Day 15:

Today we ran our first scenerio and all of us got a shot at ground, local, and clearance delivery. In addition to running control positions, each of us had a chance to work on the floor around the table top as the airplanes either in the air or on the ground.

The lab is set up so that each position has an instructor plugged in with them. Depending on what instructor is paired up with you, they're either helpful or not. It's pretty much like it is in the field. Honestly, at the academy they should be helpful, because that's what they're there for.

Anway, the first scenerio had about one operation per minute. There were about an equal amount of departures and arrivals with most of the departures being VFR. There was no pattern work, which made it easier. At any give time, there were no more than 3 aircraft on either frequency (if you ran the problem right) at either control position (ground, local).

Everyone gets a chance to work clearance delivery, however you are never graded on it. You basically learn how to read the clearances correctly, update the ATIS, and enter flight plan info in FDIO.