natnat25 there's scrap paper provided for the diagramming and the numeracy tests for you to do rough work on if you need it

jimmy780 and jenga-jen thank you for reply !

Stage 1 result
 

Got the email saying ive passed stage 1 again !! Thank god for that, roll on stage 2, booked for Tuesday 13th April, anyone else on this day ???
Things seem to be a lot quicker this time round, all credit to NATS HR team !!! Saves the agony of waiting !!!

Congrats jimmy780, if that's the 13th of April in Fareham then I'm heading over there as well! (from Dublin, really wish they still did expenses :p )

First time for me so have a mild case of the fear, hope it goes well for you :)

Some Numerical info you must know for the test
 

Question 1
(1) A plane is traveling at 350knots how far did go in 90 mins ?


Solution:

distance = speed x time but if you do 350 x 90 you will get the wrong answer.

Precaution: you need to convert 90 min into hours by dividing 90 by 60 (1.5)
So your answer will be 350 x 1.5 = 525 miles ( nautical mile)

Also it’s worth knowing that
(1) to convert minutes to hours divide by 60
(2) to convert hours to minutes multiply by 60


Question 2:

An Airplane has a ground speed of 911 knots. How far will it travel in 2 hours 22 mins ?

Solution : Convert 22 mins into hours and add 2 to the result to find the time you need to use for the calculation.
So answer = 911 ( 2 + 22/60) = 2156 nautical miles approximately

That's a pretty fast plane or a huge tail wind.

Skytest disc
 

Hi Ginnersam,

Would you be interested in selling your disc? lol

first stage 13/5/10
 

hey,

anyone else booked for bournemouth 13th may? I was going on 7th but think its wise to take max revision time!

-
 

Or there is another possible solution: you know that the plane is travelling at 350 knots so in 60 minutes it's travelling 350 nautical miles; the half of 350 is 175 (30 minutes is an half hour, big surprise) so just do some quick math and voila... As I know there are 4 possible answers so you do not even have to do very exact calculates.

It's true for the second example too: speed=911 knots for 2 hours=1822 miles + 22 minutes (which is 1/3 hour, so the 30% of 911 is around 303-304) so all you have to do in your head is not too complicated: adding them! And you will be very happy to finish the math part before everybody else.

And everybody has to watch out: there might be funny switches between nautical and "normal" miles.

@ jimmy780 and jenga-jen or anyone that cares to answer:

I have my Stage 2 on April 9th. I was wondering; are you two preparing for it in any way?

I have read a lot of this thread and from what I remember, you can't really prepare for Stage 2. I feel a bit uneasy though, rolling in with no preparation, especially as travel is so expensive!

I'm currently writing my dissertation which is due in 2 weeks so I'm not sure how much time I could commit to preparation anyway...

Cjshields
 

The previous posts are correct in that there isn't much you can do to prepare. I would have a look at the skytest website about this disc. The screenshots and descriptions are accurate compared to what you will face at stage 2. I don't think it's worth buying as it's expensive and it all is to do with how you perform on the day. The pressure and stress you are under whilst taking the tests will be different to at home. More cubes and more maths involved but not in great detail. I would concentrate on your degree in case this doesn't work out. All the best for both though.

Dunno if it's any help to anyone but when I sat my stage 2 in Feb sometimes the questions would be coming at me so thick and fast that I easily got confused as to what I was doing. Didn't know if I was answering the question I thought I was or the one that had just popped up so I paniced and it threw me which meant I didn't have time to look at the next question and when I answered that the next had popped up etc....

I found sometimes you have to "Step back" a bit and re-focus yourself, ignore the mistakes you make and re-focus on answering whatever is in front of you. Although you will only have about 3 seconds to do this in.

The most important bot of advice I can give is psyche yourself up and prepare for a bombardment of questions before the test starts but when it does try to remain as calm as you can.

Stage 2
 

Some old posts say that there is a second cubes spatial ability test at stage 2. Am I right to assume this is outdated?

Hi,

I've got my Stage 1 booked for Wednesday April 7th, 9:00am at Fareham and felt compelled to post here since this thread has been very useful but still have a question of my own.

The documentation we're supplied with concludes with a few pages of various Aircraft and their capacity, flight level, speed etc. Do we need to memorise these or are they included to take up valuable real estate in the brain?

On the bright side, I'm not nervous (at the moment) just very excited at this prospect. Not so much the 300+ mile drive down on Tuesday. Hopefully be in high spirits for the return journey after the tests though :)

Cjshields and conc1845
 

Cjshields - yes I believe there are more cubes in stage 2

conc1845 - this has been covered before, have a basic knowledge of size , speed and destinations. I uploaded a couple of documents that may help in a previous post.

My apologies. I must have missed that page but thanks for re-directing me back there. Certainly seems to be of use. Guess I'll be taking my laptop down with me afterall.

stage 1 Aircraft Info
 

Aircraft Info
 

Cheers jking101. With a pass at 75%, that 5% or so on the aircraft could prove valuable so I'll be boning up on those regardless now. Besides, as you said I'll need them at later stages/college anyways. jimmy780's "Top Trumps" are very handy for that I must say :)

Tests
 

I have my test tomorrow and am worried about the maths tests, what are the climb and descent rate calcs and are they different from the time speed distance stuff?

Testing
 

reposting this as its soooo useful!!

1. Info on stage one and Basic Checking Tests: http://www.mattieb.110mb.com/nats.php
2. S D T Questions: http://www.speeddistancetime.info/
3. A/C Recognition; http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/quiz/
4. Possible S D T; http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/cx/index.html
5. NATS Practise Leaflet: http://natscareers.co.uk/docs/NATS_Practice_Leaflet2.pdf
6. S D T; http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/mathsI/number_gen/dst_rev1.shtml
7. MATS 1: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP493Part1.pdf
8. Personality Test: http://www.airways.co.nz/careers/atc_quiz.asp
9. Everything: http://www.airways.co.nz/careers/what_it_takes.asp
10. Checking; http://web.archive.org/web/20041209192522/freespace.virgin.net/at.co/atco/resources/Checking.htm
11. Mental Arithmetic: http://web.archive.org/web/20060128180335/freespace.virgin.net/at.co/atco/resources/mentalarithmetic.htm
12. Numeracy Exam: http://web.archive.org/web/20040816075851/eugrad.jpmorgan.com/content/context_gen.htm?content/content_6.htm
13. SHL Tests: http://www.shl.com/shl/en-int/candidatehelpline
http://www.shlgroup.com
14. Quantas Psychometric Exam: http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/about/employment/QTests.pdf
15. Spatial Ability: http://www.psychometric-success.com/practice-papers/Psychometric%20Success%20Spatial%20Ability%20-%20Practice%20Test%201.pdf
16. Diagrammatic Reasoning: http://www.psychometric-success.com/practice-papers/Psychometric%20Success%20Diagrammatic%20Reasoning% 20-%20Practice%20Test%201.pdf
17. Data Checking; http://www.psychometric-success.com/practice-papers/Psychometric%20Success%20Data%20Checking%20-%20Practice%20Test%201.pdf
18. http://www.psytechltd.com/shltrials/
19. http://www.psychtesting.org.uk/index.cfm?EBBB1D95-CF1C-D577-9D29-9D271A5AD8E3
20. http://www.ase-solutions.co.uk/goto.php?sess=x38100|u18899|p158|n144|c18899|l0|g0 |d0&pg=Take_a_practice_test#
21. http://www.shef.ac.uk/careers/students/gettingajob/psychometric.html
22. http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/planarity
23. http://www.psychometric-success.com/aptitude-tests/diagrammatic-reasoning-tests.htm
24. http://www.assessmentday.co.uk/inductive/Free/Inductive-Reasoning-Test1.pdf
25. http://www.wikijob.co.uk/wiki/diagrammatic-reasoning
26. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/1670177/GMAT-Abstract-Reasoning--Test-1
27. http://www.wikijob.co.uk/wiki/spatial-visualisation


Question 1
(1) A plane is traveling at 350knots how far did go in 90 mins ?


Solution:

distance = speed x time but if you do 350 x 90 you will get the wrong answer.

Precaution: you need to convert 90 min into hours by dividing 90 by 60 (1.5)
So your answer will be 350 x 1.5 = 525 miles ( nautical mile)

Also it’s worth knowing that
(1) to convert minutes to hours divide by 60
(2) to convert hours to minutes multiply by 60


Question 2:

An Airplane has a ground speed of 911 knots. How far will it travel in 2 hours 22 mins ?

Solution : Convert 22 mins into hours and add 2 to the result to find the time you need to use for the calculation.
So answer = 911 ( 2 + 22/60) = 2156 nautical miles approximately

Or there is another possible solution: you know that the plane is travelling at 350 knots so in 60 minutes it's travelling 350 nautical miles; the half of 350 is 175 (30 minutes is an half hour, big surprise) so just do some quick math and voila... As I know there are 4 possible answers so you do not even have to do very exact calculates.

It's true for the second example too: speed=911 knots for 2 hours=1822 miles + 22 minutes (which is 1/3 hour, so the 30% of 911 is around 303-304) so all you have to do in your head is not too complicated: adding them! And you will be very happy to finish the math part before everybody else.

And everybody has to watch out: there might be funny switches between nautical and "normal" miles.
Question 1
(1) A plane is traveling at 350knots how far did go in 90 mins ?


Solution:

distance = speed x time but if you do 350 x 90 you will get the wrong answer.

Precaution: you need to convert 90 min into hours by dividing 90 by 60 (1.5)
So your answer will be 350 x 1.5 = 525 miles ( nautical mile)

Also it’s worth knowing that
(1) to convert minutes to hours divide by 60
(2) to convert hours to minutes multiply by 60


Question 2:

An Airplane has a ground speed of 911 knots. How far will it travel in 2 hours 22 mins ?

Solution : Convert 22 mins into hours and add 2 to the result to find the time you need to use for the calculation.
So answer = 911 ( 2 + 22/60) = 2156 nautical miles approximately
Absolutely!! but the basic principles remain the same - find examples below:

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?


Ok, work out the time first, FL320 (32,000 ft) to FL250 (25,000 ft) is 7000 ft. Divided by 800 ft per minute descent is 8.75 minutes. 540 mph is 9 miles a minute (540/60), so distance would be 9*8.75 = 78.75 miles.

First work out how long it will take to descend to the flight level shown:

The aircraft will descent 7,000ft at 800fpm so it will take 8 min 45 sec.

Now you have to work out how fat it'll travel in 8min45sec (or 8.75)

So 540 (speed) / 60(minutes) = 9miles per minute

The aircraft will travel 9 miles across the ground every minute.

so 9 x 8.75= 78.75 nautical miles (nm)

remember "distance over speed times time"

d
s x t

Aircraft 40 nautical miles away, at 30,000 ft descending at 3000ft per minute and travelling at 240 knots.. can it make it? 30000/3000=10 minutes 240 knots is 4 miles per min distance is 10*4 = 40 mins 240/60=4 4 miles per min so 4*10 = 40 miles


-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?
-Aircraft 40 nautical miles away, at 30,000 ft descending at 3000ft per minute and travelling at 240 knots.. can it make it?
240 knots = 4 miles per minute, which means 10 minutes to get the 40 miles to the airport.
3000 feet per minute for 10 minutes means a descent of 30,000 feet. He could make it.

-a/c doing 420 knots/mph, how far will it fly in 20mins...
-a/c flies 40 miles in 10 mins, what speed is it doing...
-a/c needs to travel 120 miles, is doing 480mph, how long will it take...
-If a/c flies at 420kts for 40 mins how far will it travel?
-If a/c flies 60 miles in 10 mins how fast is it moving?
-If point A and point B are 50 miles apart and a/c is doing 200kts how long will it take?

stage one tests
 

I took my stage one on the 18th march at fareham and i am going crazy now wondering if i have passed or not! I know they say 15 working days, and i am on my 11th working day today. Typically it would have been a bank holiday so take even longer. Should be anytime soon hopefully! :bored:

Tests
 

Any info on the climb and descent rates?

Stage 1
 

Just got back from my Stage 1 (9:00am, Fareham). Got through to the second half so can't be bad. Eagerly waiting an email now. Not a clue which way it's gonna go like.

Banana81 (Marie): are you one of the others that got through to the second half?

The 9:00am one? Just to put a face to a name. Should've prolly got names whilst down there but pretty sure we all had other things going on in our head besides casual introductions :)

Good to know who i'm talking to.

Aye drive back was good. KFC'd it up 100 at Warwick which set me up nicely for the remaining 200 miles.

Just sucks to be back at work tomorrow.

All the best to you anyways and lemme know if ya get through. Will be on here regularly (hopefully :)) now.

Ye good luck to you too! I could eat a kfc now:0) Hopefully we will meet at stage 2!!

Sounds like it went well for the guys above. Stage 1 for me on Friday at Prestwick, bit of an even journey of the two locations from Yorkshire so plumped for Scotland simply so I can visit some family tomorrow and haven't got as bad a journey on the day. Bit nervous about it (surprisingly the maths, which I should be good at being a final year accounting student at uni), hopefully it goes ok. Revising like hell, those cubes are a pain aren't they? It's the short time restriction that gets me a bit flustered.

How difficult is it in reality, I'm mega nervous which is unusual for me.

Medical > Start Date
 

Wondering if anyone could answer a quick question for me.

I forwarded my medical certificate to Nats, and they received it 2 weeks ago tomorrow (thursday 8th april). They said someone would be in contact shortly to allocate me to the next available course.

Has anyone else had such a delay in contact, the HR team are usually very quick to get through everything?

Give them a ring. I chased them when I didn't hear after 3 days from receiving the "we'll be in touch" email! I spoke to Nikki Foras and she sorted my place out straight away. :ok:

i'd just like to ask something

if i fail (which i hope i won't) FEAST tests at EC, can i apply to NATS or not?

thx for the answer :)

sure
 

Yes you can! Just like Obama.

Medical to College!
 

Give them a ring. I chased them when I didn't hear after 3 days from receiving the "we'll be in touch" email! I spoke to Nikki Foras and she sorted my place out straight away
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks also! I gave it to them last week so I'm going to give them a call today! :)

stage one tests
 

Heard i was unsuccesful for stage one, absolutely gutted! I emailed them to see if they could tell me how far off i was and they just said i need to improve on diagramming. But on the day they said they added all the papers together as a percentage so really annoyed !:(

Sorry to hear that Ginnersam! Yours was the 18th March wasn't it? Just getting a feel for the turn around of the notifications. You going to try again next year?

cheapaschips1000: All the best for tomorrow! Just try and be calm (cliche'd i know) and read documentation. Just like all other tests anywhere, don't dwell on anything you're really stuck on. Move on and hopefully you'll have some time or at least pick up marks further on. A good night's sleep never goes a-miss either :) Good luck!

Stage 2
 

Hello friends. I am Ruben.
I have questions to you.
On 28 april I will pass 2 stage intervew in NATS.
What kind of test is it?
Are there any Math questions and if yes what kind is it? I am air-traffic controller.I have been working since 2004.I have international license. Can all this help me during the test? Thanks a lot.
Ruben

About Test Info:
 

Thanks Banana for all the information on the test practice, has so far done wonders for my studying. Not got my stage 1 tests until the 30th @ Prestwick so still got plenty of time to keep studying.

Any other tips? So far this forum has been excellent.:ok:

Now I'm just eagerly awaiting my test:)

Cheers,

Gaz

Ruben: Most the maths boils down to D/S/T. There's a few examples on the previous page of this topic.

Gaznut: From the sounds of it you don't need any more tips. Been studying and you seem more excited than nervous which is nice. Plus you've got loads of time so just keep at it. Gotta agree with you on this forum's quality too. Spot on :)

So then. Going to spend the afternoon up the tower at Heathrow today in preparation for my stage 3 next week. I'm as giddy as a kid before Xmas. I'd take pictures but I'd probably get shot!

I'll let you know how it goes and any juicy info later.

Hey gaznut ur welcome, that stuff really helped me that I found and the diagramming and cube links gave me loads of practise! Supposed to hear back today and I'm a nervous wreck!!! :0)

failed stage one!
 

yes i will give it another go next year depending on my circumstances but at least i know what to expect