All controllers are what?

In real life, I seldom run into a controller, who’s a jerk. There are some out there, but I chalk it up to them being overworked and underpaid. Flying around California yesterday, I have to say, they all really earned their money. It was bumpy ‘everywhere’ and they really worked hard to get all of us better altitudes to fly at, not to mention, this was a super busy Monday with spring break going on and holidays coming up.

Have I gotten yelled at by a controller before? Yes! Multiple times. Most often in the *cough* Chicago area *cough*, and every time they did kind of have a reason because it was for something I “Chuck’ed up”. Patience for an old helicopter pilot they have not. But I’d like to think that in general, I do better than Chuck since I have not gotten a phone number to call recently (knock on wood).

This comic really just comes back to an old basic concept, not necessarily even related to aviation: When ten out of ten people think you’re a dumdum… chances are, you’re a dumdum.

Mike

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4 comments on “All controllers are what?
  1. Fbs says:

    Yes. There are better controllers than some others, but in post cases, they all do a great job ensuring our safety

    Thanks a lot guys – I’m a pilot, not a controller preaching for its own church

  2. J Segal says:

    I thought the saying was “When ten out of ten people think you’re a dumdum, find a different ten people.”

    I’ve had my share of run-ins with ATC, both good and not-so-good; but as you say, the majority of the time that they’re not happy with you, there’s a good reason for it. Provided that you conduct yourself like a professional, they’ll treat you in kind. The vast majority are there to help, but the only way to get used to talking to them is to…talk to them, ideally-but-not-always starting somewhere small and working the way up.

    • mike says:

      HA! “find ten different people” – I love it!

      I just had a great controller shooting planes out of Runway 25R in PHX. It was a thing of beauty!
      None of us messed up their read-backs and it became such a cadence that everyone knew who was next and what to expect. It was a constant back and forth without any breaks or hiccups and he must have launched almost 20 planes in less than 20 min while at the same time crossing the planes landing on 25L across 25R and shoot them off to ground control.
      And he did it all without talking as fast as the Chicago controllers do. It was awesome.

  3. L says:

    Our tower hired a new controller. Looked great on paper but once he got behind the mic, oh boy, was he grumpy. His nickname actually became “grumpy” within just days. Even his fellow controller and the tower manager called him that. LOL
    Needless to say, his contract was not renewed and his last day was at the end of last month. Starting this month, the tower is understaffed again but hopefully we can find a nice controller.
    Our other ATC guys and gals are awesome. And they recognize my tail # and voice. I feel like Chuck. Scary.

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