Quick Question

[hippotamus]

Apologies for straying in here , I'm certainly no expert. Can you please help settle a "debate" between myself and my other half?

As part of the NATS training for air traffic control are you required to obtain a private pilots licence?

I don't recall it mentioned on here before but OH applied for NATS a long time ago and says he's sure it was part of the training.

Thanks in advance.

[chrisy08]

Well i've looked into NATS and I have not seen or heard you need a Private Pilots Licence, but I may be wrong.

Chris.

[chrisy08]

Also got to say that on learn direct website, it states that these are the required qualifications and experience:


To get onto a trainee controller's course, you must:

• be at least 18 years old when you apply (a full licence is only issued at age 20 or over)
• be eligible to work in the UK
• have a good standard of education, normally a minimum of five GCSEs (A-C), including English and maths.
  
  Hope this helps
  
  Chris.

[cossack]

Up until about 1985-6 the CAA used to, as part of the Cadetship, require Cadets to undergo 40 hours of flying training which usually led to the PPL. Money got tight, cadets left to become pilots and the 40 hours had been reduced to 15 when I started in 1987. It was enough to go solo and a bit more but not enough for a PPL. It is not a requirement to be a PPL to be a controller. Many are but the majority are not.

[hippotamus]

Clarification

Thanks for your quick replies. Not sure I was 100% clear in my question. Our argument was if the NATS training in the UK involved getting your PPL.

Realise from my location that this could cause confusion but it was the UK we were talking about and if the ACTUAL course involved getting your PPL

[chrisy08]

I don't think you get a PPL from NATS Training Course. Again may be wrong, but I have researched and I have never come across this.

Chris.

[Gonzo]

No. As cossack said, NATS used to provide PPLs, but then moved to only 15 hours of flying training.

Unfortunately that's gone now, too.

[hippotamus]

Thank you very much , we are in the enviable position of both being correct then .

[cossack]

hippotamus
My location may have confused you too. I was trained in the UK on a CAA (NATS came along later) cadetship (#65 course) and moved to Toronto five years ago.

Gonzo
Sad to see that the 15 hours has gone too. Economics I guess. Do they still do the Cranfield/BA courses that came along later?

[Gonzo]

Did you mean Cranebank (BA training centre) rather than Cranfield? Not heard of a Cranfield course.

The BA famil course at Cranebank was great fun, however even that has been cut down now to a few days, the BA course I was present for in 1999 was 10 days.

[hippotamus]

Cheers

Thanks Cossack , I had got a bit confused . I too am a Brit now living in Toronto! I am in the enviable position of having a near perfect view over the city airport. I could spend all day watching the planes take off and land

Thanks to everyone who replied.

[Loki]

Gonzo

I`m sure Cranfield was used for some aviation studies part of the course at some time in the past.

I`m one of the old gits who learned to fly, did the Dove flying (right hand seat for live SRAs at Bournemouth), and the simulator stuff (how to crash a Trident). Sadly, the airways flying got cancelled.

[Gonzo]

Aha, didn't realise cossack was that old!!!!!!!

[cossack]

Cheeky bugger! Not old, experienced.

[timelapse]

BA course has totally gone now I was in the first set of aerodrome people to not get even the 1 week course, as well as no flying training hours, which was quite disappointing! *sob*

I did have a PPL before I applied but I was hoping I could use the 10-15 hours to keep my licence ticking over! Sadly no such luck

[Scooby Don't]

Sorry Cossack, you're old! Well, at least 4 or 5 years older than me anyway.. .
For 97 Course, it was 15 hours of flying and two weeks at Cranebank. The flying could be used for anything that fitted your experience, such an IMC course if you already had a PPL.

[cossack]

I thought I'd update my profile so you could see just how old I actually was rather than just imagine. I was only 20 when I started in Bournemouth, third youngest on the course.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<I`m one of the old gits who learned to fly, did the Dove flying (right hand seat for live SRAs at Bournemouth).>>

Me too - aarrrrghhhhh

[flower]

Cranfield was part of the cadetship back in 1991. It was IMHO the most boring course ever. The only good part of it was the going up in an aircraft for a quick flight ( think they attempted weightlessness with us for a nano second) dong the aircraft evacuation exercises and a visit to Bletchley Park, but that was more a visit to the Engineering students than Bletchley parks historic past.
So many of us complained about the course it was quickly replaced by the BA course which from a distance seemed to have far more relevance to ATC than the Cranfield course.

[NudgingSteel]

Shame to hear the 15 hours has been axed, but I guess they couldn't show a financial benefit to it in this day and age. Practically, however, it was invaluable, as it was enough time for most people to get solo and spend a bit of time in the circuit, realising just how scary it can be to be trying to fly AND pay attention to the barking voice in your headset! Certainly prompted me to be gentle(r) with students once I was at the other end of the mic which I guess was the aim.
Our BA course was 2 weeks, very interesting to see an airline's operations and challenges etc, but why did they schedule our financial / cost indexing lecture on a hot afternoon after we'd all had a pub lunch....?!