Primary Radar Depicts Position and Movement

So, yeah...

We have taken nine end of lesson tests now, including the two we took after our main big test Tuesday morning. The ELTs do not count.. they just exist to give our instructors an idea of which questions are being missed. I have not missed any questions on any of these ELTs, one of only two people in the class to claim that (to my knowledge... I don't talk to everyone). So, of course, we took our first block test this morning -- i.e. our first test that actually counts -- and.... yeah, I missed one. And a bunch of people didn't miss any. They all suck. :)

I suppose I can't complain, considering there are some in my class who take another crack at the test in the morning (missing more than three earns you a coveted retake). But, this really is a symbol of my entire life -- rock'n and roll'n when nothing's on the line, but when it actually counts... me = choke. What's the point of getting everything right in practice if ya screw the proverbial pooch during the game?

So, for all those who were wondering... primary radar depicts position and movement. Not movement and speed, or position and altitude (my answer) or speed and altitude. This is vital life knowledge for everyone, so learn it.

Anyway, guess that's one of the good things about this course... we have four more tests over the next four weeks, and then Lord knows how many more after that. I ain't missing another one. I'll be the most boring person in class -- nothing really new there -- but the annoyance I held with myself all day is worth not experiencing again. Our instructor warned us Friday that no matter how we did on the block test, that we had to get right back to work without letting it bother us, and I did that -- reference the two perfect scores on the meaningless tests afterward -- but it still pissed me off something fierce. So, no more.

Today we started learning about airspace and all the Federal Air Regulations that pertain to us. Pretty dry stuff, but gotta learn to get onto the good stuff.

Oh, and I said I would get back to my classmates in the blog I posted on Monday last week. I know them all better now. Two guys are going with me to Memphis, and they are both cool cats... even Kendrick, who tells people he will meet them somewhere then, ya know, bails on them. Bart is the smartest guy in class, and I'd been keeping up with him till the hideousness of today. RuMar is the nutjob who drove like 45 hours from Anchorage to Oklahoma City, but it was a chance for he and his "friend who is a girl (his words, not mine, but we all know what that means)" to see the country, so, that's cool. Two guys are going to Guam, Keef and Phillip. Keef has been getting dates left and right down here in OKC, and I'm thinking that won't be so easy stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

I sit in between two guys named Mundo and Matt, who are both cool. I spent the weekend studying with just about everybody.. Ashley (who is going to Denver and thus, sucks) and I studied a bunch on Sunday, then I studied with Bart, Hsiang (pronounced Shang, like Shang Tsung from MK... he has the coolest name in our class, hands down) and Kevin Sunday night. Monday was a BBQ for Memorial Day, and I hung out with a bunch more people. Namedropping would be pointless at this point, so, won't do that, but it was fun.

And then, I went out and missed a question on the test. So, yeah.

Yours in the quest of perfection....

Mitch

Week One Of Basics

OK, so, time to post on the blog again, I guess. People are upset with me for posting on Monday and then not posting again the rest of the week. Honestly... there just wasn't a whole lot to say. The first week was actually pretty boring.

The way things are broken down here... we have five weeks of a basics course before we even see a real radar scope or talk to a fake airplane (on the simulators). All kinds of basic aviation and air traffic control knowledge.. how the system is set up nationally, radar information, the separation minimums (how much space we have to keep between airplanes, etc.) and a bunch of other stuff like that. That was just this week. In the future, we learn weather, airplane identification, charts, etc. All very, uh, exciting.

Anyway. Tomorrow morning, after a three-day weekend, we have our first test at 0700 (7 a.m.). The scheduling... is somewhat less than optimal, in my opinion (yes, I had to delete several descriptive terms/phrases before settling on the one I chose). One of the guys in my class said, "That's just three days to study." My thought: "It's three days for me to forget everything." Another guy in my class said that maybe they're doing this to see who is willing to hit the books hard over the weekend. Not true -- the schedules fall how they do. My roommate's class started three days after ours, so her block 1 test is three days after ours -- Friday. I'd trade her, but that would mean another three days in Oklahoma. Not sure I really want to do that.

At any rate. I will either be as bored as I am now this time tomorrow, or I'll be much, much less happy. We'll see. TTFN

Mitch

The First Day at ATC School

Ok, for those who don't know: I'm in Oklahoma City at the Federal Aviation Administration Academy, studying to become an Air Traffic Controller. When I finish school (sometime around September 23rd), I will move to Memphis, TN, and embark on an even longer, more intense training program to become a controller in Memphis. I've set up this blog to keep my friends and family informed about what I am doing here... sometimes I'll update it four or five days in a row, and there may be times I'll update it once a week. All depends on what there is to talk about and how exhausted I am. Also, there may be things I can't mention, so, we'll see. But really, this is for friends and family. Others are, of course, welcome to comment, but if you don't like the tone of this or find it offensive... I'm not sorry. The people this is intended for know me and like me despite my many, many faults.

As I am an FAA employee now, I have to represent them as well as possible - as such, I won't make any dirty comments or jokes and will keep the swearing to a minimum. Even still, I usually find a way to get my point across in peculiar ways even without those tools.

That being said, here is what I learned on Day 1 of Air Traffic Control, En Route, Basic school:

A. I get health insurance if I'm willing to give up half my paycheck, but for life insurance, I only have to spend per pay period what the average fat person spends for lunch at McDonald's.

B. We have a travel office to handle per diem and travel reimbursements, but the red tape makes the process go slower than the aforementioned fat person running a marathon.

C. I can't blatantly ask one of the girls in my class to have sex with me, or I'll get fired (and likely castrated by my wife, too, so, negativity all the way around there).

D. I can't call the black guy in my class any racial epithets that may or may not start with "n," or I'll get fired (besides, he's a good guy and my best friend here, so, not inclined to do that anyway).

E. I can't choke out anyone at work, or I'll get fired (and as one friend put it, that might be my toughest one on this list. I tend to agree).

F. Lots of people watch pornography on FAA computers. That's the only plausible reason I can come up with why they felt the need to mention this nine different times during the first day of training.

I want to sleep now, but quickly, some interesting notes about people in my class. Well over half are married, and 2/3 are going to California. Most of them flew here, but some of us drove.. I think I'm the third longest drive. One girl drove from the Bay Area here, and one guy in my class drove 30 freakin' hours - just from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle. Then, ya know... the quick sprint from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

More on them later. It's almost 11, and I have to be awake in six and a half hours.

Comment away... talk to you soon.

Mitch