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I do keep reading that 'business need comes first' so maybe the mice would a better idea..................
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Also how often are college intakes and how long does the college period last. thanks
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4 intakes a year.
ADI - 4 months APS - 3 months ACS - 9-12months? (Not sure, never did it) |
dont take anything for granted until you have your first day of turning up at your unit after getting out of the college.
the age old quandry of wherever you want to go, you will get the opposite.. its both NATS and murpheys law you know. at least it was moons ago when i went through. then there is the question of validating, fail that and you could be catapulted to the somewhere you may not want to go.... If you just want to do the job and would happily go anywhere.... thats the spirit!!!:ok: all the best and enjoy! |
I'm booked in for Stage 1 in London on 18th March (afternoon session). :)
I just got out the Duke book from the Library (Ed. 9) and it's awful - so many inconsistencies (and I'm only on the 2nd chapter) and a few things that are just plain wrong! (example: the year that Swanwick opened is different on pages 4 and 12; page 41 makes a note that the word "to" is not used with flight levels, yet the example immediately before does use it...) I hope it's not used as a standard text to be tested on. :\ The info document that NATS link to in the email is a bit out of date as well - Terminal Control moved to Swanwick a year ago and West Drayton no longer exists... :rolleyes: Oh well, we'll see what happens! |
Do you really think that NATS the world leaders in ATC are going to use a book labelled "A Laymens Guide to ATC" as a template for recruitment. It is a mere guide to help non ATC experts, to understand a little about the role of ATC, hence the name of the book.
I had no idea about ATC and found the book very useful, as have many hundreds/thousands before me. |
This version does not have the "Layman's guide" title - it is simply "Air Traffic Control", so you'd think it would be fairly accurate. However, I was jumping the gun slightly and assumed from these forums that it was a recommended text by NATS.
I still would have expected the info doc from NATS to be a little more current, not that it matters much. :) |
JonathanB,
If I remember my Duke correctly, the examples of R/T are exact transcripts of real exchanges, and I think it warns the reader about this; the phraseology used might not be totally correct according to the book. |
Hehe, oh well... at worst it's only slightly annoying. :)
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ninpin
Hello Everyone, I did my Stage 1 recently but was a bit annoyed about something that happened... We were split into four groups and our group was the last of the day to talk to the ATCO and watch the NATS film. During the film I noticed that there were about three or four answers to questions in the motivation paper we had just sat. Some of them were pretty blatent aswell and illustrated by diagrams etc. There were two groups on the day who saw the film and then sat the motivation paper straight away, and obviously this is really unfair to those of us who saw it after. Luckily I did know the answers that came up in the film, but I'm sure there were a few people there who didn't. I met one girl who hadn't read the preparation materials at all and then she sat there on the day and got told some of the answers by NATS! Surely if they want to weed out the people who don't put the effort in then this is not a great thing to do! Has anyone had a similar experience or was it just on the day we did it? the girl you mention who didn't learn it might of got 3 answers from the video. shes not going to pass on 3 or 4 correct answers is she? if you learnt the document NATS sent, you will know all the answers on the motivation paper and have nothing to worry about. its not a competition, if you pass, your in. |
Do ATCO get any perks like the Police, train drivers, pilots?
I mean in the form of benefits, like police get a free travel pass for themselves and all members of there family (meaning partners and children). I've heard pilots get a few free family tickets from the airline they work for. What about ATCO's? Do we get any additional perks? :) :P |
Glasgow Tower
Hi everyone,
I am in the middle of revising for my stage 3 and I have been trying to organise my visits. I come from Glasgow so I am looking to go to the Glasgow Tower and Prestwick to the Area Control Centre. I have had no trouble organising the Prestwick visit but I'm having a bit of trouble getting through to the ATC Dept @ Glasgow. Does anyone out there have a contact or a phone number that I can use to get through? If so then please PM me the details and I would be incredibley grateful. Gogz |
Hi Ghost,
Did my S1 on the 23rd in London and still waiting for results. It does say up to 15 days and they seem busy. Fingers crossed... |
Ghost, the short answer is no.
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In answer to Ghost's post, could jumpseat rides on the flight deck be seen as a perk?
I heard that ATC is about the only profession that can still request a cockpit visit on a commercial flight ? |
If I am lucky enough to make it as far as the college and I am originally trained as a aerodrome controller is it possible to go back at a later date to do area training?
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Stage 3 11th Feb
Been busy working, revising, thinking of future, etc, etc, etc...
Looking forward to meeting both Glasgow Girl and Shugs on Feb 11th. (Life changing day???) Is anyone else there? This forum has been a great help so far. Best of luck to everyone... |
Hi all,
Just a quick question for all those that can offer some guidance. With Graham Duke - Air Traffic Control, being hard to source presently. I wondered, what other books or reading material are recommended. There seems to be a great wealth of knowledge and experience on this site, so what do you recommend?? Many thanks OB |
Aircraft recognition
I've just been going through !!!!!!!!!!!!!! compiling a library of images of all the main aircraft (basically those that appear in the documents provided) to help me recognise some of these things. I'm making sure that every image I have is taken at exactly the same angle so it's easy to spot the differences. Might be a bit overkill for my stage 3 but I'd quite like to prove I can do it.
The site's just gone down now so I'm stuck about 1/4 of the way through. My question is, has anyone else done this in a convenient form already and have they distributed a link? If not, would anyone be interested in this when I'm done and would I be allowed to post a link on here to a zip file of these images from !!!!!!!!!!!!!!? |
I have found a site where there are a few copies of the Graham Duke book for sale, from 1987 up to 1998 editions, PM me if you want the address.
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I was under the impression that the 9th edition from 2005 was the one to get, how do the previous editions compare?
I'm guessing the fundementals of ATC are similar, but will the previous editions still be useful? I'm currently researching and studying, and am more than willing to learn and research by myself, but just want to make sure I'm learning from the best texts etc. Cheers OB |
I have a copy of 'Air Traffic Control' by Graham Duke Ed. 9 for the highest bidder...
PM me for more... Just kidding, no money wanted - just write a short message of why you want to be an ATCO and your credit card details and I'll send it off to you... :P :) No, but really, if you want a copy let me know - to be fair I have a number in my head from 0 - 50 and whoever picks (one only!) a number that is closest to my number will get the book... PM me! |
Stage 3 update: After I learnt everything I could get my hands on even slightly ATC related... it turns out it was a 100% HR interview... I'm not sure if that is now standard but thought I would pass that on to people applying. Oh and the game is great fun!! Well I thought it was.
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Jack,
So you had no technical questions to answer whatsoever? And they definitely said it was the last stage for you (before medical)? |
He is right, the interview has changed. I did get asked a couple of questions regarding ATC which I know they were looking for some technical information so don't be fooled into thinking you shouldn't know your stuff.
What I would say is that if you REALLY want the job and you REALLY are interested in ATC and aviation as a whole then there shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't pass the interview. |
Thanks ATCNoob. This does seem odd, I assume you are still sat in front of 2 people (personnel person and an ATCO)? Does this mean the grilling you get from the ATCO is that much shorter this time?
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Man with no mouth:
I had two HR people I learnt a lot of technical and if for any reason I have to repeat then I would again learn all the technical....... if not for the interview, at some point will need to know it anyway. |
Thanks Jack. Perhaps the assigned ATCO to the interview had cancelled, will watch this thread with interest to see if this was a one off! Will certainly not slow my preparation regardless.
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Wonder why they've changed it...
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No problem MWNM. I actuallly had 3 in my interview. One HR rep and the Head of ATCO Training, and then there was another HR rep who was monitoring the whole process. So only two that were actively involved with me.
I should find out this week if I am in or not. Will keep you posted. |
Hello!
The time is nearly here for me to apply for NATS! ive been wanting to do ATC for 2 years now, really looking forward to show what i can offer, if i really want this career, what are the things that are going to hold me back? I mean i have university as a back up, but i dnt think i could stand another 3 years of education of something im not totally sure i want to do. Does anyone have any advice they could offer me for getting through all the stages successfully and into my dream career?! Thanks (Y) |
Magic Number
Thirty Nine? ;) Hey ATCNoob??
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*stage one*
hey everyone, got my stage one on the 12th and just wanted to make sure I'm on the right track and am fully aware of what I'm in for....
Motivation Paper: learnt the pdf document cover to cover including all the ridiculous seating capacities! (what a nightmare they were!!) still need to learn basic distances between European cities as someone suggested on here. any other suggestions?? Personality Questionnaire: kind of self explanatory im hoping?? dont need to study anything for that im hoping?;) Basic Checking, Spatial Reasoning and Diagramming Tests: got a couple of books from the library to start helping me with the cubes (although rotating the paper somehow makes then much easier for me!) suggestions?? Are these all the tests I should expect on the day? Any other advice would be so much appreciated, still feel quite unsure about the tests but hoping thats just some normal nerves!! hopefully someone can give me a quick brief of how things will happen on the day! oh, also, someone told me that there quite hesitant to accept first time applicants as they want to see your committment and prefer to take you on second time round?? hoping this is just a myth though?! Thank you for everyones help on this thread-soooo helpful!:) Clairey Fairy xx |
Clairey fairy,
oh, also, someone told me that there quite hesitant to accept first time applicants as they want to see your committment and prefer to take you on second time round?? hoping this is just a myth though?! If you are judged to reach the standard at the end of stage 3, you're in. Simple as that. |
Thanks babyjxx,
If you send me a PM I will be able to keep track of the numbers a lot more easily. On Friday I will choose the person closest to my 'magic number'... :) |
ATCNoob
I feel silly that I do not know, and cannot figure it out, but what is a PM? :O
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also some SDT questions taken from various posts in this thread, if anyones looking for some on't internet!
enjoy! SDT Questions: -An a/c is flying at 540mph at FL320, and starts descending at 800feet per minute. How many miles will it travel before it reaches FL250? -Aircraft 40 nautical miles away, at 30,000 ft descending at 3000ft per minute and travelling at 240 knots.. can it make it? 240 knots = 4 miles per minute, which means 10 minutes to get the 40 miles to the airport. 3000 feet per minute for 10 minutes means a descent of 30,000 feet. He could make it. -a/c doing 420 knots/mph, how far will it fly in 20mins... -a/c flies 40 miles in 10 mins, what speed is it doing... -a/c needs to travel 120 miles, is doing 480mph, how long will it take... -If a/c flies at 420kts for 40 mins how far will it travel? -If a/c flies 60 miles in 10 mins how fast is it moving? -If point A and point B are 50 miles apart and a/c is doing 200kts how long will it take? Madhouse |
You eventually found out then babyjxxx...? ;)
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thank you for clearing that up Gonzo, one less thing to think about:) everything else i said, is that what i should expect at stage one? not missed anything out?
Claire Fairy xx |
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