MY motivational was online, and I think the one after stage 1 is too.
I cant remember if you got scrap paper to work out stuff on, but the answers were put on another sheet [i think it was one of those OCR mark sheets that computers can 'read']... and therefore, you have a booklet with the questions in and as long as you do your working in small writing you could cheekily use the white on the Q B'let to do working... but I'm sure they would give you scrap if you wanted to do it by-the-book.

on my stage 2 it was 4 of us sat round a large table in a small room, and the HR lady exited the room for the whole test... ie left us unsupervised- AND for more time than we should have been allowed on the tests.... not that i am complaining- just giving you a picture of my experience.

on my test the DST Q's were at the end and as far as i can recall they were the only ones you could use working to help you... doing the process again i would have started with THOSE and THEN done the easier ones as your brain looses its power towards the end:\ [well mine did]

essential qualities
 

I was just thinking about the question "what are the essential qualities for an air traffic controller to have".
At the moment I can come up with just 3,
an ability to concentrate for long periods of time,
an ability to stay calm under pressure
and an ability to communicate clearly.
Anyone with any other suggestions?

Be decisive and flexible is a good one.
If you know you're right then stick to your guns but if somebody presents you a better idea/solution then be prepared to back down and change your mind.
They'll probably make you do this a bit in your interview eg. You'll get presented with a scenario and they'll ask what you would do. They will then give you more info and you have to decide whether to stick with your original plan or change.

Good luck

Passed 3rd Stage. Now What???
 

Hi folks, i passed 3rd stage a week or two ago. Start at the college in september.

I have the medical on the 29th june. Assuming that is successful then i have a few issues on my mind. Not sure if this is the correct thread to post them on... but this thread has been really helpful.

The issues mainly relate to the fact that on a £10k salary, u need to get all your living expenses together etc? Is anyone in the same position as me? In the respect of the fact i am based in Glasgow, so in the first instance it is a big move for me? But also i cant feasibly see any way of manging by myself on that amount of many? Surely it would a case of sharing digs?

Im really looking to see if anyone is the same boat? And with a September start date? what you're plans are etc etc??

Also I was in glasgow for the 3rd stage? I dont know if Kevin etc are on this site? We had two scots a welshman and irishman. All we needed was an englishman and we'd have our own ready made joke.

In all seriousness though i would appreciate any help, advice or contacts regarding the move?

Cheers for now.

Hey all,

I too have (just about) been accepted to the training course, passed my CAA medical on monday, had to go do it on a referral from NATS themselves due to a potential problem but thats another issue...

Anyway just thought id make myself known to anyone who is on here and is starting at the college in sept or will already be there. know its gonna be hard work but its gotta be worth it... right??

now all i gotta do is tell the gf im leaving in sept for a while :rolleyes:

Got my medical on 29th, but how long before you get the results?

if your med is with nats in swanwick prob same day cause i had to be referred for a second opinion to the caa, so i assume if its all fine they tell you there and then. if however you do need to go to the caa again they would grant you the certificate there and then when you pass the examination.

its not as stringent as maybe i thought it would be, just try and stay relaxed for the ecg. and theres no blood tests at all :)

good luck simfly

It may feel a little 'stringent' for the gentlemen when you are asked to drop 'em and cough!!

Apparently, I've just missed a change in the medical process. Now, NATS AMEs cannot issue a CAA class one medical. They will give you the same medical as the CAA and, providing you pass, will then bus you and several coursemates off to Gatwick to hav an official medical whilst at the college. If they deem you fit, but with possible cause for worry (couldn't think of a better way to put it), they'll send you off to Gatwick before you start at the college! Best of luck, Ricky.

What's the point then? Surely it's just easier, and more cost efficient, to send people straight to Gatwick?
What if NATS passed you, you quit your job, enrolled at college, and in week 2 the CAA pick up an issue and withdraw your license? I know it could go at anytime, but surely it's better to have the official one before you actually make the move to the college, both for the trainee and for NATS (with places available in college etc) :ugh:

I agree entirely.

Being someone who has this slightly worrisome period between being NATS fit and CAA fit - apparently the CAA medical will be sometime after our basic course..!

I asked - and seemingly the NATS one is stricter so if you pass that you will "definitely" pass the CAA one..

Why not send everyone to gatwick? The reason I was given was cost.. if they want to fail someone theyd rather do it in house than it cost them £400 or however much it is. Also with the high volume of applicants there may well not be enough time between recruitment and start-of-course for everyone to get CAA ones booked in.

The NATS one is "a medical that checks you'll be fit for your whole career" whereas the CAA one is "for the next 2 years".. which is a valid point, they're probably checking more things at the NATS ones. Things like eyesight tolerances are much tighter for the NATS than CAA, so that's why they can't send everyone straight to Gatwick I suppose.

It's still very annoying!

Now I'm really curious.
So, is the NATS medical legal? What I mean is, who issues the actual medical that allows you to operate as an ATCO?
If NATS are no longer allowed to issue Class 1's, what legal ground are they on in terms of not given someone a chance to train because they failed the medical at NATS, if this person then goes to the CAA under their own steam and passes. What happens if they can prove NATS rejected their application on medical grounds, but they hold a valid Class 1.
I'm curious about the checking for your entire career, is that really possible? Are we not looking at genetic profiling here:}

No the NATS one is no longer also a CAA Class one - which is why we have to do all this now :bored: Interesting question though about what if..

The NATS medical is a "pre-employment medical", and has nothing to do with the CAA Class 1 Medical - although as mentioned previously, if you can pass this, the CAA one will be fine.

If they don't have anything to double-check, you get the result straight away.

What are these DST tests that people are referring to? I take it from the acronym this is 'Decision Support Tool' related as opposed to some kind of timezone related issue...

I can't find anything in the prep materials concerning this.

Distance/Speed/Time

Distance - Speed - Time questions.

An a/c is flying at 540mph at FL320, and starts descending at 800feet per minute. How many miles will it travel before it reaches FL250?

etc etc

The only decision support tool I use at work is a coin, or sometime a set of dice.

Good man, swift reply appreciated.

I tried the Queens Head DST on the M1 once but found it difficult to operate while smoking, talking on the mobile and changing a CD.

This may be a silly question but, are the mental arithmetic questions in stage one to be calculated completely mentally? Or can pen and paper be used?
Thanks in advance.

not silly at all.. you are allowed rough paper.. and i found it helped alot :) goodluckage :ok:

Part 2, take 2
 

I was called back to part 2 as I failed marginally on the structured interview. I thought I had to re-take all 3 parts but having studied all the motivational information again, I only had to re-take the part I failed. Just thought others being called back would like to know they only have to re-do the part they didn't pass.

Also, has anyone got any tips on how to get ready for stage 3? I was told I'll get the email with dates for the 3rd part in a few days but wondered if there was anything I can do to prepare myself?

;)

Motivation Paper Questions
 

You only need to understand the general idea, not the specific detail - ie a 747 is bigger than a 757, which is bigger than a 737 etc. If you look back through this thread, you'll find loads of info on all 3 stages...

Looking forward a bit, if you're successful, any learning you do will be useful at the college. One of the exams is on A/C characteristics and performance so pre-knowledge would be advantageous. The previous post is bang on the mark with regards to what you need to know for the interview.
Good luck

Hi VirginGirl,

Just some friendly advice for your hopefully probable new career: If NATS give you a document and advise you to learn it, then learn it. I know it sounds blunt, but if the cruise speed of an RJ70 is given in the document, then they might well ask you what the cruise speed of an RJ70 is, and I don't think it is unrealistic at all. That's exactly what you'll have to do for the rest of your training; learn facts and basically a whole book (Manual of Air Traffic Services) almost word for word....best get into the habit now.

The question might take one of many forms (a range of approximate speeds, say, or it might ask you to order four a/c from slowest to quickest), but if you know the given figure, then all can be answered easily.

By all means absorb the advice given on this thread by those who have gone through the process before you, but who knows how often the motivation question paper changes? :E

Good luck anyway....

Re: Stage 2

'The day will consist of a Motivation paper, a personality questionnaire, computer tests, and a structured interview.'

Another one?

Good luck to you mate, I was also glad about the tests being shorter this time round.

Could anyone shed any light on my earlier post? (2 posts up...)

hey there

did my 1st stage yesterday and fingers crossed for the second stage!
is there any web sites or special! equasions i need to for the intervies process? if anyone has done it!
eg distance speed time
etc

cheers
xx

If you pass stage 1, you'll have to successfully complete an online personality questionnaire, before getting invited to the stage 2 interview.

D/S/T is always good to know, although more specifically how to calculate closing speeds/time until impact or rates of descent against time to reach an airport will be a further bonus.
Check back through the pages of this topic to find out more!

Best of luck...


- Still wondering what this 'personality questionnaire' in my stage 2 invite is all about. If anyone knows whether this actually takes place or not, I'd be interested to know.

Cheers

I just received notification that I did not make the grade :(

I wish some feedback was provided because I feel I done very well on the Stage 1 tests. The feedback would also help my re-application next year.

It's very disappointing, but I shall be trying again! :)

ET

I assume you feel pretty daft after telling everyone in a previous post how well you did in Stage 1 - never assume - check!

Better luck next time.

A bit harsh Number2, that wasn't called for. Way to make a guy feel worse:D

Yeah, a wee bit harsh Number 2.

I was merely stating how I felt my Stage 1 went. I felt good after it, and that's usually a good sign!! But I guess I shouldn't get too excited.

I shall not dwell on it though. It will not put me off! I shall apply 3 times if need be :)

Good on ya ET! I have my 1st Stage 1 in a couple of weeks...any thing to watch out for that stumped you? Or did they not supply feedback?
Besides, i have heard that the majority of controllers don't get in first time... hopefully that wont be my case, lol. But just to try and keep your spirits up! :D
TC

Hi TC,

Nothing really threw me at Stage 1. The spacial reasoning was fairly difficult but that was expected. Just get lots of practice in! You don't get any feedback which is a bit rubbish. Maybe they didn't like my personallity quiz. Who knows.

Hi everyone

I sat my 1st stage tests on Tuesday afternoon (about 35 of us) and today I've received an e-mail to get me to do the personality test. I've just got a couple of questions if you don't mind.

1) By receiving this personality test does this mean I passed the tests I sat at Stage 1?

and ...

2) If so is this the record for getting a reply because through reading past posts it seems like some of you have had to wait ages.

Cheers.

I sat the tests on Monday afternoon and received an invite for the personality test yesterday. I got to the technical/HR interview stage 2 years ago and it seems a lot more efficient this time (last time was about 3 weeks before notification of progress to next stage, same amount of time to received the dreaded 'no' email).

My understanding is that stage 1 tests must be passed before receiving an email about the personality questionnaire, but you can still be rejected after completing the questionnaire and therefore not reach stage 2.

By the way, anybody in group 3 in London on Monday afternoon (9 July) ... we were told to leave too early. The lady conducting the tests came to find us but only managed to locate about 10 people from the group. Not ideal, especially after some of us had already asked her what had happened to the diagramming test and the reply was that it had been cut from the series of tests!

BerLin104: Yes it means you have passed the aptitude tests, but you'll also need to successfully complete the personality thing before getting invited to stage 2.
As for the record of getting results, who knows. Could be that NATS are trying to fill upcoming courses quickly and so are working longer hours to get the job done. Just my thoughts... :ok:

Anyone going to stage 2 at CTC on the 18th?

Hi Lambert

Have you received the login email from SHL yet? It said I should have it but it hasn't turned up yet. Just wondering whether to panic now or not. Hehe.

OK forget that last post. It's just turned up.