Brussels comes to Hounslow Municipal?

[Capt H Peacock]

Lots of Maastricht'esque accents at LHR recently. Are you doing exchange postings?

Nice to hear some new voices in the Tower <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[ATCO Two]

Hi Captain,

Yes we've picked up some cloggies from Amsterdam ATC recently - the jury is out!

[bagpuss lives]

The Dutch ADC chap we had at Manch was really really excellent and spoke impeccable English.

Not with us anymore but he really was good <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[Intel]

There have been two Dutch and a German posted from the college recently.

[Baseleg]

The guy you mean is a good friend of mine and he was a fine colleague, unfortunately he didn't make it at Schiphol so he went back to England to do the English course at NATS. He's very pleaesed to be at Heathrow although he liked it at EGCC.
Same history for the girl altough she had her first OJT at Southampton if I'm correct.

I'm sorry for those two, but I'm happy to still be stationed at Schiphol.

[Intel]

Baseleg,

The two that you are talking about are I hope happy. I couldn't believe that LVNL would chop students so late in the game. I certainly think they are very good at their jobs and hope that suffering doing the same courses twice didn't get them down to much!

Intel

[Baseleg]

Intel,

Actually they were not chopped 'late in the game'. They were kicked out when it was obvious they were not capable to do the things required as an assistant air traffic controller at Schiphol. That's wright, you will be trained first as an assistant and only there after you will continue you're training as an ATCO. So they were kicked out relatively quick. By the way, it doesn't mean being a assistant at Schiphol means nothing. I believe that being an assistant at Schiphol can be as hard and maybe harder than being an ATCO at some aerodromes anywhere in England. As an assistant at Schiphol you handle Delivery and Start-up Control, which can be very busy positions certainly when they are combined.. .After let say 6 to 7 months you will continue you training to be a Ground Controller (which is a very tough position, many people fail here) and after lets say 8 to 10 months you will continue either to tower (landings/arrivals, most of the times combined doing 3 runways all the time) or to radar (Arrival and Approach/Departue). The whole training from your first day to the day you are a fully licened controller (Tower and Radar) takes about 4 to 5 years depending on your owne skills and the time you have to wait between different OJT's. . .By the way before you start on the OJT you will always have to succeed a simulator training which can vary from 5 weeks (ground control), 9 weeks for arrival, till about 12 weeks for approach/departure. So only the best will succes to pass all the test. And unfortunately not every one succeeds the training.

As a matter of fact I still am in good contact with the guy and I can tell you that he is very happy to be in England and especially to be at Heathrow now.

. .Baseleg

[ 24 January 2002: Message edited by: Baseleg ]</p>