Starting in College

[kraggy]

Hi folks,

I'm hopefully starting in the college in September and have a few questions:

1.Is the percentage of students being selected for Area still c.80%?

2.When training for Area, say High level, are you, while training in the sims, trained to work with aircraft in fictional airspace, a particular sector of LAC/Prestwick, or,all London sectors/prestwick sectors?

3.Likewise, if training in the area of Approach, is your training based on a particular aerodrome or a more generic basis?

4.To those who have recently left Hurn to go to their respective centres, how many of your class managed to get to a centre (i.e. not fail while still in the college)

5.How long does it take to drive from Boscombe to Hurn?

6.What is the procedure when one does start in a centre. does he/she get to start working live traffic straight away or is there and introductory period?

7.As a student, are you assigned a particular OJTI or does one have many?

8.Is OJT split between radar and procedural? i.e. do you do say a month of procedural then a month of radar or is there a constant mix?

9.How much are the following to buy in Bournemouth (I'm not living in the Uk at present so would like to get an idea of cost of living)

Loaf of Bread
Litre of Petrol
Pint of Beer
Litre of Milk

I understand the questions above are quite varied but if any could be answered i'd be most grateful.

thanks alot

k.

[Vortex Issues]

1. Yes
2. Fictional Airspace
3. Fictional Airspace
4. about 75% of my course got through
5. about 10 mins depending on traffic
6. At LTCC there is an introduction week before you are put on watch. You then usually spend some time training on the "wings" ie. with the ATSAs. You will then attend another simulator course, a TVC which runs for approx 6-12 weeks depending on you role.
7. you have many
8. no procedural taught at college now.
9. Loaf of bread - 60p
Litre of petrol - 97p
Pint of beer - £2.40
Litre of milk - 60p

[Cuddles]

Hi

1. Yes, at least 80% are going to area at the mo.
2. Fictional airspace with 'real world' rules and aircraft performance
3. See 2
4. 50% ish, but count on a recourse or maybe 2
5. 15 mins in the car, longer on a bicycle
6. Depends on where you go really, but most places have an introductory period now. The length varies from unit to unit.
7. You train with lots of different instructors
8. All radar now, apart from a small portion of the approach course which deals with radar failures. (Oh, and the aerodrome course)
9. Loaf of bread - 30 - 1.00
Litre of petrol 95 - 1.00
Pint of beer (Pub 2.50 - 3.00, supermarket 50p upwards)
Litre of milk about £1.00

Best of luck with it all.

[kraggy]

Thanks a million guys. Very helpful info. Really appreciate it.

One more question Vortex, can i take it that LTCC only has approach controllers given that it's terminal control for the London Airports? Or am i completely mistaken?!

thanks again

k.

[Gonzo]

LTCC also has area ATCOs who in layman's terms control the sectors further out from the airports and above the approach airspace.

[kraggy]

Ah, low level?

And Swanwick has low level too, yes?

How is the transition made? i.e. Say a flight originating in JFK and bound for LHR, comes in from Irish, at say 310. what's the sequence of control thereafter? is it: high level Swanwick/low level Swanwick/low level LTCC/Approach/Tower/Ground?

or do i have it wrong?

thanks

k.

[NeoDude]

Kraggy, Check your PMs.

[tired-flyboy]

Just to clarify Gonzo's post.

The area bods at TC actually control the aircraft (with one or 2 exceptions) the moment they leave the airport frequency. (That is the North and South sectors.) Area guys also control East, Midlands and Capital sectors.

For example

The TC north (area guys) control the aircraft once transfered from LL tower (about 1500ft) then climb them to FL150 (if east bound) then transfer them to another TC Area controller (who deals with medium level).

After this sector they go to Swanwick Area bods.

Hope that adds to the confusion! :rolleyes: sorry!

[kraggy]

That's great thanks for that.

Another question: is Swanwick solely High level or is there low level there too?

I guess what i'm wondering is, where is the low level controller who deals with a flight from say paris to egll located? In LTCC or LACC?

thanks again,

k.

[Arkady]

The London FIR can't really be defined in terms of high and low level sectors. The sectors tend to be organised to cater for a traffic flow into or out of a particular destination. So, the LFPG to EGLL inbound you asked about will initially be worked by the Lydd controller (at Swanwick) before being handed over to TC South (at TC). But that Lydd controller will also be working every other EGLL, KK, SS, GW inbound approaching from that direction at whatever level, streaming them and handing them off to an appropriate Terminal Sector. The Lydd controller will also be working EGBB, NX, GD, FF inbounds that will be transfered to another Swanwick sector rather than TC.
There are TC sectors between Swanwick enroute and the TMA, the aforementioned East, Midlands and Capital sectors but their traffic is also determined by destination rather than level.
Basically, although we do have some extensive vertical splits overhead London, the airspace is managed by routes rather than level. Away from the London TMA, Swanwick sectors will go from the base all the way up.
I hope that helps, best of luck at CATC.
And to the rest of you, I know there are some sweeping generalizations and ommissions in the above but I've tried to keep it simple :)

[kraggy]

Brilliant Arkady. Absolutely perfect. Exactly what i was looking for.

Thanks a million.

k.

[kraggy]

2 more questions.

Say one is training to be an Area controller in Swanwick. Are you trained to work one particular sector or all sectors?

And when one is training as an area controller, does s/he first train in one particular area (e.g. high level) or both (high and low)

thanks again

k.

[AlanM]

starting in the college in September

More importantly, say I introduced you to NATS and we can share the bung! (60/40 to me of course.....)

Kerrrr-ching

[Point Seven]

Like you need the money you pikey:rolleyes:

P7

[DTY/LKS]

Minimum Unit Requirement at Swanwick is 2 sectors on both Tactical & Planner. The Tac is the ATCO that controls the planes while the Planner does all the co-ordinating.

Swanwick sectors are,

Daventry, Lakes, North Sea, Clacton, Berryhead, Bistol, LUS, LMS, Dover & Hurn.

These are then divided into smaller sub-sectors, I think about 28.