The Web is a fascinating tool for learning to fly and connecting with fellow pilots, but where it becomes absolutely irreplaceable is in giving access to the other side of the VHF: Air Traffic Control.

Web sites such as liveatc.net provide real-time audio feeds for a number of ATC frequencies around the world. It’s a great way to train you ear to different accents and phraseologies. Listen to a busy GA airport such as Archerfield near Brisbane, Australia, and try to pick the students from the pros. It’s not really hard. That’s after listening to liveatc.net and cringing at less-than-ideal requests and readbacks that I decided to seriously work on my radio skills.

atcmonitor.com goes further and provides a real-time radar scope for the Atlanta area, with the busiest En Route Air Traffic Control Corridor in the world: the Northeast Atlanta Arrival. Speaking of Atlanta, Don Brown at Get the Flick spent 25 years working there as an ATC and has been blogging about air traffic control issues and a few other topics ever since he retired.  There’s always gems hidden in the links of Don’s post, such as this very impressive voiced-over video showing what happens to arrivals at Newark Airport when a runway change takes place, or his tips for ATC phraseology.

At the other end of the ATC career path is ATC trainee Wicked Penguin in Florida. It’s not just the very detailed, but never too nerdy, descriptions of what’s going on in his facility, or what happens when you leave training behind and enter the real world that make it worth reading, it’s really in the posts written for pilots that his love for his job and writing shine through.

I’m sure I missed plenty of ATC blogs, so please share your links through the comments. I realised I haven’t yet come across any blog written by a tower controller for example, so if you know of one, just send it in. Oh yes, and just one last link and two words: situational awareness.