Welcome to the fifth edition of IFATC Trainer Tales. Each edition of Trainer Tales will introduce you to a handful of Trainers from the Infinite Flight Air Traffic Control team as they share their journey with the wider community. The IFATC Training Team and the community as a whole is full of people from around the world with a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences so there will never be a dull moment. With that being said, welcome to the fifth edition of Trainer Tales!
Rybegame | IFATC Trainer
Rybegame's Trainer Tale
Hello everyone, I’m Rybegame! I am a college student born and raised in NYC. I’ve been playing Infinite Flight for ages now, probably since around 2016 or so. I joined IFC back in August 2023 when I finally decided to get more involved with the game after multiple very long breaks away from it.
I had known about IFATC for a while, but only decided to apply back in the beginning of September 2023 when I was assigned my recruiter, JulietTango. I attempted the practical test quickly, but unfortunately failed on my first attempt. After that, I sought out some training and was assigned to Metier for a couple of sessions to sharpen my skills. In no time, I was able to attempt the practical test for a second time, passing it in late September.
As I progressed in my IFATC journey, I began to control busier airports much more often and developed an interest in applying for radar training. In late December 2023, I reached out to JulietTango again to be my recruiter for radar training. I quickly met my radar trainer, Cooper, who was amazing and extremely helpful throughout training, allowing me to progress and become more comfortable with radar control. Soon enough, I passed my radar test in late January 2024, achieving the rank of IFATC Officer.
Throughout my time in IFATC, I consistently attended many training sessions because I loved helping others, and as a way of paying forward the great help I received during my training periods. In early March 2024, I was offered the tester role by Tyler, and I was super grateful to be able to continue helping out now in tests as well. Then, in early May, I received a DM from JoshFly8 offering me a spot on the IFATC Training team. Naturally, I accepted the position and haven’t looked back since. I’ve enjoyed working with each one of my trainees thus far and I look forward to continuing to work with more future controllers to pass on my knowledge and passion for ATC!
jacrock| IFATC Trainer
jacrock's Trainer Tale
Hey everyone! My name is Jacob, but most know me as Jacrock. Born and raised in San Francisco—or as us locals pretentiously call it, ‘the City’—this is where I call home. Many of y’all probably know our main airport, SFO, for its simultaneous parallel landings and departures on runways very close in proximity—San Francisco’s procedures have always fascinated many, including myself.
After a good friend recommended Infinite Flight to me in 2022, I started flying in the Infinite Flight skies, albeit only in solo mode. It wasn’t until I discovered that I could apply to become an air traffic controller myself that I purchased a subscription. And boy, those were some well-spent 80 dollars!
Under the exceptional training of @Levi_Marlo, I had daily sessions for six days in April of 2023 before the practical exam at the end of the week. Upon being invited to IFATC (and frankly, before—shoutout to @Magician and @BurgerAddict), I was warmly welcomed by the community. Eager to be promoted to a specialist, I frequently staffed Class C airports daily (at the time, apprentices were barred from Class B), and I received the notification in no time!
Fast forward a few months to August, I found myself applying for radar certification, feeling that I was ready for some more within IFATC. Lucky enough to be trained by the one and only @Kitick, I had a couple dozen sessions, with some bumps along the way—admittedly, not all of my sessions were great. In October, after a long journey, I passed my practical test. I remember my heart beating out of my chest in the minutes before—I could hardly breathe!
In April of this year, an application for various leadership roles was sent out to the entire IFATC team. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but after rereading the announcement a couple more times and noticing the subtle, ‘if you are unsure about putting your name in, we encourage you to do so anyway,’ I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply.
A little over a month later, @JoshFly8’s ‘Hey, let me know when you have a moment to talk’ in my DMs caught me by surprise. As Andrew said in the previous edition of Trainer Tales, everyone knows that a message from Josh out of the blue can either be great or… devastating. A hopeful yet subdued voice in my head said that Josh was about to offer me an IFATC Trainer role, but I prepared myself for the worst. To my relief, that voice was correct, and I was delighted to accept the invitation.
Having taken my 10th trainee just last weekend, I am heartwarmed to realize that watching my trainees learn, grow, and climb the ranks of IFATC has been nothing short of a miracle. I am thrilled to continue giving back to this wonderful community by training aspiring IFATCers!
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot | IFATC Trainer
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot's Trainer Tale
Hi everyone,
I’m originally from Jamaica but moved to Boston in 2018. Around 4 years later I found out about Infinite Flight and joined the IFC in December of 2022.
I joined IFATC on July 7, 2023. I passed my practical on the third try because the first two attempts I was very stubborn and thought I knew it all so I didn’t ask for training. My recruiter, @WesleyHenrich kept pushing me to get a trainer but I resisted until the final attempt because I was scared that I was going to fail again. The trainer that had to deal with me was @Walter. I had a couple of ups and downs during training (especially on transition) but I eventually got it and then passed the practical.
Then came Radar Training and I won’t sugar coat it, but I felt like I was never going to get it done. My trainer @Cooper was really patient with me and I thank him for that. It took me about 28-30 sessions to fully get everything. I passed the Radar practical first try somehow and was very happy; and you best believe the first place I went to control was LAX.
Then came the message from Josh8fly about the Trainer position. I was very shocked at the time and also very nervous because I really didn’t think I would do good seeing I had never done it before but I got help from some IFATC friends that also got the Trainer position the same time as me and also a special thanks to @Walter for getting me on my feet with all the Trainer information. I was very behind on taking up my first Trainee because when I got the message about the Trainer position I was on vacation in France at the time so I really couldn’t do much on my singular device and the time zone was atrocious to be able to do anything that would also work for me when I got back to my permanent time zone. I’ve been a Trainer for about a month and a half since the time this tale has been posted and I picked up my first ever trainee about a week after I got Trainer. My first ever trainee was @Lefterix who was a Radar recruit and now he is an official IFATC Officer. I had two more passes since my first trainee, one more radar and my first ever local trainee @Cgilley.
The training team has been phenomenal and I am very happy to be apart of this wonderful community and I look forward to bringing on more trainees and seeing what else the future has waiting for me!
Thanks for tuning into the fifth edition of Trainer Tales. These stories and this initative is designed for community members to gain an understanding of what the journey into and through IFATC can entail and to encourage community members that are contemplating joining IFATC to do so, as it is certainly an experience that you won’t regret as shown above by the tales of the IFATC Trainers.
Previous Editions:
IFATC Supervisor Stories
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 1
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 2
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 3
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 4
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 5
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 6
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 7
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 8
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 9
IFATC Supervisor Stories: Edition 10
IFATC Trainer Tales
IFATC Trainer Tales: Edition 1
IFATC Trainer Tales: Edition 2
IFATC Trainer Tales: Edition 3
IFATC Trainer Tales: Edition 4
