How many of you folks have wanted to be Air Traffic Controllers? Do you dream of Pushing Tin around the skies? Think you can keep The Flick in your head? Want to tell pilots in aircraft of all sizes where to go? (ahem! :) Steve & Grant both applied for ATC and were both knocked back for a number of reasons. Fortunately, we know a couple of guys who weren’t.
Join us as we chat with Ben Ippolito (the Ipanator) and Jeremy Peck, discussing being selected for ATC, the long hard slog of learning & practicing in the simulator and the terrors (ummm, joys) of taking their first few steps in the real world outside of the academy.
We also discuss GAAP changes, oceanic control, airspace classes, working with the RAAF and much more.
You can find out more about becoming an Air Traffic Controller on the Air Services ATC page. Recruitment for the 2010 class closes by January 3rd.
cant wait to listen to this one !
downloading now (Y) !
Hope you enjoy it mate!
Good edit Steve!
Steve always works wonders on the edits. Every episode he manages to make us sound professional, coherent and knowledgeable – it’s amazing :)
Maybe one day we’ll release a raw, unedited “unplugged” version but it won’t be any time soon. We need at least a few more months of practice before we can sound as good live as we do after post-production :)
I did enjoy this episode.
Maybe if my pilot career fails ill become a ATC lol.
Jack, I’m glad to hear we have inspired you! keep up the good work.
It is sad however that people view ATC as a back up career. it is an honourable profession which comes with a lot of responsiblity. In my short career I have really enjoyed the people I have worked with and the effort that goes into making things just right!
We have had virgin blue pilots through to visit recently which have said they will never complain about being delayed again….of course they forget this not long after they leave the centre……
our job is about making decisions, sometimes you win other times you loose. We often have pilots that complain but hopefully they realise it is our decisions that keep them and their PAX safe.
Yesterday on my group we dealt with thunderstorms around Sydney, a/c were going left and right of track for many miles. We worked very hard to keep the situation safe.
You see in weather the traffic picture changes very quickly, a/c end up being in very unique positions, but we still deal with it. I had an a/c call up during these storms stating that their instructor was having a heart attack! I was busy but this became my top priority. Make no mistake this was a very stressful situation and one which many people would not understand but you just keep working…..
You see our role is simply to deal with whatever happens. Pilots ask and we say yes or we say no because of… (or without reason, because we are busy) We will always be there dealing with whatever happens because people rely on us to do our jobs perfectly…well not perfectly but safely and a lot of pride comes from doing the job the best we can.
It is a thankless job, but a job that makes you close to the people you work around, your a team, you look out for each other.
It is a job like no other and one which I will always be proud of. Sure I am always tired and overworked and I get called in on my days off….but I love the job and I wouldn’t trade it for any other.
At 12:30 when reference to ATC Simulators, the web based one is http://www.atc-sim.com
As I mentioned during the interview I was an active CPL prior to my ATC career, actually had I not gotten this job I’d have been doing my Navajo endorsement and been flying IFR charter in one. So this isn’t my back-up career, simply an alternate one. Benefits of sitting on this side of the radar is that I don’t have to worry about schedules or staying in hotels at night. However I still have to worry about getting everyone where they want to go safely! Of course should I ever wish to leave ATC I could always go back to flying.
Ben the problem with aviation is it is a very unstable industry. There is so much going against it. I must vent:
It is a battle for airlines to stay alive, they spread their resources thin and cut airfares until they reach breaking point.
Airports are considered a pain to anyone who lives near them. (I don’t mind!)Airlines have to deal with people that CHOOSE to live near airports but complain about the noise. Politics plays a big part in noise abatement…
Then there is the pollution issue. With the soon to be introduced ETS, this will no doubt add pressure to the airlines to reduce pollution even though they simply cannot reduce their pollution. This will lead to some stupid tax and thus a higher operating costs for the airlines which could kill some.
There is also the pilots stuck between a rock and a hard place. Flying is expensive and once you gain the CPL you can start earning the cash. There are operators who can’t afford to pay pilots a reasonable wage. These small wages guarantee that pilots will move on once they have their hours up. Many seem to go overseas…..We lose lots of talent overseas.
Oil prices are high which leads to higher AVGAS charges, therefore higher cost of training etc. Of course there is the cost of getting an air traffic service which I will not discuss……
Anyway back to my corner :)
I’m sorry, which one of you is the “airplane nerd??”
Johnathon – Thanks for the URL to the ATC sim game – I forgot to put it in the show notes. DOH! :)
Ben & Jeremy – wow – and I thought the episode itself was interesting. These comments are getting even deeper than what we discussed in some of the out-takes :)
I am not an airplane nerd! I will deny it in a court of law….
Nice work team. It’s great to see PCDU sticking to the subject of Aviation (unlike certain American podcasts that are seemingly transfixed by Social Media) and with lots of topic variety through Air Races, Light Sport a/c, Warbirds, Pilot perspectives and now ATC (have I missed anything?)
Now what’s left? Airlines, International viewpoints, Aircraft Manufacturers? (maybe Randy would like to say a piece – but not Motormouth Leahy please).
The sky’s the limit! (get it? – groan)
Some of us openly admit our plane nerdiness, others are still in the closet! ;)
Speaking of Grant… ASDU 2010??
Jeremy: Yeah, right, like Ben said, come out of the closet!
Ben: I do hope you were meaning I’m openly admitting my plane-geek-status and not implying I’m trying to keep it secret :)
As to ASDU 2010 – erm, don’t you mean 2011 for the next one?
Mike: Already working on a manufacturing aspect and some international stuff – watch this space. Of course, we’re also going to have a bit of social media coverage but we think you’ll like it ‘cos it’s very close to home & will be wrapped up in lots of aviation talk :)
By the way, here’s a PPRUNE discussion about the A380 wake turbulence incident I was talking about during the show. I did find it while we were chatting but it was part of the discussion that never made it into the final edit:
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/357907-armavia-a320-turbulence-cruise-a380-wake.html
Speaking of pprune…..I posted on one of the forum pages that discusses ATC selection for ASA about this episode. There should be a MASSIVE spike in listener numbers!!!
There was a bit of a spike of traffic from PPRUNE around 22/23 Nov. It was about half the spike we got from yssyforums and hasn’t produced as many ongoing leads either.
I’ll let you know if the numbers ramp up or not :)
and i now have a dick smith story…….
So is it story we can play on the show or are you just teasing us all? :)
HA, time will tell Grant, my blood boils when I think about it!
Oh, one of *those* stories :)
Feel free to contact us once you’re able to relate it without blowing up ‘cos we’d love to hear it :)