FEAST test EUROCONTROL

[lafouine]

Hi everyone,
I want to apply to the FEAST test at EUROCONTROL.
I've read some information about the tests but I wonder,
Is there someone here who has passed the tests already?
Have you got any GOOD tips to help me prepare for them?
I've bought some books with psychometric tests and aptitude tests practices, but I wonder, Is it worth it?
Do you know about the best way to prepare for them so that I could pass them.
Thanks for helping.

Chris

[Jagohu]

There were quite a few posts about it, just do a search if you need it.
The answer for your question is absolutely yes, there're plenty of us here who passed the test and working here in the MUAC.
Personally I think you can't do much to prepare for the tests... Just give it your best shot and you'll see :) Good Luck! :ok:

[Quintilian]

Hi!

Passed mine a year ago.

- Play lots and lots and lots of tetris
- Learn the compass-rose inside out (free points + extra time for other tests)

:)

Påst-scrimtøm:
Check out BelgoControl as well.

[Erikk]

Hi all,

I passed Feast test 1.... unfortunatly didn't passed threw second test.
Made a really stupid mistake in my flightplan and guess my english isn't good enough...

You can't really prepare on the first tests... You have to count fast, listen good, remember details, make choices really fast... etc. It was fun.
Then the second test on that day was easy. You had to manage a flight strip with information coming from planes etc... I really had no problem with that.

When I went back for the second feast test it was a lot harder for me. You had to speak and discuss a lot in a group of apr. 8 people.
Then you had to prepare a flightplan and you had to explain your plan in front of the "jury". Then we've got some communicationtests....

Later that day I got a call I didn't pass. I sucks that you don't get any feedback. I would like to know what went wrong so I can work on it.

Maybe I give it another try but first have to wait for 1,5 year...
The funny part is that my younger brother passed al the tests and participates in the training in Lux. right now. The next funny part is wenn i look out of the window at the office I clearly see Eurocontrol and see the 747's land @ Beek. :)

Succes with your feast tests!
Greetings Erik

[DiCampo]

So, you're Mr. Skywalker's older brother then?

About the tests:
There is no real way to prepare for them, just make sure that you're relaxed and that you've slept well the night before.
If you're coming from a bit further away, try to arrive the night before. Normally, Eurocontrol will pay you a hotel room for the night and that way you're well rested instead of wired from the trip.

If you're good/lucky in the second phase, you get a call the same day to invite you for an interview the day after, or even a day after that.
If you were lucky, the interviewers (one MUAC supervisor, a Luxemburg instructor and someone from Brussels HQ) will notice and probably not accept you.
If you're good, you'll probably pass on to wait a couple of agonizing weeks before you get the call you passed.
The only thing to do after that is pass the medical examinations, if you're not in good health (mental & physical) you're not getting done.

After that (finally) you get to start in Luxemburg for an 8 month course, and that's were the good part starts. First 4 months of pure theory & exams, after that 4 months of basic radar training (no procedural, thankgod). Life in Luxembourg is easy but expensive, there's no need to study your butt off, but you definitely have to work to get through. Once you pass that as well, you'll get to go to Maastricht and start studying again for a rapid succession of exams (which is more or less where i'm at right now).

[Didahdit]

I'm returning for stage 2 selection next week, so this thread has been very helpful. A lot less always seems to be said about stage 2 than 1, but I guess that's just proportionate to the amount of people that undertake each.

Is it, like Stage 1, just a case of being 'on the ball' and alert, or should I be doing any specific tasks to prepare? I've shadowed an ATCO in the past, so I understand some of the basics of flight planning etc.

[Erikk]

@ DiCampo: Lol DiCampo guess you're right... :) How you know he's my brother?? You met him @ Lux?

@ Didahdit: To make a flightplane you get a lot of information, best alt., best speed, bad weather etc... Later on that day, during your presentation it's important you still remember those thinks. They will test you on it!

You don't need any experience about flightplans to finish phase 2.

[Lottee.s]

Stage two you can't really prepare for. Its a lot more relaxed and a case of be yourself.
I would say though if you pass stage two you will be invited back for an interview in the following two days. So prepare in advance for it. Learn about Eurocontrol and what they offer. Single Sky, FAB's and keep your mental arithmatic speed up!

[Didahdit]

Well yes, I've been reading the Eurocontrol yearbook, and all my back issues of Flight International that are relevant, absolute godsend in terms of information. Interesting though as early as Stage 1a they said "if you make it to stage 3, do lots of research", it seems a lot of people get to Stage 3 and have no idea of the wider body of Eurocontrol, disturbingly.

[Lottee.s]

Yup, they say to research but some people still don't bother. All that matters is that you do your own research and what you learn you completely understand.

Also, a previous poster said you don't receive any feedback! If you don't ask you don't get. I had no problems at all receiving feedback. I got my feedback from H. Prevoo herself and it was very helpful!

[Surferboy]

@Erikk: You could try LVNL, only thing is that you would have to relocate!

[Erikk]

@ Lottee.s: If I got a change to ask for feedback I would. After phase 2 I went home and got a call phone from Willinscroft. That's it.
I also found this on the EC website:
"7. No correspondence can be entered into as to why a particular candidate was unsuccessful at any stage of the selection process"

Maybe I failed on my knowledge of English (which i think I mainly failed on), but it also could be that I've failed on my personal profile (personal questions). If I've failed on those questions a next atempt to pass true the selection has no use I guess.

@ Surferboy: LVLN could be an option but I really prefer, due private circumstances, to not relocate at this time. Working at Maastricht would be ideal. Only 25km from my hometown. :cool:

Are there any people who did a second atempt to become a ATC? I remember that ms. Prevoo asked before starting with Feast 1 if their were candidates who in the past already did a Feast test. I guess they get an alternate test?

[Lottee.s]

I still have another year before I can try again with Eurocontrol but I did ask when I was getting my feedback about the process for applying a second time.
If your score for Feast is above a certain mark you do not need to take the Feast tests again. You start at stage 2.

I would email Sarah Willinscroft and explain you would like to apply a second time and if you could receive any feedback so you know where you went wrong and could improve yourself for a second attempt.

[Didahdit]

That's interesting - I imagined they would only have one shot at it, but that's a bit of a relief in case I do cock it up - not that I plan to do so!

I've been doing a lot of reading up, anything and everything I can find about EUROCONTROL, and have worked previously in team environments a fair amount, so I guess I just need to get that across in the next few days. Fun times.

[elcrusoe]

Hey guys/gals,

I just want to let you guys know that well just cuz u don't past the Feast test at Eurocontrol doesn't mean anything on your capabilities to actually become an ATCO. The test is a good judgement if you will be capable of acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to perform well.

However from my experience i took the Feast test 2 years ago for Eurocontrol. Prior to that i had 4 years of military ATCO, controlling multiple types of A/c and civilian cargo. And well i didn't make it past the 1st stage of testing even with experience. And sadly when i requested feedback well i was directed in circles. I was fairly curious what made me a bad candidate...knowing my past experience but i never received any and just gave up.

Now i am a ATCO in Florida working well 6200 square miles of airspace with god forbid no structure what so all due to all the pilot training academies and the beautiful weather to fly in, mixing that with commercial and military activity it can get pretty ugly in the room.

But i just want u guys/gals know that if ATCO is really what u wanna do well you should not give up a goal just because of a test at a certain company. If i gave up well i would not be where i am right now.

And well maybe by getting somewhere else in the future with the chaos currently worldwide of controller shortage maybe in the future you will be able to return to Eurocontrol with experieence under the belt.

All i gotta say is do not give up ok....the jobs is awesome and we need people!!!!

Best of luck,

PN

[Aspiring ATCO]

Mrs. Prevoo asked before starting with Feast 1 if their were candidates who in the past already did a Feast test. I guess they get an alternate test?
I did the FEAST at Vienna in January and we were told that should we fail in the second stage of AustroControl's tests (you only get to that stage if you passed the entire FEAST, this is what happened to me) and then apply at another european ATC Service Provider, there is a process designed so the 2nd one you apply to can get your results from the 1st attempt (but only if you allow the results to be given to them), so they can compare your results. This would logically mean that the test is basically the same and they want to be able to tell if your great results were really skill or just learning from the mistakes you made the first time.

[Didahdit]

So it seems that I passed Stage 2, and I had my interview today. However in this, I was told, amongst other things, that they felt I was over-qualified, as I am about to graduate with a degree. Has anyone had a similar experience, and did it affect your chances? Do other institutions think of a degree for an ATCO similarly?

I don't hold out much hope for the result, but we shall see.

[Moira]

Didahdit, don't give up that easily!!!

That's probably exactly what they are trying to find out: how sincerely do you want the job and aren't you going to bail out too soon to find an other job that matches the degree you are about to get!

[DiCampo]

They tried the same trick on me...
I just got my degree two weeks before the interview, so they asked me why the hell i wanted to change so quickly.
It took me quite some effort to convince them that i really didn't want to go on into accounting, but it seems that eventually it worked.

As Moira said, it's more a motivational test than a real concern they have...

Anyway, assuming that all goes well, we'll probably see each other soon in Luxembourg for the infamous welcome party :cool:

[Didahdit]

Well of course I stuck with it and argued my corner, clawed whatever ground I could against them, but still I'm not so sure.

The lead interviewer kept saying he felt there was 'something missing', I still have no idea what he meant, but we shall have to see...

[Tordan]

"The lead interviewer kept saying he felt there was 'something missing', I still have no idea what he meant, but we shall have to see..."

Sounds like a way to fish for a response from you. If he had any real doubts he´d probably been more specific to try and clear those issues. Questions like "Are you sure...", "Why would you give up on...", "Why waste years of studies for..." are ways to see how motivated you are, if you´ve thought things through.

[Didahdit]

Need I say more :)

I've been offered July or November courses - I said yes initially to the November one, but I'm seriously mulling over July too. I'm shaking from excitement :ok:

[Tordan]

Congrats!
I´ve just learned that I passed the last FEAST test, interview and medical to go... Now to brake the news to the missus :ooh:

[Moira]

Congrats!
Told you!:)

[Radar]

Didahdit,

Cogratulations, mate.


Was it you joined us on the Coastal sector on Tuesday? If so, sorry you didn't get much of a look in. Poor timing, I'm afraid.

[Didahdit]

Radar,

If it was you that was on watch when the KLM went the wrong way across the Dutch Mil zone, then yes. Things got a bit busy, but I was just lapping up anything I could to know for my interview, I was more than happy to let you guys do what you're trained for.

Medical pending, hope to see you in ops in a few years!

[Lon More]

when the KLM went the wrong way across the Dutch Mil zone

Glad to see nothing's changing :}

"260 is the magic number; maintain it, reduce to it - or turn to it"

[Radar]

Lon,

Good to see you're still knockin' aound. This KLM was a bit different. Had a route in the FMS that's been withdrawn for about 18 months.

Didahdit,

Congrats again. See ya later :ok:

[pre3sg]

hi everyone,

I have been filling out my application for Eurocontrol as a trainee ATCO over the last few days and I'm just wondering about the motivational questions at the end (what are the duties/responsibilities of an ATCO? Why do you think you would be a good ATCO?) is there any sort of word limit or are they looking for very detailed answers? I feel like I could probably write a small essay on each question but not really sure if that's what they're looking for...and I definately don't want to fall at the first hurdle!

Any advice would be much appreciated from those who have already completed their initial application.

Regards,

pre3sg.

[gblackbeard]

@pre3sg: I kept mine very brief, in fact I was probably taking the piss, but it seemed to work as I got hungrily invited to the FEAST.

About the FEAST stage 1, which I passed a while ago, it is useful to know some information:-
The bus stop you need at the central train station is stop G (bus 59?). The ticket costs 3.60 or 4euros for an all day ticket. Most people speak or at least understand English. You get off at the airport (easy to see), and the Tulip Hotel is on the left hand side, behind the petrol forecourt. Yes it is a set of garages essentially, but inside the rooms are fine.
Probably the hardest part of the test is the afternoon (if you make it that far), so it is important not to get flustered there and get a good work cycle going. Make sure you realise all the parts of the test are worth equal points, so no sense in spending ten minutes finding a cross conflict when you haven't re-ordered/deleted the other flight strips.
If you don't have to rush off, go out and explore the town, it's lovely, and everything is open late on Thursday evenings.
You should hear your result he next day.

[pre3sg]

gblack beard,

thanks for the reply, I've actually taken the feast test afew weeks ago now so i guess I got my application right! Are you heading back to Maastricht at any point (for phase 2/3) or have you passed the selection?

[BeT]

Pre3 - looking at your username, are you a Leeds Aviation Student? Pre3 was what they use(d) in the emails.

[agent.oen]

1. get a GOOD night's sleep.
2. ensure you have an excellent command of the English language.

it's pointless asking for such advice on what to expect; results may be outdated or inaccurate. either way you still are far off from getting anywhere near to knowing more precisely what to expect. you just end up more nervous.

i did my FEAST tests x yrs ago. didn't pepare anything for them. passed all first time. be yourself. it's useless trying to be excellent for the tests if it's not your natural ability to be excellent to that level. the abinito course will have you kicked out in no time! the tests gauge your ability to see if you have what it takes to succeed the training. i've seen many candidates come and go in training. pity.

A.O.

[_Sheva_]

Today I ve got a phone call that ANS (Czech Rep.) would try me in the FEAST test tomorrow. So I will give some feedback here.

[_Sheva_]

Passed! :)

I took from 9:00 to 14:30. It was exactly the form as here
FEAST test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEAST_test)

Really you can not do any preparation for it. The only advantage you can have is to know the compass (degrees, headings) and if you know some airline callsigns its also advantage in the second phase, the strip test.


We were invited 4, 2 of us passed. The first successful in the 2009 :)

Was pretty fun in fact :)

[HHI OPS]

Hello guys,

I hope you may help me with this issue:

I've past round 1 in Vienna some weeks ago. Got 90% of the test with a 8-9 and one test with a 4 (5 is the standard number). Unfortunately this test was English. I had a blackout that moment and I was not able to answer all englisch questions. But because of the other results I passed this round.

Parallel I do have a pending application at Eurocontrol. EC asked me if they get the approval to have a look in my results from the Vienna FEAST test - of course I agreed.
Now here is what makes me uncertainly: Do you think because of the bad english test they won't invite me into phase 2?

I've read in another forum that applicants who passed stage 1 at Vienna will be automatically invited into phase 2 at Maastricht!?

Any answer is appreciated :)

[laki84]

You'll be just fine, don't worry! The overall score counts! ;)

[Unregistered12]

hhi hops, are you a member of the fluglotse.com board?

we have the same problem.
i had in most tests 8 or 9 points and only 4 points in english. i sent the result exchange document to eurocontrol this week and i'm still waiting for their answer.

i think you have already taken the test for the dfs,right? after which stage were you kicked?

[lupo_87]

:sad: Hello, everyone! I passed both FEAST parts and went to the training facility test, on which a jury decided not to let me pass ahead.The score in Brussels meant nothing for the jury in Sofia, Bulgaria, and they didn't let me pass because of mistakes which can be easily coped with and cleared during some minimum training. Now I can try again passing the FEAST after 2 years or is there anything else I can do with my passed FEAST instead of waiting so long. Please, if anybody has some clues, please share them.