"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that'll make 'em ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart."

Every year the world celebrates a season of thanks, and a season of giving. Friends and family spread joy and cheer all over! But for some it isn't so easy. And it's easy to forget those that don't have fortunes that a lot of us do. It's why each year the Child and Family services of Michigan hosts it's annual "Operation Good Cheer" event! This year marks the 50th year, where thousands of volunteers gather to help with this HUGE event! It starts with those packing and wrapping presents, to the many truckers sending them over to be eventually flown out of Oakland-Pontiac, flying to various local airports around Michigan. At each airport, agency volunteers then gather gifts to deliver to children and youth currently in foster care. This gives thousands of kids gifts, some who may have not received anything at all!

So come and join us on Saturday, December 5th (The actual day of the fly-out and delivery) as we staff up KPTK! We will be staffing from 1700z to 2100z.

I highly encourage everyone to try and fly to other satellites (and AZO) even though we are only featuring KPTK, as the real event has pilots flying to many different local airfields.

Also here is some information about the actual "good cheer" program:

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/december/09/its-all-for-the-kids

https://www.cfsm.org/operation-good-cheer?fbclid=IwAR0aSuy6Dmz8enj51NepHB9TRx44XaDV9fNeHdq-E1BYvbZuGtRUstYxLUI

Hope to see you all there!!!!

It's back!!

The Cleveland, Chicago and Minneapolis ARTCCs are teaming up for the third edition of the Northern Crossings Event. And this time, we're bringing the event into Friday night!!! This event will feature all of our three major airports, including Detroit Metropolitan (KDTW), Chicago O'hare (KORD) and Minneapolis-St Paul (KMSP). Join us for a night on Friday, May 22nd (2300-0300Z / 1900-2300ET / 1800-2200CT), as we provide 4 hours of full ATC services. Bring out your jets and turboprops for some fun regional flights. See you there!

Rise and shine, cast your line, and kick back! From the perch, walleye, and bass at lake Erie, to the sailfish, trout, and snook of Florida, the weather is warming for some great fishing! Start your day in Cleveland at lake Erie, or start your day near the Kennedy space center at the Redfish capital of the world! ZJX and ZOB are partnering up on Saturday, April 11th, from 2200z to 0300z, for a crossfire event for all! Both Cleveland-Hopkins International (KCLE) and Orlando International (KMCO) will be fully staffed for a crossfire between two incredible fishing locations! So cast your lines, catch your fish, and hop your flight for a day of simultaneous approaches and departures at MCO and CLE!

Featuring KCLE (Cleveland-Hopkins) and KMCO (Orlando International)

Time:
2200z-0300z

More details to come soon!!!

Mother nature can be vicious, and she definitely doesn't care about your valuable time. And when it comes to wintry weather, Cleveland gets the brunt of it. With lakefront changes, snow squalls, white-outs, and below zero temps, conditions can change in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, Cleveland has plans in place for the worst of weather. Called "Operation Frost", Cleveland-Hopkins dedicates a section of ground to "Frost Control" from October until April. Come and join us on Saturday, Feb 22 from 2359z - 0400z at KCLE as we prepare for any weather mother nature tries to throw at us!!!

Two different cities, two different states, one awesome crossfire!

The city of Pittsburgh starts this off with it's famous joining of the Monongahela and Allegheny river into the Ohio river. And nestled in the West Mifflin borough, south of downtown, is Allegheny County airport (AGC), once the main hub of air traffic in and out of Pittsburgh.

On the northern front of the Cleveland ARTCC, inside of New York is Rochester. Located against Lake Ontario (one of the Great Lakes of North America), Rochester is the third largest city in NY, only losing to Buffalo and NYC. It's also home to the second airport of our crossfire, the Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC)

Join us on December 22nd, 2019 from 17z to 21z as we staff up KAGC and KROC for a fun and scenic flight around the three rivers of Pittsburgh, Lake Ontario, and Rochester, NY!!!

Since last year, the Cleveland ARTCC has been going through lots of exciting changes! With the arrival of RNAV procedures in Cleveland and DTW, the consolidation of tower ops in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, and the new Metroplex, our ARTCC is changing like never before! One of those changes is happening this September, with the consolidation of Akron-Canton approach into the Cleveland TRACON. With this, we want to celebrate and wave goodbye to Akron-Canton approach on Saturday, August 31st, from 2300 to 0400 zulu (7PM to 12AM ET). We hope to see you all there!!

More details to come!

It's time to dust off that guitar, tune your drum heads, and prepare those vocal cords as we journey to the center of rock and roll: Cleveland-Hopkins! We'll rock and roll all night, welcoming the new RNAV procedures into KCLE, the home of the Cleveland ARTCC. Fly like an eagle with your favorite jet airliner, or fly away in your favorite prop! You'll be as free as a bird listening to jailhouse rock on Friday, May 31st from 2300 to 0300 zulu! We hope to see you all there!!!