Controller exams

[Brad Oastler]

Hi all,
I notice I get plenty of NOTAMs while in the middle of a planned flight for controller practicals that are taking place at various airports.  Most of the time, I could easily have planned a flight to depart or arrive and give the test one little extra bit of traffic.  But I'm not going to stop in the middle of a flight to do so.

Is there a centralized place to find out about these tests in advance?  Could they be put on the calendar, or has it been tried before?

Maybe it's more of a hassle than it's worth, but as someone who greatly appreciates ATC (and who hasn't taken the leap to try it myself), I'd certainly like to be able to help others attain their ratings.

Cheers,
Brad

[Dylan Lundberg]

Hi all,
I notice I get plenty of NOTAMs while in the middle of a planned flight for controller practicals that are taking place at various airports.  Most of the time, I could easily have planned a flight to depart or arrive and give the test one little extra bit of traffic.  But I'm not going to stop in the middle of a flight to do so.

Is there a centralized place to find out about these tests in advance?  Could they be put on the calendar, or has it been tried before?

Maybe it's more of a hassle than it's worth, but as someone who greatly appreciates ATC (and who hasn't taken the leap to try it myself), I'd certainly like to be able to help others attain their ratings.

Cheers,
Brad

Brad,

Most of the Time, Controller Practical Exams are scheduled 24 hours in advance. I personally feel that if we were to put all of the CPTs on the Calendar, it would be WAY to Crowded!

Some ARTCCs, including Seattle ARTCC, Have this kind of stuff available on our (or their) Homepage. On Our Website, you will see something that says "Current Schedule - Next 24 hours". Make sure you look for comments, (in the comment Session for a CPT, it will say "OTS exam") The Schedule will also show the time, date, and facility of the exam, including position.

Hope this Helped!

Regards,

[Kevin Copeland]

Hey Brad,

A quick answer is no. The main reason is; even though an OTS may be scheduled 24 to 48 hours in advance, due to real world commitments ect.  one of the participants may not show up (Instructor or Student) and the OTS must be either cancelled or rescheduled, sometimes within minutes of the OTS start time.
 As Dylan said Seattle posts them on their website but I think that is more of an exception then the rule.  
Realistically, I would not expect pilots to mull through 22 ARTCC webpages searching for a controller exam. And the monumental task of keeping one data base current would at best be very labor intensive and at worst...impossible. (at the moment)
Maybe this could happen in the future if all ARTCC's training systems were tied into VATUSA or if the division created a centralized training area.

Typically how this works is: The instructor performing the OTS will contact a SUP and request a broadcast message. If the SUP determines that the broadcast falls within the guidelines of what is permissible to be broadcast across the network then the broadcast message is sent out.

I don't think anyone is expecting anyone else to stop their flight but is more aimed at maybe those members who have just landed or have not decided where to fly. controllers have been known to log off ATC and back on as pilots to give someone a workout.

Look at them as lottery tickets. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't.

See ya in the pattern ;-)

[Dylan Lundberg]

Hey Brad,

A quick answer is no. The main reason is; even though an OTS may be scheduled 24 to 48 hours in advance, due to real world commitments ect.  one of the participants may not show up (Instructor or Student) and the OTS must be either cancelled or rescheduled, sometimes within minutes of the OTS start time.
 As Dylan said Seattle posts them on their website but I think that is more of an exception then the rule.  
Realistically, I would not expect pilots to mull through 22 ARTCC webpages searching for a controller exam. And the monumental task of keeping one data base current would at best be very labor intensive and at worst...impossible. (at the moment)
Maybe this could happen in the future if all ARTCC's training systems were tied into VATUSA or if the division created a centralized training area.

Typically how this works is: The instructor performing the OTS will contact a SUP and request a broadcast message. If the SUP determines that the broadcast falls within the guidelines of what is permissible to be broadcast across the network then the broadcast message is sent out.

I don't think anyone is expecting anyone else to stop their flight but is more aimed at maybe those members who have just landed or have not decided where to fly. controllers have been known to log off ATC and back on as pilots to give someone a workout.

Look at them as lottery tickets. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't.

See ya in the pattern ;-)

Agreed . Thanks Kevin for adding!

Dylan