Duties once CPC?

M

moulds80

Well-Known Member
Once you’re fully certified at a center or TRACON, do you work nearly exclusively as an R-Side each shift, or would you continue to work as a D-Side sometimes too? Also when you are fully trained on each is one position a lot easier or preferable to the other?
 
you work what ever position you are ordered by the FLM.

we dont have R sides and D sides in a tracon.
 
jigglyball said:
How do the different developmental levels work in tracons?
Click to expand...

i cant comment on what the training will be in other tracons, but i can give you a view of what to except if you are an OTS and your dumb enought to accept a position at C90.

C90 is divded into 3 lines of traffic ,Front Line(ORD Arr ), Side Line (this is North ,ORD Depts and North Sat),and Foul Line (South ,or South SATs, MDW GYY DPA ARR LOT etc). to be a CPC you have to check out on North OR South and ORD ARRs.

the first week or two are a basic intro to C90 ,its all class room stuff.

you then start what we call the Short Bus class,its about 3 months long and it is an ATC basics class, its going to teach you all the things that are not being taught in OKC like phraseology, seperation, vectoring, (yea yea i know you will all say you learned it but it dose not show)you will also learn the airspace,and its not easy.this phase will be a combination of class room,desk top simulators, and time in the ETG lab (thats the full size radar simulator).

after the Short Bus class you will go in training for the area that you will first train, ALL OTS are assigned North which is the 5 ORD DEPT sectors and North Sat,no OTSs will ever be assigned South (this is South SAT, MDW GYY DPA ARR etc) maybe 1 out of 100 may make it.this is about a month of class work and ETG lab problems with 2 pass fail problems.you can fail each grades only one time, after the second you are gone, same with the class room the is a end test you must pass and we had one OTS fail THE CLASS ROOM part.

depending on how long or short the training backlog is you may come out to the control room to check out on Flight Data, (to get your D1 raise you have to be checked out on Flight data and VFR ADVS but you will not train to D1 untill you pass the North class).there was a month delay for our OTS so they worked flight data untill they had a class date (the North class has only 2 slots each so 2 got to train and 2 had to wait a extra month).

after passing the North class you will train on VFR ADVS to the D1 , then train on the Side Line to get the D2, and D3 raises. to get the CPC raise you must train and check out on the Front line.how long this will take is any ones guess, we just got our first OTS about 5 months ago and the first 2 just started training.
 
queeno said:
i cant comment on what the training will be in other tracons, but i can give you a view of what to except if you are an OTS and your dumb enought to accept a position at C90.

C90 is divded into 3 lines of traffic ,Front Line(ORD Arr ), Side Line (this is North ,ORD Depts and North Sat),and Foul Line (South ,or South SATs, MDW GYY DPA ARR LOT etc). to be a CPC you have to check out on North OR South and ORD ARRs.

the first week or two are a basic intro to C90 ,its all class room stuff.

you then start what we call the Short Bus class,its about 3 months long and it is an ATC basics class, its going to teach you all the things that are not being taught in OKC like phraseology, seperation, vectoring, (yea yea i know you will all say you learned it but it dose not show)you will also learn the airspace,and its not easy.this phase will be a combination of class room,desk top simulators, and time in the ETG lab (thats the full size radar simulator).

after the Short Bus class you will go in training for the area that you will first train, ALL OTS are assigned North which is the 5 ORD DEPT sectors and North Sat,no OTSs will ever be assigned South (this is South SAT, MDW GYY DPA ARR etc) maybe 1 out of 100 may make it.this is about a month of class work and ETG lab problems with 2 pass fail problems.you can fail each grades only one time, after the second you are gone, same with the class room the is a end test you must pass and we had one OTS fail THE CLASS ROOM part.

depending on how long or short the training backlog is you may come out to the control room to check out on Flight Data, (to get your D1 raise you have to be checked out on Flight data and VFR ADVS but you will not train to D1 untill you pass the North class).there was a month delay for our OTS so they worked flight data untill they had a class date (the North class has only 2 slots each so 2 got to train and 2 had to wait a extra month).

after passing the North class you will train on VFR ADVS to the D1 , then train on the Side Line to get the D2, and D3 raises. to get the CPC raise you must train and check out on the Front line.how long this will take is any ones guess, we just got our first OTS about 5 months ago and the first 2 just started training.
Click to expand...
Very informative. Thanks!
 
moulds80 said:
Once you’re fully certified at a center or TRACON, do you work nearly exclusively as an R-Side each shift, or would you continue to work as a D-Side sometimes too?
Click to expand...

At the center where I worked, D-sides were usually only opened on an "as needed" basis. So more often than not, you'd work an R-side.

The TRACONs I worked in almost never opened the radar associate positions, so it was nearly always a radar position.


Also when you are fully trained on each is one position a lot easier or preferable to the other?
Click to expand...

If you work the D-side like it should be worked, it can be as difficult, in it's own way, as the R-side. Some folks work it like they're just visiting, though.

As for preference... that depends on the individual. As OG said, you go where the FLM tells you to. Personally, I preferred radar. However, there was one particular high altitude sector (SPA) that I absolutely hated and I will continue to hate it until I die. Also, the East Low and Lakeland sectors at TPA during Sun 'n' Fun could easily be placed on the National Register of Pain in the Butt Places.
 
queeno said:
i cant comment on what the training will be in other tracons, but i can give you a view of what to except if you are an OTS and your dumb enought to accept a position at C90.

C90 is divded into 3 lines of traffic ,Front Line(ORD Arr ), Side Line (this is North ,ORD Depts and North Sat),and Foul Line (South ,or South SATs, MDW GYY DPA ARR LOT etc). to be a CPC you have to check out on North OR South and ORD ARRs.

the first week or two are a basic intro to C90 ,its all class room stuff.

you then start what we call the Short Bus class,its about 3 months long and it is an ATC basics class, its going to teach you all the things that are not being taught in OKC like phraseology, seperation, vectoring, (yea yea i know you will all say you learned it but it dose not show)you will also learn the airspace,and its not easy.this phase will be a combination of class room,desk top simulators, and time in the ETG lab (thats the full size radar simulator).

after the Short Bus class you will go in training for the area that you will first train, ALL OTS are assigned North which is the 5 ORD DEPT sectors and North Sat,no OTSs will ever be assigned South (this is South SAT, MDW GYY DPA ARR etc) maybe 1 out of 100 may make it.this is about a month of class work and ETG lab problems with 2 pass fail problems.you can fail each grades only one time, after the second you are gone, same with the class room the is a end test you must pass and we had one OTS fail THE CLASS ROOM part.

depending on how long or short the training backlog is you may come out to the control room to check out on Flight Data, (to get your D1 raise you have to be checked out on Flight data and VFR ADVS but you will not train to D1 untill you pass the North class).there was a month delay for our OTS so they worked flight data untill they had a class date (the North class has only 2 slots each so 2 got to train and 2 had to wait a extra month).

after passing the North class you will train on VFR ADVS to the D1 , then train on the Side Line to get the D2, and D3 raises. to get the CPC raise you must train and check out on the Front line.how long this will take is any ones guess, we just got our first OTS about 5 months ago and the first 2 just started training.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I've seen a lot of things posted for ARTCC developmentals but not a lot on TRACON. I am one of those guys dumb enough to be offered and accept a level 12 TRACON as an OTS! I feel happy to be offered a job but it seems like a pretty uphill battle through training. This helps give me an idea of what to expect as a developmental. If anyone else has any good pointers or an overview of their TRACON training feel free to post. I didn't get a choice as to what I was offered but gladly accepted what seems to be a pretty tough training environment!
 
The Janitor told us that if we pretended to know about Jiggly Ball, we get to throw tennis balls at you.
 
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