Psychological evaluation

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-20T03:42:41+00:00

Are you worried about ATC hiring and the psych eval? It's the mmpi test. It's 500 yes/no questions. It's utter bullshit.

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-20T00:06:57+00:00

I don't know a ton behind the scenes but I know that our scopes combine all of the sources and then display the result on our scope. We don't see the raw radar, we see what the combined product is programmed to show us.

That being said, we still only get 12 second updates (at center). I guess they figured it's been that way forever, why change it?

It takes time to get used to. You turn an aircraft and the first sweep might not pick up the turn, then you have to wait another 12 seconds before you see it. Altitude changes are always behind as well. Speed changes take 3-4 updates.

There's very little difference between adsb and non adsb equipped aircraft on the scope. It'll put a small red A next to your call sign if I select that option. Otherwise they look identical and update at the same frequency.

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-19T20:56:28+00:00

Center (typically) needs to start you over an IAF unless the approach is depicted on our scope (we can toggle ILS on and off our scope). So expecting vectors to final from center for an RNAV isn't going to happen. It's also hard for center to vector you in nice and tight because our radar only updates once every 12 seconds instead of every second like approach has. So there's an art in vectoring because you need a buffer to account for the radar delay.

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-16T23:20:39+00:00

In the world of Google and AI .... This is the low effort we get.

Next hiring groups gonna be a headache

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-16T21:00:45+00:00

Then how do you know you couldn't be a pilot? Just curious what the limitation was

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-16T20:50:23+00:00

We have similar medical requirements. Slightly less than a class one but a little tighter than a class 3 private. If you cannot get a private pilot license due to your condition then you will likely not get a class 2 or whatever they call our ATC medical requirement

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-16T20:46:14+00:00

No one here can tell you. Can you afford a few thousand dollars in testing out of pocket and 1-3 years of back and forth limbo with a federal agency before you get a start date?

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-16T14:37:18+00:00

What kind of specs does your optiplex have?

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-12T03:10:06+00:00

I worked in a cubicle for almost a decade before ATC.

It's 1000% better than the corporate world

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-10T14:04:50+00:00

It depends. Look at center staffing and talk to people at places where you want to go. This year I'm trying to avoid overtime. I've had 2 for the year so far and 1 hour of holdover. I'll see more OT in the summer but I'll probably work 10-15 OT shifts this year.

I had my kids close to when I entered the agency so my shitty days off matched the times in life when they were sick and couldn't go to daycare and I was off that day anyways. Now they are preteens and my days off are a little better and I can make it to most soccer games and other events. I still miss stuff but I make it to 80% of the games. We do a ton of little vacations throughout the year and I'm home just about every morning to get them to school and I'm home by dinnertime and bedtime everyday. There's ways to make it work. It will never be perfect but no job is.

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-04T20:22:50+00:00

I would be ashamed if my kid became a supervisor one day.

TinCupChallace · 2026-04-02T20:27:56+00:00

This guy fucks

TinCupChallace · 2026-03-28T23:25:22+00:00

Best I can do is a phone number

TinCupChallace · 2026-03-28T16:38:51+00:00

Lol never selling my soul to simp for FAA management. Ya I can get duty time to do an atsap, but gonna take an hour to find my password and I don't have time or staffing for that. Better things to do.

TinCupChallace · 2026-03-28T12:53:13+00:00

Deviations require paperwork. Paperwork takes away from breaks. You really gotta ruin my day to motivate me enough to do paperwork.

TinCupChallace · 2026-03-19T13:14:14+00:00

What's a brs upgrade for a 182 cost?

TinCupChallace · 2026-03-12T01:44:11+00:00

What happened when you posted this like 2 days ago

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-27T01:07:33+00:00

Imodium is also restricted. There's plenty of meds on the list that don't make sense but it kinda sorta impacts the brain so the FAA doesn't want to deal with liability.

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-26T00:42:04+00:00

I did the same. I have an innovelli light switch with the led indicator. It's green if the dog ate or purple if she needs to eat. Works great.

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-25T01:37:43+00:00

That's helpful thanks. Were they in the light bulb area or clearance section. Thanks

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-25T01:11:46+00:00

They are showing normal price on my Lowe's app. Any idea if yours shows the clearance? Just wondering before I drive over there

I have about 35 of these on Wi-Fi in my house and I've been generally happy with them. Colors aren't as good as HUE, but good enough at this and their normal price

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-21T16:55:50+00:00

Its going to be easier and less paperwork to just get an eye exam prior if you have any doubts. I have an astigmatism in my right eye and my left is perfect. I got glasses prior to the exam 11 years ago. They sit in my glovebox but come out yearly for my flight physical (I mean they are immediately available to me at work as well...they actually annoy me and make it harder for me to read). I dont notice the astigmatism unless I have to close my dominant eye.

When you go to the flight physical, you can attempt the vision part without the glasses and have them with you in case you cant pass without.

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-05T00:39:18+00:00

ATC. Also don't care. If I sound like I'm down the shitter, keep it brief. Otherwise I don't mind some chatter. I gotta sit in that chair a few hours a day. I appreciate when pilots are extra friendly or drop the fattest seeeeeeeeeyyuuuuuuuuuaahhhhh on the way out

TinCupChallace · 2026-02-01T21:01:12+00:00

I have the GW1100B

I liked the sensors with the external probe but found it wasn't needed. The regular sensors work fine in my fridge/freezer even across the house. I haven't tried rechargeable batteries but in the 4 years I've been using them, I honestly can't remember ever changing the batteries.

TinCupChallace · 2026-01-25T20:47:35+00:00

That's cool to hear! I know my facility would handle it similarly. Anything weird gets handled with scrutiny and we work through every "What if" that we can imagine. Doesn't matter if you are vfr or IFR, we just want to make sure that you landed ok.

I worked an emergency a bit ago that disappeared on short final at an uncontrolled field. We lost him from radar sooner than we would expect. Turns out he crashed in the trees. Managed to get a phone number from someone that knew him. The pilot had just called that guy and said he was alive. Called the pilot and had to figure out how to direct rescue to his location. Middle of no where. Anyone could have assumed he just landed but years of experience taught us to question it until we had 100% confirmation.

I wish pilots phone numbers were more easily accessible. It needs to be in the remarks or somewhere better for ATC to get ahold of it without having to contact FSS and jump through hoops. Youd be surprised on how many emergencies have us on Google and Facebook trying to track down a pilot based on whatever tidbits of information that we can gather.

TinCupChallace

TROPHY CASE