Share your journey!

ATC
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This post is mainly or those who are apart of the InfiniteFlight Air Traffic Controlling Team (IFATC), and as I’m preparing to write the written test, I’ve had my personal experience of it all, from the first few steps towards something big, from the recruiting process to the preparation, to the exams and to achieve the IFATC Title

If you are apart of the IFATC Team, and have a story of how you prepared, how it was for you, is it worth it, and heck, maybe even a few tips that I could use. Would love to hear your feedback on this.

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Hello!

That’s great to hear you are planning to join IFATC!

I’ll share my story below. It’s a bit long, but hope you can have fun reading it, haha.

I joined IFATC soon after joining the IFC in 2022, as I loved the ATC aspect of Infinite Flight. Firstly, I studied the ATC Manual. I remember various things about it, such as memorizing all the abbreviations which were in Section 1.2.1, and trying my very best as English is not my first language. I also remember I read Section 6 (Radar), which is not really needed at the moment of joining, though. Then, I applied and got my recruiter, Edo, who surprisingly, was Italian, just like me. I passed my written test first try, and wanted to go straight to the practical. It was a mistake because I failed it, but thankfully, I was offered official IFATC Training and got trained by the great Anthony_Morgan, a fantastic person, who is an ATC Supervisor as well. I passed my 2nd practical test attempt with flying colours after doing a couple of IFATC training sessions with Anthony, becoming an IFATC Apprentice on the 31st of August 2022.

The day after I joined, I decided I wanted to control daily, so I did for a year. In the meantime, I discovered the fantastic world of training sessions. To make it short, you can fly as a pilot in the IFATC Training sessions, ran by official IFATC Trainers for their trainees. I started attending lots of those too. Months passed by, and I achieved the Specialist and Officer ranks within IFATC, and most importantly, some great roles. From Tester (special IFATC members who fly as pilots in IFATC Tests) and Appeals Team member, (which I consider the best role within IFATC in my personal opinion), as well as IFATC Trainer.

Besides achieving the roles mentioned above, I achieved some great achievements. I controlled daily for a year, as mentioned above, and continue to control frequently, as well as attending more than 1500 Training Sessions and Tests, and most importantly, interacting and meeting a lot of great people, either new controllers or veterans, leaders or trainees. It’s full of great people!

My tips for you in this stage would be to read carefully the ATC Manual from Sections 1 to 5, as well as training the practical side of controlling. Maybe, take a look at this video. Ask any questions you may have to your Recruiter, and finally, when taking the Tests, be calm and don’t panic. As soon as you join IFATC, don’t rush anything. Start off slowly and build your experience. In addition, whenever you can, I’d say to try your best to help out other people, especially with the training sessions aspect. Not only this will be helpful for your personal knowledge and fun, but will also be of great help to many others, and lastly, you may obtain some nice roles, such as Tester (if you are a good, professional, and helpful member, of course).

Let me know if you have any IFATC-related questions! I’ve been part of the team for years now, and I loved every single moment. It’s great. Good luck with it! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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First off I want to say, your story is very inspiring. Having to experience failure, but not letting it stop you, to having setbacks such as coping with a whole new language, to progressing through the InfiniteFlight ranks, it’s all just amazing to hear, and I want to give you credit for all of your hard work and passion.

With regards to a few things you mentioned, the manuals that are given to help practice and prepare for the IFATC Tests were personally not helpful for me, maybe I might’ve missed important things. One challenge I know I’ll experience is related to time management, I overthink questions sometimes, which takes up time, resulting in less time to complete other tasks.

And thank you very much for the tips and your story, I didn’t expect any responses as it’s only one of my first if not my first ever post. Thank you so much once again, this story is something I’ll always look back to with my very own story as well, I look forward to seeing you in the IFATC Team, once I get there! :heart:

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Thank you too for your message and kind words!

Personally, the ATC Manual has been pretty helpful for me, but of course, it differs from person to person. The questions in the IFATC Written Tests are all related to what you can find in the Manual. There is a time limit during the Test, but as I said, keep calm and trust yourself and your knowledge based on what you learned. In addition, as I mentioned above, asking questions to your Recruiter never hurts!

I’m sure you’ll pass the Tests, and we’ll see you in IFATC very soon!

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I joined IFATC so that I could really understand the ATC Comms for flying as a pilot on the Expert Server. I realized that if I really wanted to learn the ATC side of flying I might as well see it from the side of the ATC themselves—and so that’s what I did.

I watched this video a lot of times, even before I did the written test. I will say that as I progressed through the training sessions, the video made even more and more sense compared to the first time I watched it.

I also read the user guide several times. And took the practice test several times. I wanted to pass the written test 100% but I think I got two wrong and I realized I had answered incorrectly just because I read either the question or one of the answers (multiple choice) wrong (so read the questions AND answers carefully.)

The training sessions were fun, and I wanted to go in knowing what I was doing. The first session was terrible and I made weird mistakes but your trainer really helps you understand your mistakes, and I think the following training sessions were much smoother.

After every training session I would watch that video again and identify what I learned. I’d be satisfied if I can watch the video and say “ah! That’s what I learned :slightly_smiling_face:”

Before I took the practical I also read the user guide again and watched the video.

Good luck but most importantly, have fun and enjoy the process!

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Well, my IFATC journey started in September 2024, about 3 months after I had bought a subscription and joined the forum. I was interested in and also kind of fascinated by how ATC controllers work, and it seemed an exciting “add-on” to the game experience for me.

First of all, I had to meet all the requirements. This included 500 operations before I could apply. Gathering those 500 felt like an eternity, and I thought it’d take me ages to reach the 2000 operations required for applying for radar. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t). Mid-September I sent my application and got Panther assigned as my recruiter. I prepared for the written by just reading the ATC manual over and over again, as there really aren’t any other ways of practice other than the practice test (I don’t think I did that even once for some reason, if I remember correctly). I ended up passing on the first try.

Then I was given the option to have training, but I rejected it, as I was overconfident and wanted to honestly just get the recruitment over with. My main training resource for the test was the “Perfect ATC Test” video, which has been linked in above posts. I watched it again and again to try and perfect my skills.

Then came the time of my practical test. I was nervous as I hadn’t taken official training, but I was pretty confident that I’d do somewhat okay. On 27th September 2024, I passed my IFATC practical test on the first try, and officially became an IFATC member. Looking back with my 7 months of experience and knowledge, I can confidently say I have no idea how I passed, I feel like I did horrible, looking at the feedback I got from it.

During this 7 months, I’ve attended a lot of training sessions, around 130-140 to be precise. I’ve also climbed the ranks, achieving the rank of Specialist in early October of 2024, and the rank of Officer in early February of 2025. I also got selected for the IFATC Tester Team in January 2025. I’m really grateful for IFATC and its leadership for what I’ve gained. I’ve also made a fair few friends from IFATC :wink: . You also wouldn’t believe how much knowledge and understanding IFATC gives you as a pilot. You get a whole new perspective on how hub controlling works and why ATC gives which instructions. Would recommend for anyone.

Now that I’ve joined ATCMH (ATC Mentorship Hub) as a pilot earlier this year, I can also confirm their services for aspiring IFATCs are extremely helpful, way more helpful than the method’s I used. I really suggest everyone looking to join IFATC to join ATCMH.

Good luck on your tests @Keanu-X , hoping to see you in the team soon!

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I think I’ve answered this in an old post that was similar to this.

I woke up one morning and decided “I want to apply to IFATC”, so I read the manual, got the great @Antoine as my recruiter, did the written, had a few training sessions with the legendary @TimShan05 and passed the practical the first try.

When I was starting to train for radar…oh boy. :skull:

I applied and got @Astralis as my recruiter and done the written test that same day which I passed. After waiting for a bit, I then got @Rhys_V as my trainer, who has seen my progression, which initially had been quite rough (that’s an understatement) but eventually it became better. To keep a long story short, after failing the practical a total of 4 times :sob: I had finally became an officer in January this year.

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Happy cake day @Saf

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Hey! Great to hear you’re preparing for the written test it’s an exciting step and I can definitely relate to the journey you’re on. Thought I would invoke the spirit of @Jinco and share a bit of my story in a moderate essay!

My path to IFATC started through virtual airlines: mainly as a way to meet people and get involved in the community. Eventually, I worked my way up through Etihad VA, from pilot to recruitment, then COO, and finally CEO. It was around that time I decided to give IFATC a proper shot and passing the written test became my next goal. I failed the first time as the practice test had less questions so in the real test I had not realised I would need to complete more. As a result, I planned my time incorrectly and realised I still had several questions left with about 45 seconds - do not make this mistake!

To prepare, I spent a lot of time on the ATC Manual and watched live sessions with @I_AM_KOREAN_FOX before terrorising @LordWizrak (lovingly called Lord Wizzlecrackers!) for lots of training sessions! When I passed the practical test with @Declan 's help, the scale of the IFATC server was a surprise. It was amazing to see how much collaboration and structure went into controlling the Expert Server, something I had not fully appreciated from the outside.

After passing, radar training was another beast altogether. I was lucky to train under @LesterXavier , who has since become a great friend and he put me through some wild scenarios -think Kabul, Quito, unpredictable traffic, the whole works. Those sessions really sharpened my critical thinking and quick decision-making.

Was it all worth it? Without a doubt. IFATC gave me a deeper connection to Infinite Flight and helped me build skills in communication, leadership, and even conflict resolution—especially when I joined the Appeals Team and later became a Trainer. Helping others succeed became as rewarding as controlling itself. Of course, I also made a great lifetime friend both online and in real life through @Levi_Marlo ! Think purple gin and rubber ducks (an inside joke!)

A few quick tips from my end:

  • Study the ATC Manual thoroughly. Know it better than you think you need to.
  • Don’t rush—take the time to really understand why things are done a certain way.
  • Watch expert sessions or even just tune into frequencies in-app to observe.
  • Ask questions—reach out to recruiters or existing IFATC members. Most are happy to help.
  • Lastly, enjoy the process. It’s a journey, not a race.

Best of luck and I shall see you soon!

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Thank you so much for sharing you story, really brings more comfort and understanding into mind. I will 100% go through the video you attached, and go over the manuals again.

Thank you once again for your feedback, your story and tips. I look forward to seeing you when I made it into the IFATC Team!

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Hey, thank you so much for sharing your story, it really is sort of relevant to me, from meeting to requirements at first about a year ago, with me now sitting at 5,500+ Operations, to feeling over confident, although I know I’m not prepared.

One thing I did find very helpful is “The Perfect ATC Test” video, however not as much, as it just shows how to handle a touch and goes pattern work. With regards to the manual, I haven’t found it helpful at all, it just speaks about the “basics” and the more “serious” information. With this I am going to be discussing all of this with my recruiter, and address some confusion and questions I have with regards to everything. I also have heard a lot about the IFATC Mentorship server, which I’m currently still in the waiting list to be assigned someone. However I’ve heard that joining sessions by flying as a pilot in other trainees Mentor sessions helps, however I don’t see how that benefits me, rather than the trainee (the controller in this case)

I just wanted to say thank you so much once again for sharing your story, I really appreciate you taking the time to share, I’m doing all I can to prepare for this test, so your tips, feedback and story really helps with that, so thank you! I look forward to seeing you in the IFATC Team, when I get there!

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Thank you so much for sharing your sharing your story, it’s quite ironic how one day I also decided, heck I want to apply for IFATC, and here I am also assigned the amazing @Antoine as my recruiter.

I’m looking just control mainly ground and tower, not sure how they assign what frequency’s your allowed to control, if I’m not mistaken it’s Tower and Ground, at first then overtime Approach, etc…

I have been suggested the Manuals, however I’ve gone through them a few times, and I managed to find just a few bits of important information that can be related to what is advised to know. However I’ve also been suggested a video on “The Perfect ATC Test”, which helps a lot, but the videos main focus or to the point where I stopped at, it shows how to control a “Touch and goes” type of scenario and not more on the general day to day scenarios.

-Thank you so much once again for sharing your story, really appreciate it a lot, I look forward to seeing you in the IFATC Team, when I get there!

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Purple gin and rubber duck :rofl:

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Thanks so much for sharing your incredible story and for the useful tips! Doing all I can to prepare and do well.

Look forward to seeing you in the IFATC Team, when I get there!