Has anyone ever gone through Air Traffic Control Tower Training?
Answer:
Are you off the street, CTI or military? If you are ex military or CTI you should be prepared. If off the street depends on your background in aviation. Best case senerio is you are an instrument rated pilot and have access to a 7110.65. If you can locate a copy of FAA order 7110.65 (maybe call a tower and ask if anyone has an old copy), study the entire thing save chapter 6 which wont apply to you. Focus on chapter 3. Failing that (because it isn't an easy thing to find), learn as much about airport surface area ops as possible. Learn what the different kinds of navaids are and how a pilot uses them. Know the kinds of approaches and how they work. If you go to MMC knowing how an ILS works and what a VOR does you can focus on memorizing your surface area and learning the approaches, phraseology and 7110.65 without having to learn technical stuff many in your class might already know. Get books on instrument flight, or better yet, hire a flight instructor for some instrument ground school. Tell them you want to know how each type of navaid works and how each approach type works. Try and find info on strip marking symbology and how to strip mark (ATCT strips are the ones with 9 small boxes toward the right, the others are ARTCC strips which learning those will only confuse you).
I used to be an Air Traffic Controller (in Mexico), but I had to quit because my sight deteriorated over time. But I love it still!
I do not know what is a class date, but if you are visiting a Control Tower be prepared to witness a charged environment, quite stressed (depending on the type of airport) and the controllers might not be too talkative. They are doing a hard job, so better not to distract them.
If you are planning to train as an ATC, you must:
love airplanes, have excellent studies in math and physics, be willing to work under permanent stress, be realistic about the environment (no, pilots are not always handsome), be willing to move your residence, be well adjusted to solitude (you might end in a far away tower, with none to talk to for hours), have nerves of steel, be prepared to understand foreign accents and have a real quick mind.
You will have to undergo physical ans psychological exams before, during and after your training, and most likely every year for the rest of your career. And it is a short career, ATC's burn quickly. But it is a fun ride!
Enjoy your class date!
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