Manchester tower will give you a tour if you tell them you're through to Stage 3 - I don't have the number with me at work right now but it was available online

Received the e-mail yesterday and have booked onto a stage 3 date!

E-mailed nats about arranging a visit, do they usually take the 10 days to reply? Might have to ring them in that case. Unless anyone has details for arranging a visit to Birmingham, Luton, or Bristol towers?

Cheers for that, just tried ringing but no answer. Gonna try again when I finish work.

Got a tour in Heathrow on 23th May. Regarding the situation and the previsible content of the update, I called them and booked a tour just telling them that I was on Stage 3. Got an answer in 5 days. Got the 23th by chance. I've booked the 25th for Stage 3. I strongly recommend to you trying calling Heathrow, you are still on time.

regards and good luck for you all, fellows

Jessel

I've tried ringing that number for Manchester Control Tower and it's just ringing with no answer. Tried a few times now so I've sent them an email instead and hope someone gets back to me soon.

Good news at last! I'm booked in for the 23rd for stage 3 :] I feel for everyone waiting on previous stages though.

Sam0n, I contacted Newcastle airport through the ATCsim part of their website to arrange a visit in January so you could give that a try in you're not having much luck with Manchester.

Any of you successful applicants have any advice for this last stage? I know it's team exercises and an interview but it'd be nice to know how much of each the day involves since it covers a good 8 hours.

If anyone has the contact number for Heathrow tower could they let me know, would be much appreciated. My stage 3 is a few weeks away and I'd like to book a tour.

Heathrow tower is quite hard to get a visit to now, which is a shame. You certainly wont be able to plug in with an ATCO.

I would suggest you will get more out of a smaller tower, maybe Stansted, Luton or if you want to see a tower and radar in one hit try Farnborough.

All tower numbers are in the UK Airpilot by the way

That's a shame, do you know what's changed at LL? I visited LL and SS and both were great visits. SS is easier though since the tower is not airside which it is at heathrow.

"All tower numbers are in the UK Airpilot by the way"

Which is?

...Here

Thanks, appreciate it. Will try phoning on Monday.

Just corporate rules to guard against non-licensed individuals broadcasting by accident on the RT or distractibg controllers.

Even valid controllers at other units may only plug in with an OJTI otherwise we have to sit at the back :(

Asking what the UK Air Pilot is! I certainly don't single out Simon here, but I find the general ignorance about ATC amongst candidates for the job to be very disturbing. I don't expect rabid aircraft spotters but a little prior research and reading would go a long way.

Everything you ever wanted to know (and a lot you didn't) about UK ATC, plus links to deeper knowledge from official publications, is in this book:

Why...I had no real idea what the job entailed before starting at the college. I had no idea there was different disciplines within ATC, I'd never heard of the ANO, Air Pilot or MATS. I could tell a 747 and Concorde part and that was about it.

I passed everything, validated and have been an OJTI for nearly 2 years. Didn't do me any harm, I just had to work a bit harder to catch up.

And know they were training to be an ATCO as opposed to an ATC?

My graduation certificate says Air Traffic Controller, not Air Traffic Control Officer.

ATCO is merely an abbreviation for the pay grading that NATS use, and because it's an easier acronym to use in conversation.

Also, for any occasion where I've had to choose my employment from a menu; insurance, for example, I've never seen Air Traffic Control Officer as a possible choice.

Managed to get in a visit to the control tower at Durham Tees Valley on Sunday (Girlfriend's Dad is friends with the head fella there). Excited. Been doing a fair bit research over the past week and going to ask my current manager on tips for competency based interviews tomorrow (they are more than happy to help me as they've always known the job is a stopgap hoping for this). Excited :-D