At age 22, Archie was officially hired as an ATC. His first control tower was a garden wheelbarrow on which he mounted a beach umbrella to shelter from the sun. In it he carried a beach chair, his lunch, water, a note pad and a pair of signal flags. In winter, a padded flying suit helped keep him snug.

The history of aviation is dominated by pilots. But not pilots alone. A veritable army of men and women in a variety of supporting services contribute, in no small measure, to the gamut of flying operations. The service that is perhaps the most closely involved with flying is that of the Air Traffic Controller (ATC). Ask any pilot who has ever been lost or in dire straits. The calm, reassuring voice of a competent and confident controller often makes the difference between a safe recovery and an unenviable mess. Quick thinking, situational awareness and the ability to nimbly adapt to rapidly changing air situations are the hallmarks of a good controller. Job stress in the profession is reputed to be among the highest of any field; consequently, those prone to heart trouble are advised to stay away.

ATCs are, perhaps, taken for granted nowadays. But it was not always so. Following the Wright brothers’ successful conquest of the air in 1903, the first two or three decades of aviation were a free for all period when pilots knew little or no regulation. Aircraft took off and landed on any convenient open field that had a suitably firm surface and was sufficiently free of obstructions. An into-the-wind path was preferred. Traffic control was unnecessary. Collisions with other aircraft were avoided by the simple expedient of keeping a good lookout. As traffic grew, however, and more aircraft began to use designated airports rather than farms or fields, the conflicts became rather frequent and aircraft descending in an attempt to land were often in danger of colliding with each other. An agency was sorely needed to maintain order. So in 1926 the US Congress passed the Air Commerce Act which made the Secretary of Commerce responsible for framing air traffic rules, certifying pilots and aircraft, establishing airways, and operating aids to navigation. Enter the Air Traffic Controller.