Actually, there will be three short-stories here about pilots not understanding the instruction they had been given.  These are not meant to be a bash on pilots (God knows I’ve mis-heard pilots before), but for the sake of this posting, and a little thing called “CYA” (cover your a–!), I’m going to talk about how three pilots did something they shouldn’t have.
The first scenario took place during a small departure rush, and I was alone in the tower working both local and ground control.  A regional jet was taxiing to …

Air Traffic Controller: One of the 7 Best Jobs Without a College Degree According to Payscale.com.
I was trolling around the interweb a couple weeks back with the intent of looking for some discount furniture from IKEA when I noticed an article on the front page of Yahoo about air traffic controller jobs being one of the 7 careers worth skipping college for. Check out the full article here.
Needless to say, this headline caught my attention and I temporarily postponed my quest for an mediocre Swiss sofa.
The article outlined …

Terminal Radar Arrival Techniques For Air Traffic Controllers
The favorite part of many, if not all, terminal radar approach controllers is working arriving aircraft. Nothing gives a boost to an air traffic controller’s ego any more than a nice tight string of pearls stretching out 15 or 20 miles on final.
Properly spaced aircraft ensure enough room on the arrival runway for preceding arrivals to clear the runway, and, if necessary, allow departures room to take off. Aircraft spaced erratically along the final can present a challenge to …

The “A to C” rule in Air Traffic Controllers
In an earlier post, I went over the main information you needed to be familiar with to apply the A to C rule properly as an air traffic controller.
Next, I’m going to go over the A to C rule and talk about some techniques that will help you understand the idea behind vectoring aircraft into a nice, neat final.
1.) Determine Space Between Arrivals
First, you need to determine how much space you need to have at touchdown between arrivals. Remember, …

Your First Day at the FAA Academy
Welcome to Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (or MMAC, as the FAA lovingly refers to it). If you’re new to the FAA, there will be a load of hoops to jump through today as you begin your career as a Federal Air Traffic Controller.

Preparing for Your First Morning at the FAA Academy
Before you arrived, you may or may not have received a piece of paper to leave displayed in the windshield of your car, authorizing your vehicle to enter the grounds, which are quite …