Unless you already have a CAA class one medical for some other reason (pilot perhaps?), you will have the NATS medical first at Swanwick.

If there is something at the NATS medical that the doctor might wish to have checked further with the CAA for some reason, then you will be sent to have a CAA class one medical at Gatwick, which will be organised by NATS on your behalf. It doesn't always mean you've failed the NATS medical, it just means they want to check that you will pass the CAA one, as it's the law to have a class one medical pass to be a valid ATCO. Mostly I've heard it's people getting checked up for eyes, or dodgy outcomes one the ECG that need verifying. Nowt major. Waiting times for going to the CAA can be anything from a week to a couple of months. Depends on many factors but I haven't heard of a massive wait.

If you pass your NATS medical with no dramas, then you will not go to the CAA medical at Gatwick until sometime during the college. It is usually at the end of the Basic Course (third of the way through) if you go Area, I'm not sure about Aerodrome, but you go sometime. And again, is all organised by NATS.

Now you know, now you can chill!

Hello,

I am not sure if NATS's policy has changed, however everyone on the most recent intake at the college had been and passed the CAA medical as well as the NATS one.

After taking the NATS medical you will be instructed to book your medical at Gatwick, when I did mine the waiting time was around about a month.

You will need a tray in the CAA canteen as the food is hot.... don't forget to form a queue!

Got my Stage 3 results this afternoon - I'm in :ok: Did mine at Manchester too on Monday - seems they're pretty quick with getting back to us.

This forums been great help for me - if I can help anyone else out during their journey through the NATS application process, please PM me and I'll help as much as I can.

Fingers crossed for the final hurdle - the medical!

Jen

stage one doc
 

I've read through (and will keep doing so relentlessly until the day before my stage one:ok:) the stage one doc that NATS send out.

My question is just regarding the information within the document. Will we be expected to know more up to date information for the tests?

I wondered if we would actually be tested on information that is in the booklet that has changed since its printing (tested on the up to date answers)

This concern also links into the aircraft list, will we only be tested on aircraft listed? or should i "spread my wings" to learning aircraft not listed ie: more up to date series etc....i know it will all be needed at some point, but i just want to know if its needed for the stage one tests.

Ahh thanks for the info on the medical guys. :ok: Much appreciated.

roar00,

Just stick to what's in the booklet for now as far as facts and figures are concerned. If you want to 'spread your wings' at all, my best recommendation is to start learning what these aircraft look like and how to identify them - this can come up in the Stage 3 interview.

As Geoff Vader said, NATS is currently sending people for the CAA medical after the NATS medical, regardless of what they have seen (especially if there are a few months before your course starts).

I did both last November, within three weeks of having passed stage 3.

Woo! Another medical to look forward to! Ha ha. Are you on a course now or are you still waiting to start?

Waiting to start the next Area course, probably in May (if the question was not addressed to me, disregard! :)).

Forgive me you guys for being a little lazy i'm sure the answers to my question can be found in this thread somewhere ..........


..... but I just want to know when do you get given your discipline from NATS i.e. Area or Aerodrome, how far into the course is it? Also, when do you find out where you will be posted on completion of the course??

With regards to the medicals:

I passed my NATS medical last week and I am off to Gatwick on Monday (Pretty short waiting time at the moment apparently)

The doctor did say to me that normally they will get you booked in for a course and send you to the CAA at a later date assuming your NATS medical went swimmingly.

I mentioned a head injury I sustained when I was 10/11 years old, and because I was concussed and sent to hospital the doctor decided that it would be in my best interests to pass the CAA medical straight away. He told me that this is nothing to be worried about either - if they had any doubts then he wouldn't be costing NATS ~£200 (+ travelling expenses) to have me fail.

He said it would stop me worrying about failing the medical when trying to focus on studying for the course if I got it out the way.

However, from the sounds of things, it seems that if you pass NATS medical with flying colours then they will put you on a course straight away. In the long run, it will be saving them money if they can keep your medical valid for a longer period into your "on-the-job" employment.

Hey,

Just to let you know it took the full 15 working days for them to get back to me. They lost my paperwork though. I kept in touch with the other guys from my course and they found out on the 7th day if I remember correctly.

If people find out they have passed before you, don't let it get to you! All the other guys found out they were through 1 week before me - you can just imagine how I was feeling and what result I was expecting ... But all went well :)

It's a painful wait, and all you can do is wait. People will tell you to put it to the back of your mind but we all know that you can't make yourself do that, not until a few beers later :P

Best of luck to you, it would be good to know more people before starting at the CATC :ok:

Andy

Actually, I believe the "performance" in the NATS medical has no effect on the speed of your course allocation. Everyone follows the normal procedure of being sent to an ordered pool with all the people who have passed the selection process. Then it is a bit of first-come first-served, taking into account course preference, personal circumstances,... Waiting times of at least 2-3 months have been pretty standard recently (fom what I know anyway, correct me if wrong).

Anyone from CTC on Monday get their 3rd stage results yet ?

Ronnie1974,

HR asked me what my preference was when they phoned me this week to tell me I'd passed Stage 3. Our interviewers told us that the new way they're trying to sort out the college stuff means that we will all know whether we're on area or aerodrome at least as few weeks before we start. Looks like my start date will be July, but windneckin or Arrows2100 might be able to give you some more info - they're ahead of me in this grand process!

Thanks for thar I'll eagerly wait their reply!

Although I may be jumping the gun a bit I'm still awaiting my results for S2!!!

AFTERNOON ALL, I have my stage one on Wednesday the 28th,(anyone else going to London?) a terrifying 5 days of revision away, and am digesting the Motivation Paper info easily enough.
However as for the tests I'm getting a bit stumped, I've got a few tests on Diagramming and Spatial Ability and can do the questions but it takes time, and that a luxury I wont have at stage one!
I was just wondering for the Spatial, does anyone have a specific strategy for working out the cubes efficiently and speedily?
Likewise for the Diagrams, at the moment I work out the rule and write down a key but this takes time!!

Any ideas (within reason!) for taking my current process and making it faster and more efficient?

Thanks all and hopefully see some of your at The London Bridge hilton on the 28th! :ok:

I have my stage one tomorrow morning in London. Just wanted to wish anyone else going the best of luck!

See you tomorrow,

ASWFlyer:ok:

Ronnie1974,

From my experience, paperclip810 is spot on. You can state your course preference after having passed stage 3 and they try to combine that with other people's preferences and NATS' needs. I think that when you are sent the contract (aprox. a couple of months before the start of the course) you already know what you are going to be doing.

Stage 3
 

Hi all,

I have posted a few messages here over the past few months and it has been extremely helpful. I just got word today that I passed stage 2 and I'm starting to get prepared for stage 3 in a month or so. Could anyone give me a list of things to revise for this? My knowledge of the 2 motivation papers is pretty good but I understand my knowledge will need to stretch much farther than that for this final stage.

Any help would be fantastic.

Thanks,

Gogz

Gonzo,

thanks for explaining that I understand it now............... I think!!! :ok:

Yep, pretty much what gonzo has said. I've got the own-brand ham. :} Just wondering if I wait for the next serving, will I be at the front of the queue?

Well, there are different kinds of jamón ibérico... with jamón de bellota probably being the best. But we would probably find that what feels like jamón de bellota for some might feel like luncheon meat for others and viceversa... luckily for everybody :ok:.

I did not expect that, angry_muppet?!?

Hi all again, another quick question, on my appliaction it asked for my height and gave two paremeters I was outside the top one. What does this mean for lanky geezers like me?

Might not be good news....

Clicky

Madhouserjd
Unfortunately, the controller workstations currently installed in many NATS centres are not height adjustable.This means that the only adjustment available to users is to the seats and the footrests. The Display Screen Regulations cannot therefore be satisfied for very tall and very short controllers. NATS was taken to an employment tribunal in 2005 by a 6ft 10in trainee controller candidate, but he lost his case.
See: BBC NEWS | England | Too-tall graduate loses tribunal
The new workstations should be more adjustable but may not be universally deployed until 2018.
The candidate concerned was, however, accepted for training by Eurocontrol at their college in Luxembourg - the workstations at Maastricht are height adjustable.

GRIM.. im 6 inches above the NATS requirement. I've been invited to stage 1 though. Am I wasting my time or what? :sad:

so hang on. Im not going to be allowed to become an ATCO because im 6ft2? I dont give a :mad: what hieght my screen is!!

I've managed to survive through several desk jobs without anything drastic happening, why are NATS so careful about this? And WHY would they accept my application KNOWING that im to tall just to tell me at the end, sorry old chap, youve made it through selection plus your medical and your ready to go to College....BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT you cant because your legs are to long.

thats complete B:mad:cks

Rant over.
Is there any point in me even applying!?

Madhouserjd

Check the last page of the NATS medical requirements. It might be worth your while getting in touch with HR to see if they can put you in touch with NATS medical.

I got an email yesterday confirming start date of May 5th on the "area" course and apparantly my contract is in the post.I havent even done my medical yetIf this is standard practise then looks like you get plenty of notice of start dates and the course you're on

My condolonces :}:}:}

620mm from foot to top of knee while sittin down. think i just about fit. :ok:

- out of interest, why does it seem that the area position is seen by some as a runners up prize? Is there a difference in pay across positions available?

The Area lot are actually paid more in most cases, but they have no windows :ok:

Personally I prefer having the chance of sitting up the tower and actually watching what I'm controlling as well as having a go on radar.

Sounds fair! Looking at both areas, is there a difference between things like average work load and opportunities for career advancement/promotion? Sorry about all the questions. :ok:

DAVECRAWFORD1234 - When and where did you do your stage 3 ? Am just waiting for my stage 3 results and I am getting impatient even though it hasn't been long! (They got back to me with S2 results in a day!)

The impression I get is that the area controllers think area is better and the aerodrome controllers dont!

The reason I chose area is that I live very close to Prestwick and I know the Swanwick area really well. If I went for aerodrome I could end up in one of many places, possibly somewhere I might not like and more importantly somewhere my wife & kids might not like.

I think your choice of course comes down to what works out best for you

PDF - I was lucky with my stage 3. I found out within a week, however some people that had their interview on the same day had to wait more than 2 weeks. But dont worry they got through also so the delay isn't a bad thing!

Someone else on my course called HR 3 days after the interview about expenses and they told him over the phone... could be worth a shot.

No real differences here. Promotion in both is non existent unless you fancy becoming a watch manager.

Another thing to consider is that if you ever get the hump with NATS further down the line as an aerodrome controller there are other places in the UK to work, including HIAL and privately owned airfields. As an Area bod if you want to leave the company you are snookered for other places to work unless you go abroad.