Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Jan 16/06) - For many workers, looking out the window is a way to escape their jobs for a few seconds.

For Poul Osted, looking out the window is a vital part of what he does for a living.

Osted is an observer/communicator at the Community Aerodrome Radio Station (CARS) at the Hay River airport.

"I spend a lot of time looking out these windows," he says, while sitting in the CARS area on the second floor of the Hay River airport terminal.

The lights in the room are turned off to prevent reflections on the large windows and preserve a good view of the airport.

Osted observes the weather and sends the information to Environment Canada via computer. He also reports weather conditions to airplanes if they ask for it.

The information includes cloud height, visibility, precipitation, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure and temperature.

The communication part of the job involves talking to pilots by radio.

"I'm giving them all the information they need to make a safe landing," Osted says, noting that includes, along with weather conditions, information about other air traffic and vehicles on the runway, mainly snow-clearing equipment.

"I control the vehicles," Osted says. "I don't control the airplanes."

Instead, he says he co-ordinates them with other planes and traffic on the ground.

Working as an observer/communicator is not for everyone.

"It tends to be long periods of waiting with moments of frantic work," Osted says.

The work also requires a certain type of personality, he notes.

"There has to be attention to detail, concentration and the ability to handle some stress," he says, noting not everyone could handle dealing with airplanes with dozens of passengers.

The job also requires being alone much of the time during 12-hour shifts, including overnight.

To become a CARS observer/communicator, Aurora College offers an 11-week course in Fort Smith.

Osted works for ATS Services, which has the contract with NAV Canada to operate the CARS locations throughout the Northwest Territories.

The 32-year-old has been doing the job for over five years and says he enjoys it and had an interest in airplanes to begin with.

"I still find it interesting," he says, noting there is something new about the job almost every day.