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Old 13th Mar 2007, 14:15
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Wannabe Flyboy
 
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Navy ATC (warning - wannabe question)

I have a very similar problem to the guy who posted the "Non eligible - But i can get a civilian class 1 medical" topic. I applied to the FAA (I even passed all three aptitude tests and got a place on the Special Flying Award) but got rejected due to my childhood asthma for aircrew.

However, I apparently can still serve in ground branches. Which gives me three avenues of thought:

1) Join the RN as an Air Traffic Controller.
2) Join the RN as warfare officer.
3) Forget the military and go and fly Boeings.

I'm quite drawn to a Naval job, especially in the FAA, largely due to the lifestyle surrounding it (despite everything that is posted on this forum!). Civvy ATC may be better paid but living around Swanwick/West Drayton doesn't really appeal to me.
The two things I've always wanted to do is join the RN and fly. I'm not going to be able to do both now so I've got a choice of one or the other. I don't have a burning desire to fly Boeings but if I go into the RN now I can always potentially look at a airline career in the future.

So essentially, my question is what is it like doing RN ATC? I've done a search which has brought up a little information but it's quite old and written slightly tongue-in-cheek. What will a typical day involve? How much time do you spend at sea? Are ALL controllers pilot/observer drop-outs or are there actually some people who had it as their first choice?

TIA for any help.
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