Originally Posted by Danny42C
Now the questions start. The VISSIM simulation looks marvellous; the five screens give as much of a panorama as you might see in a real Tower without turning round in your chair. Could you manipulate the "cyber" aircraft to fly to match your patter ? (For example, could you "fly" your aircraft into the ground and synchronise that with the flames and smoke ?) Or taxy them out and "take off" at will ? How many Instructors were needed to "fly" the "aeroplanes" and do the R/T - one each ? (in which case it would then be very labour-intensive). But then, IIRC, the "Mock" sessions were carried out by only one Instructor, weren't they ? Or was the whole thing pre-recorded in some way, and you just had to supply the R/T ?
I have to admit I have absolutely no idea how it operated!! We drew up the specification, it went out to contract ... and then I was posted to "other things" in Main Building. Perhaps there's a lurking CATCS instructor who could enlighten us both?
Originally Posted by Danny42C
Now the eagle-eyed ATCs among us will have looked at the "Endorsement Abbreviations" inside the cover of their "F 5994s", and noted that my "TWR" means nothing - I suppose Local Control was what was intended ("ADC"), and Approach Control is "APP" - but what I got was "AC", which stands for "Area Control", which it most certainly was not. (This was a fate which, if not necessarily worse than death, ran it pretty close, and one which I was mercifully spared). And who had penned my endorsement ? Looks like a "S/Ldr Scott - LEO". So he must have been the "regular" SATCO, and I think have had one or two "permanent" ATCs.
On second thoughts, I checked my Form's Stationery Office code date suffix, it was "10/61", so I suppose it might have been a case of "That was Yesterday - it's All been Changed !" with the abbreviations (but there was no reason why it should).
They did indeed change the Endorsement Abbreviations from time to time. My F5993 (of the 11/63 vintage) has 2 stick-on pages of revised abbreviations inside the front cover. I can't read the original anymore, as its obscured by the sticky AL1. But throughout 65-68, in my 5994, the local endorsement was TWR/AC which stood for Aerodrome Control. AL1 appears to date from 69, as my ATCEEB check then has the "TWR" prefix dropped and it was just ADC (Aerodrome Control, with AC remaining as Area control). AL2 then went to TC ("Terminal Control") with the sub-text in brackets ... TC(ADC), TC(PA), TC(App) etc. And Area became AC, AC(Alloc), AC(Sup) etc. The exalted LEO, EXAM and INSTR remained unchanged throughout, as did the "fully trained controller" endorsement of AC
There, I think that's sorted out
