by SurferTim » Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:41 am
You don't need to know the entire FAA manual, but you should be aware of the separation standards for your environment.
En route facilities separation is 5 miles laterally or 1000' vertically. Approach facilities is 3 miles laterally.
The most difficult part for me was memorizing the airspace. All airways, approaches, and departures with minimum altitudes for each segment. At Los Angeles, they give you a week to memorize the entire center airspace. Then they hand you a blank piece of paper and you must draw the entire center airspace with airways and MEAs.
I got pretty good at it after a couple years full time. I was an on-the-job instructor at Los Angeles ARTCC for several years.
The best advice I can give you is stay calm. Pilots don't like to hear panic in an ATC voice.