PilotEdge Forums

I have always dreamed about being an Air Traffic Controller, but unfortunately some personal issues have set me back not allowing me to do it in real life. I tried VATSIM but I can't handle how unprofessional VATSIM is. Is there any certain training devices I can use? I think it would be really cool to be a controller on PE.

If you don't mind me asking, what ARTCC are you in on vatsim? I have a similar interest in ATC (just not specifically to end up doing it on PE) and I've found LA to be a real enjoyable challenge even with newbies. I've found that the people with no experience are the most beneficial to my development at a controller because they force you to double check equipment suffixes, route validity, and then they cost you additional mental resources making sure they follow instructions. I think that kind of flexibility to handle anything is a requirement when you're a PE controller running all of SoCal when there's a mix between an Excel flight that can do anything and a new guy sitting at John Wayne doing to V3 too soon.

Plus I'm fairly confident that in the controller application there are two checkboxes for experience...real world ATC or Vatsim at the C1 level. Anyway good luck I've found ATC to be much more than like a one year thing to master.

I've had this conversation before so I can share some of the unofficial basics. To work for PilotEdge, you'll need real world credentials that would deliver some type of value to the company. For example, years of commercial flight instructor time, actual ATC job experience or even many hours of VATSIM center-level controller time. PilotEdge is sold to commercial clients in addition to enthusiasts so Keith and the PE team have to make sure that the folks running the scopes have the experience that a commercial customer would expect. If you're serious about the effort, I would reach out to Keith and get some advice direct from him.

Our training resources are limited and cost money to operate. As a result, we are limited to working with candidate who already know the fundamentals of ATC. Our training program is largely geared towards airspace familiarization. As Steve eluded to, we generally don't have the luxury of utilizing well-meaning individuals who are looking to learn how to control. If a large commercial prospect hears a controller who doesn't quite sound the part, it is literally game over. That is the reason why the controlling bar is set where it is.

If you rack up 1000+ hours of time on VATSIM in a wide range of positions, drop us a line, but until that point, there isn't much we can do unless you'd like to either pay for the training (unlikely), or an army of instructors come forward who are willing to work for free (equally unlikely). Otherwise, it's going to cost PE many thousands of dollars to bring you from zero to hero.

Steve, we've turned away many commercial pilots who have 0 ATC experience. Being a pilot will help, but the other requirements still stand.

Keith Smith wrote:Steve, we've turned away many commercial pilots who have 0 ATC experience. Being a pilot will help, but the other requirements still stand.

Thanks for the clarification.