No numeracy tests or basics checking, only diagramming and spatial reasoning if you are successful at ATC paper based on the leaflet provided.

As for the tips read at least last 50 pages of this topic and you will find out a lot of information about the whole application process.

@oasisfan

There is no basic checking test or numeracy test. The only tests in the stage 1 are ones that NATS should have listed for you in the email :-) although there is no numeracy test, brushing up on your maths skills will come in handy :-)

Just got email that i passed stage 1 test from 11th february and i already booked stage 2 tests for 27th february :)

anyone else going on there on that day?

Stage one nightmare!
 

I have just received a confirmation email that I have past the online test, I now only have 1 week to prepare for stage one and i'm so worried thats not enough time!

Could anyone that has completed Stage one please advise roughly how many questions there are on the planes as I cannot see that I will be able to learn all of the planes in less than a week as well as revise the booklet, prepare for the cube and other tests! If I didn't get any of the plane questions right would I automatically fail the test, even if I correctly answered the other questions on the motivation papers...

I am spending every spare minute I have revising for Stage one but I don't know if this will be enough time

I don't think you have to know specific speeds and levels for each and every plane. I'd rather categorise them (long haul, short haul, jet, propeller). Anyway, I will find out whether it works on Friday in Bham.

American coming in for Stage 1 - Feb 22 - Birmingham
 

Hey all, I'm flying in from the US on Wednesday, taking the Stage 1 @ Birmingham on Friday the 22nd @ 1200. If anyone feels like getting together to review the leaflet on Thursday evening, or going out for (hopefully) celebratory beers on Friday evening, hit me up! :ok:

I'm 2pm thursday in Sheffield if anyone is the same?

Could maybe grab a coffee around mid-day and go over notes.

x
 

I have just noticed how out of date the notes are that I received for stage one.
Is everyone else the same?

@gxleone
I'm in at 1300 hrs

Is everyone else's notes for stage one totally out of date?

Yes. The accuracy of the information in the pamphlet at Stage 1 is not considered to be "the point".

Phil

That's good to know, I think. Suppose it just confirms that it's a test of memory.

How is everyone finding the different aircraft? I can't decide whether to make sure I know a handful complete with all of the stats or try and learn them all and inevitably get them muddled up and forget things. I am currently concentrating on a few and hoping for the best to be honest.

Does anyone know if there are lots of questions on them and what form they take?

WRT the aircraft, I've grouped them into Props (Saabs, ATRs etc); Regional Jets (Avros, Embys & MDs); Short/Medium Haul (737/757/A320) and the rest under long-haul. I seem to be taking in the info better....christ knows if I'll remember it all come 11am Friday!!:ugh::eek:

Also, the NATS stuff I've condensed into bullet points - I seem to find it easier to absorb info when it's listed this way. Again, dunno if it'll work on Friday - hopefully it does!

We can only try our best eh?!:ok:

Good luck folks!:D

@MrOneTwo @Painkiller I'm staying at the Novotel where they're holding the exam. If you folks wanna get together in the morning and review a bit, feel free to send me a message and we'll figure something out - I'll be up bright and early!

Is it true that there will be a 2 year wait between applications from the first of April? :confused:

I hope this wont be the case otherwise it would be ridiculously unfair for those who failed at stage 3.

@Famzy

yes, it will be 24 months after your initial test date.

Fuel Questions
 

Hi everyone, firstly I'd like wish everyone luck that has recently attended any stages and best of luck to anyone still to attend.

I am sitting stage one on friday (Birmingham).
Been trying my best to swat up on the material sent out, and on the maths questions. I would like to think my maths is of a decent standard but there is just one type of question I can't grasp without a calculator: (From speeddistancetime website)

"You travel 924NM. How much fuel will you need if you burn 210kgs an hour, and are travelling at 1260kts?" :ugh:

If anyone could give me their opinion on how to best answer this without a calculator, that would be greatly appreciated! :ok:

Jesus, that is very hard pill to swallow. So I'm guessing it only applies to those applying after the first of April?

According to the NATS facebook this is applied to everyone at all stages of application and is to get in line with recommendations from Europe.

yep it applies to everyone.

You could call it unfair, but consider the fact that they aren't obliged to let you re-apply in the first place.

Won't make the wait any more fun though. I was able to re-apply 23 months after my first application, due to the closure of the application process. I'm glad I don't have to do that again...i'm not getting any younger!

@FAMZY

No , it doesn't matter when you apply . This goes retroactive , not only for the ones who apply after 1st of April 2013. If you applied in november 2012 you can reapply in november 2014 .

I talked to HR alot about this matter until we clarified it . You can reapply now if you applied last year in febuary , but if you applied in April or later 2012 its 24 month waiting time for you .

Hey, I am going to bham at 11 on 22nd if you wanna meet up for revision or some chit chat?

Apps
 

Hi there, just booked my stage 1 for the 26th in Southampton.
Was just wondering if anyone could recommend any good apps for the iphone for practicing the diagramming and cubes, would be great to practice on the go.
Good Luck to everyone with up coming assessments.
Omar.

Diagramming
 

Is the diagramming section presented with commands in circles as in the examples?

Or are there some examples like the first few on this website ?

http://www.psychometric-success.com/...20Test%201.pdf

Thanks for any help :)!

Hi, just a quick question for those that have done their stage 1 assessments. Can I use a calculator/do I need to bring one? I can't find any information in the emails or on the website. The search function on this forum doesn't seem to work either.

Is anyone down to do their Stage 1 in Southampton on Monday? I'm surprised that there's still so many timeslots available. When I went 18 months ago there was only about 12 of us and that was fully booked.

Mines is booked for Friday at 9am im nervous! lol but yeh Ive already asked that question, you aren't allowed a calculator.

Booked my stage 2 for the 12th march! Anyone else going?

Good luck everybody with stage 1s coming up! :) :)

Fuel Questions response
 

Distance = 924 Nautical Miles
Speed = 1260kts (kts = Nautical Miles per hour)
Fuel Burn = 210Kgs per hr

Without Calculator
You are travelling at 1260kts. You cover 1260 NM in an Hour

924NM is approximately ¾ of 1260NM, or 75% = 45mins

45mins or 75% of 210Kgs (which you burn an HOUR) = 157.5kgs

With Calculator
924/1260 X 60 = 43.99998 mins (or 44 mins)

210/60 x 44 = 154Kgs


If you crosscheck with your approximation of 75% equalling 924NM, you will realise 75% is actually just over 924NM, i.e. 1260/4 x 3 = 945NM (as opposed to 924NM). I would simply deduct 1 minute from 45mins to give me 44mins and run the sums. You would get 154Kgs Fuel Burn.

Fuel Questions
 

None of the above fuel questions appear at any stage of the process folks! :ok:

I have just taken the test at Sheffield at 1pm. I think it went well, got through to the secondary tests anyway.

Now just have to wait 15 days (or possibly 30 as they explained due to the fact they are out around the country supervising tests) until I find out how I have done.

The diagramming was quite straight forward but the the cubes were a nightmare. I only answered around 3/4 of the questions in each test but I'm hoping they don't expect people to finish as it's a trade off between accuracy and speed.

I was surprised by how many people left after the motivation test because if you have read the document then most of the answers should come to mind immediately, leaving you time to concentrate on the ones that are less straight forward.

Best of luck to everyone still to take their tests and those waiting for results. If any of us make it to stage 2 it would be nice to meet up Apparently stage 2 tests will run during February and March. And also, as confirmed by others, the 24 months before you can apply again is true. They told us before the secondary tests.

Wow the cubes were hard! Good luck for everyone that sat stage 1 at sheffield today! Fingers crossed for stage 2 :)

Hey guys, I applied and got invited today to the Stage 1, but the latest I can attend is the 26th Feb! Thats 5 days time! Is that even enough time for me to revise this 24 page paper and practice my spatial awareness? Or is it worth me giving them a call to try and arrange a later date? (if one exists) Trying to get some opinions on whether its worth me even making the trip! Thanks, Dan

Hey Dan, I'm in the same boat, I applied somewhat speculatively after speaking to a friend in the role already, only a couple of weeks ago.

The combination of that and my work email address which I used to sign up being down all week has resulted in me arriving in work tonight to a congratulations email but only 2 dates available, one in Birmigham tomorrow after i've finished a night shift and one in Southampton on Tuesday which is nigh impossible to get to with my work pattern.

Sadly i think I'm going to have to take my chances and sit this round out even with the prospect of things being Frozen in March. This is for the best, this job interests me massively but i'd much prefer to have a good old research and have plenty of time to study before committing to the stage 1, especially now its a 24 month wait between failed applications.

Can any of the longer serving members of this forum advise me to how they define "frozen" with respect to applications. If i leave the stage 1 dates bit blank as recommended rather than declining, could anyone hazard a guess if and or when it may have future dates to pick from?

I only ask because I did many years ago want to become a firefighter in my county but the recruitment process was also frozen, so frosty was it that i don't think it has in fact thawed yet some 8 years later.

I know the cause of this in the fire service has been drastic shift changes and may things that all contribute. Essentially i guess i'd like to know (if its something someone can tell me?) is the recruitment likely to be frozen indefinitely for a period of years?

Sincere thanks for any help and best of luck to all that have taken or are about to take your tests.

:)

That's your last chance as they are freezing the recruitment for some time as from 1st of March therefore no further dates will be issued until they re open again.

Attended stage 1 yesterday.

Cubes were so hard!!!

Will post a detail of the day later for those still to attend.

Thanks for your reply, I guess I'll have to take what I given! Would you say it's possible to revise for in 4 days?! I can do 5 hours tonight, Saturday, Sunday and on the way to the test!

What was so hard about the cubes? Did you practice with the SkyTest software, and if so were they harder than those?

I'm on for Stage 1 in two hours... fingers crossed!

NATS freeze!
 

I have a problem regarding the freeze! NATS would be the only way I can get into ATC due to the cost of training elsewhere, and I would absolutely love to do it! The problem is, I only turn 18 in March - so I am unable to apply! I've looked everywhere and NATS hasn't seemed to have hinted when they will open up recruitment again. It will be a major blow for me! I'd hate to have to wait any longer to apply!

Anyone have any advice? Everyone who's going through assessments now, goodluck!

Heard about these forums yesterday when down in Sheffield attending Stage 1. I was in the 2 o'clock group.

I was worried about the ATC paper beforehand as I'd only managed to look at the material for the first time yesterday morning due to family issues but found it to be straightforward. Around half of the group failed to pass this part which I found astonishing.

2nd part I finished in plenty of time and was confident I got them all right.

Then the cubes, oh god the cubes. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...milies/eek.gif I started okay but when I turned to answer number 29 I had already filled out 32 answers :ugh:Little panic at this stage as I try and find where I'd gone wrong so I started working back from 32 and calmed down. Managed to get a few done before the time was up. Could have kicked myself when leaving.

Woke up this morning still annoyed at myself. Went to check my emails and I already have one saying I've passed and to attend Stage 2 http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...milies/eek.gif We were told it would be 15 days probably but could be more due to the volume of applicants at the moment. I'm even happier than I would have been given my mistake and I won't need to be annoyed with myself for weeks waiting on the outcome.