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Topics - Tod Allison

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1
The Control Room Floor / ZAU Website, forum, and TS
« on: August 05, 2011, 08:03:12 PM »
What's going on with the ZAU website, forum and TeamSpeak?  I tried signing onto all 3 of them and they don't exist anymore.  Anyone know what is going on besides a server change and when it is supposed to be back?

2
The Classroom (Controller Tips) / VATUSA Training Resource Center Error
« on: July 19, 2010, 03:47:21 AM »
In VATUSA's Training Resource Center, under VFR Tower, it states

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE [/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]Class B/C Operations

You will treat all VFR departures out of a Class B/C airport the same as you would IFR departures. Clear them for takeoff, then hand them off to departure once airborne.[/quote]

This is incorrect unless all of my instructors were wrong.  The Tower controller should keep VFR aircraft within the Class B/C surface area (usually 5 mile radius) of the Class B/C airport instead of handing them off as you would IFR.  If the pilot was VFR doing closed traffic, the Tower controller would not hand that pilot off and would maintain control of that aircraft, such as advising the pilot to fly left traffic, report mid-field downwind/base/final or whatever.  Otherwise there is a lot of unnecessary handoffs back and forth between TWR and APP/DEP or CTR.   I know I have had 4 or 5 doing closed pattern work in the ORD Class Bravo airspace before and if I would have handed each one off to APP or CTR and then have gotten them right back, there wouldn't be much of a chance to control anyone else do to the constant handoff/acceptance, etc.

This quote can be found here.

3
Virtual Airlines / ZULU Time Translation
« on: January 31, 2010, 09:36:57 PM »
Good Evening,

Yesterday, here at vZAU, we experienced (not for the first time) a miscommunication for an event between the facility and the VA holding the event.  The airline had posted the event to take place at KORD on Jan. 31 0000Z-0400Z.   The confusion was very evident in that VA's forum.   ZAU was fully staffed up at 0000Z Jan. 31 for the event and there was no traffic from that VA into KORD acheduled.  The VA actually wanted the event from 0000Z-0400Z Feb. 1 (they wanted the event to be this evening - Sunday evening Jan. 31 in the US).

To avoid confusion, I suggest that VA's, when advertizing an event, to post it in their forums, as well as sending a message to the ARTCC they want involved, to have the date and times listed in both Zulu and local times.  I had messaged that VA's VP-Events and he agreed that they had made the mistake, which is understandable about how the mistake was made.  

I use this analogy to show the difference between Zulu dates and times and local (CST for this example).

It is 2359Z, Dec. 31.  All the folks in the UK have their party hats and party favors on, waiting for the clock to hit 0000Z, Jan 1 to bring in the new year.  The clock hits 0000Z Jan. 1, they are celebrating the new year...yet here in the middle of the US, it is only 1800 CST on Dec. 31!

There is a difference when using a 24 hour clock between 0000 and 2400.  0000 is the START of the new day (Actually 0000:01) and 2400 is the end of that new day.  So, if someone states 0000Z on a certain date, just remember that here in the US, that would be the DAY BEFORE (Zulu -5 for EST, -6 for CST, -7 for MST, and -8 for PST).

I hope this can alleviate future confusion for hosting an event.

4
The Classroom (Controller Tips) / VATUSA Exams
« on: January 19, 2010, 01:40:57 AM »
I just passed my C-1 written exam.  Here is a problem I've seen with the last couple exams (C-1 and S-3 rating written exams) that I have taken.

VATUSA has study information for students to study before taking the exam.  The problem with this is the majority of the exam questions cannot be found in the study material!.   After working in the Nuclear Power industry for 20 years and knowing how the rules for exams are there (as well as when I took my ATP-Dispatcher exam this last summer), any question that is on the test bank that isn't in the training material should be excluded.  

The test bank questions should all be based on the training reference material given on VATUSA's Training Resource Center.  From what I have seen, this is not the case.  If VATUSA is wanting people to be tested on all of the questions for each rating that are in the exam bank for that rating, there should be study/reference material covering those questions.

Although I know where to find the answers to the questions, eg. 7110.65, etc., the TRC doesn't give that information.  This is something that needs to be looked into and fixed.

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