sept 6th course
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Been to see a couple
The Seaway was a no-no - it was a very small room in the loft with not very good cooking space (but hey that's only my opinion!)
The Clematis was very nice: nice sized rooms each on suite (which helps)
Another option is Bournecoast (as as been mentioned before) they have a good few studio flats etc but i think you'd be looking at £500 pm for them. (+bills)
Anywyas hope that helps, pm is you want a more detailed description of either!
The Seaway was a no-no - it was a very small room in the loft with not very good cooking space (but hey that's only my opinion!)
The Clematis was very nice: nice sized rooms each on suite (which helps)
Another option is Bournecoast (as as been mentioned before) they have a good few studio flats etc but i think you'd be looking at £500 pm for them. (+bills)
Anywyas hope that helps, pm is you want a more detailed description of either!
Last edited by tired-flyboy; 19th Aug 2004 at 13:26.
Spink Pots
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lucyfbowyer:
I'll be in Bournemouth on Thursday to view a few properties. Having phoned around all the letting agents it has become apparent that all the decent properties have been taken!
I received my contract yesterday so hopefully the college will send me an info pack asap, I'm still no wiser as to what is happening.
If anyone is interested in sharing accommodation, drop me a PM. All the single bedroom flats appear to have been snapped up but there seems to be an abundance of 2 bedroom offerings.
Not long to go now, see you all in two weeks.
By the way, if anyone is stuck for transport, I have three spare seats in my car which I don't mind sharing.
I'll be in Bournemouth on Thursday to view a few properties. Having phoned around all the letting agents it has become apparent that all the decent properties have been taken!
I received my contract yesterday so hopefully the college will send me an info pack asap, I'm still no wiser as to what is happening.
If anyone is interested in sharing accommodation, drop me a PM. All the single bedroom flats appear to have been snapped up but there seems to be an abundance of 2 bedroom offerings.
Not long to go now, see you all in two weeks.
By the way, if anyone is stuck for transport, I have three spare seats in my car which I don't mind sharing.
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Way back when I started most people just started at the top of the list of B&B's and kept phoning each one until one said they had space. For the first course any room will probably do as you'll be seeing lots of the town if normality is followed, so for a change size doesn't matter 
Once you have got to know your course mates you can then go and find a place to share for the next course, there is normally a good range especially as for you it'll be the wintertime.
Bournecoast flats in Christchurch I can really recommend, you can get 2 into the flats (or 3 if you manange to get lucky
) and by getting 2 or 3 flats you can have a great laugh. The bills are just for electricity, and didn't come to huge amounts unless you like it tropical!
Well done and most importantly enjoy it.
5mb
Once you have got to know your course mates you can then go and find a place to share for the next course, there is normally a good range especially as for you it'll be the wintertime.
Bournecoast flats in Christchurch I can really recommend, you can get 2 into the flats (or 3 if you manange to get lucky
) and by getting 2 or 3 flats you can have a great laugh. The bills are just for electricity, and didn't come to huge amounts unless you like it tropical!Well done and most importantly enjoy it.
5mb
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contract eventually came through. getting really excited now. Decided i really can't bebothered with being prepared and going down to look at flats. Decided to go down to cornwall and play on some boats as have jacked my jobs in. Would really appreciate it if anyone could please email me a list of B&B's which i could start ringing through.
Also are all of you lot lads or are there any birds out there? I don't mind but was just wondering
Also are all of you lot lads or are there any birds out there? I don't mind but was just wondering
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hee hee...
boats sound like more fun than house hunting! I'm a bloke, haven't twigged on that anyone else is a girly.........
I'm sure theres quite a few of us so there must be some more around.... the pprune illiterate....
NOT LONG NOW!!!!! (still waiting for intro pack tho!
)
Chris
boats sound like more fun than house hunting!
I'm a bloke, haven't twigged on that anyone else is a girly.........I'm sure theres quite a few of us so there must be some more around.... the pprune illiterate....
NOT LONG NOW!!!!! (still waiting for intro pack tho!
)Chris
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hello all,
congrats on getting a course, i started last oct and have since been posted but remember the excitement. i'd never heard of pprune until i started so there may be some in my boat - don't exclude them!
bournecoast are good for accom cos they'll do you a three month contract (hate to be a downer but the fact is you won't all make it...), but they may try to oust you in favour of tourists come summer. b&bs are great for a start but not never overly comfy long term, and same problem come the summer...
remember you'll need somewhere to study, best to stick in groups for it as well, helps. even as a complete industry outsider and ex-student i was amazed at how much there was to learn in such a short time. expect to work hard and play hard when u can, it's not like (my experience of) uni...
you've all been given an incredible opportunity to do a job that thousands of people would give there right arms to do - something i really didn't appreciate until after starting (and i'm convinced some in the job never realise - we all know one). make the absolute most of it.
take it easy. h10.
congrats on getting a course, i started last oct and have since been posted but remember the excitement. i'd never heard of pprune until i started so there may be some in my boat - don't exclude them!
bournecoast are good for accom cos they'll do you a three month contract (hate to be a downer but the fact is you won't all make it...), but they may try to oust you in favour of tourists come summer. b&bs are great for a start but not never overly comfy long term, and same problem come the summer...
remember you'll need somewhere to study, best to stick in groups for it as well, helps. even as a complete industry outsider and ex-student i was amazed at how much there was to learn in such a short time. expect to work hard and play hard when u can, it's not like (my experience of) uni...
you've all been given an incredible opportunity to do a job that thousands of people would give there right arms to do - something i really didn't appreciate until after starting (and i'm convinced some in the job never realise - we all know one). make the absolute most of it.
take it easy. h10.
Spink Pots
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Got my intro pack too. All I have to do now is make a million phonecalls to arrange somewhere to live. To add to the commotion, my insurance company won't add business cover to my car policy due to me being under 21. D'oh! 
hangten - If theres one thing I dread, it's not passing the course. I can't bare to think about it. Typically how many per course would fail? Do you think the ones who fail do so due to lack of dedication or is the course as intense and as challenging as it's made out to be?
I'm so excited I can hardly sleep at night.
Is the plan for everyone to meet in the bar at New Place on Sunday evening? What time is everyone planning to be there at?
Good luck!
hangten - If theres one thing I dread, it's not passing the course. I can't bare to think about it. Typically how many per course would fail? Do you think the ones who fail do so due to lack of dedication or is the course as intense and as challenging as it's made out to be?
I'm so excited I can hardly sleep at night.
Is the plan for everyone to meet in the bar at New Place on Sunday evening? What time is everyone planning to be there at?
Good luck!
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Scuzi, out of the 23 originals on my course 8 years ago, 9 are now valid NATS controllers. Only two left due to their own preference, the other 12 failed. I believe that about 50% course pass rate is average, however there are courses that have been extreme in both directions 
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my course is still ongoing so no reflection yet... however when we started i think we were quoted that 80% of those starting would make it out to unit (but not necessarily pass validation..), and of those 40% would do so without 'touching the sides' as it were, ie. without having to retake a failed course. check you terms and conditions to see how you stand on recourses should heaven forbid something go wrong, the rules change often. i reckon 5miles' figures for valid NATS controllers still sounds reasonable.
i'm afraid dedication is certainly required, without it you'll struggle no matter how much aviation experience you have, but no guarantees.
all i can say is, expect to work hard and you'll be ok! you got accepted so you're capable...
good luck. h10.
i'm afraid dedication is certainly required, without it you'll struggle no matter how much aviation experience you have, but no guarantees.
all i can say is, expect to work hard and you'll be ok! you got accepted so you're capable...
good luck. h10.
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Hangten
Can you give us some information on the teaching styles at the college, especially in the early stages. Is it done lecture style like at Uni, and do they use handouts or textbooks or what?
Are their tutorials/seminars or anything like that?
Thanks
James
Can you give us some information on the teaching styles at the college, especially in the early stages. Is it done lecture style like at Uni, and do they use handouts or textbooks or what?
Are their tutorials/seminars or anything like that?
Thanks
James
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During the early stages it'll be more bookwork and less sims time while you are taught stuff like Aviation Law, Met, Altimetry, Telephony and phrases, aviation knowledge (ie airfield signs and lighting, aircraft recognition) and how to do your course. You'll probably get your own personal copy of the Air Traffic Bible (MATS Part 1 and 2) but whether this is a hard copy like we used to get or floppy disk we now get operationally I don't know. Each classroom is normally supplied with a hard copy of all the books for reference purposes.
The lessons take place in a classroom and handouts are normally offered for later reference. Most lessons can be quite informal, more of a discussion, so that you understand fully before applying it in the sims in various ways, but the informality all depends on who is giving the lesson, and how you act back (ie not disrupting the flow too much). The course has changed drastically since I did it, but would imagine the content still follows these guidelines.
I agree with hangten that dedication is certainly required. Its not easy by a long stretch, lots of home study to keep things fresh in your head, and then the arduous task of revising for your written and oral exams, the former needing the bible quoted verbatum. That said you need to get to know your course well so you all work as a team, very high on the priority list. Obviously the best way to do this is go out on the town, just don't overdo it too often
Good luck to you all, you never know I might end up training you on radar one day, then you will need luck
5mb
The lessons take place in a classroom and handouts are normally offered for later reference. Most lessons can be quite informal, more of a discussion, so that you understand fully before applying it in the sims in various ways, but the informality all depends on who is giving the lesson, and how you act back (ie not disrupting the flow too much). The course has changed drastically since I did it, but would imagine the content still follows these guidelines.
I agree with hangten that dedication is certainly required. Its not easy by a long stretch, lots of home study to keep things fresh in your head, and then the arduous task of revising for your written and oral exams, the former needing the bible quoted verbatum. That said you need to get to know your course well so you all work as a team, very high on the priority list. Obviously the best way to do this is go out on the town, just don't overdo it too often
Good luck to you all, you never know I might end up training you on radar one day, then you will need luck
5mb
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The previous Introductory course spent approx. five weeks in the classroom without seeing the simulators (as it happens the simulators are the same workstations you sit at during the lectures) so it's a little different now.
However I know there were a few comments about this, so the structure may have changed slightly.
For info, we started with 26 and during ADC1 and 2 we lost seven - two of those are working within NATS and another is working at a non-NATS airfield. So not at all bad compared to the average.
However I know there were a few comments about this, so the structure may have changed slightly.
For info, we started with 26 and during ADC1 and 2 we lost seven - two of those are working within NATS and another is working at a non-NATS airfield. So not at all bad compared to the average.
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my course was like 5miles' but as phantom says it's all different since june. as i understand it you do a few (5?) weeks on the 'introductory course', which i believe involves little if any simulator work. it's all theory, subjects as above. but the lectures are uni style and as 5miles says, quite relaxed with plenty of handouts and you do get hard copies of your bibles - the college hadn't joined the 21st century when i was there and disc copies were none existent. the opposite of which seems true at unit. we did get occasional tutorials as well (4 or 5 students), as we got close to the oral board exams. one thing that was different was that (for aerodrome anyway) there were no verbatim exams - all multiple choice 1/4 - but not always as easy as it sounds...
then you choose/get chosen for discipline, twr only (london airports), twr and approach radar (regional aiports and i think terminal control), or area radar only. the idea being to reduce failure rates (and cost - ahem) by the number of courses you do (people on my course now doing area control had to pass all the aerodrome courses first). politics abound...
phantom says workstations the same for lectures as sims, which is all new, i'm lost...
h10
then you choose/get chosen for discipline, twr only (london airports), twr and approach radar (regional aiports and i think terminal control), or area radar only. the idea being to reduce failure rates (and cost - ahem) by the number of courses you do (people on my course now doing area control had to pass all the aerodrome courses first). politics abound...
phantom says workstations the same for lectures as sims, which is all new, i'm lost...
h10
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Hangten, was reading your first post and you mentioned about not everyone realising how lucky they are to have this job - are you speaking from experience and if so do you care to enlighten us?!?