Early Flight Service Antenna (date unknown)
Spindly antennas, many of them adapted from mail order windmill towers, were typical of do-it-yourself ingenuity of early-day flight service station specialists. In spite of crude equipment, radio communications of 600 miles and more were common place
Submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska, about 1932
The first Inflight position
Submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska, late 1950’s
Service “A” and Service “B” Switching Units. All information came through this equipment via one circuit per teletype printer or transmit/receive unit. Service “A” circuits carried all weather to be printed and the Service “B” circuits carried all aircraft movement messages. The Nebraska Department of Aeronautics had a circuit for 15 weather reporting stations. Offutt Air Force Base had a dedicated circuit to OMA FSS. These units were usually located in the same room as the teletypes.
The pilot weather briefing counter where all airline pilots that arrived and departed Omaha were briefed on the weather
The updated telephone weather briefing counter
The pilot weather briefing position using teletype paper and the first faxed weather charts
The flight Data and teletype positions with a DC-6 aircraft parked outside the window
Submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska, 1958
The flight Data and teletype positions with a DC-6 aircraft parked outside the window.
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska, late 1960’s
Photos submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
This was one section of the panoramic board depicting severe weather locations.
Photo taken standing at the pilot weather briefing counter looking over the Preflight and Inflight positions at the panoramic board, which was manually updated every hour. The panoramic board displayed the big picture of the weather, as well as VFR, MVFR, and IFR conditions.
The Preflight pilot weather briefing position
The Inflight Position
Submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska, Late 1980’s
The Omaha Flight Service Station was moved to a new building on the Northwest edge of Epply Airfield in the early 1960’s. A weather observation center was added on top of the FSS in the late 1980’s.
Submitted by Roger C. Bodtke
Omaha FSS (OMA), Nebraska December 17, 1986
The first Omaha Flight Service Station was commissioned May 23, 1932. The FSS was located on the second floor under the first Omaha Air Traffic Control Tower, which was on the Southeast corner of Epply Air Field in Omaha. Prior to the first FSS, a communication station called Omaha Airway Radio was in operation from 1920-1932.