ATM Appointment

[Clif Whitten]

Team Boston,

 

Please join me in welcoming Ian Fisher (EN) as the new Air Traffic Manager (ATM) of Boston ARTCC.  Ian comes to us with an extensive ATC background, including experience as Events Coordinator, ATC Instructor and, most recently, Deputy ATM of Houston ARTCC. 

 

Ian assumes the duties of ATM effectively immediately.  Ian wrote a message that he asked us to share with you. 

 

Again, please give Ian a hearty Boston welcome!

 

Clif Whitten

 

 

Hello,

 

My name is Ian Fisher.  I joined VATSIM in 2010 and ventured into the world of controlling in 2015, starting at ZHU. I earned my S2 before transferring to ZSE for a change of scenery. In May 2016, I was appointed as Events Coordinator for the ZFW ARTCC. I transferred back to ZHU after a brief hiatus from the network in August of 2016. In December of 2016 I was appointed as the Events Coordinator at the ZDV ARTCC. In this role I created an event I am still thrilled about today, where we “staffed up” the Telluride Airport, one of the most popular and picturesque uncontrolled airfields in the world. Telluride is a unique event airport due to the fact that it is uncontrolled, making it one of the few uncontrolled-airport events in VATSIM history. It was also here that I earned my instructor rating underneath the tutelage of Chris James. In August 2017, I left the EC position due to pressing matters in my personal life. In November of 2017 I applied and was appointed as the Deputy Air Traffic Manager of the ZHU ARTCC. I honed my management skills under Matthew Kosmoski and applied for the ZBW ATM position a few weeks ago. I was very excited to accept the position on August 11th, 2018.

 

The main thing that drew me to ZBW was the tremendous prestige that ZBW has created for themselves, from the ground up. I always was in awe at the level of professionalism and dedication each member brings to the table at ZBW. I have met some of the greatest friends of my life on this network. I want to put myself in position where I can cultivate that environment for others to thrive and enjoy themselves. I am very excited to meet the staff, as well as meeting with each and every controller and learning how this ARTCC has put itself in this position. I hope most of all that I can be a valuable asset to the organization and continue to grow its reputation, presence, and community involvement.

 

Fortunately, as stated before, the ARTCC has done a great job in carving out a presence for itself on the network. My first priority is to ensure I do what I need to do to continue that high level of execution, professionalism, and dedication to the network for which ZBW has become known. From there I want to set the tone and create even more opportunities for every controller to feel like they are an essential part of ZBW, going forward. ZBW has worked very hard to build to the level of activity, community, and attention to detail that we enjoy today. I realize the delicacy of the situation: I intend to make this transition so smooth that the average controller won't feel any difference through the change in command. You will see very few initial changes from me as far as day to day operations of ZBW. I want it to be well known that I have an open-door policy. My intentions with this are twofold: I want every controller to know I am open and willing to listen to any questions, concerns, or suggestions that may arise. The only other change you will see to me is a more “open borders” policy with our neighbors and facilities as there are a lot of people around the network that wish to see what ZBW has to offer.

 

My real day job is a salesman. It’s nothing to crazy or exciting but it pays the bills. I used to work in professional sports for 7 years as an equipment manager. I am an avid disc golfer. I am very involved in Houston in the disc golf community. My responsibilities include planning and hosting tournaments and weekly events. I also compete on a semi-professional basis. I also love various video games such as flight sim (of course), Rocket League, PUBG, Farming Simulator, and NBA 2K18. I love getting the whole community involved in games other than flight sim from time to time in order to share more broad experiences. I hope I’ll be able to do that with ZBW as well!  I have very little real-world aviation experience. I have never flown an actual aircraft. That being said, I am very involved in the aviation community in Houston. Previously, I spent a year and a half as a line service technician for Signature Flight Support in Des Moines, Iowa. I am very thankful of this opportunity I had because it gave me a very deep respect for the individual effort that goes into keeping the aviation business running. My dream job is to be an air traffic controller. Aviation is a true passion of mine.

 

In the first few days of my tenure I wish to introduce myself to each and every controller personally. I will also be developing an optional survey to identify any potential weaknesses in our current operation, soliciting feedback from all members, no matter their experience or tenure with the facility. I hope that each and every controller speaks up in order to have their opinion be heard and understood. I do not intend to flip this ARTCC or “break” the community. I am very excited to get started with my training to familiarize myself with the ZBW airspace in an order to lead by example and set the tone for our online presence.

 

Ian

[William Guisbond]

Ian -

 

Welcome to BVA! Looking forward to working with you very soon.

[Manuel Manigault]

Congratulations Ian!

[Evan Reiter]

Welcome! We're looking forward to working with you.

[Szymon Puzdrowski]

Welcome to the team Ian, see you on the scopes and in TeamSpeak soon!

[Camden Bruno]

Congrats, Ian! Welcome to Boston. Looking forward to getting to know you.

 

See you on the scopes!