trainie

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GEORGE MEDREK

Filing Flight Plan
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Nov 5, 2018
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george
HELLO, IM A NEW AIRPORT EMPLOYEE, NEED TO PASS ATC TEST, I GIVE LOCATION AND DESTINATION, HE GIVES ME ROUTE TO TAKE, HE RUNS IT DOWN SO FAST, I CANT KEEP UP. I NEED HELP REPLYING TO TOWER. PLEASE HELP, MY JOB DEPENDS ON IT, IM OUT OF OPTIONS, WHAT CANT I DO TO HELP ME IN REPLYING? THANK YOU GEORGE
 
1. Ask the controller to repeat the instructions.
a. If they continue to speak too fast for you, tell them to slow down because you’re in training.
​
2. Use a pen and notepad
 
I'll bite. I will also be replying in a non all caps format. I trust you can read that way even if you can't type that way.

You said you were an airport employee and not a pilot so I am going to assume that you need to learn how to drive on the movement area of the airport and communicate with ground control. Is this correct? If so, do you have a copy of the airport diagram and have you studied it? Before you ask to go from point A to point B, do you look at the diagram to see what routes you might be given? Does your trainer give you pointers on how to communicate with ATC? Has your trainer suggested asking for progressive taxi instructions? While this is normally just used by pilots unfamiliar with an airport and not an airport employee, it might assist you in getting the hang of it.

Might I ask which airport? I can only really see a major issue in learning this if it is at a large airport. But even on a large airport, controllers will typically not issue real long complicated instructions to ground personnel. I say this as someone who has had driving privileges on large airports such as LAX, ORD, LAS, IND, and CLT so I know what I'm talking about.
 
"Say again; s l o w l y"
 
Here's a good way to practice read backs:
 
EppyGA said:
I know what a trainee is, but am struggling with trainie.
Click to expand...
T170_3.JPG
 
I always sucked at this too, especially in unfamiliar airports.

Fortunately for you, if you fly out of a towered airport often enough, you can take some time to learn where the taxiways are by studying a diagram. You don't have to know all of them, just the main ones (Alpha, Charlie, depends what their main ones are).

If you really want to get it right; what does a paper copy cost these days? I'm serious, I have no idea; my point being, if you can make some copies of the airport diagram, you can mark them up while he's giving you instructions. So before you call up, find where you are on the diagram. You already listened to ATIS or the AWOS or whatever you kids are listening to these days, so you know what the active runway is.

Try to guess where they'll take you, but be warned your guess might be wrong. Get your highlighter clicked and ready; now call up and say "I'm here, with information <whatever>, request taxi to the active, westbound departure" or wherever you're going.

He'll say "Roger, taxi via alpha, alpha 2, charlie, foxtrot, echo, blah blah blah". Take your highlighter and try to mark up where to go, it should at least kind of make sense.

Another way, is just to not think, and just write down what he says as fast as you can write, no thinking, just writing. Alpha, Alpha 2, Charlie comes out as:
A
A2
C
...etc, on your kneeboard.

Listen to tons of Live ATC (liveatc.net). Also, in your spare time, sign up for one of those simulator worlds where you talk to people. I used VATSIM, Minnesota had a great tower/approach/center crew for a long time, don't know what the status is now. Otherwise there's a pay one that gets good reviews, PilotEdge.

https://www.pilotedge.net/

Safe journeys!
 
StevieTimes said:
I always sucked at this too, especially in unfamiliar airports.

Fortunately for you, if you fly out of a towered airport often enough, you can take some time to learn where the taxiways are by studying a diagram. You don't have to know all of them, just the main ones (Alpha, Charlie, depends what their main ones are).
Click to expand...

DID YOU MISSS THE PART ABOUT HIM NOT BEING A PILOT? HES A NEW GROUND CREW GUY,

I think @overdrive148 should take him aside and give him some proper training.
 
I re-read the original thread... this sounds more like an airport employee, like a guy who drives a truck, or delivers Jimmy John's sandwiches that has to drive around the taxiways. The Jimmy John's thing is a private joke that only people who were around Flying Cloud airport around a certain time will get.

For real, if he needs to drive utility trucks around the airport, he needs to get clearance from tower still, I imagine.

All of what I said still applies; but the simulator world is likely more than you care to enter. It sounds like you don't care about flying, just respecting the tower when they tell you where you are allowed to be and what runways you can cross.
 
Write it down, learn the phonetic alphabet, don't respond until it is written down, don't think about how you are going to do the route, just focus on writing it down, then read back what you wrote. After you have that part correct then figure out where you need to go. It will get easier. Make sure you understand the instruction before you move.
 
Start by turning cap locks off.
 
get a radio & tune in when off shift
 
I think the hardest part is if you don’t know what they are talking about or what your expectation is. I know your not a pilot but the example will still help you. When I fly into a new airport I take extra time looking st the taxi diagrams. I think about what runway I’m going f to use and what FBO I’m going to use. I have an expectation of what route they MIGHT me. Knowing that layout basically makes the info much less foreign when I’m taking it in. It helps to learn some shorthand to write it down. It’s what I do for my clearances as I imagine a lot of ppl do
 
I’ve often wondered why newcomers will ask a question and then never come back to view the replies. Either his company canned him already or he started to catch on.
 
Ryanb said:
I’ve often wondered why newcomers will ask a question and then never come back to view the replies. Either his company canned him already or he started to catch on.
Click to expand...

The CAPS LOCK is a clue to his internet savvy.
 
Overheard on the GND frequency of a class-D near Chicago that will remain anonymous to protect the innocent and the clueless:

- Ground, NCC1701 at the ramp with Bravo, VFR departure to Kilo-something.
- NCC1701, Ground, runway .., via ... Bravo-something, cross 2-2.
- (some FBO) truck 2, to west side via (repeats taxi clearance issued to NCC1701).
- FBO 2, hold your position that was not your clearance.
- (truck driver) roger.
- FBO 2, Ground, where are you holding sir?
- I am on rwy 22 and I stopped as you told me.
 
GreatLakesFlying said:
Overheard on the GND frequency of a class-D near Chicago that will remain anonymous to protect the innocent and the clueless:

- Ground, NCC1701 at the ramp with Bravo, VFR departure to Kilo-something.
- NCC1701, Ground, runway .., via ... Bravo-something, cross 2-2.
- (some FBO) truck 2, to west side via (repeats taxi clearance issued to NCC1701).
- FBO 2, hold your position that was not your clearance.
- (truck driver) roger.
- FBO 2, Ground, where are you holding sir?
- I am on rwy 22 and I stopped as you told me.
Click to expand...
:mad2:
 
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