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{"id":1039,"date":"2019-01-04T19:24:32","date_gmt":"2019-01-05T01:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2019-01-05T10:17:22","modified_gmt":"2019-01-05T16:17:22","slug":"new-horizons-part-five","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=1039","title":{"rendered":"New Horizons &#8211; Part Five"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New Horizons \u2013 Part Five<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Controller Training and Return to Flying<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nineteen months.&nbsp; That was how long it took me to progress from\na developmental non-radar trainee to a full journeyman controller.&nbsp; While in the past the process had taken a\nfull four years or more for the ATC training process to produce a full-fledged\nradar controller, I had completed it in just over a year and a half\u2014and I had\nthe Whitten Amendment to thank.&nbsp; I was\nnow certified on sixteen low altitude and two high altitude radar and non-radar\nsectors in the Houston Specialty after training and certifying at an average of\njust over a month on each sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the\nWhitten Amendment as soon as I certified on the two to four sectors that\nqualified me for a jump to the next GS pay level, (which in the past would\u2019ve\nrequired me to wait for at least twelve months after certification for the\njump), I was immediately promoted.&nbsp; My\npay scale went from GS-9 to GS-13 so rapidly, that the payroll department had\ngreat difficulty in paying me the correct amount each payday.&nbsp; All during my training I had no idea how much\nmy next paycheck was going to be\u2014at times jumping from three-hundred to over a\nthousand dollars a pay period over the last paycheck, then the next check a\nlower amount because payroll discovered they\u2019d grossly overpaid me.&nbsp; Either way on average, I was now earning at\nleast three times what I\u2019d been paid while in the Air Force or at the shoe\nstore<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remembering my painfully\nlearned lesson in the Air Force concerning paycheck overpayments, I recommended\nto Kaz that we should frugally budget our normal household expenses and put the\npay overages into savings.&nbsp; That way when\nthe bi-weekly paychecks ended up being less than what we thought they should be\nwe\u2019d have money to draw on to even things out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although I had\nseemingly breezed through training, it certainly wasn\u2019t easy\u2014in fact, it was\ngrueling, and the fact that a month into my training I had decided to re-enter\nflight training made it even harder.&nbsp; So,\nwhat made me decide to return to flight training after surviving initial ATC\ntraining and facing at least a couple of years of intense live traffic\ntraining?&nbsp; Well, it had to do with my\nfear of failing ATC training and having nothing to fall back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few weeks after I\u2019d\nstarted my formal on-the-job training on the floor, I began to worry about my\nability to withstand the extreme mental pressure that was starting to build and\nwas sure to get worse\u2014and with the removal of the time-in-grade requirements\nthe push was on for me to certify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several old\njourneyman controllers had told me that without being able to season for a few\nmonths after certifying on a sector and resuming training, they would\u2019ve never\nmade it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you consider the\nWhitten your good friend you\u2019re in for a big surprise.\u201d&nbsp; I\u2019d been told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re going to\nregret not being able to get to know the intricacies and recognize the traps\nthat each sector has in store for you.&nbsp;\nTraining with an instructor only teaches you so much\u2014you have to work\neach sector by yourself to learn to recognize those things.&nbsp; And if you don\u2019t recognize those things fast enough,\nyou\u2019re gonna quickly find yourself putting two airplanes together and not\nunderstanding what just happened to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was a lot of\ntruth to what I was hearing because several times during training, while I had\nbeen utterly convinced that I had applied the correct rule to resolve a\nconfliction to my sheer horror I discovered that that particular rule was\nsuccessful only under certain conditions in the real world.&nbsp; It was only due to divine providence that while\nreviewing my work I had seen the lack of separation in just enough time to apply\nsome remedial actions before loss of separation occurred.&nbsp; During our training debriefs Hillary would\nbring up these incidents, having documented them on the training form, and\nwhile praising me for resolving them before he had to intervene, I was heavily\ncriticized for not having seen the confliction right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During my training I\nconstantly worried that I\u2019d screw something up and without recourse be sent\ndown to that Flight Data purgatory to await my banishment to some Godforsaken\nbackwater village to serve as a Flight Service Specialist.&nbsp; So, I began to formulate a backup plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, I did a bit of\nresearch regarding my veteran\u2019s benefits.&nbsp;\nBefore I left the Air Force, I was briefed by a personnel specialist on\nthe various programs available for veterans such as myself, and by far, the\nbest was what is known as the GI Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides offering\nveterans with cheap and guaranteed approval mortgage loans the GI Bill provided\nus funds for college tuition, and best of all (for me at least) up to\nfour-hundred dollars a month for advanced flight training.&nbsp; To qualify for the flight benefits, one had\nto already have a private pilot license and be enrolled in some type of advanced\npilot training program at a certified flight training school.&nbsp; The monthly benefits would be paid directly\nto the flight school and allowed the student to work towards certification in flight\ninstructor, multi-engine, commercial, ATP (Airline Transport Pilot), and\nInstrument Flight Rules flight training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The catch was that to\nqualify for the full four hundred dollars monthly grant the student was\nrequired to accumulate five hundred dollars a month or more, in flight training\nexpenses.&nbsp; No one was sure why this\nstipulation existed, but the owner of the flight school I enrolled in\nspeculated that the government wanted the student pilot to spend some if\nhis\/her funds so that it wouldn\u2019t look like a complete give-away program.&nbsp; Whatever.&nbsp;\nWith what I was earning now I could afford to pay for the program with\nno problem, so now all I had to worry about was having the time to train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I decided it was time\nfor me to sit down and discuss these plans with Kaz, so one evening just after\ndinner I told her I had something to discuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou not having\ntrouble in the training, are you?\u201d She asked worriedly as she laid her hand\nover mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, no, it\u2019s nothing\nlike that.&nbsp; I think I\u2019m doing OK\u2026probably\nbetter than the guys on the other crews, but I\u2019m still a little worried about\nsomething.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, even though my\ntraining seems to be going OK I still can\u2019t get over the number of guys who\u2019ve\nwashed out.&nbsp; I mean, some of those guys I\nfelt were much better than me and they still didn\u2019t make it.&nbsp; So, I\u2019d like to discuss what I will call a\nback-up plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBack-up plan?&nbsp; What that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh, it\u2019s a plan\nthat\u2019s in place in case something goes wrong.&nbsp;\nYou know, like if I have a deal (lose separation between two aircraft)\nand they wash me out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou never have\ndeal!&nbsp; You too good for that!&nbsp; What happen to your confidence?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNothing.&nbsp; But I think it\u2019s better to have something to\nfall back on in case something happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, so what you\nplanning?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, I\u2019m thinking\nof signing up at a flight training school for advanced pilot training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPilot\ntraining!?&nbsp; Are you crazy?&nbsp; You just got your pilot license last year\u2014and\nyou been flying a little after you got discharged from Air Force and before we\nmoved to Houston.&nbsp; How much more training\nyou think you need?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, this is\ndifferent.&nbsp; If you recall, after the Air\nForce I could no longer belong to the Bergstrom Flying Club, so I found that\nlittle airfield, Tims Airpark north of Austin.&nbsp;\nI got checked out in a little Alon Air Coupe because it was cheap to\nfly, and I wanted to stay current.&nbsp; But\nI\u2019ve since lost my currency.\u201d (To stay current a pilot has to complete three\ntake-offs and landings every ninety days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo what?&nbsp; You now controller\u2026and flying in Houston is\ntoo expensive anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, I\u2019m not a\ncontroller yet, and this is what I wanted to talk to you about.&nbsp; The government has a program called the GI\nBill\u2014remember, we talked about getting a mortgage loan through them after I\nfinish the controller training program?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;\u201cOf course, I remember!&nbsp; But what that have to do with flying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe GI Bill will\nalso pay for pilot training!&nbsp; The only\nrequirement is that the trainee has to already have a pilot license.&nbsp; So, I automatically qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat sound too\neasy.&nbsp; Nobody give money away like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t think so\neither, but it\u2019s true.&nbsp; I already checked\nit out.&nbsp; There\u2019s a flight school near the\ncenter at a little airport named David Wayne Hooks.&nbsp; &nbsp;I\ncalled them up the other day to ask and I was told the GI Bill will pay up to $400\na month for advanced flight training, and all I have to pay is about a hundred\na month.&nbsp; We can afford that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut when you suppose\nto have time for that?&nbsp; You already so\nbusy with the training at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think I can make\nit work.&nbsp; Besides, the extra time I spend\ntraining for my commercial license will help take my mind off of worrying about\nwashing out at the center.&nbsp; So, what do\nyou think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think you\ncrazy!&nbsp; When are you planning to fly?&nbsp; You work every day!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn my days off\nmostly, but I can also fit in some flying in the mornings when I don\u2019t have to\ngo into work until four in the afternoon.&nbsp;\nI don\u2019t know how much flying I have to do to get to four-hundred a\nmonth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou trying to kill\nyourself!&nbsp; Besides, when are we supposed\nto start a family?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think we have to\nthink about that when I either finish my controller or my flight training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In early October of\n1970, I filled out all the necessary government paperwork for application into\nthe flight training program as required by the GI Bill, and although my formal\nacceptance into the program would not be received for another six weeks, the\ndirector of the flight school assured me that it would be no problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a sunny and\ncloudless Saturday, October 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, 1970, after successfully attending\nthree days of Ground School at DWH (David Wayne Hooks Airport), I took off in a\nyellow and white Cherokee 140\u2014tail number N5903V\u2014for a check flight with my\nflight instructor to begin my advanced flight training.&nbsp; I had not flown since February 23<sup>rd<\/sup>,\n1969.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to my\nflight log for that day, I flew for nine-tenths of an hour in the local airport\ntraining area, completing several power-on and power-off stalls, some\nchandelles, and terminating with four touch-and-goes and a final landing.&nbsp; The rest of my training flights would be done\nsolo with an occasional flight check with an instructor.&nbsp; Meanwhile, back at Houston Center, having\nalready certified on all nine non-radar sectors, I began training on the first of\nnine radar sectors.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the end of that\nmonth not only had I successfully certified on that first radar sector, but I had\nalso accumulated eight hours of flight time from DWH.&nbsp; During those eight hours I racked up\nthirty-eight take-offs and landings, countless crosswind approaches,\nchandelles, power off and power on stalls, and had completed three\ncross-country (round-robin) flights to unfamiliar airports.&nbsp; This frenzied pace would continue for the\nnext eight months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To say my life was a\nblur during this period of time would be a gross understatement, and I owe an\nenormous debt of gratitude, to a very patient and understanding Kaz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tom Moore<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right after having\nbeen introduced to Hillary Larkins, my OJT instructor on crew seven, I was\nescorted to a small office directly behind the bank of radar scopes that made\nup the Houston Specialty Low Altitude sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sitting cross-armed behind\na gray metal desk, a smoldering cigarette stuck between his thin lips, was a\nstout, balding, and deeply tanned man.&nbsp;\nDressed in a gray-tinged white dress shirt that had certainly seen\nbetter days, and a thin dark brown tie, whose messy knot had been pulled down\nexposing a missing collar button over the top of a wife-beater undershirt, was\ncrew seven\u2019s first line supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrank,\u201d Hillary said\nsoftly, \u201cmeet Tom Moore\u2026our supervisor and the guy who\u2019s going to be conducting\nall your check rides and debriefs for sector certifications.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHi, Mr. Moore, glad\nto meet you.\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tom grunted and\npulled what remained of the cigarette from his mouth with stubby\nnicotine-stained fingers.&nbsp; With what\nseemed a substantial effort he rolled the office chair back and stood up\nexposing a sizeable pot belly around which hung a pair of dingy dark gray\nslacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHey there, Frank,\ncall me Tom!\u201d&nbsp; He bellowed hoarsely while\nextending his free hand.&nbsp; \u201cI hear you\nreally did well up in training.&nbsp; At least\nthat\u2019s what Billy upstairs went and told me.&nbsp;\nBased on his reports we oughta be expecting some great work from\nyou.\u201d&nbsp; His handshake was soft and\nun-reassuring and he spoke in a heavy East Texas twang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh, well I sure hope\nso.\u201d I responded timidly.&nbsp; \u201cI\u2019ve been\nlooking forward to working on the floor for what seems like years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah, well you\nscored big when you got ole Hillary here for an instructor.&nbsp; He\u2019s as good as they come.&nbsp; Hell, he\u2019s even better than me!\u201d&nbsp; As he chuckled at his remark a phlegmy sound\nrattled deep in his chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTom, no one\u2019s better\nthan you\u2014at bullshitting, that is.\u201d&nbsp;\nHillary said dryly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEyup, that\u2019s my boy\nHillary\u2014don\u2019t say too much but when he does it\u2019s a zinger!\u201d&nbsp; The chest rattle came up as a wet cough.&nbsp; \u201cSheeeit!\u201d&nbsp;\nHe managed to say in between coughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTom,\u201d Hillary\ninterjected with a bit of impatience. \u201cI\u2019m thinking on starting Frank on the\nBeaumont Low Sector (BMT) to get him broke in on those east corridor low\narrivals from over Lake Charles.&nbsp;\nWhat\u2019dya think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHell, that\u2019s just as\ngood a place as any.&nbsp; If you can learn\nhow to get those little itinerate bastards (ATC slang for small propeller-driven\ngeneral aviation aircraft) all lined up for approach into Hobby (Houston Hobby\nAirport) or Galveston\u2014well shit, you\u2019ll have\u2019er purty much whupped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUh, OK\u2026\u201d That was\nall I could come up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK Tom, we gotta go\nget plugged in \u2018cause the push from Louisiana (pronounced, Lu-zee-ana) is about\nto start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSure thing!&nbsp; Go get\u2019m Frank!&nbsp; And don\u2019t let those little suckers get the\nbest of you!&nbsp; I\u2019ll be interested to read\nHillary\u2019s training reports on ya.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThanks, it was nice\nto meet you.\u201d&nbsp; I said, as Hillary pushed\nme out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s a great\nsupervisor \u2018cause he don\u2019t know crap and he knows it.\u201d&nbsp; Hillary said, almost under his voice.&nbsp; \u201cWhen you get all checked out on the manual\nside try to never get caught working next to him when he\u2019s on the radar.&nbsp; Supervisors have to get eight hours every\nmonth of live radar traffic to stay current, but when he\u2019s on the radar it\u2019s a\nrighteous disaster.&nbsp; He\u2019s smart enough to\npick the times when there\u2019s very little traffic, but we also always try to put\nan experienced controller on his non-radar side to keep him from killing\nsomebody.&nbsp; He goes under very easily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, I\u2019ll try to\nremember that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlso, you\u2019ll never\nget scheduled for a check ride with him until I\u2019m positively sure you\u2019re\nready.&nbsp; Tom\u2019s so clueless he\u2019d check out\none of the gul-darned custodians if we told him he was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh\u2026\u201d I didn\u2019t know\nwhat to say to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnyway,\u201d Hillary\nsaid as he put his headset on. \u201cLet\u2019s see how the good ole Beaumont sector is\ndoing today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlright.\u201d&nbsp; I said, as I walked toward the sector, also putting\nmy headset on and making sure the microphone was directly in front of my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, looks like she\u2019s\ncooking.\u201d&nbsp; Hillary remarked.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The controller who\nwas working seemed to be really busy\u2014talking into his mic, writing on strips,\npushing comm buttons, and pointing to different shrimp boats on the radar\nscope.&nbsp; There seemed to be more flight\nstrips in front of him than I\u2019d ever seen in training and the scope was full of\nshrimp boats.&nbsp; When a flight, represented\nby a flight strip, needed to have some action take on it, the strip would be\nslanted to the right or left.&nbsp; No action\nrequired meant the strip would be lying flat.&nbsp;\nAs I scanned the board it seemed to me as if every strip was slanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGet all plugged in\nthere and get in the swing of things.&nbsp;\nWhen you think you got the picture ask him for the relief briefing.\u201d&nbsp; Hillary instructed while pointing to the\ncontroller who seemed to be doing ten things at once.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each sector had dual\nradio\/comm plug-ins, and as I plugged my headset into the vacant one, the radio\nchatter coming from the radar controller and the aircraft he was controlling\nwas overwhelming\u2014and I was suddenly too busy to acknowledge Hillary\u2019s last\ninstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A month later I had\ncertified on the Beaumont sector and began training on the Humble Low sector\n(IAH).&nbsp; This particular sector was\nbasically devoted to northbound traffic departing the Houston Metroplex area,\nand included Houston Hobby (HOU), Houston Intercontinental (IAH)\u2014now called\nGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport, Galveston Airport (GLS), Ellington Field\n(EFD), and a dizzying myriad of small general aviation airports that dotted\nthis congested area&nbsp; This included\nDWH\u2014the airport which I was now flying out of for my commercial pilot training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any IFR flight\ndeparting any of these airports, whose initial route of flight was northwest,\nnorth, or northeast out of the Houston area, would traverse the Houston TRACON\n(Terminal Radar and Approach Control) airspace worked by tower controllers, and\nbe handed off to the IAH sector.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the flight requested\ntwenty-three thousand feet or below (FL230) for a final altitude, it would\nremain under the control of this sector until it exited and was handed off to\nanother low altitude sector.&nbsp; However, if\nthe flight was climbing higher than FL230, then the IAH radar controller would\nhand it off to the HOU HI altitude sector controller.&nbsp; All coordination for altitude requests were\nmade by the IAH sector non-radar controller by land line, and when the altitude\nwas approved, the IAH radar controller would issue the altitude to the flight\nand hand off radar control to the HOU Hi radar controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While my training on\nthe BMT sector had been complex and extremely busy, the majority of the flights\ntraversing that sector consisted of mainly low altitude propeller general\naviation aircraft (little itinerate bastards) whose airspeed rarely exceeded\ntwo-hundred-fifty knots.&nbsp; Altitude and\nroute coordination with other sectors was conducted at a more leisurely pace\ngiven the relatively slow speed of each flight and their usual adherence to the\nairway route structure.&nbsp; The IAH sector\nwas completely the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">High speed aircraft,\nthe majority of which were air carrier or corporate jets, came pouring northbound\nout of the TRACON airspace\u2014and since they had only received clearance to\nfifteen thousand feet by the departure controllers in the tower, they were all\nrequesting higher altitude and more direct routes to their destinations.&nbsp; While the IAH radar controller was always\nbusy accepting radar handoffs, then climbing, turning and keeping all the north\ndepartures away from each other\u2014it was a coordination nightmare for the\nnon-radar, or manual, controller sitting to his right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three weeks after I\nfirst plugged into the IAH sector to begin my nonradar training Hillary decided\nthat I was ready for a check ride (certification).&nbsp; Since check rides were conducted by the team\nsupervisor Tom Moore was called out of the office to conduct my\ncertification.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, Hillary tells me\nyou\u2019re ready to get checked out, huh?\u201d&nbsp;\nTom said cheerfully, trying to balance his coffee cup with one hand\nwhile strapping his headset onto his balding head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah, I guess so\u2026\u201d I\nsaid, feeling my nervousness ball up in the pit of my stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah, he\u2019s as ready\nas he\u2019ll ever be.\u201d Hillary said, behind me.&nbsp;\n\u201cI\u2019m starting to get bored watching him do his job on this sector, so I\nguess it\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, well let\u2019s go!\u201d\nTom said, plugging his headset\u2019s plug next to mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since it was just\nbefore 6AM, and very little traffic was presently departing Houston, this\nsector had been combined with another during the midnight shift.&nbsp; Hillary plugged his headset into the radar\nside and began the process of breaking off and opening up the sector.&nbsp; He would be working the radar and I would be\nhis manual controller during my check ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within twenty minutes\nthe sector had exploded with departure traffic and I was getting into the\nrapid-fire sequence of listening to aircraft requests on the radio, jumping\nonto a land-line and dialing the appropriate sector, asking for and receiving\napproval, and quickly offsetting and making the proper notations on that\nflight\u2019s flight progress strip.&nbsp; When\neverything worked it was like dancing flawlessly with a partner who anticipated\nall your moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suddenly I felt a tap\non my wrist, and I looked away from my strips and to my left to see Hillary\nlooking angrily behind me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWake him the hell\nup, for crying out loud!\u201d&nbsp; Hillary spit\nout\u2026as angry as I\u2019d ever seen him, and the first time I\u2019d ever heard him use a\ncurse word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My head shot over my\nright shoulder and I saw what Hillary was referring to.&nbsp; Tom was sitting behind me and to my right a\nfew feet away with his head lolled back and eyes closed tight.&nbsp; His mouth was open and dangling precariously\nfrom his lower lip was a filter-less Lucky Strike cigarette.&nbsp; It hung there with about an inch of gray ash threatening\nto fall onto his shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I shot a look back at\nHillary and waited until he had completed a radar handoff on a Continental DC-9\nheading for Dallas Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s looks like he\u2019s\nasleep.\u201d I said hesitantly, and really not knowing what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWake him up!\u201d\nHillary hissed between his teeth.&nbsp; \u201cNOW!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUh, OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I turned slightly and\nrolled my chair back and a little to the right.&nbsp;\nReaching out with my right hand I grabbed Tom\u2019s pant cuff and pulled a\ncouple of times.&nbsp; The ash on his Lucky\ndropped off and rolled on his shirt and off onto the floor.&nbsp; \u201cUh, Tom\u2026Tom.&nbsp;\nWake up.\u201d&nbsp; I whispered, kind of\nloudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He opened his eyes a\nlittle and squinted at me.&nbsp; \u201cWhat?\u201d&nbsp; He asked groggily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUh\u2026Hillary says you\nneed to wake up.\u201d&nbsp; I said, not really\nknowing what else to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He jerked his head\nforward and gently pulled the cigarette off his lower lip with a pair of stubby\nfingers.&nbsp; \u201cUh, fuck.\u201d&nbsp; He managed to say.&nbsp; \u201cOK, that\u2019s it.&nbsp; We\u2019re done here.\u201d&nbsp; And then he stretched magnificently and\nyawned largely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hillary kicked my\nleft ankle and said angrily, \u201cWhenever you\u2019re done there, I need you to call\nHouston High and get me FL280 for this Delta!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh!&nbsp; Sure\u2026I mean, affirmative.&nbsp; I\u2019ll get right on it!\u201d&nbsp; I spun back to my sector and called for the\naltitude\u2014at the same time giving the radar controller the aircraft\u2019s\nlocation.&nbsp; \u201cOK,\u201d I said to Hillary. \u201cFL\n280 is approved, and he has radar contact!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDelta\ntwo-eighty-one, climb and maintain flight level two-eight-zero, and contact\nHouston Center on one-three-three point nine.&nbsp;\nGood day, sir.\u201d&nbsp; Hillary smoothly\nspoke into his headset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I felt something\nbrush across my right wrist and saw that Tom was pulling out his headset\nplug.&nbsp; \u201cShit boy\u2026\u201d He said sleepily.\n\u201cYou\u2019re so good you fucking put me to sleep!&nbsp;\nHell, you don\u2019t need me here!&nbsp;\nYou\u2019re checked out!&nbsp;\nCongratulations!\u201d&nbsp; And off he went\nback to his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I looked over to\nHillary and saw him shaking his head.&nbsp;\n\u201cHe is just a worthless\u2026. Uh\u2026anyway, congratulations.&nbsp; Let\u2019s get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few months later\nafter I had successfully certified on all nonradar sectors I was sent back\nupstairs to the training department to complete my radar pre-training.&nbsp; Before I knew it, I was back on the floor\nwith my crew and ready to begin live radar training.&nbsp; Because there were times when the traffic was\nso heavy or we were short-staffed because we had taken a few more sick leaves\nthan normal, I was unable to train.&nbsp; On\nthose days I would be assigned to work the nonradar sectors that I was certified\non.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One morning I walked\ninto the specialty and was told that because we were short, I\u2019d be working the\nIAH nonradar side for the majority of the day.&nbsp;\nI didn\u2019t mind the assignment because I really liked this sector.&nbsp; It was usually very busy, very complex, and\nthe time passed really fast\u2014sometimes pushing right up to lunch without my even\nrealizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I was untangling\nthe cord on my headset wondering which radar controller I was going to be\nworking with, I saw Tom Moore saunter up balancing a cup of coffee in one hand\nand holding his headset in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHey Frank, how are\nyou today?\u201d He said cheerfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m OK, how \u2018bout\nyou?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGood, good.&nbsp; Better than most, I\u2019d say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s great.\u201d&nbsp; I said, plugging in the headset into the\nsector.&nbsp; \u201cWho\u2019s opening up the sector?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am!\u201d&nbsp; Tom said.&nbsp;\n\u201cTime for me to get in a couple of hours of currency.&nbsp; So, I figure with a hotshot nonradar guy like\nyou working my manual side, how can I go wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I knew better than to\nsay anything, but I\u2019d seen Tom work radar before, and even with my limited\nknowledge, I thought he was dangerous.&nbsp;\nHe was slow, tended to trip over his own tongue\u2014often having to rescind\nbad clearances\u2014and in short, ran a clumsy sector.&nbsp; I would have my hands full doing my job and\nwatching him try to do his.&nbsp; Several\ntimes, on other and easier sectors, I\u2019d seen his manual controller point out to\nTom that he was about to kill two airplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tom plugged in and\nbegan to take handoffs on aircraft that were about to enter his sector, and we were\noff to the races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In what seemed like\nminutes Tom was completely under and the sector was out of control.&nbsp; He was having trouble taking all the\ndeparture handoffs from the departure controller, and because he was ignoring\ntheir altitude and routing requests once they come on frequency, he was also\nputting me under.&nbsp; He began asking me to\ndo a whole lot more than I was supposed to do, but to keep everyone separated I\njust tried to work faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHey!\u201d&nbsp; He said, suddenly as I was on a call trying\nto get approval on a couple of flights that had already leveled off at FL230\nbecause Tom was so behind.&nbsp; \u201cHEY!!\u201d he\nyelled again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I turned to my left\nand hoped that I would be able to field his question while I was talking to two\nother controllers on the land line.&nbsp;\n\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHey, are you checked\nout on this radar position?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMe? No!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut you have worked\nthis radar sector, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, yes\u2026but just\nin training with Hillary monitoring me.&nbsp; But\nI\u2019m not checked out yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, I\u2019m your\nsupervisor so I\u2019m going to authorize you to take this sector over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTom!&nbsp; I can\u2019t do that!&nbsp; I\u2019m not certified.&nbsp; Besides, it\u2019s too busy to \u201cone-man\u201d the\nsector. (One controller working both radar and manual side because of low\ntraffic volume).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve seen you\nfucking work this radar sector and you\u2019re good!&nbsp;\nSo, get your fucking plug out of the manual side and plug it here into\nthe radar.&nbsp; Otherwise, someone\u2019s gonna\nget killed out here.\u201d&nbsp; He pounded the\nface of the radar scope with his finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I thought, <em>\u201cWell, maybe two of us working the radar\nwill be able to get us out of this mess!\u201d&nbsp;\n<\/em>So, I unplugged from the manual side and re-plugged into the radar\nside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I looked at the\nradar, trying to match the shrimp boats with a corresponding radar blip, Tom\nabruptly reached over and pulled his plug out!&nbsp;\nThen, he stood up and walked away!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was so shocked that\nmy mind literally went blank.&nbsp; I remember\nseeing him walk slowly away, taking his headset off his head while heading for\nthe office.&nbsp; Then I heard several pilots\ncall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without giving Tom\nanother thought I pushed his chair out of the way and rolled myself in front of\nthe radar.&nbsp; Since each radar position had\nthe identical comm panel as the non-radar side I had to not only talk to the\npilots but conduct all the manual coordination.&nbsp;\nI recall the bitter bile taste building on the back of my tongue as I\nscanned the radar began to issue turns (called vectors) to keep several flights\nfrom losing separation.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once I was satisfied\nthat all the potential conflictions were resolved I took a little time to get\noff the radio frequency and complete some badly needed manual coordination on\nthe land lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suddenly I heard a\nfamiliar voice behind me say, \u201cYou\u2019re doing fine, just keep doing what you\u2019re\ndoing.&nbsp; Everything\u2019s OK.\u201d&nbsp; I looked to my right and saw that Hillary had\nplugged into the radar with me and was standing behind me scanning the radar\ndisplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ll take care of\nall the coordination, you just keep working the traffic.&nbsp; We got a non-radar guy coming out of the\ncoffee shop to work the manual side in a couple of minutes.&nbsp; So just hang in there while I try to get the\npicture.\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I sensed someone\nsliding in to the manual side off to my right and quickly heard him say, \u201cOK,\ncome off the land lines, I got your non-radar side and I see what\u2019s going\non.\u201d&nbsp; I recoiled slightly by the sudden\nacrid stench of cigar smoke hitting my nostrils and instantly knew that Ray\nStehling had taken over my recently abandoned manual side.&nbsp; Ray was one of the most senior radar\ncontrollers on crew six and was well known for his deep affection of beer,\nmotorcycles, and chewing moist, stubby, half-lit cigars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And just like that,\nthe traffic was suddenly back to manageable and I was again able to breathe.&nbsp; Hillary put his hand on my shoulder and said,\n\u201cWe\u2019ll talk about this as soon as we\u2019re relieved.&nbsp; But you\u2019re legal now that I\u2019m plugged in with\nyou.&nbsp; I\u2019ll need you to tell me exactly\nhow this happened so I can brief the area manager later on.&nbsp; I hear he and the rest of the bosses up front\nare really pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I didn\u2019t know\nwhat else to do!&nbsp; He just got up,\nunplugged, and left!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, no.&nbsp; Not you.&nbsp;\nThey\u2019re not pissed at you.&nbsp; If anything,\nthey\u2019re in awe of how you handled the situation.&nbsp; I hear there were deals happening all over\nthe airspace.&nbsp; Is that right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, I remember I\nhad to really do a lot of vectoring and issue quite a few altitude changes to\nkeep everyone separated, but no one really came that close to losing\nseparation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, we\u2019ll talk later.&nbsp; For now, let\u2019s just keep what we got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAlright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGood job, by the\nway.&nbsp; If that\u2019d been a check ride on the\nradar you would\u2019ve passed with flying colors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I never found out\nwhat happened to Tom over this incident, and I never asked, but in my opinion what\nhe\u2019d done was completely illegal and close to criminal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:center\">***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In spite of the\nincident that morning on the IAH sector, Tom and I always seemed to get along\njust fine.&nbsp; He was a nice enough guy who\npreferred to talk about fishing on Lake Conroe or reminiscing about the good\nold days before Houston Center had been built in 1964 and had taken over the\ncombined airspace from the old San Antonio and Lake Charles ATC Centers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those had been the\ndays of very limited radar coverage and just about all air traffic control had\nbeen accomplished by reading flight progress strips and communicating with\naircraft through even older radio equipment than we had.&nbsp; As Tom would say, \u201cThat\u2019s when we had real\ncontrollers who had to see where the airplanes were by forming the picture in\ntheir heads, not by looking for them on some radar scope.&nbsp; Shit, any weak-stick can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From what I\u2019d heard\nfrom other controllers that had worked with him, was that Tom had never been a\nstrong controller but benefited from the \u201cgood old boy\u201d system and had gotten\npromoted to supervisor right before the two smaller centers were consolidated\ninto Houston ARTCC.&nbsp; Apparently, because\nHouston was going to be three times larger than the two old centers there was\ngoing to be a supervisor shortage when the new center became operational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, having hunted and\nfished with all the right people and had also taken care not to step on any\npolitical toes during his controller days, Tom found himself being promoted to\nfirst line supervisor when he transferred to Houston.&nbsp; However, it was a foregone conclusion that\nthat was as far as his career was going to go.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a first line\nsupervisor it was his responsibility to check out developmental controllers on\nhis crew as they concluded training on each sector and to debrief them after\nthe check ride.&nbsp; Suffice to say that Tom\nhad no clue whether or not the developmental was proficient enough to actually\nwork the sector he was training on, he simply relied on the word of the OJT\ninstructor.&nbsp; If the instructor said\nso-and-so was ready Tom would gladly certify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had gotten used to\nhis phony perusing of my training forms and his silly questions after the\nvarious check rides as I progressed in my training, but during the check ride debrief\non my last radar sector he seemed even more distracted than usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After going over a\nfew points he verified that he was going to recommend me for full journeyman\ncontroller.&nbsp; \u201cNo reason to not certify\nyou,\u201d he said as he signed the form.&nbsp;\n\u201cYou\u2019ve been ready for quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, thanks.\u201d I said,\ngratefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo now that we\u2019re\ndone, I have a question I\u2019d like to ask you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSure, go\nahead.\u201d&nbsp; I said, relieved and a little\ndelirious that I\u2019d finally made it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYour last name\u2026what\nis that?&nbsp; Italian?&nbsp; Are you a daigo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question took me\na little by surprise. \u201cNo actually, my dad\u2019s parents came over from France\u2014but\nmy mom\u2019s parents came over from Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo\u2026you\u2019re Mexican?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn my mother\u2019s side,\nyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, ain\u2019t that a\nkick in the ass!&nbsp; I never would\u2019ve taken\nyou for no Mexican.&nbsp; Shit, are you sure\nyou\u2019re Mexican?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, half Mexican on\nmy mom\u2019s side.&nbsp; But because she was born\nin San Antonio, she\u2019s an American.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo\nshit\u2026Mexican\u2026\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUm, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell I\u2019m here to\ntell you that you sure ain\u2019t like any Mexican I\u2019ve ever known.&nbsp; I mean, you don\u2019t act like one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was starting to get\nannoyed.&nbsp; \u201cHow do Mexicans act?\u201d&nbsp; I asked pointedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know\u2026lazy, stupid,\nand you know, always dodging hard work.&nbsp;\nAnd I\u2019ll tell you\u2014you ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 like that.&nbsp; Shit, you\u2019re smart and the best fucking\ncontroller I\u2019ve ever seen.&nbsp; Shit, you\nflew through the goddam training program.&nbsp;\nAin\u2019t nobody ever done that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, because I don\u2019t\nbring a sarape and a sombrero to work and ask for time off to take siestas\nafter lunch, you didn\u2019t think I was Mexican?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He took a couple of\nseconds to digest what I\u2019d just said.&nbsp;\n\u201cAh hell\u2026shit, that\u2019s funny!&nbsp;\nSiestas!&nbsp; Ain\u2019t that when they take\nnaps?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNah, you ain\u2019t\nnothin\u2019 like that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGee, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, that\u2019s OK!&nbsp; And, oh yeah, Hillary told me you\u2019re also a\npilot?&nbsp; It that true?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes, it is.&nbsp; I\u2019m enrolled at a flight school at David\nWayne Hooks working towards my commercial license.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell shit,\nsee!?&nbsp; Ain\u2019t no Mexican can do that!&nbsp; Learning to be a controller\u2014and a goddam good\none too\u2014<strong>and<\/strong> getting a commercial\nrating on the side.&nbsp; Shit no!&nbsp; Ain\u2019t no way you\u2019re Mexican!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOK, I guess I\u2019m not\nthen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExactly!&nbsp; Anyhow,\u201d He looked at his watch.&nbsp; \u201cAnyway, congratulations on getting through\ntraining and I\u2019m just sorry to see you go.&nbsp;\nI\u2019d like to keep you on my crew as a journeyman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not staying on\ncrew seven?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh hell no.&nbsp; Crew four is short one so you\u2019ll be transitioning\nover to them in the next couple of weeks.&nbsp;\nYou\u2019ll be working for old Bob Wold.&nbsp;\nHe\u2019s a good old boy, you\u2019ll like him.&nbsp;\nHe came over from San Antonio Center just like me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stood up and shook\nmy hand.&nbsp; \u201cWell again, congrats on your checkout.&nbsp; I\u2019ll talk to Bob and fill him in on our\nlittle talk.&nbsp; I know he\u2019ll be happy to\nhave you on his crew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I took that to mean\nthat he would be happily informing Bob that I wasn\u2019t a Mexican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be continued\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Horizons \u2013 Part Five Controller Training and Return to Flying Nineteen months.&nbsp; That was how long it took me to progress from a developmental non-radar trainee to a full journeyman controller.&nbsp; While in the past the process had taken a full four years or more for the ATC training process to produce a full-fledged &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/?p=1039\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">New Horizons &#8211; Part Five<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1039"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1048,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions\/1048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frankdeleon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}