The Side by Side ATC Podcast

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the LAST week of the en route academy.

Yes! It is finally here! And, " Oh, no!", it is finally here! You have finally finished all that the FAA has given you and taught you and let you practice. And it all comes down to how you can perform on 2 days.

The interview process has ended and the FAA will evaluate just how well they think you have progressed. That review will be done by humans and not by a computer. The evals are not a test graded by a computer. They are scenarios that let you show off just how much you have learned and how much you have changed over these last 4 months.

I spend some time talking about each of the days for this week, what will come up and what might happen. I give some scenarios about scores and some stories about passing even when your first run doesn't go the way you would like it to.

Remember this: DON'T EVER GIVE UP!!

The week will end with paperwork and, for those who pass, getting to select where you are going to go for your first facility. The last day will be a shorter day than most have been and it will probably be the only day that you can relax and not have to be concerned about separating airplanes.

Thank you all for listening!!

If you have a question, a comment, or just want to talk, you can email me at

[email protected] .

You can also go to the website: attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom .

In this episode, I talk about what to expect from the next to last week at the enroute academy.

That's right, just 1 more week after this one!!

In this week, the FAA stops teaching you new tasks and shows you different ways that those tasks may show up in a sector that is going "RED".

Everything that you have learned over the last 3+ months is going to be used to fine tune the controller you are becoming.

You will start the week with the last of the "learning" scenarios. Then, you will get to take hold of 5 more points with the Checklist Eval. Most students do very, very well on this eval. After the Checklist Eval, you will know just how many points you have earned so far AND just how many points you will need from the radar evals. Try not to focus on those last 2 days just yet.

After, the checklist, you will start 6 days of what I like to call "Eval Practice." I call it that because this is the time you get to practice what it will be like on your evals. The problems will be similar in complexity, similar in number of aircraft, and similar in intensity. They are great practice for Week 12 if you use them that way. Hopefully, your instructors have been told to do a lot less instructing and more evaluating during your scenarios this week. If they have, it will help you so much.

Some of these scenarios you've been hearing about from the time you made it to OKC; or even before. Don't let them psyche you out!! Go into each run confident that you know what to do!! Don't let a bad run here or there stop that confidence. At this point, you have done each of the tasks they present to you correctly at least once. All you have to do is string enough together to have a great run... AND YOU CAN!!

Also important this week is to try to get sleep! As much as you can! Your body needs it and your brain needs it!!

Thank you for listening!! I always appreciate the support!

If you have questions, or just want to talk about air traffic, or something else, please email me at: [email protected] .

You can also go to the website at : attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom to find out about my coaching programs or to arrange a phone call.

Thank you again!!

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the 10th week in the enroute program at the academy.

This week will be the last week that the FAA will give you new tasks to learn. After this week, you will just be practicing what you have already been taught. You will be showing just how much of the information you can put into practice when you need it.

This week covers a LOT of the major tasks that you will be required to know how to do. This includes everything from:

• Holding( You WILL have traffic for your holding patterns)
• Manual handoffs
• Emergencies
• Military change of destination
• Weather deviations
• And More!!!

Please let me know if you have questions about any of this. You can set up a FREE call by emailing me at: [email protected] , or by visiting my website at: attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom .

Don't struggle through the academy without reaching out to me for help! Please! It doesn't matter which program you are going through. Let me help!

Thank you again for listening! Have a great week!

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the 9th week of the enroute academy.

This is the week that you start running practice scenarios in the radar lab!

The FAA will start you off fairly slowly on the first day, then it picks up speed quickly. The second day you will get an opportunity to watch an instructor run a scenario. They will be the student and you get to make sure they don't make any mistakes.

The Instructor Demo will be the first of 4 times that you will get to sit behind someone and watch them run a scenario. Make sure you see how they scan, how they determine priorities, and just how much TIME they have to do all of this. I know they are instructors, but you will find that you have more than enough time to get every task done; IF you do it right the first time and do it in the time that the FAA gives you to do it. Pay attention to the demo, you can get a LOT of useful information from it.

Thank you for listening!!

Thank you for including me in your ATC journey! You don't have to go it alone. Let me help and we can get through... Side by Side.

As always, if you have a question or comment, you can email me at [email protected] .

The website is attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom . You can get info on the coaching programs and see how to arrange a no-obligation call.

In this episode, I talk about what this week will be like for you as you continue your journey through the FAA Academy.

This week, you will have a number of Computer Message lessons. These will include lessons in class, CBI lessons, and labs with instructors. There will be a LOT of information, but you will BEGIN to learn the different ways that information can be found, and changed, as you work each scenario.

This week will also have your CKT2 Test. The test will cover the lessons you've had in the radar portion of the academy, AS WELL AS lessons you had in non-radar. The mix is about 67%/33%, but that fluctuates each year as the FAA tweets the course. The test is worth 5 points, and you want to get all of the points you can, but what you learned last week and what you practice this week will be worth so much more than 5 points. Study for the test, but don't obsess over it.

Obsess over the phraseology for point outs and handoffs. Obsess over the steps for handling an emergency, or a military change of destination, or a departure, or holding.

You end the week with a lesson on scanning. It is very important that you develop a method of scanning your entire workplace ( the radar, 75-80%, your EDST, 15-20%, the strips, about 5%). You will try different scanning techniques over your time in the radar lab. Find one that works for you. Find one that keeps you from missing point outs or handoffs.

Thank you all for listening! It makes my day every day when I see that more and more of you are joining the podcast or continuing to listen!

You can contact me at: email - [email protected]

website- attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom

Don't try to go through this alone. Contact me and let's get through this Side by Side.

In this episode, I celebrate 50 episodes of this podcast!

I talk briefly about numbers and where we are now on the podcast, but then I ask you for a HUGE favor:

Please let me know how I can make this podcast even better!

Let me know what you like and let me know where you think I stink!

Then I talk about some things coming in the future:

• YouTube channel
• Training videos
• Book

Let me know what. you think of these ideas, and let me know what you would like to see from each.

I also gave some thoughts on a couple of issues from earlier episodes:

1. Prepare ahead- Prepare your life away from the academy so you can concentrate on what you need to do at the academy.
2. Prepare ahead- Go on the Discord chat and get the map for enroute or tower. Get a head start on studying for the map tests before you get there. It will make a big difference during the first couple of weeks. Also know your phonetic alphabet like the back of your hand!
3. Work as a team in your class- Whether you are in enroute, tower, Tracon, or N90 you will want, and need, as many as possible to pass from your class. The more that pass, the more options you will have when it comes to selecting your first facility. Do whatever you can do to help each other!!!

Again, thank you for listening!! Thank you for letting me be a part of your life!

Email: [email protected]

Website: attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom

In this episode, I continue going week by week through the EnRoute Academy. This week is week 7, or the start, and the heart, of radar lessons.

That's right. This week is the heart and soul of the radar lessons. All of the important, and some not quite as important, lessons are this week.

They include:

• Radar ID
• Handoffs and Point Outs ( VERY IMPORTANT ) Every scenario every day!
• Radar Transition
• Radar Seperation ( IMPORTANT )
• Radar Vectoring
• Emergencies ( VERY IMPORTANT ) You will see a ton of these!
• Weather
• Military Ops ( IMPORTANT )
• Position Relief Briefing ( IMPORTANT )
• Team Responsibilities
• Fatigue Awareness ( VERY IMPORTANT ) Just kidding!! You will be tired, so be aware!

The most important lessons are all right here, this week!

Thank you all for listening!!

Have a great week!

[email protected] - email for any questions you might have or to set up a no-obligation phone call to talk about where you are in your ATC journey.

attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom - website for my coaching program. You can also use it to set up the initial free phone call as well.

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the sixth week of the enroute academy.

This week is the BIG ONE!! Day 29 is the non-radar eval day!

Before you get to that day, you will go through some practice scenarios that are designed to be much harder than the eval scenarios will be. The FAA will take you past what you need to be able to do and will show you what could happen if a non-radar sector went "RED". That is what happens when a sector gets over 100% of its normal traffic. The complexity of the scenarios on the last 2 days of the non-radar lab its off the charts. Take heart! You won't have to work a scenario that difficult on your eval day. It may be close, but it won't be like 23-27.

By the end of the week, you are starting the radar section of the enroute program. Now is where the fun really starts!

As it was last week, the name of the game for this week is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Really try to focus on the things that are giving you trouble; things that you struggle with.

Thank you again for listening! You have all been so supportive of the show!

If you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected] or visit my website at attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom .

Have a wonderful week!

In this episode, I take a break from the discussion of each week at the Academy to focus on practice and what that means while you are at the Academy.

I alk about:

• What is practice
• What is Intense Focused Practice
• Can you get by with only practice
• Why you have to be organized in your practice
• Can Intense Focused Practice allow anyone to pass the Academy

I want to thank you all for continuing to listen! It is my hope that I can help each of you in your journey to become an air traffic controller.

If you have a question, email me at [email protected] like Miranda did, or you can go to my website attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom and set up a free call like Alfonso and his brother did. I want to help each of you in any way that I can.

Remember, you don't have to go through the process of becoming an air traffic controller by yourself. I want to help; and we can get there Side by Side.

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the fifth week at the Academy.

During this week, you will start with your CKT1 Test. It is worth 4 points and will cover all of the information from the non-radar lessons. After this test, you will continue in the non-radar labs doing 3 scenarios a day until your last day in the labs.

The complexity of the scenarios is going to increase dramatically during this week. You are going to go from a fairly gradual increase in complexity to a point where you are working scenarios that are on the same level as the evals that are coming up next week. Your brain is going to be stretched to the breaking point this week, so be prepared.

The name of the game for this week, and all of the coming weeks, is PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! And then, PRACTICE SOME MORE!

You can not practice too much during your time at the Academy! This needs to be your primary thought the entire time you are at the Academy. It doesn't matter which program you are going through( Tower, enroute, Tracon, N90), you have to practice, and practice, and practice. It is the only way you are going to get proficient enough to pass any of these programs.

PRACTICE

Practice is more important than talent, and will get you further than talent alone!

Thank you all for listening! I hope that these episodes are helping you all in some way.

If you have any questions, email me at [email protected] or visit my website at attrawell.com/sidebysideatccom .

I hope you have a great week!