Genghis the Engineer
4th Dec 2006, 11:28
I was flying along minding my own business on Saturday afternoon (right into a howling headwind, so in no hurry!), with 120.225 on the set - Solent Radar.
A PA28 called up on a solo QXC from Bournemouth, clearly quite nervous (who isn't on that exercise), asked for, and received a FIS.
5 minutes later he called again, his voice sounding more than a little panicked, saying that he was unsure of position, and asking for a fix.
At which point the controller displayed what I can only regard as his profession at his best. Without once sounding patronising, he developed a tone of voice that was milky-smooth in his calmness, despite clearly poor radar coverage managed without putting any more work onto the pilot than absolutely necessary to get a fix, helped him to steer around a couple of danger areas, and eventually with a much less uptight sounding pilot, handed him off en-route after about half an hour.
Presumably the pilot finished his QXC successfully, and if so very well done to him. But for me what really stood out was controlling at it's best - whoever this controller was, my congratulations to him for doing a really professional, sensible, and human job.
Just thought I'd share that, we spend too much time talking about problems and bad practices, that it's worth saying sometimes when you've seen (or in this case heard) something really exceptional.
G
A PA28 called up on a solo QXC from Bournemouth, clearly quite nervous (who isn't on that exercise), asked for, and received a FIS.
5 minutes later he called again, his voice sounding more than a little panicked, saying that he was unsure of position, and asking for a fix.
At which point the controller displayed what I can only regard as his profession at his best. Without once sounding patronising, he developed a tone of voice that was milky-smooth in his calmness, despite clearly poor radar coverage managed without putting any more work onto the pilot than absolutely necessary to get a fix, helped him to steer around a couple of danger areas, and eventually with a much less uptight sounding pilot, handed him off en-route after about half an hour.
Presumably the pilot finished his QXC successfully, and if so very well done to him. But for me what really stood out was controlling at it's best - whoever this controller was, my congratulations to him for doing a really professional, sensible, and human job.
Just thought I'd share that, we spend too much time talking about problems and bad practices, that it's worth saying sometimes when you've seen (or in this case heard) something really exceptional.
G