The Villages - January 2018 - 44

Before They Were Villagers
Robert Petrucelli
Air TrAffic conTroller
Few jobs are as intense as air traffic control. Balancing
hundreds of flights per day, ensuring each plane arrives at
its destination safely and on time - it's not a job everyone
can handle.
For Robert Petrucelli, a 30-year career as an air
traffic controller came about based on a short, offhand
conversation he had with a seasoned Navy chief in the mess
hall one day.
Shortly after joining the Navy, Petrucelli
was looking for an aviation school to attend
for further training. After noticing the Navy
chief in the mess hall, he decided to ask
which job offered the best pay rate. The chief
told him "AC" (air controller), so that's what
Petrucelli signed up for without even knowing
what it stood for.

"I passed all the tests, I get my
orders after boot camp and I'm going
to AC school," Petrucelli said. "I have no
idea what AC is. I look at my orders, and I'm going
to Olathe (Naval Air Station) in Kansas. I'm in the Navy
and there's not an ocean within about a thousand miles of
Olathe. I've got to find out what I'm going to do."
As an air traffic controller in the Navy, Petrucelli spent
time at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, as well as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
After leaving the Navy, Petrucelli received high marks
on his placement tests and landed a job with the Federal
Aviation Administration. Once hired by the FAA, he had
assignments all around the eastern coast of the United
States but spent the majority of his time in Richmond,
Virginia.
Petrucelli found plenty of personal satisfaction and
autonomy as an air traffic controller.
"Air traffic (controller) gave a person everything they
wanted in a job," Petrucelli said. "You made good money.
You had complete autonomy. Once you're a certified
controller, no one can tell you what to do in that position.
Whatever happened, you were responsible for it. You didn't
take any work home."

44

JANUARY 2018



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - January 2018

Contents
The Villages - January 2018 - Cover1
The Villages - January 2018 - Contents
The Villages - January 2018 - 1
The Villages - January 2018 - 2
The Villages - January 2018 - 3
The Villages - January 2018 - 4
The Villages - January 2018 - 5
The Villages - January 2018 - 6
The Villages - January 2018 - 7
The Villages - January 2018 - 8
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The Villages - January 2018 - 10
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The Villages - January 2018 - 18
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The Villages - January 2018 - 28
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The Villages - January 2018 - 30
The Villages - January 2018 - 31
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The Villages - January 2018 - 33
The Villages - January 2018 - 34
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The Villages - January 2018 - 36
The Villages - January 2018 - 37
The Villages - January 2018 - 38
The Villages - January 2018 - 39
The Villages - January 2018 - 40
The Villages - January 2018 - 41
The Villages - January 2018 - 42
The Villages - January 2018 - 43
The Villages - January 2018 - 44
The Villages - January 2018 - 45
The Villages - January 2018 - 46
The Villages - January 2018 - 47
The Villages - January 2018 - 48
The Villages - January 2018 - 49
The Villages - January 2018 - 50
The Villages - January 2018 - 51
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The Villages - January 2018 - 53
The Villages - January 2018 - 54
The Villages - January 2018 - 55
The Villages - January 2018 - 56
The Villages - January 2018 - 57
The Villages - January 2018 - 58
The Villages - January 2018 - 59
The Villages - January 2018 - 60
The Villages - January 2018 - Cover3
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