On July 31 2012 11:28 darthfoley wrote:
gl! how stressful is being an atc? what training do you have to do? more than flight simulator i hope :D
Where I work the stress load is very uneven, ranging from 0-35 movements per hour. Only when scheduled traffic, school traffic, helicopters and the VFR-traffic all decide to come at the same times it gets quite complex, that's part of the fun being at such a small place as I am I suppose, we have our own TMA <FL95 and got some space to work with.
The training in Sweden when I did it (2008) consists of a series of different courses, starting out with Basic Approach, eventually branching off into either Tower or Radar (you get placed in either a tower or a control central, last parts of the training differs abit). The first 18 months is part theory/part simulation practice, I estimate you get about ~400 hours of simulation during this time, always with an instructor behind your back to give you a debriefing after each simulation.
Theory tests spread out roughly 3 months a part, requiring a 80% score to pass, one re-test is allowed over the 18 months, the second time you fail you get to pack your stuff.
When you pass the first 18 months of training you'll get placed at your designated tower/control central to continue what is called "On the job training" where you carry on as a student, but this time you work in a real environment, controlling real aircrafts but with another controller acting as your instructor at all times. Here you study the local theory and practice even more, when your instructors are satisfied that you can handle the real world in a safe manner you'll get your license.
This can take anywhere between 8-15 months depending on where you end up, complexity/amount of traffic etc.
I hope this gets you a rough idea about how Swedish ATC's are trained, I'll be more than happy to answer any other questions you may have about the profession!
EPT
