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TIM BERZIN: Hello flow control. Republic 506 is looking to discover.

SPEAKER: Republic 506, are you ready to go now?

TIM BERZIN: Are you ready to push on schedule, which is--

RICH DIETMAN: We're sitting in the cockpit of Republic Airlines Flight 506, a silver and blue DC-9. In front and to our right, first officer Tim Berzin talks on the radio. To our left, Captain Tom Flavin, a Republic pilot of nearly 25 years, checks the gauges and dials of this twin engine jet that will shortly carry 119 passengers and a crew of 6 into O'Hare Airport at the peak of rush hour traffic, 5:45 PM. We're here to see how it will go, to see if there are any delays and if so, why, and to learn how the pilots are adjusting to an air traffic control system that continues to operate at less than half staff.

TIM BERZIN: Republic 506 would like to push it.

RICH DIETMAN: Copilot Berzin is talking with the flow controller, something he did not have to do very often before the PATCO strike but which he must now do before every flight he makes. Flow control is the FAA's way of making sure there will be adequate separation between us and the dozens of other planes that will be funneling into O'Hare just over an hour from now.

We've been assigned a slot in the system. And if we get off on time and if other aircraft in the system are also on schedule, then there should be no delay. The problem, if there is one, will arise if the system becomes congested and the controllers at O'Hare cannot guarantee us proper separation. Then we will be delayed on the ground here in Minneapolis.

There's a Northwest jet also going to O'Hare at about the same time we are. And though we're still boarding a late arrival, first officer Berzin fudges a bit and says we're ready to taxi in part so the other flight won't get out ahead of us, causing us to have to wait.

The bright late afternoon sun of this cool autumn day casts long shadows as we taxi now out to runway 29 right. So far, we're four minutes behind schedule because of the last minute arrival. But there are no airplanes ahead of us on the taxiway and it appears there will be no further delay.

TIM BERZIN: Jams and crashes are all good.

RICH DIETMAN: We take the runway now. And as we accelerate for takeoff, Tim Berzin calls out speeds as Captain Flavin prepares to ease back on the controls. The cabin shudders and creaks as we thump across the expansion joints in the runway. And then at about 150 miles an hour, we're off the ground.

The climb indicator shows we're rising at a rate of 4,000 feet per minute as the city of St Paul slides below us. We're turning to the Southeast now and will soon be on course for the first leg of this 50-minute flight. Airline rules prohibit non-essential conversation in the cockpit below 10,000 feet, and that includes talking to reporters. But before long, we're passing through 10,000 feet on our way to 33,000 and Copilot Berzin turns to comment on how this departure is different from before the strike.

TIM BERZIN: You'll notice, Rich, that on the climb out, we haven't had to level at any intermediate altitude. And we've been finding, at least I've been finding in my own experiences, that they're very conscientious about trying to get us up to our final cruising altitude as soon as possible whereas before, we experienced many times having to level off at say 5,000 and then 9,000 and then 12,000.

RICH DIETMAN: Is that because there are just fewer aircraft in the air?

TIM BERZIN: It has a lot to do with it, yeah. Also, I think people are-- I think there's an effort to plan ahead. That's one of the ways that flow control is working.

RICH DIETMAN: Before long, we are six miles over Southwestern Wisconsin. And though we've been in the air barely 25 minutes, we're already beginning our descent into Chicago. While Captain Flavin flies the airplane, Copilot Berzin learns the weather at O'Hare is not good.

There is a 900 foot overcast, 9 miles visibility with light rain. Certainly nothing to keep us from landing, but we will definitely have to make an instrument approach. Pilots tell stories of having to circle for long periods of time in weather like this before getting into land. But Flavin and Berzin expect no delay and Berzin tells passengers we will be right on time.

SPEAKER: You can fly at 130 heading or 140 heading or direct. Whatever you like.

RICH DIETMAN: As we get closer to O'Hare, Tim Berzin continues to work the radio, at one point commenting on the relaxed attitude one controller seems to have. Berzin says that while he does not think controllers who went out on strike were doing a bad job, they were making more of the stress factor than is really the case.

TIM BERZIN: Republic 506 for 2, 7 right, wind 2.5014.

RICH DIETMAN: We're on final approach now. We've been in the clouds for some time and periodically, Berzin calls out altitudes while Flavin uses instruments to line us up with runway 27 right. The glowing clock on the instrument panel in the now darkened cockpit shows 10 of 6:00. We're right on time, even a little early as we settle smoothly onto the rain slick tarmac.

But it will take a few minutes to taxi to the gate. So by the time the flight attendants open the cabin door, we will be right on schedule. After the crew shuts down the airplane, we go inside to wait two three hours before our return flight to Minneapolis.

Captain Flavin says the longest he has had to wait for a clearance since the PATCO walkout has been about 30 minutes, and that was out of Green Bay, Wisconsin, not the congested O'Hare. Flavin says he is rarely delayed more than a few minutes at Chicago. And during this layover he says the system is safe and working well.

TOM FLAVIN: I see no problems other than in the major terminals, delays that are taken on the ground prior to reaching the major terminals and this is done to provide safe separation of aircraft. I think the system is working very well. And in the areas where we don't have terminals like Chicago, I think it's working as smooth as it did before the strike and in some areas, even a little better.

RICH DIETMAN: PATCO members have charged the system will break down this winter when foul weather sets in. Tim Berzin says that it makes no difference how many controllers are working if the weather is really bad.

TIM BERZIN: If you'll reflect back on December towards Christmas time two years ago, Chicago and Minneapolis both had bad weather. And Chicago and Minneapolis both fell on their ear. No traffic moved between the two of them. The same goes for LaGuardia prior to the strike.

Weather delays take their toll. If the system is healthy or if the system is manned to its optimum level or if the system is not manned to its optimum level, weather is going to have an effect on the system regardless.

RICH DIETMAN: The rain of three hours ago has stopped now and it's cold and windy as we taxi out for a return flight to the Twin Cities. We were scheduled to leave at 10 of 9:00 but it's already past 9:30. We're 40 minutes late, but it's not due to a breakdown in the air traffic control system. We've been given another DC-9, one that normally flies on to Michigan. It has an ailing electrical system and operations wants it at the main base in Minneapolis for overnight repairs.

This flight is only one of several thousand that operate each day throughout this country. And while this one has been on schedule except for equipment problems, there will continue to be delays until the FAA accomplishes its rebuilding of the air traffic control system, something even optimists believe will take at least a couple of years. I'm Rich Dietman.