Okay.
new courses start at the college every 13 weeks. Each intake is a maximum of 34 trainees [at the moment, due to a limitation on the classroom size for the Basic course]. They carry out a course in Basic ATC which covers all the legal, Met, Navigation and Nav-aids, and general theory of ATC common to all disciplines. they also do some very basic ATC training on a Part-Task Simulator which covers very basic vectoring. The operative word is BASIC.
This lasts for 11 weeks and at the end they are streamed for their final discipline. Those going to Airports get a couple of weeks leave and a couple of weeks flying training, then onto the 13 week aerodrome course. those who are to go Area just get the leave and then start the Foundation AREA course. This lasts for 14 weeks, then another bit of leave [1-2 weeks] before the Advanced 12 week area course. They then head off to whichever unit they are to be posted to, with a brief airline ops famil at BA on the way. There will also be a simulator based airline famil unit which will go into the details of flight-deck operations.
The Airports gang either leave straight after the Aerodrome course if they are going to a London airport, or stay on for a further 12 week Approach radar course if they are going out into the sticks. The only other way through the college is for those destined for LTCC. Terminal Control can be performed with only an approach rating, so a small number will go straight from the Basic course to the Approach course, then out into TC for validation training.
Time at Bournemouth will now be between 6 months and 9 months maximum, with no significant gaps in the middle. The learning curve is steep, so be prepared to work in the evenings and at weekends.
But don't quote me.... This has changed a cople of times recently.
DwB
