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From ZOA Training Wiki
We hope that this will have all the tools you need to be a succesful controller.
In this section of the ZOA Website, we have attempted to provide you with all of the tools you will need as you start your journey towards a virtual career in Air Traffic Control. You should consider this area of the website to be in a constant state of change. Our Instructor Staffwill be adding and modifying sections as the need arises. If you think we are missing something in this section, then by all means please let us know.
In the first section of the training area you will find Getting Started, this document outlines exactly what you need to do to start your ATC training armed with only a VATSIM ID and Password. Following this, "Your ATC Career" takes you through the steps required to gain certifications and promotions - all the way up to a Senior Controller. On the menu you will also find the ZOA Staff Roster. If you ever need to email someone in the Staff - their email address may be found here.
In the "Training Info" section you will find 3 headings - each is a self contained study course designed by the ZOA Instructor staff specifically for Junior Students, Senior Students, and Junior Controllers. Each topic is complete with the complex 7110.65 guidelines put into regular English, including Phraseology Examples and contextual links to provide more information about the subject.
The Basic Syllabus takes you through Clearance Delivery, Ground, and Tower to start - then gets more complex by teaching you how to read charts, metars, issue preferred routes, and even handle VFR and Helicopter operations.
In the Approach Syllabus you will begin your training as an approach controller. This will most likely be the area that you will spend the most time in during your career. You will learn how to Radar Identify aircraft, issue vectors, how handoffs work, and even methods for proper handling VFR operations in Class B airspace. By the time you complete this section you should be knowledgeable in how to vector aircraft for Visual, ILS, VOR, and NDB Approaches into busy airports and even the tiny Class E fields. Finally you will be required to be aware of approach minimums, separation methods and minimums, and wake turbulence separation.
The third and final Syllabus, "En-Route/CENTER" will force you to change your mindset completely to that of a Center controller. This is where you learn to handle massive amounts of aircraft and cover a huge chunk of real estate in the sky. You will be required to know how to keep them safe, keep them in order, and keep them on a route which satisfies not only the ZOA SOP (and your friends on approach), but also the Letters of Agreement our Center has with Seattle (ZSE), Salt Lake City (ZLC), Los Angeles (ZLA), and Oakland Oceanic FSS (ZAK).
The final section of training is where you can find information about three "Need To Know" subjects. The "Mentors" section explains what the Mentor Program is, how you get involved as a student or a mentor, and contains a list of frequently asked questions about the Mentor Program. The "Test Standards" area is where you can see what the expectations are for each level and certification in the Center. Before you write an exam or ask for an OTS (Over the Shoulder) session, be sure to see what you will be expected to know. The final piece of information is the "Position Restrictions" for ZOA. Please know where you may and may not plug in. We ask that you adhere to our policy at all times.
Finally, I would like to thank you for choosing to be a part of the Oakland ARTCC. Our goal is to provide an environment of professional, realistic training and operations that is truly "as real as it gets". If you have any questions or feedback on this training area - I ask that you feel free to contact me or another ZOA Staff member.
