thanks a ton that has really cleared the doubt i had thanks again

tushar

MEDICAL
 

Hi I was wondering if anyone has recently had their medical? I have mine on the 20th August and I was wondering how long it takes? Also, is the office where the medical is within easy walking distance from Gatwick airport?

I ask because I have to arrange train journeys from Liverpool, going and returning the same day, and want to make sure I leave enough time to get back to central London for the return train journey.

Also can anyone recommend any itineraries? At the minute I am thinking of 3 options:

1/ Liverpool - Euston (cheapest and 0 changes), taxi from Euston - St Pancreas, then First Capital train to Gatwick Airport.

2/ Liverpool - Kings Cross (1 change but 2 changes on the return journey), then First Capital train to Gatwick Airport.

3/ Liverpool - Victoria (1 change but 2 changes on the return journey), then Gatwick Express to Gatwick airport.

I was hoping for a response asap if possible please as train prices are high and will only get higher! Thanks.

Option 1 is a good idea, but scrub the taxi, there's about 5 bus routes that will take you the half a mile or so down the road to KXSP, for the princely sum of £2.

Option 2 is probably no cheaper, and a lot of messing about

Option 3 is going to cost you an absolute ton of money, as the GatEx is a premium service, and costs a fortune!

Hope that's helped. I'm a London bus driver, and have lived here all my life, so I have learned from experience!

Barry

Re: Euston to St Pancras, its a 5 minute walk if you know the way. If not, its 5 minutes of walking up and down escalators and platforms to take the tube from one to the other. Getting a taxi will be a waste of money!

Cheers lads, I will go the Euston route then. Now I just need to know how long the medical takes so that I book the right time for the train home!

Hi Agent99uk,

i am appearing for the stage II the EOM too.. on the 31 Aug in Fareham. Whn are you taking it? would be glad to join ya... :):)

Hi everyone,

Although this is my first message, I have been following advice on here for over a year now. Failed at the final stage April 2009, and now about to do stage 2 on Tuesday in Fareham. Thanks to everyone for the advice so far, been very helpful. :ok:

In regards to the new stage 2, I am aware preperation is limited, however I am still a bit usure as to the content of the FEAST test. Couple of questions!!

Is it similar to the Eurocontrol tests? If not in what ways?
...and are there maths questions alongside it?

Cheers,

Shaun

Theres usually a taxi or two lurking around the station, or just up the road. Might be worth looking up a taxi number on yell.co.uk or something to take with you just incase there aren't any around.

I made the mistake of trying to walk it once in the boiling hot summer sun. Not advisable.

Hey folks, iv my stage 1 in Prestick this Friday, really looking forward to it, but im just wondering is it quite easy to get to as im flying into Prestwick airport for 10ish an the tests are at 1. Can I just dally over to it easy enough and is there somewhere near it that I could grab a snack in while I wait or would the closest thing just be in the airport?

Thanks :)

From what I remember, it is about 15-20 minutes walk, (Wx permitting), from EGPK to EGPX, - about 5 minutes by taxi.
NATS should have a canteen facility on-site, considering the scale of the operation there.

hey thanks zooker :) sorry to be a noob, but what do you mean by EGPK to EGPX :confused: lol soz. would the prestwick control centre be a building outside the airport that can access be accessed off the street or would its access be through the airport? nearly all sorted just tryin to learn off the 26 aircraft specs lol,

i street view google mapped the postcode for the place and i dont think its the place im lookin for lol can anyone have a wee look just to confirm? plus i cant seem to find Fresson Avenue on those google maps,,,

prestwick area - Google Maps

NATS -Link to Google Map
Prestwick Centre
Fresson Ave
Prestwick
KA9 2TR

cheers

cjshields
 

I did my medical last month and it lasted around 3 hours but thats assuming you don't fail any parts. Any part you do fail you need to pay for there and then. The CAA building is about 5 mins from the airport and runs roughly every 10 mins, the bus that takes you there is free as well.

hi ss10
i have my stage one tests at whitley in fareham could u help me with how to get there i am travelling from liverpool.
thanks in advance

cheers lad
tushar

tkolekar;

Im actually doing mine in Prestwick mate so I cant really help you there...

But if your travelling by car, try:

Route Planner: Routes, maps and directions - The AA

Thats what Im using to get to Prestwick.

Hope that helps.

Sharmanat0r,
EGPK and EGPX are the ICAO Location Indicators for Prestwick Airport and the ATC centre.
The ATC centre is located just off the airport, on an industrial estate, in the angle of the 'L' shape formed by the 2 runways.
If I remember correctly, on leaving the airport turn left towards Prestwick. At the end of the dual carriageway, there is a roundabout.
At the roundabout, head down between the flats along Shawfarm Road.
The centre is near the end of this road on the right-hand side. It is about 1.5 miles from the Terminal building.
Good Luck! :ok:

Zooker, your an absolute star, thanks :ok:

anyone else got their stage one in Prestwick this Friday the 13th lol.... dunno about the choice of date tho ;)

about 1000 inviduals in this forum posting left and right. Always a brilliant mind comes along and asks if the tests in S1 are easy. Is that a relevant question? How can some1 be asking that if a test is easy without prior knowledge of the person you are asking to. Please people have some perspective.

Just a quick question for anybody who has already done there stage 1 assesments;

Are the numeracy and ATC knowledge tests multi choice or is this just the spatial reasoning and diagramming tests?

Thanks in advance.

shaunhftm

glad that you completed your stage 2 :ok:.. am yet to appear for stage 2 on the 31 of aug...;)

can you gimme a fair idea abt the assessments...:ugh:

@shaunhftm

I also only managed to spot one opposite confliction on the SDM test. Dont worry about it because i still managed to get through. Got stage 3 coming up next week, can't wait :O

ss10

thanks mate but i am goin to travel by train hopefully i make it there in time :sad:

cheers lad and good luck for ur stage one

Hey folks, this might be a really dumbo question lol but in an effort to group the aircraft from the document into types, what would constitute an aircraft as small, medium or large?

I know a 747 would be classed as a large aircraft, but many of the other jet types are quite similar in terms of flight levels and speeds so im just wondering how you would categorise them?

Thanks in advance :)

Hi Sharmanat0r, I've got my stage 1 tomorow in Prestwick, afternoon session just like you.
About your question, I suggest you use the seating details to classify your birds. Correct me if I am wrong please...
And practice those cubes...!!
(by the way, this is my first post here: hello, everyone!)

hey filipebravo :)

thanks, knowing those seating plans is mental lol but its gota be done! really lookin forward to it tomorrow, been waitin long enough :)

yeh those cubes that we've read so much about, its one test I cant find a lot of resources on, iv picked up aspatial test book,couple pdfs, but there is nothing hardcore on cubes lol you wouldnt have knowledge of such a place would ya ;) ?

im flyin from belfast to prestwick that morning, Ryanair, fingers crossed theres no delays!

Air Traffic management
 

Hey, i know this is completely apart from the topic, but im looking for universities that offer a course in air traffic management, either along with a masters degree or not, in the Americas or Europe. Please do respond to this ASAP!

rsk03

Thankfully only spotting 1 opposite confliction wasn't a problem - just found out i'm through to the third stage :). Good luck with your next stage, next date i can get is end of October, best start preparing!:8

hi shaunhftm

am glad you got through the stage 2..

am having my stage 2 end of month.. can you please gimme an idea of how to prepare and an over view of the assessments..

am quite really nervous..

Stage 1 experience
 

ATC paper - After reading through this thread, I has an assumption that this paper was going to be easy and it was but only because I knew all the information back to front. If you have no aeronautical background then because of the range and varying difficulties of the questions, I recommend reading the PDF over and over again until you're confident that you can answer every question that could possibly come up. A number or fact that you didn't learn because you assumed it wouldn't be in the test could be the difference between a pass and a fail. There were more speed/distance/time questions than I thought there would be in this paper but you should be able to answer these if you have any chance at the more difficult questions in the numerical paper.

Numerical paper - All the questions are speed/distance/time with some variations on the theme (fuel consumption etc.). You don't need any ATC knowledge to do this, you just need to be quick with numbers and quick with digesting information. I just finished but I don't think most people do.

Cubes - There are three different nets with some questions (like the type given for practice) on each. I prepared for this by cutting out every possible net and then making questions for each. I'm not a natural cubist and I'm sure this helped me. I answered 31/40 questions but there were quite a few 50-50 questions and if I've failed, this is where it happened.

Diagramming - I didn't prepare much for this because I'm pretty good at it so I focused on the cubes. I'm sure you can make your own questions if you feel you're going to struggle with it. Try to answer the first few questions as quickly as you can so you have more time for the more difficult questions at the end. I'm confident that I passed this.

Ask on here/PM if you have questions.

The official wait for S1 results is 15 working days but what are people's experience of the actual wait. I took the morning test at Prestwick - does the waiting time depend on location/session?

I'm not usually this impatient - I'm just hoping there's a chance I'll receive the result before I go back to uni.

Notnek

Took my stage 1 yesterday also and pretty much agree with all that.

ATC paper: Found this quite easy but I did absolutely hammer the revision for a good week before the test. Easy if you learn everythink in the PDF simple as that.

Numeracy: Found this alot harder and actually thought I'd failed, but just finished it. As it turned out I never failed despite throughly believing I had.

Cubes: Thought this was quite difficult. The questions ranged from really easy to extremely difficult. Likewise if i've failed I would say it was because of this. Finished most of it but not all of it (does anybody?).

Diagramming: Not too difficult, although they do get quite tricky towards the end.

Just waiting on an e-mail now, fingers crossed. No idea whether im through to stage 2 or not.

hi everyone

i have my stage in september on the 23rd i know its a long way away anyone who is giving the test on the same day please get in touch

cheers guys
T

shaunhftm,

Hope you dont mind me saying this but I just thought I would let you know that you wont be able to pass your medical if you have migraines. I passed stage 3 last Dec and had my medical in February this year. I used to have migraines as a child and had had one a year and a half ago. I failed the medical because of this but I am allowed to re-take it when I have been free from migraines for 2 years. My application has been put on hold until then thankfully. Just thought I would let you know.

hi chippy, thansk for the advice about medicals. do you know anything about the psychiatric part of it? does a gp referral to see a therapist equate to unfit to be an atco? i'm not depressed or anything just had a problem with someone in my family for years now and needed someone to talk to about it, but now i'm scared that this looks bad on the medical. Do you know if this would blight my chances? Haven't applied yet just in case. cheers

Quick question

Is there a difference in earning potential at Swanwick between ATCOs working in Terminal Control and En Route (Area)

Cheers

No. Swanwick ATCOs get the same salary whether you work in TC or AC.

Hi All

I've just had the good news that I have passed stage 3 but now have the long wait until October 2011 for the next intake.

I was just wondering if anyone knew how soon NATS would contact my employer for references? Ideally I wouldn't want them to contact my employer until at most 2 months before my college start date as I would like to continue working here up until I start at the college.

Cheers

Well done on passing stage 3! congrats! i'm so surprised you have to wait until october 2011 to start. in regards to your references, i wouldn't worry if nats get in touch with your current employer sooner - they can't fire you just for getting a new job! or will it make it hard to work there if they know?

Start date
 

@cereal

Have you had that start date confirmed? I have my medical on Friday but I have heard that a few people have been given dates this Sept and next Jan (although they did pass their stage 3 before me).

They did say during my interview that the likely start date would be Summer of next year, though Oct makes sense as they are re-locating the college from Bournemouth to Swanwick next Summer and it would make sense not to move people mid-course.

wow October 2011? a wait but one that's worthwhile :) awesome news you got through :) congrats!

just did my stage 1 on Friday 13th afternoon slot at Prestwick, was really enjoyable, everyone was chatty an relaxed and its an impressive place from what I got to see lol. Im Ajay the indian guy so if I was chattin ya give me a PM ;)

Just thought id share a bit on the tests since iv got so much info from here myself, but I may have the times messed up lol...

1st test was the ATC paper i think it was 30 questions in 18 mins but there was loads of time to run over it again an the questions were relatively easy if you had learned the document. as was said earlier there were more DST questions than I had expected but handy enough and there was a couple questions on distances nothing exact, then there were a couple on the aircraft specs, and im sooo happy they didnt ask the stuff I wasnt 100% sure about lol.

2nd test was a Numeracy test, and I dont know why but I had it in my head that it was a checking test you know with 1 long digit on the left that you had to choose the same from the 5 options but it was a pure DST test, 20 questions in 15 mins I think... some real easy an some a little awkward as the number werent whole numbers each time. This one is tight for time as I only got 18 completed :( but still got through the first half so not sure what the limit is, I tryed askin but they werent givin anythin away ;)

Then there was a short break as they marked the tests, there was no presentations or ATCO to chat to as I have read in earlier posts but I havnt gotten through the whole topic yet 100 pages to go.... It was gut wrenchin when they read the names of the peeps who had to leave then, horrible feeling...

Then the 3rd test was that bloomin Cubes test, 3 cube nets an im not sure how many questions there were but we had 20 mins an it started easy but the 2nd cube was a nightmare lol, 3rd cube was a little better.

The 4th test was the diagrammatic reasoning test. again 20 minutes for 50 questions I think, got to about 40 of them but again they started easy an got a bit mental...

Met some cool people who'd travelled from all over the country and I hope I get to meet yas again at some stage, but now the 15 day wait (well 11 now :) or was that workin days lol....hmm)

@rewolf321: The problem I have is that I start a new job on Monday and will be on probation for 6 months so if they find out they could get rid of me easily and I was hoping now to work for them until the course starts in just over a year. I was offered the job a few weeks ago and took them up on the offer incase NATS fell through. Kinda bad timing but to be honest if I end up stacking shelves in a supermarket for a year I really couldn't give a monkeys now that I've been accepted by NATS lol

@CJShields: That was the date given to me at the interview a couple of weeks ago. Apparently anyone who currently doesnt have a start date will be starting then. So we could possibly be on the next intake together. Annoyingly I pretty much live in Bournemouth so the move to the CTC is a pain lol. How long did it take from passing stage 3 to getting a date for your medical if you don't mind me asking?

@Sharminator: Thanks dude, good luck with the rest of your application :)