TSS Images

I shot some pics today inside the TSS so you folks can get a close-up of what it looks like. Click any of the photos to view the full-size versions.

TSS Panorama Shot:A full overview of one of the four identical TSS labs. Here's what's you're seeing, from left to right:

1. Don, one of our Instructors
2. Local's radio touchscreen panel (past John's left shoulder)
   
3. D-Brite radar display (hidden, in front of John)
4. ATIS / weather informa display
5. Airport lighting control system
6. Monitor position's radio touchscreen panel (past Inga's left shoulder)
7. Ground's "binocular" display (peeking out past Inga's right shoulder)
8. Ground's radio touchscreen panel
9. Ground's stripbay, in front of her radio panel
   
10. Jim, another one of our instructors
11. Ghost pilot's dual-monitor control station
    

John and Inga getting ready:
You're supposed to be in your assigned lab five minutes before the scheduled start time. This gives you a few minutes to rip and stuff strips, plug-in, and get your station organized.


The view from the monitoring position:

Kevin working Local.

This shot clearly shows:

• The D-Brite radar display.
• The yellow runway crossing stick (the "Idiot Stick"). When Ground coordinates with local to have an aircraft or vehicle cross an active runway, Local keeps that stick as a reminder that one of his runways is currently unusable for landing or departing aircraft. After the runway is clear, Ground tells Local: "Runway crossing complete [runway #] at [taxiway]". Local then hands the stick back and the runway is back in use.
  
• Wake turbulence timers, a pair of them. One is for 2 minutes (Heavies) and the other is a 3 minute timer for intersection takeoffs (Small-plus, Large, and Heavies).
• The strip bay. Some people choose to use the stripholders, others don't. I personally prefer to use them since A) they're used on the PV and B) they simply feel more "controller-esque" than having a bunch of paper strips floating around.

Me working Ground
In this shot, you can see:

• Ground's "binocular" display monitor in front of me, zoomed in on a pile of debris that used to be a C172. It was the last run of the day and my instructor got goofy, spontaneously ordering the poor little C172 to self-destruct. The proper phraseology for this is - no joke - "Cessna 123, you have disobeyed and will suffer the consequences!" BOOM! :)
  
• Lighting control panel for the airport.
• My pad, with a bunch of VFR strips pre-formatted on it for quick-draw action.
  
• The pile of discarded strips that invariably collects as the problem wears on.