Suppose ATC instructs an aircraft to cross a VOR that serves as the FAF at 3,000 feet and clears it for a VOR approach with a procedure turn, but the charted altitude is 3,100 feet.

Should the pilot climb to 3,100 feet after crossing the VOR? Would this clearance or the resulting flight path constitute a regulatory violation?

I was told that flying above the MIA but below the published FAF altitude would be illegal. Is that correct?

I’m looking for clarification based on FAA references, particularly the AIM and JO 7110.65

take the following approach plate as an example. (LEX VOR-A)

edit: Thank you all for your responses and insights!

Hey, private pilot and experienced flight simmer here with a question about some of the STARs into KIAH. I noticed the ZEEKK3 & DOOBI3 STARs are very similar along with GESNR2 & SKNRD5 and MSCOT4 & DRLLR5. When are instances where each is runned?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

Is anyone here currently in the testing phase for EUROCONTROL MUAC?

I was wondering how they handle the scheduling for the selection process. Does anyone know if they have fixed testing dates throughout the year, or do they wait to gather a sufficient number of candidates to form a group before scheduling the tests?

If you are currently waiting for a date or have recently been scheduled, I’d love to hear about your experience with the timeline, or any information.

Thanks!

Hi all, just posting here to see if anyone is aware of when we are to hear back from Airnav on the Student programme application? I undertook the final assessment last week.

I know the programme begins in early December so hoping to hear sooner rather than later to plan ahead!

Thanks :)

We run a podcast called IT Horror Stories, where we mostly look at IT failures, infrastructure problems, and the people who had to deal with them.

We recently invited Harvey Scolnick, who spent decades working in US air traffic control, including at JFK/New York TRACON, Harrisburg, and Lancaster in Pennsylvania. We asked him whether he had any particularly interesting IT incidents to share.

One of his stories involves construction work accidentally cutting a critical cable, taking an ATC facility offline while aircraft were still in the sky.

We discuss what happened behind the scenes, the redundancy involved, how neighboring facilities helped, and the procedures and people that kept things going when the technology wasn't available.

Of course, with someone who spent that much time around air traffic control, we couldn't resist going into some more general ATC topics as well.

The episode is called "Cleared for Disaster", and it's mostly a look at ATC from the infrastructure side rather than the controller's position.

For anyone interested:

https://ithorrorstories.eu/#ep26

At the beginning of the year, our podcast released an episode that featured an air traffic controller. Many people on this subreddit believe that a subsequent interview would maybe be necessary to more accurately represent air traffic controllers as a whole. Here it is. Thank you to Landon for being willing to speak to us.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Amazon Music

YouTube

Website

Last night talking to Norcal a controller repeatedly mis-identified us. Replacing or transposing digits in our tail number. We obviously figured it out and nothing bad happened, but man, you folks are clearly fatigued. The first question that popped into my head was "man this guy sounds hypoxic." Not slurring, but just obviously out of it.

I don't know what to do to help outside of calling my congressman's office, which I intend to do again tomorrow. I've called in the past. My congressman's position is clearly in support of controllers, so who know's what effect my call does?

If you folks could do an informational picket in Northern California, I'd be there.

Thoughts?

Hey guys i am doing feast 2.
I have been notified that i am doing
Radar and multipass. So my question is
Which radar am i doing because there are
Two on the skytest

USA ATC is the second highest comment.

i’m halfway through school to get my tower license, studying and practicing really hard but have not yet seen the light. watching my coursemates get more comfortable and and yet i still feel uncomfortable and can’t think/process as fast?

is this something that gets better with time? the instructors have said that once i see the light i’ll be fine but seeing my coursemates getting exponentially better while i’m still fumbling makes me question if it’ll ever click …..

i really want to get my license but i feel like i’m here by sheer willpower and grit rather than being naturally cut out for the job

Hi everyone!

I got an email today inviting me to take FEAST 1 on October 21st in Poland. I've completed all the Eurocontrol practice tests, but I'd love to get some more practice in. ATCPreparation and SkyTest seem to be the most frequently recommended options, but most of the posts and comments I've found are a few years old, so I'm not sure how relevant they still are in 2026 :)

I noticed that ATCPrep is cheaper but requires a monthly subscription, whereas SkyTest is a one-time purchase. Which one would you recommend today?

With only seven days left, I feel pretty confident about the Eurocontrol practice tests, but I'd love to try some more challenging exercises. I'm considering skipping paid software for FEAST 1 since it costs around €100, but at the same time, I want to maximise my chances, feel as prepared as possible, and absolutely crush the test on Wednesday! (Fingers crossed!)
What would you recommend for these last seven days? How would you approach preparation if you were in my position?

I'd really appreciate any advice, recommendations, or insights from people who've recently taken FEAST 1 and can share how they prepared :D

Thanks in advance!

Edit:

https://radarreadyacademy.com/
Also, I found this website that offers one-week subscriptions. Does anyone have any experience with it? I could use it to prepare for FEAST 1 and then purchase SkyTest later to prepare for FEAST 2

Would that be a better approach?

Hi everyone!

For those who have taken the FEAST tests and used SkyTest to prepare, which difficulty setting on SkyTest would you say is closest to the actual FEAST 1/2 exam?

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

This is an interactive visualization of what you could buy if ATC pay had kept up with inflation since it peaked in real terms around 2006.

To keep things simple, the middle of each pay band is used with an average locality rate of 26%. Premiums, diffs, and taxes are not included (but fortunately they work to cancel each other out).

Hi all, has anyone heard back about whether or not they’ve passed the assessment centre. And if so, how long did it take to hear back? Did mine about a week ago, and haven’t heard back yet

Hello! I passed the FSS portion of the ATC exam in a recent ATC competition. Applied for the FSS position in the Montreal region. Has anyone heard back from NAVCAN on this competition? I won't have to re do the exam again, eh? Thank you!

Looks like every facility you search, people say "It's miserable", "so much OT", "too much work for too little pay", "management sucks"...

Are their any facilities that are actually really nice to work at?

Edit: This has been very helpful. We're trying to move facilities and my spouse and I just keep finding "Don't go to XYZ because it's miserable here!" But we're miserable where we are haha To synthesize all the advice I've received from here and my sister post in the other ATC subreddit: - Go where you would be geographically happy - Every facility has pros and cons - Bloom where you're planted - Just do the job, then go home and enjoy the place you chose to live!

I had passed the stage 2 assessments and got the email saying they will assess the results. How long did you guys wait until you got the invite for stage 3?

When playing ATC simulator games I find myself wanting planes to hurry up and getting frustrated when they take a while or longer than I expected to do things. In real life, does the same happen to you? Have you ever told a pilot the equivalent of “some time today when you get around to it would be great!” 😂

Hello guys I've been wanting to apply for ATC (FAA) for a while and I'm still thinking about it I'm a former radar operator specialist and I'm wondering what is the pay and how the worke condition's are (I've seen a lot of information about it and everything is different)

Thank you for your help.

Changes coming at the end of the month require target resolution or 500’ vertical separation between two VFR aircraft in class E airspace, even when they see each other. Control instructions required to ensure target resolution if two VFRs might get within a mile and a half of each other. In certain areas (like underneath class B airspace where the floor is less than 500’ above the MVA, or *anywhere* on MVFR days), it may be physically impossible to apply these procedures when providing basic radar service to more than 1 airplane. Is this going to lead to a major reduction in flight following around busy airports?

Just here for everyone’s take (popcorn is popped).

I am currently stationed at Little Rock, AFB (KLRF) Tower. I have two years left before I separate. And I want to see what working at DWH (FAA tower) or TME (contract tower) would be like. I’m interested in Houston so that’s why I’m looking at these two.

I hear new contract tower controllers cannot take leave the first two years. Is this accurate?
TME pay is apparently $50 an hour, is this true from the get go?
I know for DWH, you get $30 as an AG, $50 as a CPC. If I direct hire to DWH, do I immediately start and skip OKC?

What are the schedules like at DWH / TME?
Does DWH and TME work weekends?
For those that may work there, is there a good work-life balance? How’s the job satisfaction?
How often is overtime required?
Are shifts fixed or rotating?

I know DWH is currently 100% fully staffed, would it potentially stay like that in two years? Late 2028? If so, then I can definitely kiss DWH goodbye since I won’t even be able to get in, right?

For anyone who transitioned from military ATC, what do you wish you had known before separating?

Fortunately, I have other options and am not only glued to ATC, but I want to get as much information as possible.

Thanks for reading.