Originally Posted by
kcockayne
I have not experienced this event, so I can't give you a definitive answer. However, I was at Aberdeen when radar was introduced in the 1970s. The way validation on radar was handled was that an ATCO, who had previously validated on the 264 radar elsewhere, had a validation bestowed upon him without having to pass an examination & proceeded to train the other ATCOS one by one. I can't believe that this would happen today !
It is still done that way.
I was asked to apply for a 'greenfield' validation by a company starting an ATC unit and this was approved in principle by the CAA pending approval of a MATS Part 2. I would then have 'trained' myself and when satisfied, SARG would have come to confirm I was safe and then I would be able to train other controllers.
When Farnborough was starting LARS East and North, one controller (an LCE/LVE) was 'deemed' to be valid and trained and examined others. We each had to do 16 hours sim time for both those sectors too.
I've also held validations for 'temporary' ATC units set up for aviation special events whereby SARG come along and discuss the MATS Pt 2 with all controllers then off you go with SARG looking over your shoulder!