stage 1
 

@2slipsandagully

first of all, fantastic name, i love getting a batsman to nick off...but most of my team mates can't catch a thing in the slips, normally just goes for four lol.

anyway, you weren't in at 11 this morning (26th) were you? there were loads in that group.

i made it through the first part, found that fairly easy tbh despite feeling that might be the part i fell down on.

on the contrary, i was fairly confident going into the second part as i'd practised a lot on the diagramming and cubes, but as i suspected they changed the commands on the diagramming so that took away my edge. i did 42/50 and 38/40 on the cubes which were fairly tough towards the end of each stage i thought.

just have to wait and see :P.

Test Enquiries!
 

Hi everybody, can anyone tell me what the stage 1 tests include? Have they changed at all. Cheers..:ok:

Hey, nats requests that information is not shared or passed on to other people, i guess this could be why not many exact test examples have been issued

Just make sure you know the in-out of speed/distance/time calculations,
i.e
a/c traveling 420mph (could be knts) for 2hrs 10mins, how far will it have traveled etc etc etc

^^^^^^^
Same with a/c at flxxx decending at xxxxfpm how long will it take for it to get to flxxxx etc etc etc

Read the nats guide, as someone mentioned before, learn it all, it is not a patch on what you will be given if you get in. Get used to reading lots of information.

I was really un-happy to see the actual lack of questions which even related to the guide provided and what little questions did relate to the guide, how basic they where... Never the less read it and learn it still and perhaps look at other aviation related things that might be of use. I.E DME, etc

Finally, do learn best you can, basic info about the aircraft's as there is some questions on this also.

Apart from that i cannot really say anything else for the reason stated at the top of my comment.

Hope this helps

I was un-succesfull but that is because i spent too much time knowing the guide of the back of my hand then i did practicing distance/time/speed.
But at least i now have a year to nail distance/speed/time and work further on cube tests and diagramming.!


Best of luck to the remaining applicants.

[Did anyone who completed Stage 1 answer all the questions?]

Yes and had time to check about half of them - but then I am a bit strange! I enjoyed them. Weirdo. Good luck to everyone!

Deadlifter (and everyone who is tall),

read about it here: Too Tall for Air Traffic Control Job- Gillhams Solicitors - West London

I did my test yesterday put didn't pass the first paper. I was confident on all the maths questions bar one so I know I slipped up on the literature questions.

As someone mentioned above some of the questions didn't relate to the literature booklet that we were told to learn. I knew I didn't do well on these questions as having discussed with people around me I made silly mistakes so wasn't too downhearted when I didn't make it through.

Thankfully I took part to see how far I could go so wasn't pinning all my hopes on getting through this time round. I think now I'll be revising more on the industry in readiness for my eventual retake at some point in the future. Good luck to those who did make it through from our 12pm group, around half of the total group got through.

got mine on monday. excited and nervous. The first choice is multiple choice right? i didn't just make that up did i? lol!

Sorry to hear that Bobit and best of luck for when you re-apply.

Can I ask were the questions on the literature multiple choice answers?

bobit and keano666: what is it we should study so as to cover those questions which answers do not come in the literature?. This would really help me!. Any info you thought that would answer those "unkowable" questions would be highly appreciated. Thanks

chrisbeckett2004: all tests are multiple choice.

I also have mine Monday at 12.
Am nervous but just going to do my best as that's all you can do!
I am confident with the literature but not on the maths but just going to keep doing example questions to get me used to the format

Nats Stage 2.....
 

Well Hello all!

Looking to switch sides into ATC....Info here has been great and I was in the 1100 seating yesterday!

Managed to get through the first bit....I am not giving anything away because people have pretty much done a good job of doing this already!

I guess the second bit is down to you - don't rush, I somehow think they are designed to not be completed...! These tests are designed to also assess you as an individual...are you rushed or do you take your time to analyse?

I know the exam content (particularly the first one) is all very cryptic but they do ask for you not to post content on public forums/domains. Besides - it only makes it fair right?

Good luck - get studying! Speak to an ATC guy or even a pilot! Learn airspace, have a concept of european geography and above all....

FOCUS! :D

Stage 1 26th Sept
 

Hi all,

I was on the 1100 stage 1 assessment yesterday which was a very large group. Of the 44 that progressed to the diagramming & cube tests there were quite a few that commented about not finishing all the questions within the time limit.

I was one of those who didn't finish all questions so not too hopeful of a stage 2 invite but you never know! One thing about the cubes that got me was some questions were flattened cubes in different shapes than the standard 'crucifix' shape. Very very challenging and as people have said in previous posts, you've either got it or not.

Good luck to all applicants!

Dez

If you fail the first part of stage 1 (literature/atc and SDT questions) then seriously dont bother re-applying.

Trying to be realistic and not harsh but if you cant pass this paper (its very very simple maths and reciting learned material) then you have absolutely no chance of ever getting through the process and probably no chance of even passing the stage 1 diagramming and cubes....

I am sorry but that is completely unnecessary.

If you fail stage 1 then it just might mean it was not your time and your not ready just yet. You can then take that away and study hard for a year and come back fully prepared.

For some people this can be their dream job and saying things like that is really down heartening

There is a reason why you can apply up to 3 times and after that then maybe you can take a step back and say at least you tried the maximum and its not for you

Hi Guys

I have just gotten my invitation to the online selection test. Excited but nervous :)

I believe this is the 9 minute numbers/letters comparison test.

Does anyone have a link to an online practice simulation test just so I can get my brain in gear?

I used to use one early in the year when the application process was closed and can't seem to find it again.

Good luck to all other candidates wherever you are in the process!!

hear hear...

An occasional aviation enthusiast could pass the literature paper. Just study the material and apply because you really want to work in the industry, not becaue you fancy £xk per annum.

I was in attendance on the 26th, very happy that I performed to my ability level. This happened because I didn't ask people for advice on her, but because I studied and I practiced digrammatic reasoning tests until my mind was as sharp as it could be.

To all those offering advice to the people yet to take the test. PLEASE STOP. Did you not listen to what the woman from NATS said at the outset of the tests?

And finally, to all those who claim that they are sure they answered all the switches and cubes questions correctly, sure you did, I've never met anyone who intentionally answered incorrectly. DOH!

I failed stage 1 on my first attempt.

You can fail for all sorts of reasons, you just need to recognise your weaknesses.

Ignor the previous post - its bunkum

Yes ignore the post earlier on about not reapplying. As we were told on the test day, don't listen to everything on the internet. There are some people trying to put people off for whatever reason. End of the day if you feel you want to retry then do it, you will know better than anyone why you failed. Best of luck to everyone who has tests coming up.

In reference to earlier posts asking me what was on the test. I won't be listing the questions or area to study. It wouldn't be fair on everyone else who is taking part. Other people didn't do it for our test group so I don't think it would be fair to others who have tests coming up. All I'd say is revise the document front to back, every bit of detail and having knowledge of the airline industry would be a great help.

Had a couple of private messages asking what questions are being asked at Stage 1.

As bobit says above, it would be really unfair to do this so I'm afraid I can't be very specific but Learn the literature NATS sent you (all of it!) I spent weeks reading and making notes over and over again and it paid off as I could see the correct answer right in front of me. I know for a fact I got a couple of questions not based on the literature wrong and maths was never my strong point, so getting through the morning session was, for me, down to solid knowledge of the NATS document.

My only advice on the afternoon session would be from reading through this thread is that answering all the questions is possible, I didn't quite manage it but perhaps the people that can and accurately are the people NATS want.

yes, egnor the dream smasher up their ^^, following onto the other comments, nor shall i comment on the questions, but just try and learn a bit more about air traffic and airport's, read up on the ils in further detail. Other things such as way points and other navigational things.
Distance and measurements...i.e what is measured in what unit etc, the different types of units unsed within aviation, mb, dme, etc

@ Agent008

There are practice examples once you've clicked the link before you take the actual test.

Overview
 

I have just completed whole process and since I have learned from this message board probably only fair I should contribute as well so here are my views

1) Anyone can learn anything - if you are not good at cubes then practice cubes, if you cannot do maths quickly then practice maths etc. etc. It drives me mental when people write on here you can either do it or you can't. Not true - some people may pick it up faster / easier but if you don't think you can learn new things then don't apply to be an ATC. I am not a natural at rotating cubes in my head (for example) in any way but I am much better than I was - just practice not magic.

2) Nobody knows what the pass marks are. Even those who finish all the tests (I didn't) don't know what they got right / wrong - so nobody can tell you definitively how many you need to answer as a minimum.

3) The literature they send you is a test. Learn it all - frankly it would take about 2 minutes for anyone to learn the bits that actually came up on my initial test if you knew precicesly what was going to be asked but that is not the game. The game is learn it all since you don't know what will come up.

4) It is a buyers market. You want a job and there are more candidates than places. If you are having to wait a long time (my application took 19 months start to end) then man-up and stop moaning. It might be slow - get over it. If it is taking a long time then get prepared - see 1).

5) Anyone who fails and tries again has my total respect.

6) There are circa. 1,900 ATCs (not a bit of info that was ever asked of me and in the public domain) and they will be a broad church in terms of views / opinions. Their views on here are sometimes treated as infallible - but you have to be discriminating in terms of what you do / don't take in from this forum. Includes this message.

7) Good luck.

On the second set of tests at stage 1 i answered 44/50 and 32/40.
I have just been invited to stage 2 :)

Congratulations! When was your stage 1 krepton?

Congrats KRepton, when did you sit stage 1?

I sat it on 26th and answered 36/50 diagramming and 35/40 cubes, im not exactly hopeful though. My theory is the longer they take to get back to you the less likely you pass, so just interested in when you sat it, cheers.

@Eddy94 Thanks, I also sat my test on Wed 26/09 at 9am. Good luck to you hopefully they will be in touch shortly.

Not much info about stage 2, just that you cant prepare really.
sitting it next friday 05/10

Ok thanks, all the best for the remaining stages :)

Eddy94, I wouldn't use that as an indicator, I think the shortest it took me was 2 weeks, and I passed all my stages on attempt 1.

Well done KRepton, oddly enough I did the exact same number of questions as you on each, there were some of the later cubes where it became and educated guess between 2 options so if I don't get through I think it will be down to these.

How did you find out? Was it through e-mail or do I need to make sure my phone is by me?

Once again, congratulations and good luck :ok:

for all of you going to stage 2, there was a fantastic site called feast test or something, it was only £20 membership and everything you needed was on it, unfortunately, one day it was shut down, i think it was illegal for them to be hosting such material, there was everything on there, atc related, i asked them why it was shutdown and they were unable to give me a reason. :(

We were told on Wednesday that we would hear within a couple of days as they want to get people on the course that starts at the end of November.

@Crazy_Voyager, thats impressive mate, thanks for the info too. But like the post above says, it does seem there is a sense of urgency in the recruitment team to get people through the stages asap atm, any how time will tell. Gonna presume i've failed miserably and stop thinking about it, always the best policy :)

Hi All,

I sent off my application the other day, and was invited to do the online test (where you have to click the matching string of text or numbers in like 6 seconds etc) yesterday. I did this and this morning have received an email saying they would like to invite me to an assessment centre.

I'm guessing not everyone get's invited to the assessment centre, so I guess it's a good thing?

If I'm unable to do any of the dates offered, what do I do? wait until they have some new dates? Need to start reading up!!

Thanks guys
Kingsley

@eddy94, the odds are against you so do your very best and hope you make it is indeed (IMO) the right attitude.


@Kingsley91
Just wait for them to put up more dates if you can't make any of the ones they posted.



In general I find it intresting that the october course (it's called that on their website) now seems to be starting late November? Esspeically intresting because that means that they may want to put me on that course instead of in January, but I haven't heard anything to point to that so I belive I'll keep on counting on January. It seems like the most likely option still I belive.

@Crazy Voyager thanks will do! Not got much holiday left at my current role so need to tie it in with a day I already have off!

I have to agree with 2slipsandagully and bobit , not really respectful to others who have done it or are waiting to do it.

All I can say is learn the document they sent you the link for in the email, just learn it! The diagramming I didn't complete but I was more making sure what I put was 100% correct. The cubes were a different thing all together, not very convinced how I did on that paper.

Hopefully they can put me out of my misery and let me know within the next few days, if I don't pass, oh well, I will definitely be applying again next year. Practice does make perfect and I feel the test on Wednesday certainly helped me know what to expect.

You know?, to all who think it's not really "respecful" to post info on what the tests regards... I am aware that NATS warns you you can't do so. Logical, besides, it's one of the rules. But I think you take it to extreme. I'm not asking anyone to link any information but to just "help", you know, you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. It costs nothing. I've nerver known of helping being forbiden. This is a community which purpose, amongst others is to post information that is useful to all. Always respecting certain boundaries of course.
But very far from obeying NATS instructions to not post confidential information is what some of you say about no posting anything. Not a tip, not nothing. After all, this is no competition. But I'm not gonna beg for it, obvisously.

Hi

Just took the online comparison test.

unfortunately I accidentally clicked the back button on my mouse during the practice test.

It then seemed to allow me to take the actual test. Do you think that my "real" test results will have gotten through ok?

If not is that me out of the process for a year?