When people visit the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City for the first time, they are usually surprised to see the breadth and scope of it’s operations. Such was the case this past week when s several dignitaries from the Washington D.C. area accepted an invitation to visit this one-of-a-kind federal facility. Special guests included Philip McNamara, Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Transportation; Brent Kurapatskie, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Administration; Brad Mims, FAA Deputy Administrator; Carlos Alfaro, Special Assistant to the FAA Deputy Administrator; Peter Hearding, Deputy Assistant Administrator, FAA Policy, International Affairs & Environment; and Julie Marks, Deputy Director, FAA Office of Environment & Energy.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 17, 2022 Michelle Coppedge, Director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, along with her Deputy Director, Kevin O’Connor and several members of the leadership team escorted the dignitaries around the 1,056-acre complex. The team showcased many of the diverse missions being accomplished across 137 buildings at the Aeronautical Center, with emphasis given to the Center’s Energy and Sustainability Programs. The Center has a long-standing reputation for being on the forefront of environmental programs and receiving numerous awards in the areas of green energy, innovation, sustainable buildings, pollinator habitats, water conservation and most recently, harmonic filter installation. Upcoming sustainability projects include a solar photovoltaic project and expansion of an electric vehicle program. Such ventures allow the Aeronautical Center to harness their best practices to share with other federal agencies demonstrating tremendous energy savings while also reducing the environmental impact. Assistant Secretary McNamara remarked, “This is exciting, I didn’t know I was going to get to see a pollinator habitat!”
Some of the stops on the tour included visiting the FAA Academy and seeing firsthand what it takes to be an Air Traffic Controller and learning about the technical training provided to all technicians that maintain the National Airspace System. This involved visiting several labs: the Tower Simulation System (TSS), Air Traffic En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), and a Technical Operations En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM). Deputy Administrator Mims adapted well in getting to experience the operations of being an air traffic controller. He dawned a headset, hooked into the console and began to monitor and direct the movement of simulated air traffic.
The Center’s Office of Facility Management provided a driving tour of the projected solar array farm (to be the first one in the FAA), the fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations, new building construction and conservation methods implemented involving landscaping and strategically placed triple-paned windows. The visitors walked through the hangars at Flight Program Operations to get a glimpse of some of the flight inspection aircraft and observed time-sensitive maintenance and modifications being made to a Challenger 605.
Another location visited was the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute where the dignitaries toured a water survival research facility, human factors laboratory, genomics research lab, Biodynamics Impact Sled Testing Facility and the Flexible Aircraft Cabin Evacuation Simulator They also received a presentations on the Center’s STEM/AVSED outreach efforts.
The full day tour concluded with a visit to the Flight Standards, Flight Technologies and Procedures Division and Analysis Branch where the guests were able to demonstrate their piloting skills in a Boeing 737 and Airbus A330/340 simulator.
As the day concluded and the dignitaries were escorted back to the airport to catch their flights, one can’t help but think that their trip to the Aeronautical Center might change the way they view the actual process of flying, knowing the Center’s contributions to the environment and air safety.
