for a touch and go then the option and got pissed at me for doing a stop and go even after I told him that it would be a stop and go.

Not my favorite controller...

The lady was decent...she just had her moments. Really, what does it matter if I'm actually crossing the midpoint of the river or getting to the river? There was a break in the frequency and I decided that was a good time to jump in...get over it! And honestly, if I'm exactly midfield downwind when I call, great! But if there are other things going on and I don't get to call until I'm abeam the numbers then guess what...I didn't get a chance to chime in.

Most of the Westheimer controllers were more than helpful 90% of the time.

Just don't ask them for SVFR when it's 1200/2.5....sheesh :crying:

Okay...I feel better now.

-mini

 

[hoop]

I think I might have had a run in with that fella. I was coming up the VFR corridor, headed back to Wiley Post, and asked to proceed through his airspace. I was cleared, on altitude and right over I-35. Next thing I know, he's yelling at me that I'm too close to the airport. Can't win'em all I guess.

 

[minitour]

I think I might have had a run in with that fella. I was coming up the VFR corridor, headed back to Wiley Post, and asked to proceed through his airspace. I was cleared, on altitude and right over I-35. Next thing I know, he's yelling at me that I'm too close to the airport. Can't win'em all I guess.

Yeah he's impossible. And since the ILS was commissioned (is the GS "usable" yet?) it's even tougher to go down the corridor...it's like they want the entire area.

Oh well...OKC approach was always good to me...let me go right over TIK going to/from Stillwater...even with a mode c aparently inop...

-mini

 

[JonJohn82]

That's him. He's a nice guy on the ground though. He's very strict on how many folks are in the pattern. One day only two were allowed in.

The GS is up on the ILS 17 now.

 

[User546]

The GS is up on the ILS 17 now.

No kidding?? After two years of flying in and out of there, they finally got that ole box working?!

Will have to try that out Monday, it is "official" now right, not just working?

 

[minitour]

No kidding?? After two years of flying in and out of there, they finally got that ole box working?!

Will have to try that out Monday, it is "official" now right, not just working?

That's what I was wondering. It's been working for a while...but not "usable"...

-mini

 

[phantomdriver]

I get that I will check it out on monday.

 

[JonJohn82]

No kidding?? After two years of flying in and out of there, they finally got that ole box working?!

Will have to try that out Monday, it is "official" now right, not just working?

It's a true precision approach now. We've been shooting it since before August.

 

[User546]

The knucklehead I talked to on Friday must've been the same guy your referring to. Here's our conversation:

"Ground, Citation XXXX ready to taxi"
"Roger, Citation XXXX taxi to runway 21, departure freq is 135.42."
"Taxi Runway 21, XXXX"
** The moment we turn onto the taxiway (no where ever close to 21):
"Citation XXXX, contact departure."
"XXXX, you want us to contact departure?"
** About 5 seconds of silence on his end
"XXXX, contact departure."
(me in a confused voice) "Ok, we're contacting departure"
A few seconds of confusion in the cockpit - decided just to ignore him.
** At the end of the runway now
"Tower, Citation XXXX ready to go 21"
"Roger, Citation XXXX, position and hold."
** After holding in position for a couple minutes, he's assigned another airplane to land opposite direction our airplane. The airplane reports us on the runway, and the controller tells him just to do some 360's, cause it'll be another couple minutes before the Citation will get released...

Finally we're cleared to takeoff, and can you believe the guy never handed us off to Departure?? I guess he was just a little premature on the taxi out!

Anyways, usually those guys and gals are really squared away up there, but that guy was ate up that particular day! We couldn't get out of there quick enough!

 

[JonJohn82]

What time were you heading out? Was he hard to understand? It may have been Bill. He's.....

...and you should have let me know you were coming!

 

[User546]

What time were you heading out? Was he hard to understand? It may have been Bill. He's.....

...and you should have let me know you were coming!

Now that I think about it, it was actually Thursday not Friday. Been too many places this past week - my days are starting to blur. We were deaprting out of there around 530-600pm.

We were just flying thru, dropping off some passengers and heading onto the next place. One of those deals where you spend longer getting the clearance and taxi out, then you do actually at the airport!

 

[JonJohn82]

I was in the pattern around that time. I can't recall who was in the tower though.

 

[minitour]

eeeks...sometimes it was easier there to takeoff VFR and get our clearance from Departure...not sure if that's available to ya (ops wise), but on days like that...ya may want to give it a try...I was given a 5 minute clearance to shoot approaches one day working on my CFII...very interesting. Intercept this radial then to this fix and on to that VOR and fix here and radial to radial.... I filed OUN-IRW-OUN with an alternate at OKC and it said "practice approaches" in the remarks...I just don't get it sometimes.

Glad to hear the other pilot and you guys were on top of things...coulda been weird seeing someone land opposite direction.

-mini

 

[JonJohn82]

OUN tower is usually on top of things, but every now and then watch out.