... and then we're off. After about 2 months, we're going home again to celebrate the holidays. I guess this might actually be my last blog before leaving here, as I still have some things to do in a rather short time limit.
But unlike my intro suggests, I'm not that busy thinking about going home (yet). I intentionally try not to, in order to keep focus of what's happening in class. Sometimes it's easier than a moment later, but overall I can't complain.
In my Thursday-blog last week (20150525 note: now deleted, due to lost picture), I put a picture online and I got some questions as to what it means exactly, so here's a quick run-through for people not familiar with ATC:
SVA56 = symbol for aircraft using "Saudia 56" as callsign
MAU712 = same as SVA56, but then for "Air Mauritius 712"
334 and 336 (below the callsign) = their altitudes in hundreds of feet (here 33,400 and 33,600 feet)
AOSTA = a navigational waypoint, to which both aircraft are flying and are estimated to fly over at approximately the same time.
054/9.5 [1] = Direction to fly/distance in nautical miles [designator of which distance and measuring tool used]
Then what does separation have to do with this? In aviation, there are certain minima to apply. Either at least 1000 feet (300 meter) vertically or 5 nautical miles (8 kilometer) horizontally. In this case, the separation is still present horizontally (>5NM) but there's only a 200ft difference between these two aircraft (obviously <1000ft). They are flying towards each other, so soon the 9.5NM they have now will become less than 5NM => loss of separation. This is then seen as an unsafe situation and that's generally not what you want with aircraft buzzing through the sky at 500 knots (approximately 900 km/h), carrying at least a few dozen people on board.
That being said, there were a few things in the past days that were very pleasant. I passed both my AN1 and ADY exam and we have now started a new sort of simulator training, called LSAT (designator of the fictitious airspace we train in) instead of BRG (Basic Radio Groups). In this new sim-training, we're learning more and more how to work without the instructor's guidance during the exercise. Of course, he's still sitting behind us and might whisper things in our ear from time to time, but the general idea is that by the end of the coming 7 lessons, we should be able to work this simulator alone. To get to that point, we now receive written feedback as to what went good or bad during the exercise, instead of a quick verbal word about the performance.
To do the LSAT, we had Gregor (hope I wrote it correctly?) joining us yesterday (maybe today as well) who's an instructor at the IANS in Luxembourg, where we'll be going to after Zurich. He also gave us our EUROCONTROL-badges, of which I might add a picture here later on, as I did with the Skyguide-badge.
Today, it's my turn to start as a controller in the sim and I'm actually quite nervous just thinking about that, though I can't come up with a reason why. All previous runs I had in the sim went super, so I shouldn't really worry, yet I do somehow. Tomorrow and the day after, we have our last 2 exams before the holidays (yes, still two to go, which is also one of the reasons why I try not to think about home too often yet) being BRT 2 and AN2.
Talk to you later, everyone. :)
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Another week flew by
Hey,
It's all in the title. Last week literally flew by. I didn't even notice it's been a week. Seemed more like only a couple of days to me. But as you all know, Switzerland isn't in a time capsule, so we must have done something to fill that time.
As mentioned before, I still had 2 exams to learn for while writing last week. Both went well, so I passed with more than enough margin to be on the safe side of the 80%. But that's only minor news of the past days. The big news is of course our new "operational" environment: the simulator.
The Piloting Course took a while, but was very instructive as we have to assume the role of pilot in command of multiple aircraft while others are working at the controller-position. "The better we do, the less trouble they have." is the main slogan actually.
Thursday was the first time we got to do the actual controlling bit. Started of slowly by just identifying aircraft upon entering the airspace, but gradually building up the pace and difficulty. Right now, in lesson 4, we started climbing and descending aircraft.
At first, we were all a bit of anxious, as you can imagine, which was quite noticeable in the air around the simulators we were working at. First of all, it's a completely new environment we find ourselves in all of a sudden. Second, nobody knew the layout of the airspace yet. We were supposed to be given charts etc. as soon as we started, but apparently someone forgot about that, so it was all pretty much last-minute learning. That's one of the reasons why I haven't written yet this week.
At first, it created some hick-ups but now, one week later, we start to get the hang of it and you can feel the air starting to grow a bit less dense, with some more time for chatting and laughter. The fact that we sometimes get complaints about disturbing other persons working in the simulator, might in fact be an indicator we're having too much fun already...
Yesterday, we also had TRM again. Subject of the morning: decision making. Erik was right ... If I had known we would be standing in the corridor for over an hour, I would have chosen to be late instead of on time. But little joke aside, we learned a lot about what types of decision you make, how you make them, what influences them and how they effect your duty as a controller.
That's actually the main news from last week's life here, course-related. In the weekend, 4 of us went ice skating again (we'll probably go for it every week now). Only, this time, we didn't go to Dübendorf but Zürich, to the largest ice skating rink in Europe. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a disappointment on arrival as we noticed that only 1/3 of the rink was available to regular skaters, meaning it wasn't really bigger than any other ice rink, but we had our fun nonetheless.
Today, we have the morning off - we don't have to follow TTX or LAW anymore, as it isn't of importance for MASUAC-students anymore - so we start at 1200Z (13h local) with 2 hours of simulator, then 2 hours of AN2 (last lesson before the exam, I think) and end the day with a video-conference with Maastricht.
Next exams coming up: AN1 (Friday) and ADY (Monday).
See you, everyone.
It's all in the title. Last week literally flew by. I didn't even notice it's been a week. Seemed more like only a couple of days to me. But as you all know, Switzerland isn't in a time capsule, so we must have done something to fill that time.
As mentioned before, I still had 2 exams to learn for while writing last week. Both went well, so I passed with more than enough margin to be on the safe side of the 80%. But that's only minor news of the past days. The big news is of course our new "operational" environment: the simulator.
The Piloting Course took a while, but was very instructive as we have to assume the role of pilot in command of multiple aircraft while others are working at the controller-position. "The better we do, the less trouble they have." is the main slogan actually.
Thursday was the first time we got to do the actual controlling bit. Started of slowly by just identifying aircraft upon entering the airspace, but gradually building up the pace and difficulty. Right now, in lesson 4, we started climbing and descending aircraft.
At first, we were all a bit of anxious, as you can imagine, which was quite noticeable in the air around the simulators we were working at. First of all, it's a completely new environment we find ourselves in all of a sudden. Second, nobody knew the layout of the airspace yet. We were supposed to be given charts etc. as soon as we started, but apparently someone forgot about that, so it was all pretty much last-minute learning. That's one of the reasons why I haven't written yet this week.
At first, it created some hick-ups but now, one week later, we start to get the hang of it and you can feel the air starting to grow a bit less dense, with some more time for chatting and laughter. The fact that we sometimes get complaints about disturbing other persons working in the simulator, might in fact be an indicator we're having too much fun already...
Yesterday, we also had TRM again. Subject of the morning: decision making. Erik was right ... If I had known we would be standing in the corridor for over an hour, I would have chosen to be late instead of on time. But little joke aside, we learned a lot about what types of decision you make, how you make them, what influences them and how they effect your duty as a controller.
That's actually the main news from last week's life here, course-related. In the weekend, 4 of us went ice skating again (we'll probably go for it every week now). Only, this time, we didn't go to Dübendorf but Zürich, to the largest ice skating rink in Europe. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a disappointment on arrival as we noticed that only 1/3 of the rink was available to regular skaters, meaning it wasn't really bigger than any other ice rink, but we had our fun nonetheless.
Today, we have the morning off - we don't have to follow TTX or LAW anymore, as it isn't of importance for MASUAC-students anymore - so we start at 1200Z (13h local) with 2 hours of simulator, then 2 hours of AN2 (last lesson before the exam, I think) and end the day with a video-conference with Maastricht.
Next exams coming up: AN1 (Friday) and ADY (Monday).
See you, everyone.
Wednesday 1 December 2010
A new month
Hey everyone,
Gaps are getting bigger between my blogs, and I'm afraid I don't really have a valid reason for that. Only thing I can say is I'm sorry. I often have the time to leave a (small) note, but I just don't start writing.
But on a positive note: I survived the RADAR-visit, without chemical castration as far as I'm aware.
But what happened here in Switzerland in the past week?
Well, I had two exams last week (BRT, NAV) and I was quite afraid for the latter as it just seemed like a lot of hard stuff to learn, as I said in my previous blog. Luckily, when I read the exam questions, there wasn't really much I didn't know. Maybe I just studied that much that the exam became a walk in the park, or the exam was just a lot easier than expected.
Had a good eye on BRT from the start, so not a lot of fear for that one, but still a lot to learn precisely.
Got my results last Thursday, both passed, with my highest score yet: 96 (BRT) and 97% (NAV). *proud*
To make things even better, my girlfriend arrived for another weekend here on that same day. We had a great time in Zurich after school on Friday, and in the weekend we joined the group in going to Liechtenstein's capital village Vaduz.
Even though it was a Saturday, the main shopping street of Vaduz was near to empty, as were all other streets actually. Weird to imagine that village is actually THE center (political, economical, ...) in Liechtenstein. At first, we thought Liechtenstein was just an abandoned country, but we soon found out where they were hanging out. The local McDonalds was PACKED !!
In the afternoon, we decided to walk up to the Royal Castle (Schloss Vaduz) before going home. A nice climb, with improving weather as we went up. A bit dull at the castle itself, as it isn't open to visits, but we had good fun on the way up and down.
Now, a new month is starting in which a lot is about to happen. Of course, we still have exams (6 in total), but from now on, we can also go into the simulator for bringing our theory into practice. FINALLY !!
Today, we have our introductory course to the piloting side of the simulator (from 17h until 21h), and tomorrow we start with BRG. I'm really excited about finally getting some action, instead of just sitting and listening.
Aside school, December is also the month of our Christmas leave, so after 2 months in Switzerland, I can go home again for the holidays. I just hope the prospect of that leave isn't going to interfere too much with paying attention in class and during exams.
And of course, winter's approaching rapidly as well. We had our first snow last week, much like the rest of Europe, as I read and hear. In fact, it's snowing lightly now as well, if you look outside through a magnifying glass.
But now I'm off again. We start at 14h20 today, but I still need to have lunch and do some revising for our exams this week (RTB tomorrow, RAT on Friday).
See you later, most probably somewhere this weekend, though I can't promise anything yet.
Gaps are getting bigger between my blogs, and I'm afraid I don't really have a valid reason for that. Only thing I can say is I'm sorry. I often have the time to leave a (small) note, but I just don't start writing.
But on a positive note: I survived the RADAR-visit, without chemical castration as far as I'm aware.
But what happened here in Switzerland in the past week?
Well, I had two exams last week (BRT, NAV) and I was quite afraid for the latter as it just seemed like a lot of hard stuff to learn, as I said in my previous blog. Luckily, when I read the exam questions, there wasn't really much I didn't know. Maybe I just studied that much that the exam became a walk in the park, or the exam was just a lot easier than expected.
Had a good eye on BRT from the start, so not a lot of fear for that one, but still a lot to learn precisely.
Got my results last Thursday, both passed, with my highest score yet: 96 (BRT) and 97% (NAV). *proud*
To make things even better, my girlfriend arrived for another weekend here on that same day. We had a great time in Zurich after school on Friday, and in the weekend we joined the group in going to Liechtenstein's capital village Vaduz.
Even though it was a Saturday, the main shopping street of Vaduz was near to empty, as were all other streets actually. Weird to imagine that village is actually THE center (political, economical, ...) in Liechtenstein. At first, we thought Liechtenstein was just an abandoned country, but we soon found out where they were hanging out. The local McDonalds was PACKED !!
In the afternoon, we decided to walk up to the Royal Castle (Schloss Vaduz) before going home. A nice climb, with improving weather as we went up. A bit dull at the castle itself, as it isn't open to visits, but we had good fun on the way up and down.
Now, a new month is starting in which a lot is about to happen. Of course, we still have exams (6 in total), but from now on, we can also go into the simulator for bringing our theory into practice. FINALLY !!
Today, we have our introductory course to the piloting side of the simulator (from 17h until 21h), and tomorrow we start with BRG. I'm really excited about finally getting some action, instead of just sitting and listening.
Aside school, December is also the month of our Christmas leave, so after 2 months in Switzerland, I can go home again for the holidays. I just hope the prospect of that leave isn't going to interfere too much with paying attention in class and during exams.
And of course, winter's approaching rapidly as well. We had our first snow last week, much like the rest of Europe, as I read and hear. In fact, it's snowing lightly now as well, if you look outside through a magnifying glass.
But now I'm off again. We start at 14h20 today, but I still need to have lunch and do some revising for our exams this week (RTB tomorrow, RAT on Friday).
See you later, most probably somewhere this weekend, though I can't promise anything yet.
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