bob turner
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- Jan 7, 2005
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You all know I am a liberal - that should excuse my being the odd guy out on this one.
We are slowly locking down our airports - mine was one of the last ones, and they are now easing into it - kinda like boiling frogs.
They had a multi-million dollar gate upgrade done, and knowing that many of us would protest, they made it key pad accessible. The security company, never having had a statistics class, chose to issue numbers sequentially. I tried to point out the folly there, not realizing that the next step - turning the flame up slowly - was to disable the keypads entirely, making access by card only.
I protested a bit, by using various codes for access, but they told me in no uncertain terms that they were watching me on TV, and if I did not stop, I would be kicked off the airport. Like a good little frog, I acquiesced. I am wondering why they are so interested in me, but wondering about that is the point.
Anyway, the cards will soon be the only entry by car. One will still be able to key the pedestrian gates, or gain entry through an FBO. At other, more advanced airports, you can only get in by card or FBO, and if you are a transient, you cannot start out before 8 AM unless a card holder joins you. That is tough on transients.
Once this is complete, the frog will still be alive - although NSA will surely be listening to the "rivet - rivet".
Next step - tracking your aircraft continuously. I know nothing about the up-coming avionics mandate, but I believe that equipment will start the data stream.
The logical extension - if done slowly; new cars first - will be to track where we drive our cars. Who is going to watch all this is beyond me, but at my airport we have a guy watching me!
I will be checking out in less than two decades, so it probably won't truly affect what I do - but let me ask: is this what you want for your kids - 100% tracking by your government?
My more conservative friends love this - the airport manager said he advocates an ID card for every American, and wants to keep the airport an elite place. I am obviously uneasy about it. Airports should be for all of us.
Opinion - obviously.
We are slowly locking down our airports - mine was one of the last ones, and they are now easing into it - kinda like boiling frogs.
They had a multi-million dollar gate upgrade done, and knowing that many of us would protest, they made it key pad accessible. The security company, never having had a statistics class, chose to issue numbers sequentially. I tried to point out the folly there, not realizing that the next step - turning the flame up slowly - was to disable the keypads entirely, making access by card only.
I protested a bit, by using various codes for access, but they told me in no uncertain terms that they were watching me on TV, and if I did not stop, I would be kicked off the airport. Like a good little frog, I acquiesced. I am wondering why they are so interested in me, but wondering about that is the point.
Anyway, the cards will soon be the only entry by car. One will still be able to key the pedestrian gates, or gain entry through an FBO. At other, more advanced airports, you can only get in by card or FBO, and if you are a transient, you cannot start out before 8 AM unless a card holder joins you. That is tough on transients.
Once this is complete, the frog will still be alive - although NSA will surely be listening to the "rivet - rivet".
Next step - tracking your aircraft continuously. I know nothing about the up-coming avionics mandate, but I believe that equipment will start the data stream.
The logical extension - if done slowly; new cars first - will be to track where we drive our cars. Who is going to watch all this is beyond me, but at my airport we have a guy watching me!
I will be checking out in less than two decades, so it probably won't truly affect what I do - but let me ask: is this what you want for your kids - 100% tracking by your government?
My more conservative friends love this - the airport manager said he advocates an ID card for every American, and wants to keep the airport an elite place. I am obviously uneasy about it. Airports should be for all of us.
Opinion - obviously.
