santomotion,

NATS has an online thing called the Departure Lounge for the pre-course learning material - if you haven't been sent the link already, I'm sure HR will send you it soon!

Stage 3
 

Hey, was just wondering: What is the usual waiting time for the email regarding the results of Stage 3?

I checked back and saw that some people got it extremely quickly, but I'd be interested to hear from people who've taken their S3 in the last couple of weeks.

I'm a bit confused and hope someone can help...

I did my S1 on Wednesday at Fareham and I've just had an email saying "Following your recent visit to our test centre we would now like to invite you to complete a Bio-data Personality Questionnaire."

Does this mean I passed??!

I took my stage 3 just over a month ago and it took about 2 weeks to hear back. It seems to be highly variable, with some people hearing almost straight away and others waiting the full three weeks. How long they take to get back to you seems to bare no relation to whether or not you pass though so I wouldn't worry about it (though I know the wait is frustrating).

Cheers menthol, although that's not really what I wanted to hear! She said she'd let us know before Christmas, I thought 2 days after was bit quick.

Yay! Just got an email through to say I passed stage 3. For the benefit of FantasticJack I sat it on Tuesday, so just 3 days of worrying for me! ;)

congrats :)

Good luck with medicals...mine are not going so well :\

Pat42
 

Just a wee note on the medical, I didn't pass my Nats Medical becuase of one of the eye tests, I think it had recently changed and they asked me to do one of the tests without my glasses which made it impossible, when I went for my CAA medical the guy doing the exact same test confirmed that it would have been impossible to do without my glasses on.
Obviously I don't know the issues you're having but I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you pass CAA medical you are in :)
Good luck :ok:

Moravcik25,

Are you sure? I'm pretty certain that the NATS Medical is more stringent than the CAA Medical. Having sat both, it would certainly appear that way from the outset merely in terms of the additional tests such as strength testing etc required for the NATS Medical at Swanwick.

When I spoke to NATS OHS on the phone they also told me their own Medical was a stricter procedure than the CAA. The idea being, that candidates need to be 'NATS fit' in order to begin training with NATS. Candidates may fail a NATS Medical, pass a CAA Medical and be eligible for ATM training with another company.

I'm returning to Gatwick on the 15th to do an additional test regarding my ECG. Treadmill by the sounds of it. Fingers crossed things will be fine and I'll get my certificate at long last but it's an anxious wait at the same time!


Best of luck to everyone going through the process, regardless of stage. :ok:

Thanks Moravcik, though its not the medical exam itself that is the problem at the minute, I passed the examination at Swanwick no problem... but I've got a history of conditions involving chronic headache (possibly migrainous, but can't say for sure, almost every doctor I've seen has told me it is something different).

The guys at NATS said that they themselves aren't bothered by it - the symptoms are very stable and consistent and as far as they are concerned I passed selection despite the condition so it obviously doesn't hinder me in a way that should present any significant issues - but they don't think that the CAA are going to be quite so accommodating.

At the moment I'm waiting for the CAA to revue my notes and make a decision on it, but I'm not feeling very confident it's going to be good news :( Bit gutting really as I'd looked at the medical requirements that are on the NATS website quite thoroughly before I applied and really didn't think I was going to have a problem.

menthol....
i sat my stage 3 last friday and i stil have yet to hear! does any1 think i should get in touch with them??
x

Hay all... Can I just get a quick straw pole of how much experience in the aviation industry people have who are applying for NATS?

I for instance have a PPL, which i attained at university (my degree is in Aviation Technology with Pilot Studies) so i've got quite a bit of experience on the other side of the VHF radio. I'm just curious to how much exposure to the industry people have?!

Thanks!!

Sam

PS, i've got my stage 1 on friday (18th Dec) if anyone else is there too good luck, and i'll see you there! I'll be the one wearing a grey suit (I'd rather be too smart than too scruffy)

Ils Rwy27l
 

Hi
I'm only speaking from my own personal experiance, both medicals were pretty much the same, and as I said I didn't get my start date until after the CAA medical as I didn't get a green pass in my nats medical, I'm sure the doc told me it was graded green, amber or red and mine was amber.
I shouldn't have said as long as you pass CAA medical you are fine as I don't know that! Sorry for the confusion. :confused:
I've got my start date and contract now, so I know for sure I'm in, I can only tell you what happened to me, can't speak for anyone else.
Pat42, fingers crossed for you mate, I can relate to you as I was panicking after my Nats medical but hopefully as I was you'll be fine.

just had the 'you passed stage 1 email'

many thank to all the reassuring tips on this thread, a couple of points that i would like to re-affirm for other is

1/ motivation paper, for me this focusses alot on the technicalities rather than the process....e.g. what does xxxx stand for, so dont get caught out on this, i thought i had which really annoyed me. also on the airplanes if you spend a few mins working out what they can ask you then these are not a problem

2/ cubes, whatever you do dont think that its easy after after the first 14 cubes (like i did), there is a reason people get to about 32-35, its because it gets silly hard, those who finish this paper deserve alot of credit. Also practice non standard cube layouts, i got to 33, spent the last 3-4 mins struggling on 33-35, dont guess i dont think it really helps.

3/ diagramming, i thought this was fairly easy, i think its about spotting the key bits of information and not going through each sequence step by step, i reckon if you go through each one step by step you will run out of time.

4/ sdt, if you cant do this then you probably should not really be there, finished it in about 10 mins and checked it through, only thing to note is that i think the compass degrees for aviation go the other way (clockwise starting at north) compared to the standard maths (counter clockwise, start at east)...dropped a few questions on this as i only looked at it afterwards when looking at this sim, last questions was fairly odd as well, makes you think!

ATC-SIM: a web-based air traffic control simulator

For anyone wandering, ABC Air traffic by Graham Duke was not useful at all in answering any questions, it was very useful in giving me some confidence in the subject though, most of the information in the first 50 pages is contained within the test document and its another style of writing which really cant hurt, for £8? its worth it if your actually wanting to do this career.

good luck to everyone

Juffled,

At ya stage 1 did the cubes and diagramming tests come from an old looking SHL booklet?

Juffled RE: Diagraming test
 

Could you explain to me what you mean by this? I've been stressing about running out of time on this one, and any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Re: SL1987

Sounds to me like you've far more experience of the industry than most, so I really wouldn't worry about that ;)

To be honest I'm not sure NATS are really looking for much in this area beyond a little background interest anyway - I've no experience of the aviation industry except as a passenger and this didn't hold me back in any way.

With respect to the diagramming test, I think what Juffled is getting at is that you don't need to work every example out in its entirety. As the answers are multiple choice I generally found (particularly towards the beginning of the test) that once I'd done the first few operations this narrowed the selection of possible answers down enough that I already knew the answer. (Caution - it is worth checking none of the final operators re-arrange the earlier boxes though, or this could catch you out big time).

Time is tight on the diagramming.. this was the only one I didn't manage to finish. But if you get your head down and don't let it fluster you then you'll do fine.

Best of luck

Pat

Thanks Pat, i feel a lot better about friday now! Congrats on getting through to the college by the way!! Fingers crossed i'll be seeing you there! haha

they came in a nats booklet, i would not try and second guess them if you think you have a similar one, the first 30 or ok and you should be able to do these in the time easily enough

for the later questions dont just go through each modifier seeing what it does, i picked a couple of key modifiers and matched the answer to them rather than seeing if all 4 would match, the trick is picking the right ones, for some of them the 2nd symbol of the answers would be identical for all 4 options so obviously the 5-10 seconds used working that out is fairly useless (12x10 seconds is 2 mins which is another couple of questions) , where as the 4th symbol might be different for each answer, clearly thats the one to work out, note that this worked for me and people are all different, some people may be better at quickly sorting the diagrams where as i had to draw key info out of each bit, you might find you spend more time trying to work out which info to look at rather than just deciphering all the modifiers.

Also people have passed when only answering 33 ish of these as well.

edit - basically what pat42 said but he was more eloquent than me

Hi everyone,

Just to update people on the backlog of candidates starting the college....

I completed my CAA medical last week and spoke to Nikki on the phone yesterday in HR.. I am penciled in for the AUG college start date for Area. The May start was already full which I was hoping to get. If memory serves me correctly, I started appling in June of this year so its quite a lengthy process!

Nevermind, gives me a good chance to start saving the pennies !

Just thought I'd pass on my info as I know this was one of the points I was eager to find out when I was applying.

Good Luck to everyone who is applying

Tom

Hmmmmm....

I did not complete a medical questionnaire over email but I did complete one when I arrived at Swanicks Medical department before my NATS medical, just asking questions about my medical history. I also completed the same one before my CAA medical at Gatwick too but this one was sent in an email prior to my arrival... (maybe NATS are taking on the CAA's approach of emailing the questionnaire too?)

I did ask the NATS assisstant at Swanick why do we need to do two medicals... in hindsight it does seem a bit pointless because there is not much difference between them at all, if anything, I found the CAA one slightly more stricter as the eye test was definitely more thorougher... anyway, the explanation I received was that NATS do not have the authority (anymore!) to sign off an Intial class 3 med examination. Only the CAA can (So why bother with the NATS one!!). NATS however can sign off the annual re-newal of the medical.

My personal opinion is that the NATS medical doesn't cost the company anything (only time!) but the CAA medical costs £400+ which is a cost NATS will pay for. SO..I think "NATS fit" is a term NATS use so they only fork out one £400 for every candidate.......because they still have to pay the CAA £400 for a failure, and again for the re-take so I think NATS are just covering their financial backs with the first medical. That's only my opinion though !!!!

If your are doing your medicals round about now, looks like you will be heading for the Aug course but once that fills up you will be on the last one of the year (Oct/Nov is it?!) so my advice is to do your medicals at the earliest date provided to get your name penciled in on the earliest available course.

Tom

Hiya Tom,

NATS is interested in your medical fitness from a more long term position than the CAA. The CAA can issue you a medical which allows can form part of your ATCO licence, but they're not concerned about whether you'll pass your first renewal (or any future ones before that).

For example, restrictions on eyesight at NATS are tougher than the CAA requirements as the company worries that if your eyesight is deteriorating, you may not be able to hold a medical certificate for your entire career at NATS. Therefore, they set a tougher limit to give you some room for change as you get older.

Not sure what's happening with the future medical checks as I've already got my CAA medical certificate, but I'm sure NATS will always be interested in some way!

Hey there my name is Beci, i have my initial assessment tests at the end of next month. and i just want to know if the information on the practice test is anything like the actual test on the day. Im in the RAF so i already know about the airspace etc, im just abit worried about the test. if anyone could shed some light i would be more than grateful.

Peace xx

BeciJ

What practice tests do you have? I assume you mean the NATS pdf they provide with the stage 1 test emails? You may find it beneficial to use the small number of practice examples they give to formulate your own questions just to get your confidence up a bit, if you feel you need to.

As they stand now I think the tests for stage 1 are:
Spatial reasoning (cubes)
Diagramming
Mental Arithmatic and
Motivation Paper

My stage 1 had each test bar the motivation test (a NATS document) done through a separate question booklet from SHL. Not sure if thats changed now (any current stage 1/2/3 candidates?).

Good Luck!

Ok cool, thank you. what is in the motivational paper?? i really quite scared about this whole thing:uhoh:

xx

You should (if things havn't changed in the last 6 months) have been sent a document of the motivation paper material, I think its around 20-30 pages, which is the basis for learning for the motivation paper.

If you're in the RAF I guess maybe you'll find some of it you already know.

PM me any other questions or just reassurance! :)

Hey Beci,

If you are in the RAF the motivational paper will be a doddle. :ok:

I see you are at Scampton, not the deathly CRC i hope. Just brush up on the old mental arithmetic and you will be fine. I spent 5 years at RAF Boulmer and that gave me loads of confidence on the motivation side of things. Good luck. :)

Worried about eyesight
 

With a lot of people on here talking about the medial requirements and the eye tests this has caused me to become very worried.

Looking up the NATS medical requirements I pass everything apart from the eye requirements. In one eye I have perfect vision (reading the bottom line is no problem for me) however with the other eye I have almost no vision, I can read the top big letter and that is about it. It is a nerve thing rather than a focusing thing apparently so no amount of correction will solve it.

Does this effectively end my chance to be a controller with NATS? I wsa just about to book my stage 2 assesment but upon reading their requirements more closely I think I might just be wasting everyone's time?

Anyone who has more knowledge of this please help?

Murphy: Rather than us speculating on what may or may not be acceptable to NATS, your best bet would be to contact NATS HR direct. They will be able to give you an answer or refer you to their medical department for advice. Fingers crossed for you, I sympathise with how you must be feeling.

hey biffytheking1980,

Yeh im at the CRC how did you guess:rolleyes:. so did you find the paper alright then? what stage are you at?

Beci x

Beci:

Im waiting to start aerodrome whenever NATS decide they will run the course :bored: I was meant to start in Oct but the "downturn in air traffic" has meant they have cancelled the last two Aero courses. Hopefully will be starting in July.

I went through the process last year so it has possibly changed a bit since then but it wasnt so bad. I think the computer tests were the most stressfull bit as I came out thinking I had done terribly. You can maybe do some practice cubes and play computer games to help while you are sitting on your arse at scampton :ok:

biffytheking1980,

sitting on my arse.. we dont do things like that!! :) but ill bare everything you have said in mind and start playing some computer games.ha! does tetris count i can play that in work??

so how long is the aerodrome course, what did the computer bit consist of?

Beci x

The computer bit is in stage two. Im assuming you will sail through stage1 :)
To be honest before my stage1 all I did was get my brain back into doing some maths. The RAF had numbed my brain.

Think it is the FEAST tests for stage two now which are meant to be pretty cool but you cant really prepare for them. I suppose you could be cheeky and ask if you can play on the aptitude tests at cranwell for ATC and FC that might be helpfull?

PM me if you want. I have loads of info i got from going through. Interview questions etc.

10/12/09
 

Hiya guys just wondering if anyone has heard back from the stage 3 on the 10th dec?

Nats noob
 

Hey guys and girls, just in the process of getting on the nats ladder, i've confirmed my date for the stage 1 tests for mid january. I'm rather worried about something though, does anybody know how important the online tests are on the shl site? the one's you have to complete before your test day but don't find out the results until you go along? I fear I have cocked them up big time and don't want to have blown my chances before getting anywhere! :bored: cheers, jase x

I found out yesterday that I passed stage 3! Got another email today asking me to book a medical but when I clicked the link it said that there wasn't any slots available and to contact them which I have done.

Well done to everyone else who has recently passed stage 3 and hope to see you all at the college!

Quick question for those of you who have recently passed your stage 3..

How did you find out ? Were you told by email or phoned ?

Arggg the waiting is evil :(

Important Info On Medicals
 

Hi All,

I had my medical just last friday at NATS swanwick and from what the medical receptionist said to me at the time i can say with about 99.9% certainty that i am one of the last people to have a medical at NATS swanwick as they are no longer doing medicals there.

I believe that instead they send you a medical questionnaire(this would be what menthol has received) and if everything on this is okay you then book your CAA medical.

Finding this out was a bit of a kick in the teeth at first since if i'd waited a week i wouldn't have had to make the 800 mile return journey from scotland:{(to make it even worse last friday would be the day the uk was blanketed with thick fog:{:{)!! I got over it though as i still had a good time in the ops room in the afternoon!

Also, proudscot (how original lol) check your pm's.:)

xinebessa
 

I heard by email after 1 working day lol(i got in btw)

adam28
 

wow, how long ago was that ?