It has been a while since my last update and a lot has happened. I have learned a lot more working on my own than I could have with a trainer. I also moved days off for the summer so I got to know and work with a different group of people. I also started my next phase of training which is both fun and exciting.

Working On My Own

Two days after certifying on departures, my wife and I went on vacation. It was a great way to celebrate, but it wasn't so much by design. It just happened to work out that I got my checkride just before my vacation. The only problem with leaving for vacation after certifying is that not only are you a little nervous working on your own for the first time, but you are also a little rusty from being gone for a week.

My first day back from vacation started out well, but we had some thunderstorms on their way in from the west. My third session of the day I was working the east and north departure position and thats when the thunderstorms started to really become a problem. The north-bound departures were not flying through the climb corridor that we have in Milwaukee's airspace, so I had to stop the departures going north. This was for sure the right call to make, but unfortunately I was just a little to excited when I yelled out to stop the north-bounds, and it ended up sounding slightly desperate and panicked. I was made fun of for a little while after that about how I sounded, but it was all in good fun. I took two important lessons away from that experience.

1) Don't be afraid to ask for help. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you know your limits and that you are a safe controller. Obviously everyone has different limits based on many factors (experience, workload, weather, etc). I'm sure now almost a year later, I could handle a similar situation on my own much better just because I have a lot more experience to fall back on.

2) Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. I could have easily gotten really defensive and told people that I had just returned from vacation and I had just certified and blah blah blah. The point is no one would care, and they wouldn't want to hear my excuses. Looking at it from a different perspective, it was pretty funny how I yelled out to stop the departures. I even joined in taking a couple shots at myself when it was appropriate.

Both of these things I had been told from numerous people and I knew, but this really helped to reinforce them in my mind. I have fantastic trainers that I learned an enormous amount from, but I have learned so much from just working on my own and trying to get better every day.

A New Crew

About a month or so after I certified I was told that my days off would be changing for staffing reasons and for training (I know that won't be the last time that happens either). At first I was kind for bummed because I really liked my days off that I was on (Mon/Tues) and I really liked everyone that I worked with. My wife and I were also used to the schedule so it would mean having to get used to a new routine. I was comfortable where I was and it is never fun to have to go out of your comfort zone. I knew that there wasn't anything that I could do about changing days off (Wed/Thurs) so I might as well get over it.

It turns out that I really liked the people on the new crew and it was nice to get to know other people that I had never worked with before. This way, no matter what set of days off I end up on, I will know everyone on them, especially if I have to train with someone different. This moved ended up being temporary, because in the fall I was moved back to my old days off for training.