Zehbel: The Clever One

(written by Barbara, Mike’s editor)
Mike Roman asked me to come down to the FAA facility at Philadelphia International Airport to get a better sense of what he described in his book Zehbel: The Clever One (now out and selling well on Amazon and other online book distributors). He explained primary and secondary radar, pulses, signals, glide slopes, mega hertz, pulse rate frequency — why changing PRF also changed coverage — something obvious, but new to me, two-way mile measures, elevation, orientation of antennae, IOS, Category 3 localizers, ASR, ASDI (the small radar on top of the control tower, detecting movement on the runway), the IFR room underneath the control tower, etc.  He and a friend from the FAA took me up into the control tower to observe the activity there, keeping an eye on my new friend, ASDI. Then, back down to the IFR room, to discover the new radar screens, showing every airplane across the country, with the ability to identify each one by simply hovering over that plane on the screen. Naturally, we talked about 9/11. The technicians there concluded it could happen again, but it would be much more difficult now, with better surveillance, locked cockpits, and tighter security.

I was even treated to a wild ride across several runways in a company vehicle, to see the radar towers, plane de-icing equipment and note the identifying markers on each runway, up close. It was a wonderful tour of airport surveillance and the dedicated FAA staff that keeps everyone on course.

To my untutored brain, of course, the whole thing was best represented as a dance. Pulses signaling back and forth, each partner (hopefully) remembering their part in the dance and observing proper decorum.

Then I remember that Mike used to go up in a helicopter, in those pre-computer days, back in the 70’s, and make photographic maps, survey for RADAR placement, and design the equipment to keep an Iranian military airport, being used by the USAF, running safely. The equipment needed for complicated maneuvers now carried out by scores of FAA personnel, relieving each other in one shift after another, was often designed and built by one man, training a staff with little to no education in radar, electronics, communication,  with limited capability to comprehend the tasks at hand. That was one clever man, indeed.

Radar Tower, Philadelphia Int’l. Airport

Revise and Review

Switching to (less expensive) POD (Print On Demand) for Mike Roman’s book, Zehbel: The Clever One is a golden opportunity to revise and re-format those parts of the book where readers have asked for more information on stories within Zehbel. Sitting down with Mike and Lucretia last week, we went over the book with a fine-tooth comb, marking all the changes I’ll make. A reporter from the Doylestown Intelligencer was there, doing some fact-checking, so we chatted a bit and I emailed her some documentation on Mike’s work in Iran. Her article on Zehbel should be out soon, generating more sales. Mike has also arranged talks on college campuses this fall, on terrorism and the Iranian people. Once these revisions are completed, I’ll set up some interviews with talk radio stations. To that end, Mike and I spent some time recording videos on his experiences abroad. My assistant will be over tonight, to turn those rough videos into sharp looking MP4s. I’ll call and send out the edited videos to the radio stations, along with my cleverly worded press release on Mike’s book.

A Golden Opportunity

Shelly, Sharon, Cretie and Mark Roman
watch a villager prepare a sheep for supper
Varamie, Iran 1974