Buddies

• About the Buddy Role
• How Buddies Operate
• Mini Session Guidelines

About the Buddy Role

The Buddy System

The Buddy System is designed to help S1 students progress through their training in the Polaris FIR as quickly and efficiently as possible. It functions as a way to close the gap between completing the Moodle self-study course and having a training session, easing mentor workload and making the entire process smoother.

Mentors vs Buddies

Both Mentors and Buddies are experienced controllers who contribute to the community and help our new controllers, but their roles differ slightly.

Mentors are responsible for training, evaluating, and helping students succeed through the different training programs. Being a mentor takes considerable time and effort and requires the ability to adapt and teach students with varying levels of prior experience.

Buddies also help students, but in a more general way. A buddy can help new students by demonstrating and discussing various topics that are relevant for new controllers.

Further Reading

• Local Training Structure
• Buddy System

Tasks and Responsibilities

Buddy Tasks

• Conduct "mini-sessions" on the network to show controlling techniques and software in use
• Demonstrate the use of software and other commonly used tools and websites
• Answer questions about theoretical training material and practical controlling techniques
• Be inclusive and helpful to new members in the community

Buddy Responsibilities

• Stay current on procedures and theoretical knowledge
• Use correct phraseology and consistently demonstrate good techniques
• Maintain a calm, professional, and welcoming attitude
• Refer to official VATSCA and real-life documentation when relevant

How Buddies Operate

#norway-atc-training

New students should use the Discord channel #norway-atc-training to ask any questions they may have. This channel is only visible to students actively assigned to training, as well as buddies, mentors, and staff. This is to ensure the quality of any answers or inputs given and to create a "safe space" for students to ask for clarification or assistance.

When answering questions, use threads to keep the channel organized and make past discussions easier to navigate. Do your best to link to official sources, such as the AIP or relevant Wiki pages.

Students should also use this channel to request sessions with a buddy. As a buddy, you may also occasionally announce when you are controlling and invite students to observe.

Practical "Mini-Sessions"

Per the S1 training program, students shall request at least one "mini-session" with a training buddy before starting active training with their mentor. These are unofficial sessions where a buddy is connected online at a relevant position, often ENBR_GND. In these sessions, buddies will provide new students with practical demonstrations of the software used and an introduction to common controlling techniques and principles.

S1 Pre-training

Training buddies have access to the Polaris FIR - S1 Pre-training Moodle course. It is recommended that you review this course to familiarize yourself with the materials that new students are working with. You can also view students' scores to track their progress and identify areas of difficulty.

Mini Session Guidelines

Training format

S1 buddy sessions are primarily performed with the buddy connected online to a relevant position, and the student connected as an observer.

For S1 training, ENBR GND is preferred, but TWR may also be used if traffic allows. Splitting ENBR_DEL and ENBR_GND is not recommended. Make sure to book the position in Control Center, and consider asking other controllers to open overlaying positions.

For an intro session, there is no need for large amounts of traffic. As a buddy, you must also have the capacity to explain what you are doing and answer any questions the student may have while controlling.

A buddy session should take a maximum of 1.5 hours (including the brief and debrief), as focus likely starts to deteriorate after a while and there is a lot of new information for students to absorb.

Use of Discord

Buddy sessions should be conducted in an appropriate coordination channel, such as BR DEL/GND/TWR. Channel status should be set to "Buddy session" or "GND + OBS" as appropriate, as these channels are normally meant only for coordination. Avoid using open "Pilots & ATC" channels. The use of Training Rooms is not permitted for buddy sessions.

Optionally, announce your session in #norway-atc-training and invite more students or controllers to join.

Use of software

All training shall be conducted with the standard and approved FIR software and sector files. Some minor customization is allowed; however, extensive changes that significantly change the look and feel should be avoided. Students should not be confused by differences between their own and the mentor's software. It will also be easier for you to demonstrate or troubleshoot if you are working with a layout similar to the student's.

S1 Introductory session guidelines

By the time a student requests a buddy session, they should have already been through most of the theoretical material and be able to connect to the network as an observer. As such, for an introductory buddy session, the focus should mostly be on familiarization with the various tools and lists in EuroScope.

Below is a suggestion of topics to review in an introductory buddy session. This guide is made in an attempt to somewhat standardize intro-sessions, provide structure, and help highlight some of the aspects of our software that new students struggle with the most. Add or remove topics to your own flow as you see fit.

Opening EuroScope, checking sector files, and connecting as observer

By the time a buddy session is requested, the student should already be able to connect to the network as an observer. Nevertheless, it is good practice to demonstrate the process or watch the student do it to address any questions. Share your screen and ask the student to share theirs. Verify the correct version of EuroScope is installed and that sector files are up to date. Provide a link to the installation guide if required.

As an observer, the student will not be able to do the same things as a controller. However, the student should aim to follow along, click, and open menus on their own scope wherever possible.

Selecting appropriate views

Training for S1 is conducted on ENBR_GND, so a typical setup would involve selecting the ENBR Ground view for surface movement control and Norway RADAR to check routings, RFL compliance with ODD/EVEN rules, and get an overview of traffic in the vicinity.

Consider disabling panning and/or zooming in the ground view using Display Settings, as these features are normally more distracting to new students than they are useful.

Retrieving METAR, selecting runway in use, and connecting ATIS

Based on the retrieved METAR, the student should be able to suggest which runway to use. Use the Active RWY window to select which airports are active and which runways to use. Demonstrate the ATIS window and set it up as required. Due to auto-handover procedures at ENBR, using atis.adbj.no is recommended.

Lists

The Norwegian setup will have multiple lists open by default. For S1 training, the Departure List is the most important. It is up to each controller which lists they prefer to have open, but the Departure List should be the focus. Use of CDM is not important at this stage for S1 students; simply demonstrate how to toggle Startup List visibility.

The Ground Radar Plugin APP window is very useful for planning movements in anticipation of arrivals and also shows VRPs and CTR boundaries without having to change views, easing the coordination of VFR clearances. Other GRPlugin lists may become relevant later as well.

Departure list flow and flight strip

A lot of time is spent by controllers in the Departure List. For initial training, it is very important to stay ahead of traffic by checking flight plans and preparing for clearances during periods of "low" activity.

The flight strip of the selected aircraft is shown in the bottom bar using F6. While most common ICAO airline and airport codes will be memorized over time, the flight strip provides a quick view of airport names, aircraft type, and the spoken callsign of the selected aircraft.

Spend some time demonstrating the meanings and functions of the most important columns for "normal" IFR operations. A typical flow could be:

• Right-click a callsign to open the FPL window and show how different parameters can be changed (e.g., setting a new RFL or adding a new waypoint to the route).
• Right-click ADES to show the route and use F7/F1+1 to preview it to check adherence to ODD/EVEN rules.
• Left-click SID to open the SID menu and give examples of when to use VFR, ENxx, and OTHER SIDs.
• Give examples of how RMKs can be used efficiently by writing down requests, intersections, or clearance limits, and explain how these are visible to all controllers (note: these are not the same as the RMK field in the FPL).

Perhaps the most important software element to demonstrate: CFL is incorrect and ASSR is empty until CLR is clicked and then cancelled in the clearance window. Once we are happy with the flight strip and are ready to give out a clearance without amendments, we can now "prime" the strip by generating an SSR code. It is important to keep the strips "primed" in order to give clearances as soon as pilots request them!

Tags and ground state

Explain the difference between the different colored tags and describe their content (e.g., yellow for arrivals, blue for departures, grey for aircraft without flight plans). The use of Ground State can be shown very well by observing the alerts that pop up when it is not set properly. Emphasize the importance of keeping ground state tags updated, as they will sync across all controllers and provide vital situational awareness for both yourself and surrounding positions.

Stands can be assigned and changed in tags on the ground radar, or in the APP window for airborne arrivals.

If possible, demonstrate creating an abbreviated VFR flight plan and mention the information required for it to be complete. At a minimum, it is complete enough when an SSR code can be assigned. If traffic does not allow for this, F1+A can be used to open the FPL window of any aircraft.

Debriefing

A buddy intro session is often one of the final steps for a new student before "official" training sessions with their mentor. Using points from the S1 Moodle Self-declaration can be a good way to catch any misunderstandings early and gauge a student's overall preparedness for active training. Either through a debrief at the end or via questions asked throughout the session, consider discussing the student's familiarity with some of the following:

• SOP and LOP, navigating training material in Wiki and AIP
• METAR/TAF decoding and determining runway in use
• "Red Carpet" rule
• Conditional/intermediate taxi clearances and how to use them
• Coordination of VFR movements vs. visual IFR departures
• Identifying departures that require coordination
• Semicircular flight level rules
• ENBR names and designators of SIDs, FRA restrictions, and common ODD/EVEN level allocations for each
• Standard use of holding points and Yankee 17 helicopter operations
• Rules for abbreviated callsigns

Should there be any knowledge gaps, provide a brief explanation and/or link to relevant training material. Encourage students to ask for help or schedule sessions with training buddies in #norway-atc-training.

Intro Session QRH

1. Software Installation

• EuroScope
• TrackAudio
• Sector files
• Dealing with plugin pop-ups

2. EuroScope setup and basics

• Opening EuroScope and TrackAudio
• Connecting to VATSIM as an observer
  • Setting visibility centers
• Selecting appropriate views
  • F1+3 for ENBR_GND
  • F1+1 for radar view to check routes
  • F7 to toggle between GND and Radar quickly
  • Disabling zooming and panning
• Retrieving METARs
• Assigning runways
• Configuring the ATIS setup window
  • atis.adbj.no
• Sending frequency chat messages
• Sending direct messages

3. Lists and flight plan functions

• Toggling lists and layout recommendations
  • Departure list
  • Flight Strip
  • GRPlugin windows as required (APP window)
• Departure list flow and functions
• Flight Strip and Flight plan functions
  • Creating abbreviated flight plans

4. Air radar functions

• Flight plan track display
• TOPSKY Maps
  • Left ALT + Right Click

5. Ground radar functions

• Departure and arrival labels
• Ground status
• Stand assignment
• Label filtering