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Introduction to ATC training in Polaris FIR

Thank you for being an important asset in Polaris FIR for ATC training.

This page will give an introduction to how the training department is structured in our vACC, the organisation, roles and their responsibilities.

VATSIM Scandinavia (VATSCA)

Polaris is one of five Flight Information Regions (FIRs) within VATSIM Scandinavia (VATSCA). The five FIRs are:

  • Polaris FIR (Norway)
  • Copenhagen FIR (Denmark)
  • Sweden FIR
  • Reykjavik FIR (Iceland)
  • Helsinki FIR (Finland)

VATSIM Scandinavia is part of VATEUD, the European Division of VATSIM.

Training Organisation

The training department within VATSCA is overseen by the Training Director, who is a member of the VATSCA Board and reports directly to the vACC Director.

Each FIR has a Training Manager who reports to the Training Director. Some FIRs also appoint a Training Assistant, reporting to the local Training Manager.

Polaris FIR – Local Training Structure

A summary of how we are structured in Polaris FIR and the different tasks each role has.

Training Manager

  • Overall responsibility for all training activities within Polaris FIR
  • Handles policies and coordination with the Training Director, other Training Managers in VATSCA, and VATEUD
  • Currently responsible for all S3 and C1+ training

Training Assistant

  • Assists the Training Manager with day-to-day training tasks
  • Collaborates with the Training Manager to develop the training in Polaris FIR
  • Currently responsible for all S1 and S2 training
  • Manages the Buddy system

Buddies

  • Assist students by answering questions and providing practical controlling guidance
  • Help students integrate into the FIR community
  • Support any student when available (not assigned individually)
  • A great entry point into the training organisation and a potential step toward becoming a mentor

Mentors

  • Conduct training sessions with assigned students
  • Contribute to the development of training material
  • Participate in discussions aimed at improving training quality
  • Guide students by providing examples, relevant theory material and demonstrations
  • Mentors are not teachers and should not spend excessive time covering basic theory
  • May only mentor students up to the same rating they hold themselves

Examiners

  • Conduct exams to assess candidate competency
  • Decide whether an exam result is passed, failed, or insufficient (e.g. due to traffic)
  • Assist training staff and mentors with assessing students who have received a progression warning
  • Jointly decide with the mentor whether training may continue
  • Must hold one rating higher than the rating being examined
  • C1-rated examiners may examine C1 candidates

Training programs

Information about to our training programs can be found in Local Training Policy. Students should already be familiar with these before applying.

Training Airports

ATC training may only be conducted at the airports listed below. Airports not listed are not approved for training.

  • ENBR – Bergen/Flesland
    • Main training airport for most ratings
  • ENGM – Oslo/Gardermoen
    • Training airport for T1 endorsements

New Training Airports

Any new training airports must be approved by VATEUD before being used for ATC training.

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