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Does anyone have any information regarding Insomnia and if it is a disqualifying disability even if medication has never been prescribed? Can a waiver be a possibility or will I lose my medical permanently? Has anyone ever personally dealt with this ailment and the flight doctor before?

Im 10k hours deep into airline flying and Ive noticed something happens daily... We will be notified about traffic 20 miles out that I couldn't hit if I had a rocket for an apu... But then another jet will pass so close I can identify the type and airline, and center says nothing about it. Are we only informed about the ac the controller is talking to?

Can my girlfriend live with me during academy at Kim’s place?

Hello all,

I do high altitude survey work in a Cessna Caravan, into the lower flight levels. Because of this I file IFR flight plans for our work (which is pretty much constant lat/longs which I'm sure give you a headache but I appreciate ya'll working with us)

A lot of our work has to be done in MOA's and I've been trying to figure out how to go about coordinating flight into these. Lately, I've been checking the FAA SUA graphical website which show the times the MOA is active, then file a flight plan into them during the inactive period. However I've had mixed results, commonly being told that the MOA is still hot and can't be entered despite the SUA website showing otherwise.

I've even had an approach controller tell me I was unable to enter, so I canceled my IFR, only to be handed off to center and told that the MOA's are cold...then to scramble to file my clunky flight plan again and pick it up in the air.

Should I just ignore the SUA website completely? Calling up clearance on the ground hasn't been effective either, since I'll commonly be told its OK to fly then be denied once I'm airborne. Trying to wrap my head around this and could use some advice from you folks. Thanks

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I have a few questions for anyone currently at Santa Monica tower. Please message me or comment. Thanks.

Rule 7-8-5 When necessary to assign altitudes to VFR acft, assign altitudes that meet the MVA, MSA or minimum IFR altitude criteria…..we’ve been assigning altitudes that are below the MVA for years, in the interest of VFR separation. In fact , our LOA with Departure has our VFRs climbing to altitudes to maintain, that are below the MVA. I’m trying to figure out why this is a rule vs us using best judgment and knowing that VFR acft won’t crash into the water if they’re restricted at or below 1000 (MVA is 1500’). Does anyone else who works at a class C control the altitudes for their VFRs? Are there any rules that supersede this rule? Not finding anything so far…

I feel like this happens a lot at my tower. Aircraft is inbound with something like a hydraulic issue and says they are a non-emergency. Most recently I had a C-130 that lost power to an engine so they "only" had 3. The pilots will often say they don't need any assistance.

My perspective is to just pick up the crash phone and let the airport figure out how they want to respond. If something happens I don't want to have to answer questions about why I didn't alert anyone. And even something boring like a "hydraulic issue" could literally be from leaking fluid. I would think the airport would appreciate the opportunity to inspect the runway after landing.

I seem to be in the minority at my facility. Most people would rather not roll the trucks if the pilot isn't requesting assistance. I think if the C-130 doesn't want the trucks then next time he can keep the information to himself and not bring me into it.

Edit: Thanks for all the responses. I feel vindicated from the several instances where I've rolled the trucks while a couple of my coworkers rolled their eyes. Gonna keep doing it.

Hello All,

Currently I’m enlisted in the military and I’ve choose ATC as my mos. As of now I’m doing active duty.

I just wanted to hear thoughts as to whether reserves training is enough for me to land a job as a controller or if I should go active for more comprehensive training.

Noob here. Just wanted to ask you controllers what your .65 book says. Will you guys close the pattern if the ceiling gets below a certain point. Like 500 ft below the pattern altitude? I wanted to give the .65 a look but its so damn boring and long to read it's as if if was written in hieroglyphics by lawyers.

The title of this post is a serious question. FCT towers accounted for approximately one third of all tower operations in 2023. FCT controllers aren't asking for much. Many FCT controllers are retired FAA, and some are not. We joined our beloved NATCA with the expectation of equal representation as our FAA counterparts. However, we FCT controllers are still operating under an extended CBA since December 2020. Executive Order 13706 was signed 7 Sept. 2015 requiring Federal Contractors to be provided paid sick leave. But yet here we are in 2024 and some of the FCT contract companies are still not providing sick leave. How are these companies allowed to compete in the current contract bids when they're non compliant with EO 13706? If we elect to purchase health care insurance through our company provided insurers it would cost us approximately 50% of our annual pay to cover a family of four.

So again I ask, what is NATCA doing for your FCT members?

FAA employee here. My spouse is in the military and has received orders to another location in CONUS. Per the CBA this doesn’t really fall under a hardship move, but does this fall under any federal rule or law where I am entitled to a move similar to a hardship within the same geographic location? Or would this be covered by a hardship move?

Seeking experience or insight on this subject, if anyone has experience that would be even better, thank you.

i’m in the eligible for offer pool and i just wanted to ask if nav canada calls to give an offer but i don’t pick up for whatever reason. do they call again, or leave a voicemail? do you have to call them back or are you screwed lol? thank you for any help :)

A place to speak freely without being filtered.

I work at a busy bravo and sometimes I’ll hear tower/ground ask an airliner something like, “we have a hold en route for you guys, it’ll be awhile before I can get you off the ground, would you like to sit at the gate or start taxi?” And the pilot will respond, “whatever you prefer.”

When you give us an option like that, does it piss y’all off when we basically make you guys make that decision?

The form 3330-43-1 has a slot for signature of rating official. Do i leave that blank or have my supe sign it or....? what should i do about it

Hi everyone.

Please i am new in this crew and happy to be part. I am willing to go in for NAV Canada first phase of exam. Please i wanted some guidelines on:

- Where can I have some private classes to prepare myself for the online exam part;

- when and how will I registered to write the proper exams

- And all the tips that you think necessary that can help me succeed.

Thanks in Advance for your helps and reactions

Why are there some Class C towers that are part time but Class D ones that are 24h? Seems weird as class Cs are naturally busier than Class Ds hence why they are Charlies. Does Class C approach stay open after the tower would close?

So quick question, I’m a CFI/I and love to fly in actual with my students. When flying around I am often finding myself well above the shelf and feel it would be a great time to practice unusual attitudes and other instrument procedures without direct routing to our intended destination. At first I was asking for VFR on top but I don’t think is right now that I read into the regs. I’m not sure what to ask for and would love some guidance to keep it easy for ATC.

I was told by my recruiter to watch what I post online due to this job being funded by the government. I may or may not be an adult content creator looking to pivot out of cam work into a more corporate career. Will this affect my application and should I delete all my content pages before applying?

Hi, I was recently disqualified from the Navy for asthma, pretty bummed about that but focused on what I’m going to do after high school now. I was enlisted as an air traffic controller so I have a few questions:

1. Would I be eligible to work for the FAA with asthma?

2. How does one go about working for the FAA as an ATC?

3. Would you recommend pursuing a career as an ATC after high school?

Thank you all for the help

Pilot here. I just flew an approach where it didn’t make sense to do the procedure turn, yet it was technically required. In the pilot community we are taught that you must hear the words “straight in” as part of your approach clearance in order to avoid the PT unless there is another factor making it not required (nopt shown on chart, vectors to final, etc). Usually when in this scenario I ask the controller to confirm cleared straight in if they don’t issue it, and they usually act a bit confused as to why I asked, although they always oblige me. Today it happened again, and the controller told me that if he doesn’t specify then it is pilots discretion on whether to fly the PT, and that he would issue straight in if he actually did not want us to do the PT. I’m still 100% sure that technically I do need to be cleared straight in, but my question is this: would doing it like he said always work and never get me in trouble with ATC, or was this just one controllers opinion? It’s tiresome to always ask for straight in but I don’t want to ever be liable for screwing something up because of it.

I’m about 20 years old finishing a 2 year community college in NY and I’m looking to transfer to a school for ATC. The only ones I know of are Vaughn Aeronautics in Queens, and Spartan College of Aeronautics in Cali. My question is if anybody has any advice on these colleges or possibly a recommendations for a better college or program that would prep me. Thank you guys <3

Has anyone stayed at lodging in okc for the academy that also offers a discount on rental cars?

Why in the hell is NATCA not getting legislation written to remove us from the salary cap? What could possibly be more pressing in 2024?!?!?

Hi,

I’m post-FEAST and passed for ATC and FSS. Waiting on May interviews (has anyone received an email yet?). Anyway, I know I will have to relocate. At FEAST they told us YYZ will not be available most likely. I don’t have family or friends outside GTA and I’ve never been to the other provinces, so I don’t know where I’d like to relocate.

Some considerations, although I know I can only get a few of these checked off:

• I don’t have my full license but I’m working on it (never been a priority when I could just take public transit or Uber) - so hopefully a place that has good transit or is walkable
• affordable housing / rent a short commute from my work
• I love nature walks and nice scenery
• I hate the cold (I live in the wrong country, I know) but love all other seasons
• An ACT facility with amenities (not sure if this is a thing in Canada but I’ve seen people on this thread mention having gyms at their location).
• A good work environment
• Good pay

If I was offered to relocate outside of Ontario/Quebec where should I go?

If so, how does one go about deducting these costs. Is a tax specialist necessary (I use turbo tax)? Union dues are easily verified by your LES, but what about meals?

Hello aviators,

I just heard that apparently dart test has been replaced by another type of test called “Radar Control test” on the feast 2. I am actually training on skytest program if someone has passed this year or last year feast 2 it will be cool if you share you experience.

Btw I am passing feast test at Skeyes in Belgium 🙂