Thanks guys - it's amazing how a hobby can become an obsession!
As for the Allocator tag - at a military ATC unit, you have control positions that you man as required rather than having people sit there without traffic. However, the Allocator console is manned all the time and it is the Allocator who takes the aircraft free-calls and pre-notes of upcoming traffic. That traffic is allocated to a console until that console has 2 tracks, then you open another console. Once everybody has 2 tracks, then you give each controller a 3rd track and so on.
The key to being a good Allocator (apart from having a good assistant controller to keep and eye on you!) is to allocate traffic in similar geographical locations, so the controller doesn't have too much trouble watching them both at the same time. However, they never stay in the same place for long!
The role of the Allocator is slowly disappearing as the Mil units change how they work. There used to be Allocators at Midland Radar, Eastern Radar, Brize Radar - all now closed as Area radar Units (although Brize is still active but just as a Terminal unit). ScATCC Mil at Prestwick and London Mil East (now at Swanwick) still have Allocators, but the Swanwick Mil controllers work in a different way, controlling specific areas (sectors) rather than controlling anywhere in the area of responsibility. Eventually, thhis is the way that all the Mil units will work.
So much for the history lesson!
Notwithstanding what I said above, the
real aim of the Allocator is not to work any traffic at all, as you should be handing the traffic straight to the control consoles :-)
Thanks again for your support, I think that we have a really good community here on the forum and I certainly don't know it all. I learn from everybody here too, and I really appreciate all the hard work put in by everybody who contributes in whatever form.
All the best
Allocator
RAF Gutersloh 1982 - all quiet on the night shift.
A different time and a different place!
