Good day IFC! Welcome to my ATC tracking thread! I am currently studying the skill of ATC to hopefully become an IFATC controller in the near future!
I welcome you all to leave feedback!
I’ll let you all know when I am open at an airport, so please keep an eye on the thread below.
Display Name: FireCracker132
Server: Training
Airport:
Runway(s) in use:
Frequencies: Ground/Tower
Status: CLOSED
Expected Time Open:
NOTAMS: Pattern work and runway changes are welcomed :)
If you have any comments or feedback to pass on, please reply down below so I know what to improve on!
Hey! I was 6Y-SHI. Very impressive job, you’ve got a very strong foundation of ATC skills. I know that this looks like a lot of feedback but much of it is only minor things.
[23:32:39] The taxi instructions tell me to contact tower when ready, so you don’t have to tell me which frequency to contact even if I request a frequency change. Instead, you can go to the misc. section and there is a command that says “duplicate frequency change”.
[23:28:43] In order to keep things as simple as possible, I’d recommend having traffic going to the R(right) runway make right traffic while traffic going to the L(left) runway make left traffic as much as possible. In a busy pattern, sequencing can be very confusing if you have aircraft going to different runways on the same downwind. Even if there is traffic on the other runway’s upwind, you can still do this by using the “extend upwind” command. @Shane has a great explanation of this, check it out below.
Upwind Incursions
I know its not quite the same situation since the other aircraft (Redwood) was departing, but they were departing to the East so extending my upwind would have still worked to give them time to get out of the way. Also, I know the pattern wasn’t busy so there was no chance of any sequencing issues, but its better to practice like its busy for the future.
[23:48:03] Even though I didn’t report full stop you should still give me an exit runway command. I know it can be tricky knowing whether or not an aircraft is going to be full stop if they didn’t report it (especially in smaller aircraft), but at a certain point the aircraft is going so slow or has used so much of the runway that it wouldn’t be likely that they will take off again. In larger aircraft (like commercial) try to aim to give them the runway exit somewhere between 70-80kts.
At the very end when I reported full stop you gave a runway exit which was perfect, so I just wanted to make sure that its clear you must always give a runway exit, even if they didn’t report full stop.
I ended there … then saw @Usman_A spawn in so I decided to come back and test out your sequencing.
[00:00:13] Nice job giving me left downwind after I requested change to 29L (basically showing that you understand my second piece of feedback). I would have liked a sequence along with my pattern entry (after selecting a pattern entry it will ask if you want to send or sequence). This way you could have told me “enter left downwind runway 29L, number 2, behind the traffic on left downwind” so that I knew who to follow. It’s also okay to keep the pattern entry and sequence separate, but you must always sequence if there’s multiple aircraft going to the same runway. I did not receive a sequence at all, I was only cleared as number 2 - remember to always sequence before clearing!
[00:01:08] The “adjust speed to follow aircraft ahead” wouldn’t have been necessary if I had been sequenced since it would have been my responsibility to follow the sequence.
[00:01:35] Amazing job recognizing that for maximum efficiency, I should go before G-USMN! Very nice job!
Again it was a very impressive session. Just remember to always sequence first, then clear. I can’t wait to see you improve from here, let me know if you have any questions!
I was given Pushback clearance even though I could not perform it since I was in GA aircraft “TBM” Remember all GA planes & Fighter jets cannot pushback. You can simply give them taxi clearance even though they ask for pushback. I did that to test you.
When I asked for a “Frequency Change” I was handed over to Tower, which was incorrect. Remember when you give aircraft taxi clearance “Taxi to Runway XX, Contact Tower when ready” They are meant to switch to tower themselves. When someone asks for a frequency change on ground, give them “Already instructed to change frequency” message can be found under Misc Message > Duplicate Frequency.
First Pattern
Clearance was spot on and you did good job on re sequencing me for 29L since I had another aircraft nearby on LDW 29L
Second Pattern
Runway Change to 29R: Nice Pattern Entry and Clearance
I was departing South at the end, you could have given me “Frequency changed approved” rather than waiting for my request to change.
Transition: 2500 was abit low, I would have preferred 3000. Keep in mind (Airport elevation + 2500ft) KFAT Elevation 334 + 2500 = 2900 > 3000 Trans Level
Inbound: I requested “Inbound for landing” pattern entry was nice however I was given “Cleared for option” rather than “Cleared to land Runway 29R”
Ground
Exit Command: I would have prefered “Exit Left when able, Cross runway 29L” or "Exit left when able, Hold short of 29L, if there was a traffic on final 29L which there was not; rather than a standard exit instruction “Exit runway when able, contact ground on taxiway” This is useful for efficiency when there are parralel runways and they are very close to each other.
Overall you did a nice job. Looking forward to attend more sessions to see improvement :)
Thank you so much for all your valuable feedback!!
I will make sure to apply all that I have learnt to future sessions! :)
Thanks again for your time and I really appreciate all the fantastic feedback!
Thanks @Usman_A for your awesome Feedback!
Yes, I was wondering about the requested pushback and frequency change to tower. Thank you for giving me something to work on and look out for when training to become a better controller! :)
Hello, me again. Thank you for the service, sorry I couldn’t stay as long today. Here’s my feedback.
[00:38:24] Nice job telling Southwest to descend to pattern altitude so that we wouldn’t interfere with me.
[00:41:25 + 00:46:15] Downwind would have probably been a better pattern entry for me and J-ARRETT after we were done with our transitions. There was no traffic around preventing us from going on a longer downwind if we wanted and some pilots might not be comfortable with a base turn so soon.
[00:46:46] Probably my fault here from the prior feedback, but G-EEFY should have gotten “enter right downwind for 29L” as his pattern entry. I know that I had said keep traffic going to the R runway on right downwind and traffic going to the L runway on left downwind, but this would be one exception. G-EEFY was on the opposite side of the airport and going in the opposite direction from left downwind. Again that was most likely my fault because of what I told you a few days ago.
[00:47:29] J-ARRETT was cleared as number two, then sequenced. You always have to sequence someone before you can clear (with the exception of an aircraft being cleared as number one). The sequence lets them know who exactly they are following. You did give a sequence so that was an improvement, just remember that the sequence has to be before the clearance.
[00:48:32] You could have used the “expedite, traffic on final” option for my runway exit. It lets the pilot know they really should hurry up. Also sorry, I could have gotten off sooner but I wanted to test your go-around awareness.
[00:48:58] J-ARRETT had to call his own go-around. You as the controller should be able to recognize the traffic on the runway and tell the pilot to go around first. This is a very important aspect of tower controlling and there will definitely be a situation like this on your practical test. As you gain more experience you will be able to better recognize if you should call a go-around or not but it’s always better to be safe than sorry when calling them.
I felt like this was much improved from last time, great job! Thank you again, I’ll try to stop by again in the future!
Thank you again for the feedback! I also thought this session had much improved from the last. Immediately after most of my small mistakes I realized I should’ve done something before (ex: Sequencing before, “expedite, traffic on final”). I’m just happy I am beginning to realize when I could’ve used better controller language.
I believe, looking back at the replay for the “go around” of J-ARRETT, I had called his go-around before he did. However, with your feedback, I now realize this situation could’ve been prevented by using the “expedite, traffic on fine” or by calling his “Go-around” earlier.
Thank you again for all you valuable feedback and I am looking forward to seeing my improvement over the next future sessions! :)
Sorry for my terribly late feedback, I became a little busy all of a sudden! Anyway, I must say, I was really impressed with the work you did as a controller, and I will 100% be back in your airspace!
00:44Z - Nice Transition!
00:46:15Z - Nice pattern entry! As Yoshi said, a Downwind would have been prefered over a base entry. ;)
00:47:29Z - You should have sequenced me first before clearing me for the option. This is a pretty small mistake, but an important concept to understand. I am very glad you understood to sequence though!
00:47:50Z - So this situation was tricky, I was already on a 3NM final when you gave me a #2 to Yoshi who was on a right downwind. Personally, I would have resequenced so I was number 1, and gave yoshi a #2. Yoshi had to almost cut and dive and I was going superrrrr slow on final to compensate for the lost space.
00:48:58Z - Nice awareness on the go-around, try to catch these a little earlier on, but great awareness nonetheless!
00:55:50Z - Nice runway exit!
I was very impressed with your work today. I know you will get into IFATC in no time! See you in there soon! ;)
I really appreciate the great feedback from earlier! I will take note from the points you have listed above and try my best to improve! Thanks for the great opportunity to practice and I can’t wait for you to be back in my airspace! :)