OKC washout

maksvell

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone, i am new to this website and i want to apologize if this thread was posted before but here is my question. What are the reasons people get washed out from OKC Academy??
 
when my friend was in OKC she had her best friend not make it through. they fail you if you cant to the final Evaluation. if you fail it they give you another chance, and if you fail it again your out.
 
Hi everyone, i am new to this website and i want to apologize if this thread was posted before but here is my question. What are the reasons people get washed out from OKC Academy??


When you go to PV, the first time up they dont really give you a whole lot of leeway. U either pass or fail. Second time up they will give u the benefit of the doubt, but on monday, 18 people retook the PV either on ground or local, they had 3 local failures and a ground failure. They said that was a record and all 4 of those people got the boot
 
At the end of your training, you have a performance verification (PV). You run a 40 min problem and have an FAA Supervisor or Manager from the field evaluating you. If he doesn't pass you, you run some practice problems and have a retake. This time you have two people from the evaluations department evaluating you. If one of them decides you pass, you pass. If not you're no longer employed with the FAA. The biggest reasons people don't pass is nerves.
Also they are very strict about your behavior so don't drink or drive or get into any bar fights.
 
My instructor has a saying that he says at least once every day. "Just drink the Kool-Aid". There are some things that they try and teach you that might not make sence to the average person. Mainly just standard rules that you are supposed to follow. When you get to you facility, alot of these things are "adjusted" to help efficiency, but you need to learn to do right the first time before you move on. Some people have a hard time with that. There are a couple of people in my class that are constanly asking "why do you do that? why don't you do it this way?". They have the most trouble and might have trouble graduating and moving on the bigger and better things. So just "drink the Kool-Aid" and do what they ask and you will do fine.
 
At the end of your training, you have a performance verification (PV). You run a 40 min problem and have an FAA Supervisor or Manager from the field evaluating you. If he doesn't pass you, you run some practice problems and have a retake. This time you have two people from the evaluations department evaluating you. If one of them decides you pass, you pass. If not you're no longer employed with the FAA. The biggest reasons people don't pass is nerves.
Also they are very strict about your behavior so don't drink or drive or get into any bar fights.

Heh I don't drink and smoke so no problems with those things:)
 
There are a couple of people in my class that are constanly asking "why do you do that? why don't you do it this way?". They have the most trouble and might have trouble graduating and moving on the bigger and better things. So just "drink the Kool-Aid" and do what they ask and you will do fine.

I understand the concept of "drinking the Kool-aid". But it is a shame if people are not getting answers to their questions.

Asking why a certain rule/ procedure exists is a very good thing. I would hope that the instructors are knowledgeable enough to answer a simple question like that.

then again, nothing surprises me anymore.
 
I would hope that the instructors are knowledgeable enough to answer a simple question like that.

They do answer most of the questions, but there are some questions that there is no really good answer for. Sometimes you just gotta do it because they want you to - no questions. I'll question them later when i'm not on probation and I'm still trying to ge the job! Also, a lot of these questions are probably gooing to be answered when I get to my facilty. We will see in due time.
 
I'm a tad bit nervous about the not asking question part. I woulda thought the classroom environment is the best time to ask questions and not the OJT part, but we'll see how it goes. If it works is all that matters....
 
I was a PV retaker in my class out of 18 a couple of weeks ago, nearly a washout myself! In my class, 3 of us had to retake and out of those three, one guy didn't make it. My nerves really got to me in the first run and I completely bombed it. I was shaky and lacked confidence, and I couldn't concentrate at all. I let the problem control me instead of the other way around. I've gotta say it was probably one of the worst days of my life and an experience I would like to never again repeat!
My advice is to try to stay calm during your PV and work on focusing on running a good problem, and passing it on the first try. Most people do pass the first time around, but usually a few students in every class (like myself) struggle with it. If you do have to retake don't panic, just go through with it and do your best on the 2nd try, no matter how much you feel like quitting during your practice problems! My instructor was telling me that some students simply have to get their nervous energy out the first time and just take it again, as what seemed to be the case with me.
I definitely recommend studying as much as you can and working with people in your class, make sure your phraseology is tight and your traffic search is quick and accurate. Know your airspace inside and out! Also get your eyes on your scope and away from your strips after you've conducted your initial traffic search/aircraft analysis, it's what saved me the 2nd time around.
All in all, work hard and don't give up no matter how tough it seems, abide by all the rules, make friends with your classmates, and believe in yourself. I am living proof that almost anyone can make it through if they keep trying...so good luck! Any questions feel free to PM me and I'll try my best to answer them! :D
 
What about enroute non-radar? I keep hearing you can't wash out for it but can it effect anything that can wash you out?
 
What about enroute non-radar? I keep hearing you can't wash out for it but can it effect anything that can wash you out?

From what we've been hearing, they're planning on making non-radar pass/fail. The only part of it that is pass/fail is the test at the end. The PV problem you run is not. But that's supposed to change. Non-radar is a bit hard, but if you get good at it, it makes radar so much easier.
 
From what we've been hearing, they're planning on making non-radar pass/fail. The only part of it that is pass/fail is the test at the end. The PV problem you run is not. But that's supposed to change. Non-radar is a bit hard, but if you get good at it, it makes radar so much easier.

You mention test at the end is past fail but the PV problem is not. I thought the PV was the test at the end? Also when are they going to change non-radar to pass/fail?
 
Enroute - nonradar for the first few weeks. You run 30 or so problems and then have a 'nongraded' nonradar PV. Not pass/fail so don't sweat it. Then you roll in to radar, run 36 problems and take the official PV.

I finished OKC June of 07 and they were saying that same thing about nonradar becoming graded -- just to give you some perspective on that issue.
 
Enroute - nonradar for the first few weeks. You run 30 or so problems and then have a 'nongraded' nonradar PV. Not pass/fail so don't sweat it. Then you roll in to radar, run 36 problems and take the official PV.

I finished OKC June of 07 and they were saying that same thing about nonradar becoming graded -- just to give you some perspective on that issue.

Any idea on when they are going to change it? I'm just curious if my January 13th class will be graded or not...
 
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