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Today as a training exercise I flew from SQL to RHV, passing through the airspaces of PAO, NUQ and SJC on the way and getting handed off from one tower to the next. It was very painless; I got a transponder code on the ground at SQL and from that point on only had to call in with my altitude and the controllers already knew where I was going and handled everything. What is the process behind the scenes that allows this to happen? How does one tower talk to another? What information do they provide, and to who, and when? Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Oct 18, 2019 |
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Oct 18, 2019 23:48
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I'm sorry what was that? I was on the landline...
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Oct 18, 2019 23:52
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fknlo posted:Oh I know. There was always drama at ZKC too. They went to a bid schedule this year and our area rep says that we'll be doing the same here next year. I get it and it's annoying when someone takes a couple days to bid, but people get way too mad about it. We’ve always used a bid schedule, and I completely fail to grasp the argument that people should bid immediately and not use the entirety of their bid slot.
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Oct 18, 2019 23:56
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Was just CIC, had a busy push, and was trying to get some people out on break. One of my crew mates, (pretty junior overall, I’m senior on the poo poo end of the week) is over two hours, and refuses to give up their Dside (whom they are married to,) because it would mean that the d-side/spouse would have to one arm the sector with four airplanes. I paged a trainee back to split them up and put someone on break (we’re really, REALLY short tonight,) and the d-side/spouse now working radar then started bitching that we’re short, because I had the next person back get a third person out, because it’s their bid time. Bidding is stupid, but not as stupid as controllers. Also, I couldn’t hold the Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday AWS line that I had this year, and now have Monday/Thursday/Friday off. 
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Oct 19, 2019 23:24
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I have an overtime today, which of course sucks, but I'm going to get to grieve it so I at least have something to look forward to?
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Nov 5, 2019 19:38
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Four D-Side trainees on a Friday day shift sure is fun. Glad I'm training on the sector that consistently requires one, and I'm close to finally reaching D2. I guess Nav Canada is looking at reworking Vancouver's airspace into something like a metroplex over the next several years, so a bunch of Canadian controllers and suits were at ZSE last week for a meet & greet. They came down to our area and were rather taken aback at the equipment we were working with. I guess their stuff is better. One a related note- I find it kind of crazy that we have to call with every single point-out and hand-off in TYOOL 2020. Boeing testing the 777X has lead to some interesting stuff. First, it had no weight classification, so they wanted 10 miles separation at all times, in all airspace. Then they put out two? three? hotsheets saying "wait it's a heavy! Heavy rules apply!" We also have to notify our supe at least 10 minutes prior to them entering Seattle Approach, so she can call Boeing Field tower and they can "make necessary preparations" for the plane's arrival. E: Is the nest a nationwide thing, or regional? A trainee that started the same time I did (we actually went to the academy together) washed out around August last year, and is still just sitting around doing nothing on AG pay. its all nice on rice fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Feb 17, 2020 |
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Feb 17, 2020 02:38
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Nest is nationwide, it generally takes until the next NCEPT panel to be processed. But he should have been processed in the December panel, at the latest.
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Feb 17, 2020 15:56
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its all nice on rice posted:One a related note- I find it kind of crazy that we have to call with every single point-out and hand-off in TYOOL 2020. What the actual gently caress? You're at ZSE, right?
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Feb 17, 2020 17:53
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MrYenko posted:What the actual gently caress? You're at ZSE, right? Yeah. All coordination with Canada is over the lines. We can see hard altitude changes and route changes that are made, but we can't flash or PVD a plane onto their scopes. TangoFox posted:Nest is nationwide, it generally takes until the next NCEPT panel to be processed. But he should have been processed in the December panel, at the latest. And here I thought it was a joke when he said "I think they forgot about me." There's another washout upstairs that's been there since, aroundNovember. They're both just twiddling their thumbs for 8 hours a day. its all nice on rice fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Feb 18, 2020 |
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Feb 18, 2020 01:37
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its all nice on rice posted:Yeah. All coordination with Canada is over the lines. We can see hard altitude changes and route changes that are made, but we can't flash or PVD a plane onto their scopes.  No automated point outs I could understand, but the US and Canada not having automation for handoffs is hilarious.
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Feb 19, 2020 01:46
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MrYenko posted:
CYXX is like an inch from the border and takes off into Seattle airspace that's... something.
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Feb 19, 2020 01:55
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less than three posted:CYXX is like an inch from the border and takes off into Seattle airspace that's... something. The airspace to about overhead Bellingham and maybe a bit south is controlled by Victoria Terminal. Every time I fly the ILS into BLI, I get my clearance from a nice man who says “decimal” when saying frequencies rather than “point”.
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Feb 19, 2020 05:12
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MrYenko posted:
Take a look how much southwestern Ontario pokes into the USA and imagine how fun it is when every single handoff and pointout on 3 sides of your sector is verbal and your hotline is shared by 10 different sectors. That said there's a (very recent) rumour that the FAA is pushing for handoff automation so we may see it in a year or two but I'm not holding my breath.
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Feb 19, 2020 05:12
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Varlock posted:Take a look how much southwestern Ontario pokes into the USA and imagine how fun it is when every single handoff and pointout on 3 sides of your sector is verbal and your hotline is shared by 10 different sectors. Content: Apparently the 43” monitors are having issues with viewing angle at the key sites. NEXRAD weather has an odd “3D” effect when viewed from the D side, Dwell lock isn’t visible, and comically, conflict alert isn’t visible from the D-side due to reduced contrast at high off-angles. Additionally, controllers have complained that because the chair-to-display distance hasn’t changed significantly, they get overwhelmed by the size of the display, that the physical scan is so much bigger. The FAA’s solution is to reduce the size of the radar display to 27x27”, centered in the middle of the display. I don’t think the new displays are 4K, which means the effective resolution of the radar scope will be lower than it currently is. The crown jewel of this clusterfuck though: The off angle issuers are due to, and I’m not making this up: The FAA bought 43” TN LCD displays. Even better, they bought inventory for the entire NAS before testing a single unit in an operational situation. So now they have like, 1400-1500 of these things in a warehouse, with everyone trying to figure out who to blame the situation on. 
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Feb 19, 2020 13:05
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MrYenko posted:
That's just amazing.
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Feb 21, 2020 19:34
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MrYenko posted:
This is amazing. I want to see images of the displays in the square mode as well as the full 43" compared to the old monitors. How much shittier is the resolution?
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Mar 1, 2020 17:18
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We've had some custodial issues over the past couple months. Some issues with the contractor, they can't get workers, they make the workers they do get pay for supplies out of pocket, etc... Gotta save some money by contracting that poo poo out of course. I see a custodial person maybe 3 out of my 5 days. The bathrooms are disgusting, there's often little to no soap, and we're also often out of paper towels. There are also regularly overflowing trash cans all over the building. The corona virus is going to have a loving field day here. Today we had paper towels, but 3 out of the 5 sinks in the main men's room had no soap and the only sink in the men's room in the union office was out of service. This has obviously been brought up to the union and management but nothing has changed. I've heard they're doing something with the contract, but who the gently caress knows?
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Mar 2, 2020 03:56
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They’re in the middle of rebidding our custodial contract as well. At least most of your sinks work, though. We have a single kitchen sink for use by the entire center, including all the admin drones, and it was out of service (clogged and wouldn’t drain, so facilities closed the supply valves,) for almost six months before it got fixed. I love working in a building with 300 people with no way to wash the loving coffee pot, thanks FAA.
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Mar 2, 2020 04:39
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Wasn't there a center (zkc?) that got evacuated a few years ago for a spider infestation? I think they take the cake for custodial issues.
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Mar 2, 2020 04:52
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KodiakRS posted:Wasn't there a center (zkc?) that got evacuated a few years ago for a spider infestation? I think they take the cake for custodial issues. It wasn't an infestation. One guy thought he got bit by a spider, I don't think they ever found anything. I can't remember whether he actually got bitten or not. The custodial issues there were fine outside of the janitor that wore the same pair of gloves all day.
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Mar 2, 2020 13:46
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3 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.newser.com/story/172163/flights-delayed-due-to-spider-bites.html quote:Air traffic controllers in charge of guiding flights into Kansas City International Airport had to flee their posts because of a spider infestation, the New York Daily News reports. Five flights were delayed for around 15 minutes each when the control room was evacuated and controllers were moved to a different part of the building after three of them suffered spider bites. Exterminators found a nest egg that had probably hatched under the controllers' desks
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Mar 3, 2020 03:38
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i don't think that's what a nest egg is but okay
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Mar 3, 2020 03:41
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Ask Me About Air Traffic Control: My Nest Egg Is In The Radar Scope
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Mar 3, 2020 17:40
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I finally talked to the ATM at ZKC today and she said they'd probably hire me on a direct application if I separated from the agency for a year, so I have a path out of here at least. I probably don't have the balls to do it though. 
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Mar 5, 2020 20:47
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How do the you other centers deal with military airspace? We recently switched to no event numbers. The planes need to have the airspace they're using in the remarks section. Otherwise we've been told to have them RTB. We mostly have issues with non-tactical jets, and they just end up going due regard off the coast. The problem is, we'll have airspace active almost all day with no one in it. It makes coordination with Canada more of a hassle. We can't call TMU with last man out if they leave airspace early. Feels likes more hassle than it's worth.
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Mar 7, 2020 18:43
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its all nice on rice posted:How do the you other centers deal with military airspace? We recently switched to no event numbers. The planes need to have the airspace they're using in the remarks section. Otherwise we've been told to have them RTB. Wish I could help but I've never actually had to deal with much military airspace. I cleared someone into a MOA once and I'm pretty sure I hosed it up.
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Mar 8, 2020 23:18
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its all nice on rice posted:How do the you other centers deal with military airspace? We recently switched to no event numbers. The planes need to have the airspace they're using in the remarks section. Otherwise we've been told to have them RTB. Our Restricted/MOA complex has a range officer who sits in (what I assume is a fart-filled) trailer in the middle of central Florida. For users, it’s basically “maintain FL210B230 until established in the Avon complex, radar service terminated, frequency change approved.” They talk to the range officer, and he relays clearances out. If we RTB’d a flight I’m pretty sure 9th AF would poo poo their loving pants.
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Mar 9, 2020 00:06
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Another bit I forgot, we call TMU Missions when the airspace is empty, but it’s a crapshoot whether they’re willing to do the legwork to get the airspace back. Ours is the only restricted in the facility; Everything else is Warning areas, which we are not the owning agency for, whereas the restricted is ours, and we release it. That means that often TMU will just forget that we don’t have to block surface to FL400 across most of the middle of the state for a pair of F-16s that broke at Homestead and are already in their cars on the way home. The ATO has a real problem with delegating responsibility for things to organizations that are not affected by the thing they have responsibility for. It’s one of my biggest frustrations with this job.
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Mar 9, 2020 01:10
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They've put up a corona virus video at work featuring the atm and facrep. One of the things they say is not to put your ID card in your mouth before handing it to the guard when you're coming into the facility. Which is smart but also completely ignores the thing where every single person coming onto the facility and handing the guard their ID to get scanned in is a huge vector for transmission even if you aren't licking the loving card. They also put some hand sanitizer in the areas but the bathrooms were all out of paper towels again the other day.
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Mar 11, 2020 17:20
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Interested to see what any further response will be here, since we're essentially ground zero as far as centers go. Not to mention the towers in the area. So far it's just hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes on the floor, antibacterial soap in the bathrooms, and all the screens have "DO NOT TOUCH" labels on them. I know a few people outside of the control floor have been allowed to work from home, but training and everything else is essentially normal.
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Mar 12, 2020 17:47
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its all nice on rice posted:Interested to see what any further response will be here, since we're essentially ground zero as far as centers go. Not to mention the towers in the area. I'm sure the FAA will react as they do with all things, and that's in a proactive and straightforward manner! There's a sup at ZKC that has self quarantined that I know of, I'd imagine that can't be the only person in the agency. There's no way it's not in some facilities already, especially the ones that you have to go through the airport to get to. Like Denver tower. I imagine it might take some time to get into some of the centers that are still far enough away from their anchor cities, but even then it'll only be a matter of time. Your server at whatever restaurant you're at just got back from Italy a week ago, good luck. e: natca in washington delayed to later in the year. The agency/union still don't seem to have a plan other than to clean and disinfect things. fknlo fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Mar 12, 2020 |
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Mar 12, 2020 20:20
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3 people at MDW just tested positive, here we go.
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Mar 17, 2020 18:49
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You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated
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Mar 17, 2020 19:32
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Rincey posted:You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated Ahhhh, there it is!
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Mar 17, 2020 19:33
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ATC zero at midway!
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Mar 17, 2020 23:33
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Holy poo poo. Midway traffic, Southwest 123 takin' the active!
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Mar 17, 2020 23:39
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vessbot posted:Holy poo poo. Midway traffic, Southwest 123 takin' the active!  runway number
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Mar 18, 2020 00:00
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Sagebrush posted:
So you wanna make it a runway, huh?
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Mar 18, 2020 00:09
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Sagebrush posted:
55th street
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Mar 18, 2020 00:20
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fknlo posted:ATC zero at midway! its real, oh my god its real: Sagebrush posted:hey if you want a real trip go listen to the KMDW ATIS
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Mar 18, 2020 04:50
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