Buffalo AFSS (BUF), New York, July 30, 1969.
Below is the text from the above newspaper article written July 30, 1969.
 

When Gordon D. Kauffman, chief pilot for Buffalo Aero* nautical Corp., filed a flight plan to New York City Tues­day, he set • milestone for the Buffalo Flight Service Station of the Federal Aviation Ad­ministration'! Dept. of Trans­portation at Greater Buffalo International   Airport.  He was the 400,000th pilot to receive service at the station In the previous  13 months. By reaching and surpassing the 400,000 total flight services within the 12 months, the Buf­falo Station automatically reached the elite Level III status of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As of the end of 1968, only 18 of the 332 flight service station in the United States had reached Level III.  600% Increase  James C Locurto, chief of the Buffalo Station, said flight ser­vices at the station have increas­ed approximately 600 per cent since 1958 and increased 280 per cent since July 1964. The local station, which is open 24 hours a day, was commissioned July l, 1930 and has never been closed since.  Flight services are increasing in traffic with the general increase in aviation, said Locurto. General aviation, military pilots and some scheduled airlines also utilize the service.  "We handle about 99 per cent of general aviation air traffic coming out of Toronto into the U.S. through Buffalo," said Locurto. "In addition, we have di­rect-line flight information ser­vice to Niagara Falls Inter­national Airport, and the Roches­ter and Dunkirk-Fredonia areas."  Locurto said that by reaching the Level III facility rating, he and most of the 23 staff employees at the station become eligible for wage increases.  Level III is the highest rating such facilities can get.  Robert I. Kemna of 222 Strasmer Rd., Depew, is the staff member with the longest gov­ernment employee longevity. The air traffic specialist has had 35 years in government service.  500,000 Expected         .  Locurto said he expects the station will reach 500,000 flight services services in a 12-month period by 1970. The station currently handles approximately 1,400 services daily, with the peak activity reached in July and August and the lowest activity in January and February. "We hope to add direct-line flight service to Genesee County Airport in Batavia and the Bickford-Le Roy Airport in Le Roy," said Locurto.  "We also hope to be able to increase our staff to 32, now that we have reached Level III."  Pilot Kauffman of 90 Hartford Rd., Amherst, utilizes the sta­tion's services quite frequently. Buffalo Aeronautical supplies the crew for Marine Midland Trust Co.'s Aero Commander turbo prop aircraft which shut­tles bank material between Buf­falo and New York City twice every night. Kauffman has been flying as a general aviation pilot for the past 25 years. He was a fighter pilot during World War II.

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