Jerms (and anyone who has taken facility tours), how long was the tour? I understand every facility will have their own way, but I am just trying to get a general idea, if possible, as to how long it will take? Is it 30 minutes, is it 3 hours? Any experienced input would be appreciated. I have a tour coming up and do not want to ask how long I will be there. Thanks!
STL - 2 hours. Thanks to one of the guys here on JC that was a new hire at STL last year, I got to go up and get a facility tour and hang out in the tower talking to the controllers. The question I got asked the most was the same as at the TRACON facility -- "What's your class date?" I hated only being able to tell them (at the time) that I hadn't even been through panel selection at that point.
T75 - 1.5 hours. I visited the TRACON facility after getting the ATM's name from the guys at STL. I set up an appointment with his secretary and got in at 10:00AM. He gave me a tour of the facility, introduced me to a few folks, and then handed me off to one of the guys that is on the retirement track. He took me into the radar room (their facility is only 6 years old) and sat me at one of the unused scopes and proceeded to answer every question I had about what was happening on-screen, since I had no idea what I was seeing. I got handed back to the ATM after about an hour of question/answer time, who asked me for my name and my AT-SAT score. Lucky for me, he's supposedly on the panel selection committee.
BNA - 4 hours. I had an advantage here. The whole reason I got into ATC was because of one of the controllers here that has known me for over 18 years. I was best friends with his daughter in elementary school, and he helped arrange for our class to visit the airport in the early 1990s. I was with him for a while, seeing the entire BNA facility (up/down) and hanging out in TRACON for most of that time. He talked to me about all kinds of situations, what to expect, the union, the systems in use, and answered every possible question I could think of. He's one of the lead trainers as well, so he assured me he'd take me under his wing if I was selected for Nashville.
SUS - 20 minutes. Strange that I spent the least amount of time in the facility where I'm going to be working. Maybe the manager figured I didn't want to spend too long there since I'd be there eventually anyway :dunno:. I had a 10:30 appointment but wasn't let in the building until 10:35 (the secretary was out, and I had to wait on the manager). I had my TOL at this point, which I guess eased his mind in knowing I wasn't just some weirdo plane spotter. He showed me around, introduced me to one of the new hires, and then had to escort me out because he had an 11:00 training session with that new hire. I walked out the door confused at how short a time I was there compared to the other three places, but happy I got to tour my future home nonetheless.
