Originally Posted by
NW07
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the process of obtaining an ATCO licence back in the 80’s/90’s for someone not attached to a company.
Would I be right in thinking it was similar to how the FISO licencing currently works? i.e. one self studies nav, met, aviation law & procedures and goes off to aviation house to sit the written examinations to obtain a student licence. Once that’s obtained, you go to a unit for a period of on the job training. At the end of which and after a successful board, you obtained your full licence and rating in which ever discipline you had received the training in?
If anyone could shed some light, that would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Nick
Before RGAT (Review Group on ATC Training) recommendations were implimented, you could self study for the written exams then take the practical at a place of your choice
if you could find a unit which would allow you to train for it; Southampton did this by training their own employees who had a tower rating on radar then sending them to Bournemouth to take the exams.
Since RGAT, you MUST complete an approved course at a school or college which has been approved by the CAA.
There were also 'unlicensed' ATCOs before the FISO regulations were implimented in the '80s; old Reg who used to do Blackbushe Tower in the '70s was unlicensed but used ATCO phraseology in the days before the CAA and nobody seemed to object; likewise I believe civil ATCOs at Biggin were the same in that era (but I could be wrong about that).