11/04/02 � It looks like we have a solution to the problem of having OASIS and M1FC co-existing on the floor between the time OASIS is first installed till the facility begins OASIS operations after training is complete. The question was how do we accommodate having both systems out there at the same time. What we have found is that since OASIS has changed from 21 inch CRT monitors to 19 inch flat panel displays there is now room in the consoles for both M1FC and WSI displays AND the OASIS displays, one in front of the other. You will need one or two OASIS positions on the floor so that those who have completed training can stay refreshed and get practice time, but the rest of the positions will have M1FC and WSI out front. Where OASIS is out front M1FC and WSI can be in back, ready to be moved forward if needed. Where M1FC and WSI are out front OASIS would be in back ready to be pulled forward as soon as the facility becomes operational on OASIS. This also allows 100% installation of OASIS instead of trying to figure out the 50% as things were. This solves a lot of problems for us. This solution is tentative. The program wants to do a formal study to make sure everything fits. Once that is done they will be going out to all the sites that have been site surveyed up to this point to work out changes in the installation plan for OASIS.

The survey of satisfaction with your equipment placement in the OASIS consoles is languishing on a bureaucrat�s desk at the moment. The reason�it has to be negotiated with the union according to this person. Unfortunately to this point this person has not listened when told that the union actually wrote this survey. Well, she has, sort of�her response was to ask why the union hadn�t sent it out and left the FAA out of it. She was told that while the union wrote it we wanted to make sure we had agreement from both union and management at the facilities, so it needed to go out from the FAA. Scott Malon is working on getting it moving out to the field.

We had a lovely problem with WMSCR week before last. WMSCR went down at a bad time for OASIS and left us without the NOTAM information that was needed to do NOTAM cleanups at AND and SEA. In trying to work around the problem a shortcoming in OASIS was found that was causing AND and SEA to request the same NOTAM info from WMSCR over and over again using the WMSCR request/reply function. When WMSCR finally noticed this they turned off request/reply functionality to AND and SEA. Two major problems here. First�if WMSCR had been paying attention they could have called AND and SEA and asked them to stop doing what they were doing because it was endangering WMSCR. Second, they not only didn�t call AND and SEA, they failed to inform them of the action until the following day, and then it was only by e-mail. I have stated in no uncertain terms that if any service has to be turned off to OASIS for whatever reason then the OASIS facilities MUST be notified immediately by phone. There is general agreement on this point within the OASIS program. I have insisted on a National written agreement to cover this for the future. Unfortunately, the WMSCR organization has been the most difficult organization to work with in my time on OASIS. They are an FAA system, but they are only concerned about their �customers.� Their customers? The airlines�the airlines mean more to them by far than any FAA users. Because of this I am doing all I can to push for getting data from other sources as much as possible with new interfaces to OASIS that bypass WMSCR to get us the information we need.

I was at the AOPA Expo in Palm Springs. Darrell and Mike and the gang at the NAATS booth did an excellent job getting our word out to the pilots there. Guylan Roberts and I were there to demo OASIS. It was very informative for us. I know that AOPA reads my articles, so this is for them as well as for you. The response by the pilots after having seen the capabilities of OASIS, without exception, was �when do I get to see this on my computer?� My response was that we were looking at incorporating DUATS into OASIS, which would give them access to the capabilities we were showing them. I was fair and told them that AOPA has concerns about technology enhancements if the service is not provided by competing vendors, but we were working to ensure that technology refresh would continue through the lifecycle of an OASIS/DUATS system. The pilots were especially interested in a truly interactive briefing. This flies in the face of what we got from AOPA who said their priority for interactive briefings was low to moderate. The pilots would love to be able to click a button and be able to speak with a briefer with the info that either one is looking at appearing on both of their screens. Another benefit of integrating DUATS into OASIS is the strong desire by DUATS pilots to be able to call their AFSS and amend flight plans filed the night before. The first three pilots in a row to stop by our booth asked us why they can�t do that today. They considered it a major annoyance. One said he stopped filing in DUATS because of it. Also, the pilots are very concerned that Flight Service not be moved out of the government. They see this as a first step to inevitable user fees. They are aware of the failure of privatization elsewhere and want no part of it for us.

On the airplane from Washington to Los Angeles I had an interesting encounter. I was sharing a row with a person from the WARP (Weather And Radar Processor, primarily supplies weather data to the centers and the command center) program. We were talking about issues facing our programs when a gentleman a couple rows forward of us said he worked for AOPA and couldn�t help overhearing me talking about OASIS. So we talked about OASIS for a bit before I steered the conversation to the A-76. He stated that AOPA believed that the A-76 would result in modernization of Flight Service, not contracting out. I told him that I believed AOPA�s reasoning to be flawed and that the PRIMARY purpose of an A-76 was to contract out a service. I said that NAATS was hitting this issue hard. His response? �I know, we�ve been getting the cards and letters.� I then said that our president was pretty much living on the Hill because of this issue also, and his response to that was �Yeah, we�ve been hearing about that also.� Then I found out during the Expo that AOPA had come out with their position on the A-76, less than a week before their scheduled meeting with NAATS on the subject. Looks to me like AOPA felt enough pressure on the subject that they had to respond. Perhaps sooner than they would have wished. Of course that�s just idle speculation on my part. I found out later that my conversation on the plane had gotten back to Phil Boyer and was mentioned at the meeting with NAATS.

This week Alice Haines and I will be demoing OASIS at the Air Traffic Control Association�s convention here in DC. I don�t expect anything of import to come from that, but we do want to increase visibility of OASIS as much as we can. Members of the Human Factors Team will be doing facility demos as we are able. BTV is scheduled for next week, as are Alaskan facilities. We will be working on other ANE region facilities and other regions as we can get them scheduled. Things are a bit fluid at the moment since we are under a continuing resolution, and there is word floating around here that some people wouldn�t be surprised to see us under the CR until the third quarter of the fiscal year. Oh joy.

Fraternally,
Jeff Barnes