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Reporter states the last hour of sun makes it difficult to see traffic operating on runways west of the tower.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 493808 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200012 |
| Day | Mon |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : tus.tower |
| State Reference | AZ |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Dusk |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | government : faa |
| Function | controller : supervisor |
| Qualification | controller : radar |
| Experience | controller military : 44 controller radar : 12 controller supervisory : 3 controller time certified in position1 : 3 |
| ASRS Report | 493808 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other controllera |
| Resolutory Action | none taken : anomaly accepted other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Environmental Factor |
| Primary Problem | Environmental Factor |
| Situations | |
| ATC Facility | other physical facility |
| Airspace Structure | class c : tus.c |
Narrative:
Tower was built in 1957. Tower has 4 sides. During last hour of sunlight the glare makes views of approach end of runway 11R, runway 03, and runway 11L almost impossible. View of right downwind runway 11R extremely limited. Glare on CRT's at clearance/flight data is atrocious. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: reporter stated the tower is located on the east side of the airport and it is necessary to lower the tower shades from sunup to sundown because of sun position and glare. He said if a new tower was located on the west side of the runways, the sun glare problem would be virtually eliminated. He also said the present tower structure is 43 yrs old and some discussions have come up about constructing and new tower in about 10 yrs.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: RPTR STATES THE LAST HR OF SUN MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SEE TFC OPERATING ON RWYS W OF THE TWR.
Narrative: TWR WAS BUILT IN 1957. TWR HAS 4 SIDES. DURING LAST HR OF SUNLIGHT THE GLARE MAKES VIEWS OF APCH END OF RWY 11R, RWY 03, AND RWY 11L ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. VIEW OF R DOWNWIND RWY 11R EXTREMELY LIMITED. GLARE ON CRT'S AT CLRNC/FLT DATA IS ATROCIOUS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THE TWR IS LOCATED ON THE E SIDE OF THE ARPT AND IT IS NECESSARY TO LOWER THE TWR SHADES FROM SUNUP TO SUNDOWN BECAUSE OF SUN POS AND GLARE. HE SAID IF A NEW TWR WAS LOCATED ON THE W SIDE OF THE RWYS, THE SUN GLARE PROB WOULD BE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED. HE ALSO SAID THE PRESENT TWR STRUCTURE IS 43 YRS OLD AND SOME DISCUSSIONS HAVE COME UP ABOUT CONSTRUCTING AND NEW TWR IN ABOUT 10 YRS.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.