Call me a madman but yes, as someone who doesn’t take control of ATC that much, I controlled both the Tower and Ground at London Heathrow (EGLL) nonstop for 7 hours + an additional minute on the Training server. My previous record at Heathrow was I think 3 hours but I only controlled the GND at that time.
I don’t know who had the longest session controlling both GND & TWR at EGLL nonstop on Training, but 7 hours with 437 operations is pretty high in my books!
Really lucky to find that the ATC at EGLL was open as they are usually occupied by various users for a long period of time and they are usually never offline.
When I first started playing IF, I thought to myself, why isn’t ATC available on casual but now I thought of it, there are no rules there so its basically equivalent to traffic lights in GTA games.
And yes, I did take a look at the ATC Manual a few months ago and I knew my sanity would collapse if I didn’t.
= I hope its appropriate to write my 7 hour conclusion and tips =
(Satisfied with & Tips)
・It is mainly the most active airport on the training server.
・As long as you know what you are doing, you will eventually get the hang of it.
・I remembered someone in the IFC said to remain calm and don’t sweat it whenever there are large amount of player requests. That’s how I was able to control both GND and TWR for a long period of time. (Sorry to those who were waiting for a long period of time though..)
・Also, shout out to the IFATC user who was roleplaying as a ground handling vehicle in a Cessna 172.
(Annoying things experienced)
・Impatient users
・Of course, those users in fighter jets. (Excluding those who are mannered)
・Users entering the runway and taking off without permission.
・Users requesting frequency change once they are holding short of the runway.
・Users who spawn in, takeoffs off, and disconnects shortly after departure and does these steps again without having an intended destination.
・Those wanting to land or takeoff from the opposite side of the runway; in that case was RWY 09R & 09L.
・Those who usually fly to EGLL from nearby airports such as EGWU, EGLM, EGTF, EGLC, etc. mainly clogged the airport, especially when the airport is full of players waiting to take off.
・Those who do pattern work; especially when the airport is crowded makes it awkward to sequence them for approach during busy periods.
・A grade 4 user in an Aegean A320 camped in middle of RWY 27L/09R and spammed “request frequency change” after I told them that I did not accept pattern work; because the airport was congested. Refusing to leave the runway and knowing it was a troll, I decided to ignored their request and pretended they were not there. (They eventually logged off.)
・I wish there was the “please follow instructions” button like the Expert Server.
I did have fun however! Although I have a busy schedule, I am thinking of joining IFATC as I think I have met the criteria.
Thanks for reading!
