I was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2001, a week or two after the September 11th attacks. It sure was interesting times, but here are some photos and recollections of my 8-week experience at the academy. The FAA’s air traffic control training program is held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC).

There are many forms of training and classes given to both new-hires and existing Federal Aviation employees. The academy is basically the FAA’s training hub, and because of all the amenities, it seems almost like a military base.The buildings were well-kept which definitely promoted a professional atmosphere. The quality of some of these pictures aren’t that great, but you get the idea.

The classrooms are nice and roomy. I want to say there were only about 12 people in a class. The computers that are in the desks were just starting to be used when I was there. They were still in the testing phase. Most instructors made good use of their eraser-boards and projectors.

Some of our training involved simulated scenarios using many different techniques and equipment. These sessions were in a room with a table-top airport layout and plenty of model aircraft to choose from. Handling each aircraft throughout our training program definitely helped those of us who were not familiar with aircraft types.

When standing inside the mock tower cab, we were being taught the basics and were evaluated on our performance. When standing around the table-top, we moved the aircraft around and responded to instructions. That was the easy part.