31
The Flight Deck / Control Towers Don't Do What You Think They Do (by AVweb)
« on: July 16, 2021, 02:35:47 AM »
Here's another great video from AVweb: https://youtu.be/FM3dmaC4z8E
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32
The Flight Deck / Ask ATC: When to Ask for Flight Following (video by the Air Safety Institute)
« on: July 16, 2021, 02:31:46 AM »
Hello fellow aviators, here's a helpful video brought to you by the Air Safety Institute about when to ask for flight following:
https://youtu.be/2ZQGRuZxyR8
https://youtu.be/2ZQGRuZxyR8
33
The Flight Deck / Radio Communications and ATC
« on: July 08, 2021, 02:30:35 PM »
Good afternoon, aviators. I wanted to share with you a resource with a ton of links to videos, quizzes, and publications that may help you to better understand and appreciate the ATC system and the people with whom you fly on a regular basis.
Many of you may already know much of this information, but for our new comers and student pilots, these resources compiled by AOPA are a great way to understand what goes on behind the scenes as well as get rid of some of the mic fright that comes along with having only a little knowledge and/or experience.
https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/safety-centers/radio-communications-and-atc
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmZXwtLoBH8wrSgJLc5gQ6psrW2JPr_wf
Many of you may already know much of this information, but for our new comers and student pilots, these resources compiled by AOPA are a great way to understand what goes on behind the scenes as well as get rid of some of the mic fright that comes along with having only a little knowledge and/or experience.
https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/air-safety-institute/safety-centers/radio-communications-and-atc
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmZXwtLoBH8wrSgJLc5gQ6psrW2JPr_wf
34
The Classroom (Controller Tips) / Re: Where are the Check for Understanding quizzes?
« on: May 12, 2021, 09:50:04 AM »I can't seem to find the Check for Understanding tests. Is there a link I am missing?
Thanks,
Keith
Hi Keith, the check for understanding quizzes were attributed to a Google account for which I do not have access, and so therefore I was unable to provide any meaningful quality control over questions and answers. They have been removed as a result of this and a decision was made a short while back to avoid replacing them due to the reimagination and design of the overall VATUSA training program, a task in and of itself that takes an incredible amount of time and attention. We are due to launch the new program this summer. Please be on the look out for announcements here, on Discord, and on our various social media platforms.
In the meanwhile, if you'd like to review material in advance of taking the tests, please feel free to ask questions in the Academy Chat channel of the VATUSA Discord. Our enthusiastic and engaging community of controllers often are eager to provide assistance, and I, too, frequently check Discord to see if I can provide helpful guidance.
35
General Discussion / Re: RIP Richard Green 810012
« on: February 16, 2021, 07:53:47 AM »
Very sad to hear about Richard's passing. I remember him quite fondly. I wish to extend warm wishes and condolences to his entire family.
36
The Control Room Floor / Re: What are facilities doing about the Concorde?
« on: January 10, 2021, 08:06:06 PM »Point of note, once beyond 12 nm of the US coast, the rules change to international airspace rules. Ify ether, there%u2019s a recent document outlining proposed rule changes to 91.817: https://www.faa.gov/news/media/attachments/SFA_Supersonic_Final_Rule.pdfI looked at that, but it seems only to be talking about the process for applying for exemptions and not so much about the correct procedures to apply for ATC when a pilot requests to exceed Mach 1.0 in conjunction with the exemption. Or perhaps that's coming in a 7110 revision?
Evan, maybe we can just agree on a simple, albeit possibly virtual, solution that is a mixture of what information we have gathered from the FAA, Port Authority, USAF, and historical fact. As per my note above, the lateral boundary of a sonic boom is 1 mile per 1,000 feet. Let's say that the general rule of thumb for Concorde leaving the eastern seaboard to Europe and beyond is to initially climb them to FL290. Once approximately 35 miles off shore and away from land, they are issued further climb and are permitted to accelerate to speeds at or above Mach 1.
Check out this graphic which depicts the normal operating procedure of the Concorde.
https://www.heritageconcorde.com/air-traffic-control-of-concorde-
It appears as though they accelerated to Mach 1 only after passing through FL350 and aimed to be less than Mach 1 prior to reaching FL350 in their descent. If FL350 is the magic number, roughly 35,000, then that's about 35 miles according to the USAF's lateral calculation of the sonic boom. This appears to make sense as the Concorde would be free and clear to accelerate without negatively impacting anything on land.
37
The Control Room Floor / Re: What are facilities doing about the Concorde?
« on: January 09, 2021, 06:14:18 PM »Thanks, that helps!They are cleared to an initial cruise altitude of FL290 and must wait until Ocean airspace before climbing higher and accelerating to supersonic speeds.By "ocean airspace", are you saying a certain point over water or literally oceanic airspace (east of Gander Domestic)? Trying to figure out if Canada would be dealing with acceleration/deceleration in real life or if that's something Boston would have done.
IIRC, it's when they would speak to ZNY non-radar ocean sectors, after the point at which I would normally terminate them if I worked only domestic ZNY. I'm sorry if this isn't clear enough. I can dig around for some historical data from RW retired controllers.
Found this: https://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=22754
It seems as though the requirement was until a point over the ocean in which a sonic boom would not be felt/heard. According to the USAF, that is 1 mile for every 1,000 feet (https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104540/sonic-boom/).
Not sure if this helps (probably does not), but it might give a clue as to what was done.
38
The Control Room Floor / Re: What are facilities doing about the Concorde?
« on: January 07, 2021, 08:46:41 AM »How are VATUSA facilities treating the Concorde? I've seen that aircraft on the network with increasing regularity and will get requests from departures to "accelerate" or "exceed Mach 1.0". Obviously, this isn't a scenario that happens in real life anymore, although it's getting closer (see below).
What are facilities doing with these requests from pilots? I don't see much in the 7110, presumably because it's been 20+ years since we've had to deal with civilian supersonic flight. Do we have any standard across VATUSA?
Good question, Evan. At ZNY, we routinely encounter the Concorde at JFK and have specific operations for the aircraft built into the JFK SOP. You can check them all out here.
Some highlights:
- After the initial departure heading/climb and around 4,000’-5,000’, speed restrictions were cancelled and SSTs were allowed to accelerate to approximately 400 knots below 10,000’. This was a special authorization from the Port Authority and FAA.
- They are cleared to an initial cruise altitude of FL290 and must wait until Ocean airspace before climbing higher and accelerating to supersonic speeds.
We will remain in compliance with 14 CFR § 91.817 until such time the rules change in order to accommodate whatever the impact of the return of supersonic flight is to civil aviation.
39
The Classroom (Controller Tips) / Calm Wind vs Wind Calm
« on: December 09, 2020, 10:57:21 AM »
In reviewing Academy exam questions, it was discovered that a question regarding calm wind in the Basic ATC/S1 Exam was misleading and ambiguous. It has since been corrected.
Part of the misconception over the question and its answer stems from a rather confusing and incongruous definition of calm wind. To help, consider memorizing a specific order to the words: wind calm vs calm wind.
Think of this! In conversation, you would not say, "it feels as though the wind calm." The absence of "is" makes the sentence incomplete. "Wind Calm" is not meant to be conversational, and that's because it's meant to be ATC phraseology. For this reason, how we define wind as being calm in relation to ATC and describing it to pilots over frequency can be answered by looking in the Air Traffic Control Handbook (7110.65).
Follow me so far? Great! "Wind Calm" as referenced in 7110.65, 2-6-3 is as follows:
Awesome! So, where does the confusion set in?
"Calm wind" has a different definition depending upon the resource in which you find the reference.
While they exist and might be pertinent in a variety of aviation applications, neither of these two listed resources directly impact or influence the job of the air traffic controller in relation to their ATC duties in the handling of air traffic. As it pertains to the safe operation of air traffic, ATC needs only to refer to the 7110.65 (mentioned at the beginning of this post) when describing wind as calm to aircraft.
To help differentiate and segregate all of the aforementioned resources, think of the specific word order: calm wind vs wind calm. Then, make sure you understand the context in which the words are mentioned.
Hopefully this helps to clear up some of the confusion regarding calm wind vs wind calm!
NOTE: This tutorial does not intend on exploring the difference between "Wind Calm" and "Calm Wind Runway." For more information about "Calm Wind Runway" as it pertains to ATC, please review 7110.65, 3-5-1.
Part of the misconception over the question and its answer stems from a rather confusing and incongruous definition of calm wind. To help, consider memorizing a specific order to the words: wind calm vs calm wind.
Think of this! In conversation, you would not say, "it feels as though the wind calm." The absence of "is" makes the sentence incomplete. "Wind Calm" is not meant to be conversational, and that's because it's meant to be ATC phraseology. For this reason, how we define wind as being calm in relation to ATC and describing it to pilots over frequency can be answered by looking in the Air Traffic Control Handbook (7110.65).
Follow me so far? Great! "Wind Calm" as referenced in 7110.65, 2-6-3 is as follows:
Quote
b. Describe the wind as calm when the wind velocity is less than three knots.
Awesome! So, where does the confusion set in?
"Calm wind" has a different definition depending upon the resource in which you find the reference.
- In the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) Chapter 7, Section 1: Meteorology, you'll find mention of calm wind being described in a Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) as a velocity of 3 knots or less.
- And, in JO 7900.5 Surface Weather Observing, 7.8, you'll find mention of calm wind as being described as a velocity of less than 1 knot by a qualified weather observer in accordance with the Beaufort scale.
While they exist and might be pertinent in a variety of aviation applications, neither of these two listed resources directly impact or influence the job of the air traffic controller in relation to their ATC duties in the handling of air traffic. As it pertains to the safe operation of air traffic, ATC needs only to refer to the 7110.65 (mentioned at the beginning of this post) when describing wind as calm to aircraft.
To help differentiate and segregate all of the aforementioned resources, think of the specific word order: calm wind vs wind calm. Then, make sure you understand the context in which the words are mentioned.
- Am I being asked to describe the definition of wind calm? If YES, then "less than 3 knots" (7110.65)
- Is this in reference to ATC phraseology or job duty? If YES, then "less than 3 knots" (7110.65)
- Am I being asked to define the definition of calm wind as it relates to forecasting? If YES, then "3 knots or less" (AIM)
- Am I being asked to define the definition of calm wind as a trained observer? If YES, then "less than 1 knot" (7900.5)
Hopefully this helps to clear up some of the confusion regarding calm wind vs wind calm!
NOTE: This tutorial does not intend on exploring the difference between "Wind Calm" and "Calm Wind Runway." For more information about "Calm Wind Runway" as it pertains to ATC, please review 7110.65, 3-5-1.
43
News / Re: New TA in ZNY!
« on: November 18, 2020, 07:42:49 AM »
Congrats, Cameron! Now get to work! 
44
News / Re: PCF’s New Training Administrator
« on: November 17, 2020, 09:43:28 PM »
Congratulations, Danny! I look forward to working with you.
BTW - did anybody inform you that new TA's must supply me with a constant supply of fresh coffee and bagels? I'm from NY, so they had better be good bagels. Good luck.
BTW - did anybody inform you that new TA's must supply me with a constant supply of fresh coffee and bagels? I'm from NY, so they had better be good bagels. Good luck.
45
News / Re: ZNY Has a New ATM!
« on: February 09, 2019, 01:08:50 PM »
Excellent choice and I, too, look forward to working with Karl in his new and well deserved role!