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.
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.
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 :)