ATC IssuesA place where pilots may enter the 'lions den' that is Air Traffic Control in complete safety and find out the answers to all those obscure topics which you always wanted to know the answer to but were afraid to ask.
If you've read Graham Duke's ATC book - a very good introduction, although a little dated until the new 10th edition comes out next month - you've probably got a good picture of ATC and how it works.
I don't know if there's a book like 'Aviation for Dummies' (!) as it's a huge industry, but Flight International magazine (and the other magazines in the same place in the newsagents) is probably worth a shot - it reports news about all sorts of aviation related things - manufacturers, airlines, ATC, routes, etc etc.
I don't know if it's possible, but if you could get a week's work experience at an airport, you might find that interesting if they let you visit ATC, Ops, and other bits too.
There certainly isn't a requirement to be a real aviation enthusiast to be a successful NATS applicant and eventually ATCO - I'm definitely not a planespotter although with my aircraft recognition preparation for the college, I might be becoming one!
Thanks Deemo888,
That is some relief kkind of information you have provided to all of us, I have my test in mid July i guess the day you get your result Good luck , i have been trying to do some preparation for diagramming and cubes , but unfortunately i could not get anything even close on the net , and i am feeling i have wasted much of the time in searching but still it is n't waste , any way can i ask is there any thing on the net which is similar to the samples of cubes and diagramming ....
finally are the d/s/t mostly related to aviuation or they were just simple physics numericals where you are given the data and find the value of one of the missing , i still hav 13 more days to do some prep, i feel ican do it, i would be flying from Canada on july 11. so i am hoping to do well before that.
In response to your question about the D/S/T test at Stage 1 above (I took my stage one tests with Deemo888 on Monday) I can confirm that the questions are aviation related rather than just random data not scenario specific...
e.g. A plane is cruising at such an altitude, travelling at X knots, suffers engine failure and is falling from sky at rate of X ft per min. How far until it hits the ground - that kind of thing.
Thanks for the response. Point taken. I don't at all feel superior to anyone nor was it meant that way.I just felt these questions have been answered. I also know not ALL candidates know of this forum, I was merely asking a question.
Lol. And there was me thinking jimmy was snoozing at the bus timetable above. I've read this forum front to back and yes, my post was pretty repetitive agreed but personally I took comfort reading about someone elses Stage 1 experience just a couple of days before I took mine and was only happy to pass my experience onto others.
Passed S2! Yeeeaaah! Thanks a lot for your PMs to all of you who helped me out prior to the test! Those were some nasty days before the test but got my results in 3 working days! Maybe they've been reading up on our complaints on PPRuNe
Seeing as we're all in the "helping each other out" mood... Has anyone booked their S2 or S3 lately? On my gtios page it tells me there are no slots available (for S3 in my case), please try again later - but confusingly the news banner on the top says dates for S2 & S3 were added on the 29th of June. I've been keeping track for days and phoned HR but none seem to be appearing for me. Anyone having this problemo?
Hope I'll still be in time to book a slot before my August holiday! Does anyone know when the next available S3 slots are more or less? I read someone's thread saying none until END of August!....
I think jimmy was referring to one particular request for practice/preparation links when all that people have previously found has already been re-posted for that specific requestor a couple of times already.
I don't think he was referring generally to any other repetition! I may be wrong...
If I could pick a specific bit to work at, I would choose the london approach sector. But apparently I'm only given the choice of area and aerodrome. Does this mean approach won't be an option for me? Or is the training done under one of these..
I recon if I get the choice I'll pick area. Maybe.
But, if I chose aerodrome.. What are the chances I would get posted to a very quiet airport? Because I'd choose heathrow, because I like the challenge, but I know the choice isn't mine..
Can anyone advise me??
And I have my caa medical certificate, where do I fax it to?
And is hr STILL moving offices or whatever?
Helen, you are in exactly the same predicament as I am - a London Approach sector appeals, but you can't choose that directly. So I'm pretty sure I will choose area and perhaps end up as an area controller in TC - but who knows!
I will PM you the Fax number for your medical certificate.
I vaguely remember a discussion a while back about getting into London Approach - hopefully someone can double check this, but I think we came to the conclusion that you can actually get there through either Area or Aerodrome.
Helen/Jonathan: For me with Area, you have to accept that you will either work at Swanwick or Prestwick, and you might not get a choice of which one that is. At least with Aerodrome there's more than two locations... And to be honest, not many of them are very quiet any more!
I think the answer is if you go Aerodrome, you can end up in Terminal Control (TC) at Swanwick as an Approach Controller. If you go Area you can go to TC as an Area Controller (who deals with inbounds to pass onto approach and outbounds to pass onto Area controllers in AC).
For me, either option appeals (with perhaps approach slightly taking the edge). I also would be happy with a tower job or a combined tower/approach job, but not so keen on all the possibilities of location - I would prefer to stay in the south, but wouldn't be too miffed to have to move somewhere between Glasgow & Edinburgh (commutable* for Prestwick).
In a way I hope I don't get a choice, but I know as of a couple of weeks ago there were spaces on both courses.
* where by commutable means, to me at least, a drive of up to just over an hour
JonathanB is correct. To end up on an Approach sector at TC you go down the Aerodrome route initially, which then can lead on to the Approach Radar course.
Thanks guys
I have to say I'm finding this really hard.
I want to pick aerodrome, to get to approach, but I don't want to end up working at somewhere like farnborough.
It's not a bad airport but I went there and it's so quiet I imagine I'd feel bored..
In a way I also hope I don't have to make the choice, then if it's not ideal I can't kick myself later on.
Like you jonathan I'd really prefer to stay down south.
It's so difficult!
Thanks very much for your replies. I have a few questions (I am sorry if some if some of you are frustrated and that you feel we are revisiting previously discussed subjects, however I trying to find something different).
1. I am a total aviation novice - at best I have flown on holiday (and then only once). I am trying to seek information on aviation and not air traffic control specific stuff. If an 'Aviation for Dummies' were created that would be perfect. If no such resource exists, suggestions for suitable search terms would be amazing. I have read the topic about aviation on Wikiepedia but can't seem to find much else as a general introduction.
2. Graham Dukes book here has been mentioned a lot of a good resource of ATC information. Would this book this book be suitable at present or does the book have any kind of pre-requisite (ie you need to know about aircraft, airlines, airports etc...), I do have it on order at my local Waterstones but can take a few weeks for delivery I have been told.
Sorry questions in my last post were quite general however I am trying to seek something quite a lot more specific and something that hasn't seemed to be mentioned in the 180 odd pages in this topic.
Ignore that, there's no need to look at an airways chart.
Zooker, why do you tell people to do that? Some of these guys don't know any better and might assume you're someone to be taken seriously!
Helen, Aerodrome was the correct decision. When you finish the college you may well end up at somewhere that wouldn't be your first choice. However, the good news for you is that it is possible to move to TC, or one of the London towers or whatever, after you've got your licence and ratings somewhere else - these units are often short of people, particularly Heathrow.
It may take a few years to get to where you want to be, but ATC's like that. The upside of not getting what you want straight away is having fun gaining a broader experience of ATC, even where you didn't expect to (if you think Farnborough is quiet, wait until you've spent some time on radar on a busy weekend!).
Bit of superiority complex perhaps?
I've read this forum front to back and yes, my post was pretty repetitive agreed but personally I took comfort reading about someone elses Stage 1 experience just a couple of days before I took mine and was only happy to pass my experience onto others.
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