Robert's FAA Adventure

Day #11

2009-01-29T12:05:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't hear, I didn't have school on Monday and Tuesday due to the crazy ice storm. I watched the weather reports on Sunday and they said it would probably be bad but I really didn't know what to expect so I didn't pay much attention. To my surprise on Monday I had 1/2 inch of solid ice covering the entire car and everything else. The sidewalks, parking lots, absolutely everything was covered and there wasn't anything that anyone could do about it. It took me around 20 mins to finally get the ice melted enough to scrap it off and see out the windows so I could park in the covered parking (I know that I should have done this to begin with but I wasn't thinking). On Tuesday everyone else got around another inch of ice which made things even worse.

On Wednesday I thought that the FAA would cancel classes again but they ended up having them because the course is already so condensed. Luckily my instructors are going to be able to catch us up without having to come in on Saturdays or pushing back graduation a couple of days.

As for the material that was covered on Wednesday, it included finishing up basic navigation (latitude/longitude, great circle routes, effects of wind on flight, and effects of altitude and temperature on speed) and also finishing radio/satellite navigation. The radio/satellite navigation lesson was pretty interesting because we started to discuss about the ground based transmitters that are located throughout the country and serve as the backbone to the national airspace system. Basically these different types of transmitters are on the ground and send up various types of signals and voice recordings. The planes then use these transmitters as waypoints to help them navigate through the sky. Some of the types of transmitters were confusing since a lot of it is the same just a little bit different. For example a basic transmitter is called a VOR and the military uses something very similar but it is called a TACAN, then to make it a little more confusing the FAA decided to combine the two with a few extras into a VORTAC. Here is a basic picture of a VORTAC, for some reason when I post pictures it doesn't fit them into the space right, if you click on the picture it will take you to the website that I found it on. Overall I thought it was okay, I just know that I'll have to study this a bit.

Day #10

2009-01-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

TEST DAY!!!! As soon as we came into the classroom we had to take the test so we wouldn't fall behind on the lessons for the next block. I guess the third block is when we start to get into the entry level nasty stuff like figuring out speeds and distances, as well as basic navigations. Luckily all of us scored above 90% so no one had to retake the test! We were the first class to all pass Block 2 test. I guess all of the other classes have only been able to have just one or two people fail. All of the instructors were really cool about it and made a big deal of our accomplishment. They're going to think of some sort of reward for our hard work, probably pizza or something similar.

I can't really describe the basic navigation lesson, but go to this website and you can see some of the maps that we looked at. Copy and paste the link in another window/tab and just scroll around like you would on google maps. You can zoom in and get a pretty detailed view of what I was looking at in person, or zoom out and get a general view of the area. The map basically lays out different routes, airspaces, obstructions, etc...

http://skyvector.com/

Day #9

2009-01-25T12:53:00.001-08:00

Since we didn't get very far on the aircraft recognition lesson last night we had a lot to catch up on today. Just about the whole class thought that this lesson sucked, but I really liked it since I got to look at a bunch of cool airplanes and learn little facts about them. I guess that was when I finally realized that I am an airplane nerd. Oh well, it's going to pay the bills.

We went over planes like a Cessna Cutlass 172, Beechcraft Baron 58, Super King Air 200 (my personal favorite in the propeller class), Boeing 777, etc... In all I think there was close to 40 different airplanes that we had to completely memorize. Not only did we have to know what the airplane was from the picture, we also had to know the aircraft identifier, weight class, manufacturer, and how many series/models were released. For the Boeing 777 example I had to say: Boeing 777, heavy weight class, B772/773, and then discuss the difference between the 200 series and the 300 series. Marty told all of us that we would have 30 years of memorization so we need to get used to it early on. After going over the material for a long time, I felt pretty good since I already knew all of the military airplanes except some of the helicopters.

We finished the day off with an extensive review of the material that we had covered throughout the week to get us ready for the second block test tomorrow.

Day #8

2009-01-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

Today we finished up principles of flight with talking about helicopters. This was a pretty humbling experience because I thought that I knew quite a bit about helicopters because of working out at the base but I was dead wrong. I had no idea about the different controls and how helicopters operating under such different circumstances. The lesson wasn't all completely knew stuff which made me feel a little better.

The next lesson was about wake turbulence.
As you can see from the picture wake turbulence is the air that rolls off the end of the wingtips and speeds up to disrupt the air all over the path of flight. The tube-like portions of wake turbulence that are directly off the wingtips are called vortices or wake vortex. We also discussed topics such as which type of configuration results in the greatest amount of wake turbulence and ways to adjust flight paths to avoid catastrophic accidents.

We finished up the day with aircraft recognition. This lesson will be pretty interesting since it is about learning what plane is what. We basically look at a bunch of pictures and see what specific characteristics stick out to help us identify each plane.

Day #7

2009-01-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

First of all let me apologize for taking so long to update the blog. I have been very lazy when it comes to getting on the computer for anything that relates to work. I promise that I will start to do a better job at updating.

So I had yesterday off because of MLK Day and a bunch of the guys in my class went and saw Grand Torino. I thought the movie was very good, but very vulgar. I would probably recommend that if you want to see it, just wait till it is a rental.

At work, we finished up learning all about Federal Air Regulations and which rule applies when and where. All in all it was a good lesson to learn about but that doesn't make it any less boring. After we finished the general overview of each FAR we dove right into FAR part 91 in great depth. Part 91 contains generally operating and flight rules for all aircraft operating in US air space. Some of the rules that we discuss were VFR and IFR flight visibility minimums, terrain clearance limits in both mountainous and nonmountainous areas, and what should be done about radio failures during IFR flights.

FAR 91 took us all the way to lunch which was a little longer than what the schedule wanted but Marty wanted to make sure that we fully grasped the material. To finish out the second half of the day we stated Principles of Flight. I am so glad that I was exposed to most of this material in the military because the people that had never learned about why the wing has it's camber or about how air density and density altitude affect airplane performance were completely lost. Some of the stuff was pretty basic like what is flap or a rudder, but they have to make sure that everyone at least has basic knowledge.

Boring yet interesting at times.

Day #6

2009-01-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Alright so today was the big day, our first block test! My class was pretty stressed because if you don't pass with at least a 90% you have to retake it. The instructors make us shoot for a higher score on all of the block tests so when the final test in basics comes up we can ace it and not worry about getting a 70%. I'll be honest I thought about bringing an extra pair of underwear with me to school(but I didn't). I did not want to be the only guy to not pass. We finished the test and we got back the results in about an hour. The class average was 86, which meant that two people didn't get 90%. I felt bad for the two of them, but I think that they didn't pass because they didn't study very well.

So the day, or night shall I say, went along with us starting on airspaces. We learned all about Airspace A, B, C, D, E, and G. And all the things we can and can't do in it, and what a plane needs to be doing in those airspaces. This lesson was loaded with info and I know that I'm going to have to study this a lot so I don't mix anything up.

Afterwards we started on the FAR's (Federal Air Regulations). This was a very long portion and very tedious! I really don't know what to say about this except, it is almost like a review of all the information we had before, and a bit more. That's about all for today, was a great day because of the awesome block test.

Day #5

2009-01-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today my class finished up the Radar section we started on the night before. We learned about Primary and Secondary Radar, their components, and their advantages and disadvantages. It was pretty cool to learn how the radar works, I only knew the very very minimal way it worked, bouncing radio signals, but I learned there are a lot more ways it can be used. Then we took the quiz and started on the next section.

After that we started on the FAA manuals and Orders. We learned about the Orders 7110.10, 7110.65, 7210.3, 7340.1, 7350.7, changes to these documents with changes, notices, and supplements, and also the AIM (Aeronautical Information Manual. This part was said to be a very boring and tedious part of training, but our instructor made it quiet painless and to tell you the truth, I didn't think I could memorize what every Order and Manual was in under 1 hour, but he definitely got us to memorize it, or at least me.
At the end of the Orders and Manuals we learned about the words May, Shall, Should, and Will. Their definitions and their uses. These are important words that are used in the documents. For example the word Shall means that something is mandatory, the word Should is something that is recommended, May is optional, and finally will just means that it isn't really required. After that we took another quiz.

After that we started on the Letters of Agreement and Standard Operation Procedures. This part was quiet easy as long as you know the definition of what each one and who they apply to. This was a quick 2 hour lesson and then a quick 10 question quiz.

After that we started our review for the Block test we have for day 6. We first started by being split our into 4 teams, each who table of 4 were a team. Then we played Jeopardy, this game really help make us think and was really fun. My team won the jeopardy game with $26,396. Not that it really mattered, but I really hate loosing so I'm glad I didn't have to hear any crap talk. But as the instructors said, it is only a game and the main thing is to have fun and learn.

After the game we reviewed the entire block 1 stuff, and that took a whole 45 mins. We just skimmed through it with the instructor asking us questions and it was a pretty fast review. I was surprised at how much I learned and remembered in a week's time here at OKC.

Day #4

2009-01-19T19:42:00.001-08:00

Today we started separations. The different types of separations are lateral, vertical, longitudinal, radar, runway, and visual. Nothing too hard. Here come the numbers, lots of numbers. Quiz at the end and break.

After that we started and finished NOTAM's. NOTAMs are Notices to Airmen. Basically they are ways of informing people about things such as runway closures or changes to navigation aids, etc... Not too hard of a concept, just lots of information about all the different kinds of NOTAM's and where it originates. Quiz on it, piece of cake. We had dinner during the middle of this one, so most of the first part of the lesson slipped my mind, but it was really only an eight page lesson so not too hard, or long, just info info info.

Next we finished it off with Radar. Fun stuff, starting to learn what I'm here for and it is exciting. We went over the different types of radar and some fundamental components of a radar system. I know that it sounds pretty high tech, but I just know what the components are, I could even begin to tell you how it really works. That's a good job for all of the technicians.

It was a fun and interesting day because we actually started stuff that is getting very interesting!

Day #3

2009-01-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

This whole night shift thing kind of sucks, my class was complaining how the day is shot when you have to come in at 3:30 and don't get out till 12:00. I'll tell ya, it definitely will take some getting use to. Having done nothing all day, and finally getting in the academy at 3:30 isn't too fun.

Today we finished up the history, background, and all team positions in the tower, tracon, and center. That was only the first maybe 3-4 hours? But either way, we got many breaks and we had our dinner break at around 6. Most of us weren't hungry because we tried to eat before the class, but the only place that is opened around 6 at the academy was Ted's.

After that we got back in, and reviewed lesson 1 and took the test on it. Was very simple, and the class average was 97. Really it wasn't too hard, just listen to what is going on in the review and during all the explanation. After that, we got another break, came back and looked over the test, and went over any questions anyone got wrong.

Then started Lesson 2. We started learning about airports, keep in mind we are all center folks, but we learn this all in basics just to know what our counterparts do, and also, really neat information because now I know what all the stuff in the airport road markings. This lesson included airports, airport lighting, and airport markings. This lesson took the rest of our 4 hours and it really wasn't too hard, just a lot of stuff that you need to memorize and where everything is and is called that is on the airport. After the lesson, we reviewed and took the lesson 2 test. Class average on this one was a 93. Someone missed a lighting question, "What color is the side edge lights?" It is blue. But it doesn't matter, because it was a good average.

Overall it was a pretty long day due to the late shift and all of the material we covered.

Day #2

2009-01-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Today I definitely had no problems getting to class in the morning. I got there in about 10-15 mins, easily with really no traffic, no traffic as in comparison with some of the congested areas in Salt Lake.

In class we did a get to know you session. We got to know our instructors and our classmates.
Afterwords we took a tour of the buildings surrounding our basics class building. We only did this because our class only consists of 23 people compared to the 32ish people they usually have, so our class feels a bit special. After that we had lunch, I brought my lunch today because I don't feel like spending too much money on overpriced food. Don't get me wrong its not too overpriced, and its pretty good, but I've already invested some money on groceries and insist on eating what I buy.

After lunch we finally started the real lessons. We started with the History of the FAA and ATC, this session we didn't have to know for any test, its just general information just so that you know.

Then we started our phonetic alphabet. This part is quite new to me so I had to think about it a bit, when the instructor asked me to spell out my name with the phonetics. I said, "uh, Romeo-Oscar-(Looks at name)Bravo-Echo-Romeo-Tango" and the instructor laughed because he was like, he had to look at his name to make sure he knew had to spell it. He made everyone do that and it was quiet interesting. We also got the cd handout, which has the entire training packet on it. Was quiet exciting, I haven't looked at it yet but I will.

Then we started to go over what is VFR (visual flight rules), IFR (instrument flight rules), facilities, and position of facilities. That's all we got through today. I say that's all we got through today and it's only a few things but it was definitely a full day of learning.

My main class instructor is Marty, and he definitely cares that you learn the stuff and he wants you to succeed. My class definitely lucked out on getting him as an instructor.

Was a great day!

Just a little extra study material that I have to go over
A = Alpha
B = Bravo
C = Charlie
D = Delta
E = Echo
F = Foxtrot
G = Golf
H = Hotel
I = India
J = Juliette
K = Kilo
L = Lima (Lee-ma)
M = Mike
N = November
O = Oscar
P = Papa
Q = Quebec
R = Romeo
S = Sierra
T = Tango
U = Uniform
V = Victor
W = Whiskey
X = X-ray
Y = Yankee
Z = Zulu

Day #1

2009-01-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

Introduction

The morning, they tell us to get there around 6 to 6:30 so you can get in through security without really waiting. I went at 6 and really not much traffic getting in, but still some traffic on the interstate. I also made a wrong turn which made a 5 min. trip to a 15 min trip. . . anyways.
They did something new this morning with us, instead of giving us temp. id badges and passes, we waited and got our ID badges in the morning so we didn't have to come back later to get them.
And of course, me and 4 other people were the last to get our badges, and were told that we should just get the directions from the security guard to the building we need to be at, and needless to say, the guard didn't know where we were headed and gave me poor direction, so the caravan of cars that were following me drove around for about 8 mins. until I just gave up the lead, and let someone else take it. And at least he knew where we were suppose to go...but really, he followed me for those 8 mins.

After that, we got into the classroom and got introduced to our trainers and George. He was doing the intro for us today and he is a really cool guy, except for his mass obsession with OU football. He had a OU football cover on his phone and just about every five minutes or so we were blessed with some sort of wise crack about Florida or about OU. I must admit I was impressed with his devotion, it was pretty impressing.

The first day was nothing but presentations from everything about EEO, racism, inappropriate behavior, FAA Credit union. So a lot of talking. I got sworn in as Federal employee which was kind of cool, I forgot about the swearing in part. I am officially a federal employee, so give me a break I'm working too hard! They also tell you everything you need to know about per diem and pay periods. The lady that spoke about racisim and things you shouldn't do in the workplace was awesome. She was a very good speaker and she was excited and took a real hands on approach to talking to you about things you shouldn't do in the workplace. Her name is Gerri (if i remember correctly).

At lunch, there is a small place that sells overpriced stuff close to the basics class room, I didn't go to that because they didn't accept debit/credit cards and I had no cash, so I waltz myself to the cafeteria with some classmates and that place was definitely better than Ted's, the other place. The cafeteria takes american and visa, so watch out, there is an atm right outside.

A pretty slow, yet informative day

Finally Starting!!!

2009-01-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

It has taken me forever to get this thing started since the computer blew up on me. For those of you who don't know already, I'm in Oklahoma City attending the FAA Academy. I will be here for a little over four months in an effort to become an Air Traffic Controller back in Salt Lake. I'm hoping to keep this blog current everyday with a brief synopsis of what's going on and what material I covered that day. Please be patient with me since this is my first foray into having a blog. Also let me apologize for the music, I know it is a little scattered. If a song comes up that you don't like keep looking. One final note, if any of the stuff that I post jumps out at you and you want a better description just let me know. I figure that I'll try to keep things somewhat basic so I don't bore everyone with ATC jargon.

Just in case anyone needs my address:
6722 NW 16th, Apt#239
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73127