Small Complaint about Light Up America...and a couple suggestions

[Roger Curtiss]

From what I observed today, LUA was, with only a few exceptions, a great success.  However, this-like many USA events, was a bit prejudicial toward west coast members.  Running an event until 1800 local offers very little for those of us who either cannot make it to a daytime event or prefer to fly in the evening.
As I write this it is 1955PDT and the only areas lit up are KZLC, KZLA and PHZH in the west and KZAU elsewhere.  I can understand that the controllers have put in a long day but that long day started and ended too early for those of us on Pacific time.

The same thing happens during most FNOs as well- they are over before it is FN for us (including when they are hosted in Pacific time zone locations).

So-how about trying to extend the hours of LUA to 2000 or even better, 2200 local time?

Also-in addition to lighting up America once a year, what about trying to have an entire ARTCC staffed either at a few locations for a very long time or at as many airports in the ARTCC as possible for a few hours?

I am not trying to say that LUA was not a rousing success...there were 700+ online users shortly after it started...just that we should do something along these lines more often and cater it to cover more of the day.

[Ryan Parry]

Roger, I'm just curious, are you saying extend the event to 2000 or 2200, or start later and end at those times?

[Chris McGee]

I agree. There were others on our Teamspeak that suggested it start later. The middle of the day on Saturday really makes no sense. It would be better to have it middle to late afternoon into the evening.

[Roger Curtiss]

Ideally, running from 1200 to 2200 would be preferred, however, it may not be practical to staff many ARTCCs for that length of time.  In which case, a later start would be good.

I think what I am saying is, if possible, pick a date, tell the ATMs/Event managers "we are considering holding this event between 1200-2200", let the ARTCCs determine what sort of staffing levels they believe they can muster and THEN set the time for the event.   A bit extra work on the planning end but it might result in greater participation through the entire day.

[Daniel Hawton]

I don't see the event catered to any specific coast.  It's very hard to make an event that can be in the evening for all members across the US due to having 6 different time zones.  12-22, in which time zone?  Pacific?  That means facilities on the east coast would need to be staffed until 01.  Eastern?  That means the event would be over at 19 Pacific, so much for evening fliers there... but what about Alaska and Hawaii?

No matter the times you pick, a full US coverage will always appear to cater to one group or another.  Regional, as proposed, would probably work much better.

[Kyle Sanders]

I was just about to post that too... "Regional LUA"

Maybe throughout the year, have multiple LUAs? Just a thought. Not sure about the logistics.

[Roger Curtiss]

My thought was to gear the events to local times.  Just as LUA has center positions lighting up at local noon currently.  The point is to try an arrange coverage so that, in the example of PDT, there are more options to fly, even if it is only in the western region of the country.

[Don Desfosse]

In my opinion, we're talking about two different things. 

VATUSA for years has encouraged regional night events, including regional FNOs, but precious few have ever been scheduled.  If you are interested in putting together regional event, all it takes is someone to lead the planning effort and reaching out to the other ECs in the region and the ATD to coordinate dates/times.  This is an excellent idea, and one that in my opinion should be capitalized upon much more than it has in the past.

In addition, though, VATUSA has also sponsored and led the planning for an annual (usually) Light Up America event.  The thought that we can have the entire USA lit up at one time, especially with our shrinking number of controllers, is fantastic.  Especially from a pilot's perspective, the thought that flights can potentially go from one side of our country to the other with continuous service is fantastic.  It's a fantastic opportunity.  But apparently not one that we can effectively staff anymore, unless this year's results were a fluke.

A couple of very frank thoughts.  This year, this event was almost canceled due to the lack of response when a call was put out for help in trying to plan the event and there was precious little initial response.  It's a large undertaking, and can't (and shouldn't) fall on one person's shoulders.  When the warning about possible cancellation was sent out, some folks rallied and helped, which was really appreciated.  For the first time that I can remember, though, we had an ARTCC completely blow off the event.  We also had several log off early -- I've seen one or two log off early over the years, which is unfortunate, but never to the magnitude of this year.  So I have a feeling that extending the time of this event may not be the best answer.  Perhaps shifting the overall start and end times might work out better, and that's something we can certainly investigate. 

Personally, I'm in the same boat as Roger; I can't usually get online until much later in the evening, usually after 10pm my time.  So I wasn't able to participate in LUA either.  Regional events at times that are more conducive for the time zone(s) involved are designed to solve that problem.  I think there is room for both types of events on our calendar.  In fact, I highly recommend it. 

[John Da Costa]

My only complaint about this great event was the absence of sf radio that broke my combo from NY to Hawaii. Great job for the rest ;-)

[Don Desfosse]

The suggestions are all good; thanks for those who have been making them in the various forums/threads.

The key ones I've heard:
- Start later
- Different time of year
- Have more regional events that capitalize on evening/night hours


And, just to add some balance, here's huge kudos from VATGOV4, who resides in Europe....

BRAVO.. absolutely WONDERFUL!

Not only did you manage to light up the entire place, but you somehow made this all come together on a time that was perfect for us on the East side of the big pond! which meant early afternoons for many of your guys.

I did one flight KJFK to KMIA and we had ATC all the way and it was a great pleasure, above all i would like that you convey my great appreciation to Miami Ctr as some 150miles inbound the PC that runs my CDU crashed which about 2mnts later made my entire PFD go black, resulting in a "I need vectors".. went perfect and i was also able to reboot the darn PM just in time to pick up the IAF!

All in all great!

He is now reaching out to VATEUR encouraging them to host a similar event during USA peak times for us to participate.