The Side by Side ATC Podcast

In this episode, I talk about one of the most important concepts in radar. The concept of P-A-L-M . In the radar lab, you use PALM to identify actions that you need to take whenever an aircraft is changing a route or an altitude. You do this to ensure that you have covered everything that may happen because you have re-routed, or climbed, or descended an aircraft. What this means is that when you...

In this episode, I talk about what may be the most important concept to understand in Non-Radar. That concept is W-H-A-T . W-H-A-T is the technique that is used to change an aircraft's altitude in non-radar so that all of the traffic for that aircraft is missed. It may sound easy, but it CAN get complicated! And it can get complicated quickly! This is W-H-A-T: W - Where is the aircraft, or Is the...

In this episode, I talk about how to plan for the explosion of information that the FAA is going to shoot your way during the enroute academy. If you are not prepared for this onslaught, you will get behind. Once you get behind, you may never catch up. Primary Goal of the first 6 weeks--- The Non-Radar Evals They are worth 7 points each for a total of 14 points. Secondary Goals for the first 6 wee...

In this episode, I talk about what everything is that is on the Aero Center Non-Radar Map. One of the reasons given for not studying the map before you get to OKC is that you don't know what you are trying to memorize. Well, hopefully, this will help. I go through: Sectors- number, name, and frequencies Navaids- VORTAC, VOR/DME, and NDB Airways- Victor Airways and Jet Routes MEA's- Minimum EnRoute...

In this episode, I talk about 3 things that I think you should do to prepare for the FAA Academy. Whether you are going into the en route program or the tower program, there are 3 things that you should do BEFORE you get to OKC. First: Learn the Phonetic Alphabet for ATC This is probably the easiest of the 3 and that's why I put it first. It is essential that you know this before getting to OKC. K...

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 pr...

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 b...

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...

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...

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 e...

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 t...

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 R...

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-r...

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 li...

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 dramat...

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the fourth week of the enroute academy. During this week, you will finish your lessons on separation( If you haven't already). You will learn how to read and forward the weather. You will have several "Part Tasks" and walk-throughs where you go through a scenario as a class. You will learn how to remote the scenarios and have a full day of rem...

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect in the 3rd week of the enroute academy. During this week, you will have your MAP TEST! Yes, the first 2 points of the academy are there for you to take. Aside from that, you will finish up lessons on Holding and Approaches. Then you get into all of the different ways to separate aircraft, such as: vertical lateral longitudinal visual These are very...

In this episode, I talk about what you can expect from the second week of the enroute academy. During this week, you will have a LOT of opportunities to study your map and prepare for your map test( which comes up next week!). You will finish off a lesson from week 1 on coordination and what information to forward to other sectors and facilities. You will be going over your LOA's( Letters of Agree...

In this episode, I begin a new series that will take us through the enroute Academy week by week. S0, this week I start with week 1 of the enroute academy. Your first week is all about the basics that you will need for the rest of the course, not just for non-radar. Included in the first week are an airspace lesson, a lesson on using the radios and lines to talk to pilots and other controllers, a...

In this episode, I finish my walk through John Maxwell's book "Success is a Choice." This episode is about Lean in to Teamwork. If there is one thing that will always be needed by air traffic controllers it is teamwork. I talk about Teamwork Truths : Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the effect. Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships. Teamwork is not about you. Great teams cre...

In this episode, I continue our journey through John Maxwell's book "Success is a Choice." This week the topics include: Cultivate Good Relationships Commit to Responsibility First I look at cultivating good relationships and how that is so important when you are at the Academy. I look at the impact that good relationships have as well as the impact that negative relationships can have. I then loo...

In this episode, I answer the questions: What is non-radar and how can I identify traffic using the flight progress strips? Non-Radar is exactly that...you have to separate aircraft without using radar. There are rules you can use to make that happen. The non-radar section of the Academy is designed to take you from no knowledge to where you can work some fairly complex traffic. How do you use the...

In this episode, I continue my talk about John Maxwell's book "Success is a Choice." This week, I cover the topics: Become More Teachable Develop Strong Character. First: Become More Teachable Talked about the fact that teachability is all about attitude! If you desire to learn, YOU CAN!! If you continue to learn, you WILL continue to grow! Truths about teachability- Nothing is interesting if you...

In this episode, I discuss the next chapters from John Maxwell's Book "Success is a Choice". I talk about how we can learn and use these ideas in our journey as air traffic controllers. First, today, I talked about: EMBODY PERSEVERANCE I talked about the Principles of Perseverance- · Perseverance means succeeding because you are determined to, not destined to. · Perseverance recognizes life is not...

In this episode, I continue my talk about John Maxwell's book "Success is a Choice". I am talking this week about: Value Preparation Why people fail to prepare Preparation principles Embrace Practice The power of practice The 5 Pillars of practice The Extra that makes people successful I ended by talking about striving for excellence and how the only way to achieve excellence at the Academy is wit...