European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazines a a hold 111 Flenda Hosier one Rome i was working traffic in my sleep controller Michael Zimmerman Zwell Brincken a weft Germany. Aircraft kind of like that three dimensional chess game they have on Star trek by Deedee Arrington Doke Kaiserslautern Bureau a ashtrays inside the we Brucken a observation lower in West Germany iii1 Upas quickly As the skies some Days. Shoso Days when pokes and skivvies and Kodak play a strange game of tag no one is meant to win being an air Iraq lie controller or playing Craitic cop Lor aircraft is she bind of work that draws out a person s intensity. To be Good at it a controller has Lobo cocky enough to loll a Lull Bird colonel what he or she can or can i do. Aggressive. Or even crazy some smoke to vent suppressed Energy occasionally mimicking aircraft patterns with their cigarette action one up one Down one pending. Others take the up Down and holding rhythms to bed with them one Lime i was working traffic in my sleep admitted Salt sgt. Michael Zimmerman 30. My Wito tried to Wake me up. And i told her to shul up. I was working jets he paused. And i had t even gotten Here  to an outside observer there Are two dist Mcl sides to air Iraq he co Tiol work As different As Day and night Zimmeman Lear Tsents the night half of the two team Effort that goes into air traffic control at we Brucken at his favorite position on the ground control Loam the 30 your old Washington stale native tracks approaching planes by electronic proxy in a dark windowless room lit by glowing radar screens no two situations Are the same. Things Are changing All i he Timo and you have to make a plan and go with it be Able to project ahead and know whal things Are going to look like five minutes away Zimmerman said. If you Don the added. You re going to get into real  he thought Tor a moment. You know that three dimensional chess game they have on Star to Clyl thai s what this reminds me  Down a few Blacks is the Tower. The place whore the Day Hall of the learn the half that works by natural Light uses first hand vision to guide stubby c-23 Sherpa and Needle like phantom us off the ground and into the Correct air space. I Tike being Able to see the planes said Small sgt. Mark Stoffel 24, a seven year air Force Veteran who worked As watch supervisor at the lower on a recent tuesday. In the air traffic control Cam s vernacular Sherpa Are divided into three Basic groups iwo of which involve the Hardy c-23 Sherpa. There Are those Sherpa flying excursions beyond we Brucken or pokes because they re so Stow slotted says with a laugh and training flights or skivvies so named for dual reasons inc flights arc comparatively Short and because the Short Bros air Rall company makes Sherpa the nickname Kodak by slowed upon the morn Macho in 4s, on the other hand refers to the aircraft s photo taking Mission on reconnaissance flights. Averaging 120 to 150 operations daily Zweibruck on in l the most hectic of airports. Bui on thai hazy but Bright tuesday a single sturdy Sherpa a Sivvy is keeping the lower Crew comparatively Busy with its frequent takeoffs and landings varying Landing styles with a touch and go Here a Slop and go there. At the last minute the Sherpa Pilot changes his mind about the Type of Landing he s going to undertake. A move that forces the lower Crew to alter directions to an oncoming phantom ii that wants to do a Low pass by the Airport. They re so slow they kind of mess up your pattern Stoffel said watching As tech sgt. Flay Dove who s got try most popular Job of local control that Day. Advises to Sherpa to turn left. Instead the Sherpa turns right and starts yet another Circle in the sky. A minute or so later. Iho phantom ii sweeps majestically past the lower never touching the ground and Inlo the heavens. The two aircraft never came close to touching each other but it s those Small snarls in communications thai keep the Tower Crew on heir toes. As does a wild weasel that takes a wrong turn on a taxi Way and has to Detour around the Block to get headed in the right direction for take off. The pilots involved Here Are americans. Things get even More interesting when the pilots flying around  air space ate italians. French 01 belgian. They re required to speak English but Wilh choir accents in can to hard to understand what they re saying Stoffl said. You just Hope you re on the same  Zimmerman agreed. All the variables keep the heart racing and the pulse pounding in a crisis. But docs it take a near miss or a crash to get the adrenalin and the Job Salis action flowing i Don t think anyone looks Forward to that Zimmerman said sternly. A con roller s satisfied if everything on his shift was Safe orderly and smooth. Someone wailing for someone to crash to score Somo Points is kind of a sick Guy air traffic controller Mark Stolfa logs a plane s departure time at Zvy Al Brickan a. Wednesday Junel 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13