I visited Swannick last year and it was very interesting, not least because of the BA 777 crash at the end of the runway at Heathrow....it was good to see how calm everyone stayed! As an outsider, you couldn't tell that something had gone on in the approach control room at all.

You'll enjoy it...have fun!

En-route centre visit
 

I was at Prestwick last weekend - I too was thinking I'd prefer an airport but now I'm converted!

Have fun - when it is planned for?

I'm going on the 24th, I have also only seen electronical flight progress strips and want to see paper ones in use. They use paper ones at Swanwick?

Woo. Just had my medical today. Doc thinks that I will get through OK but because I took a knock to the head which warrented a visit to the Xray as a kid he wants to get my CAA medical out the way before letting me on a course. I haven't had any problems since I got through a short period of concussion so he's pretty confident I'll do fine.

I suppose in the long run alL it means is I will have my Class1 before the course so I don't need to worry all my work could be for nothing.

Big thumbs up for the medical team though. Kept me nice and relaxed even though the were touching my balls and looking at my wee.

Good luck to everyone reading these pages :)
Andy

Anyone in College (after subjects)
 

Hello all, my first post although I have been reading ots of the threads..

I have my stage 3 interview coming up - I just wanted to know if anyone can help - What general subjects are studied at college?

I went to the college the other day to ask for either a timetable for a course or if anyone could provide me with a list of subjects that are studied, unfortunately the receptionist was a somewhat unhelpful and kept saying I would find out when\if I succeed! :ugh:

Not sure what you mean by "general" subjects as the course is wholly technical dealing with such things as Air Law, Navigation, Meteorology and, of course, ATC! I'm sure someone from the college with provide you with more info.

Very best of luck and work HARD.

110% at all times is my guess. your thinkin of slacking before youve even got the job. good attitude :ok:

Well it depends whether you go down the Area or Aerodrome route.

But on the whole you do things like Navigation, Altimetry, Meteorology, Principles of Flight, Aircraft Performance, etc.

Then you get onto the specifics of the Air Traffic Control of your chosen path. I wouldn't worry too much about what is taught at the college for the stage 3 interview. I wasn't asked about that at all...

Good luck.

Oh my , oh my !
One went through the net of the Grammar & Spelling Police !!! ;)

BigDaddy.. I'm 65 with a brain like a rice pudding after 31 years of Heathrow so I am excused the odd error!!

I always thought that punctuation marks followed words without spaces so what's with "Oh my ," and "oh my !" rather than "Oh my, oh my!" Eh? Eh?

the reception people have nothing to do with the atc training side of the college...you mention area or aerodrome courses they will probably look at you like you had spoken in swahili (sp). They deal with the more business side like visitors and meetings etc.

General courses you study are Meteorology, Aviation Law, Human Factors, Navigation and aircraft characteristics. best to just relax before you get own there the only thing that will help to read up on is Nav. When i was there 2 years ago they sent out a learning package for Nav to read before you go down, this is helpful. Not sure if they do that anymore.

You could check out the following .pdf. Me and a mate are attending college in Sweden and mocked up a "dummies guide" to the basic module (first 4 months).

Cheers
TH

link: http://epn.servebeer.com

Talking of spelling, sorry about my original post. I was at the end of a long and busy night shift!

Thanks for all the help.

Paul

I think someone else needs to have a look at their attitude...Jees, no wonder why there is so much bi*ching going on in these forums.

NATS, initial selection day ?
 

(Sorry if this post is replicated elsewhere, but the only thing I found that was relevant was posted in 2001)


Hi,
I am shortly going to be reapplying for the NATS selection process, having failed at my first attempt last year. I was pretty devastated at the time and I really want to be successful on this occasion. I spoke to HR after the test and was informed that I failed on the basic checking test. Does anyone know the pass mark for the tests on the initial selection day? I seem to remember answering around 33 - 34 out of 40 on the checking tests, but its quite probable I answered some incorrectly. Basically what I would like to know is whether I need to go as fast as I did last time or whether I can slow down slightly and answer around about 30 questions guaranteeing they are all correct?
If anyone can provide any insight into this it would be greatly appreciated.
Also does anyone know the length of each test (time) as I'm trying to do some practice tests at home and want to get the timing accurate?

Thanks. (and sorry for the essay of a question)

I don't know if this is the right way to do it but it makes sense in my head, go as quickly as you can getting as many right as you can, I would put accuracy as number 1 priority, just do as many as you can they don't expect you to finish every test.

Claiming Money
 

Hi Everyone,

I recently did my stage 2 and I'm waiting to hear back. Was wondering how you go about claiming back the money that I spent on travelling? I was meaning to ask on the day but it slipped my mind.

If there is a specigfic form etc please just PM me.

Cheers

Jack, last year I went at the test really fast and I seem to remember answering around about 34. I will not be going at it as fast this year as I think accuracy must be the key to the checking test. If i knew how many I need to get right that I know I'd beable to pace myself, but there is always going to be a doubt in the back of my head that I'm going at it too slow. I read somewhere that the pass mark might be 70%, but that seems really low to me, only 28 out of 40. Unless I made some terrible mistake like writing the answers in the wrong place I am convinced I must have got atleast 28 correct.

If anyone has made it past the initial stage do they remember how many they answered out of 40 on the basic checking tests? That would be a massive help!
Also does anyone know if the test was 5,6 or 7 minutes long?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!!

Re: Stage One

I believe the tests are 6 minutes long, although it's almost a year since I did mine, so I could be wrong. No one is expected to answer all 40 (correctly), I think I managed low 30s, and I've also heard rumours about 70% pass marks.

If I'm honest, I'd try to completely forget about statistics (they'll only put you off) and focus on getting through the tests as accurately and as quickly as possible.

"Don't forget, it's not a case of aiming for a certain number of responses for the checking alone, the cubes, sequencing, motivation and personality are all combined!"


So its a combined score for the 5 papers that counts?
Only they specifically told me last year that I failed the basic checking :confused:

Having chatted at long lengths once about the recruitment process with HR (after I got accepted), I was informed that the test that most people fail with at stage one is the basic checking. When I say most, she was giving me numbers of like 70 to 80% of stage 1 candidates.

You must pass all tests indiviudally to pass, it's not a combined score. There is no pass mark published, the rumours of 70% you are probably hearing are the pass marks used at the college. I don't think on my basic checking test I got through 70% of the questions. But I'm pretty sure I got the ones I did all right.

So it's all about accuracy, not quantity. You can find tests like it on the internet, or you can get a friend or family member to make up a mock test for it? It's not too hard just get them to make up a 4, 5 or 6 group of letters or digits (I don't think it was mixed, either just all numbers or all letters), and then a selection of 5 very similar ones to pick from, one of which is correct.

Good luck.

Thanks watch_the_birdie, thats a real help.

I have been doing some mock tests already, answered about 31 /40 on each test and got 1 question wrong in four tests. Just hoping for no silly mistakes come test day.

Streuth i've just read this all from page 1 and now I think I need a lie down!

This is the first time i've applied and I was just wondering if I should follow the 'Interview Booking' link on the application tracking page to book stage 1? I'm sure its a silly question but I was just worried as I didn't think there was an interview at stage 1!

Cheers!

There is no interview as such at stage 1. Just the tests and a few presentations. The website just uses the word "interview".

Rather misleading I know.

Stage 1
 

I have read over a lot of these pages trying to get as much information as I can on stage 1 and I have managed to pull together a lot of useful information, however I was wondering if someone who has already completed the stage 1 process could give me (and anyone who wants to know) as much information as possible.

I understand that there are some tests involving basic maths and some cube 'thing'.

I also understand that there is a motivation paper based on the information sent out by NATS.

1. I was wondering if there is actually any form of interview at this first stage? If so, what does it involve?

2. I read somewhere that we will be asked questions about rough distances between major UK airports, airports across Europe and major airports across the world. Do they really expect us to know this at the first stage of application?

I'm heading down to London this Friday for the afternoon session, so any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hey guys

Wow, I have read nearly all this post - my eyes, my eyes! Very helpful though!

I have my Stage 1 interview next Monday 26th Jan in Manchester. If anyone can PM details of what exactly is involved, I'd be so very grateful :) I wasn't so nervous before reading this thread and now I am!


*eta* also, in the booklet they send out for the motivation paper, are we expected to know it inside out? I mean, the plane details on the back pages, are they necessary for Stage 1?

Don't be nervous, take it as a game, that's what works for me. In the end it is fun, isn't it? Setting up your mind for the kind of task you are going to do is also good - just thinking of numbers and letters, cubes or symbols for a minute or two before you start.

However, personally, it helped me the most to hear the others turning the papers at Stage 1, as I thus knew I am ahead of most of them :-)

(I passed but I failed the subsequent online personality test, which in my opinion is much more tricky and IMHO much less objective than the other Stage 1 parts.)

I'm sure this has been answered many times on this forum, but just wondering, for my stage 1 is it required that I learn all of the details for the planes at the back of the information pack? Or is that information mainly for use in later stages?

Thanks!

Correct.

Well, you might well be asked questions on that information, yes.:ok:

Thanks Gonzo.

So is there an interview at stage 1? Could you give me some more information about what happens, as I have mine this Friday, and trying to find out what to expect.

I understand there are these tests involving maths and cubes and stuff - the aptitude tests.

And there is the motivation paper, with questions taken from my answer booklet.

What else should I expect?

The questions about the details for the planes, will they be spoken questions, or just encorporated in the motivation paper?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Multi choice test on the Motivation Paper
Multi choice test on Diagramatic Reasoning
Multi choice test on Spacial Awareness
Multi choice test on number / letter checking
A learning styles questionaire
Chance to speak to an ATCO

Also......

You may get food.... however you will need a tray as the food is hot!

I am the web police and you're all under arrest.

Don't you know who I am...?

For anybody wanting some pre college learning materials I've scanned the quick reference guides handed out at the start of each course. Take the information on these cards with a pinch of salt as things are frequently revised at the college, but these will give you a rough idea...

Area

Aerodrome

Approach

Hey Guys,

Got my first stage in Manchester on Friday 13th, morning session. This thread is really helpful so far. Now just gotta learn that damn manual!!!

Good luck to everyone!

Stage 3 results
 

Hey everyone,

Just wondering roughly how long HR takes to get the Stage 3 results back to interviewees... the waiting is killing me!

Good luck to all those going through it soon...

HR say 'within 15 working days' for Stage 3 results. I believe this depends on where your Stage 3 took place. I did mine at CTC and was sent the results the next day.

Good luck!

From your location I imagine you did yours in Glasgow. So did I. Mine took about 4 days.

Hello. I have a quick question. After the NATS medical, do you also need to book a CAA medical or is it a case of do one or the other?

If so, do you have to do the NATS medical first before the CAA one? And also, how long is the waiting list on average for the CAA medical?