Published: July 11, 2016
Woohoo! Today we started labs! I’m so thankful to be out of lectures (though our instructors did a good job of prepping us for labs). For the next week, we will be in what is called tabletop labs (which also includes the 3D labs).
I’ll explain this more…tabletop labs occur in a classroom where we have a scaled table cut out with our runways and taxiways on it, and little 3D printed airplanes that we all carry around the table, while two students are the “controllers.” Essentially, it’s a way for us to get our phraseology down before we move into the real labs where they don’t like to push the pause button and things move much faster. I’d rather jump right into the big lab, but I see the value in this for those who are less comfortable. In tabletop labs, the “extra” students play the role of the pilots, calling up as airplanes and moving them around as the controllers work the scenario.
The second lab we use this week is called “3D” which is actually in the classroom, where we use workstations with dual-monitor setups combined into a four-monitor wide setup which simulates the tower view. In the 3D labs, we have “ghost pilots,” who are random people we don’t know, that call up and control the airplanes from workstations in the back of the room. This is good and bad, but in my experience from today they are pretty easy to work with and understand that we aren’t perfect (and neither are they).
One nice part about the labs (although it doesn’t always seem like it) is that we always have an instructor next to us, plugged in, listening to our every word. Although it seems petty, when you only have three weeks in lab to learn all the necessary phraseology and techniques, it is actually very helpful to get feedback all the time, and not just during “skills checks” a few times a week.
Currently, we do six 50 minute runs every day, and we’ll be doing that until next Monday. Overall, I feel pretty good about how labs went today, but I’m not sure everyone in class can say the same. I definitely heard some rough phraseology today that needs to be ironed out ASAP so that the focus can be moved to techniques and personal preference in handling busy problems, not stumbling over basic phraseology!