September Updates - Part 2

Published: September 3, 2017

Radar Training: Live traffic!

In late August, I started training in the radar room on live traffic. After having a break from OJT (on-the-job-training) since April, it was different to get back into the swing of OJT again.

My first session on radar was supposed to be a quiet mid-morning session which turned into VFR pop-up shenanigans with people making all sorts of weird requests (like asking for practice approaches that have been out of service all summer… check your NOTAMs people!). For some reason, I got oddly nervous while I was working the traffic, I have no idea why. My trainer just said, “Why are you nervous? Stop being nervous, you’re fine.”

After that session, I had a few calmer sessions to just get comfortable on frequency. Our busy traffic at our facility occurs are very specific times (usually), so they try not to start us our on those sessions until we build up our confidence and working speed a little bit.

Last week I worked a few of the outbound pushes (busy traffic time, usually) and I felt like it went pretty well, every time. Depending on who I’m training with, my leash gets a little longer, and I’ll feel more comfortable trying things myself and seeing what works.

I had one session last Thursday where I had two sets of five arrivals all show up at once, and I was completely expecting my trainer to jump in (or hover and coach me through it), but instead he just sat quietly and watched my show. It definitely didn’t go perfect, and I certainly made mistakes. The cool part was, I was forced to fix my own mistakes and work out the problems myself. My instincts kicked in and I just started issuing the instructions I felt were most correct. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t even that busy or difficult, but for only have 15 hours on position at the time, it sure felt busy in the moment! I’m generally a tactile learner, so I learn best by doing, trying, and sometimes screwing up.

Here’s an example of me screwing up:

I was super concerned about having to pull this plane out of the final and work them back in (they were too close to the traffic they were following), but my trainer was surprisingly supportive about the issue. He told me my plan should’ve worked, but when the circumstances changed I made the right call to bust them out and try it again, and he was happy I made that decision and made it as early as I did. He didn’t even write me up in a negative way over having to pull him around again.

This week I have the holiday off, and I suspect I’ll start working some of the busier sessions more regularly going forward. I’ve gotten around 20 hours of my radar training logged, and I have a maximum allocation of hours limit at 230. I hope to be certified long before then – stay tuned for the updates.

Also, a special post out soon – advice for ATC students, trainees, and applicants. Stay posted!