Oh I was the guy at the front who asked that trainee ATCO first two or three questions btw! Was his name David? I can't remember.

Hehe, we should have pre-arranged a shout out for pprune folks and gone for a beer after!

I was 3rd row from the back, on the left table on the aisle side (opposite the rear door). Kept quiet in the ATCO Qs as having visited Swanwick last week I already had my Qs answered! :O

Yeah we shoulda done, I had to wait for nearly two hours after the tests to get my train. Hopefully i'll see you all in Stage 2!

I think his name was Chris. It looked like he hadn't done much public speaking before but he knew the answers to most of the questions. He seemed to still be enjoying it and was still keen which was the most important thing for me.

I was the guy 3 rows back on the left, behind you Lozzo87. Were you the guy that ATC didn't want talk to going from Leeds to Exeter or the guy to his right?

I was on the right. Can't beleive the guy next to me has been a pilot and he is only about 21-22 at most. Lucky guy! Yeah when Chris was asked if there was anything he didn't like about his job, he had a hard time thinking about anything to mention, which really made me optimistic. In the end he said pay wasn't too great to begin with, but that really doesn't bother me. As long as I can pay my bills and do a job I love, it's all good!

About the d/s/t questions, i see you're not allowed to use a calculator, are the numbers reasonably simple to work with? I don't fancy multiplying by anythin in decimals in my head!

One of my friend's brother got a PPL during his time at uni because there was some deal on with his uni. He was only 19-20 when he qualified. Unfortunately it's lapsed now because he can't afford to keep it up. :( It goes to show it's possible though.

I can see myself getting a PPL one day, assuming I make it through selection and into a job. I wouldn't want to do it as a career but I can see it being useful to understand how a pilot does their job and what I could do to make their job easier.

newb,

You can do them in your head. That said, one of my questions today was an answer that came out as a fraction, ie 1/3, which is just .33333333333. Easy to spot though. Just work back from 600 kts being 10 nm/m. Using that 450 kts is 7.5nm/m etc. Once you've cracked that I think the rest is quite easy.

newb, the s/d/t questions I got were nothing too taxing and really didn't need a calculator to work with. I had to use the paper to work out a couple but that's as tough as they got.

I would love to fly one day, it's just getting the money for lessons. It's always something i've been interested in. My uncle is a qualified pilot (im assuming its PPL because he's not a commercial pilot), and he has tonnes of literature on the subject, so i'm all set if I ever get the money to start learning.

I'll just sit here whistling innocently about being able to fly then...

(I have a CPL and am doing my Instructor rating at the moment... Did the ATPL theory exams, finishing last year... But then I am 28...)

Hi guys, just registered. I had my NATS test on 13rd @ London Hilton Tower Brigde, lovely hotel!
I am italian, I was on the first row just in front of the girls (the examiners) with a friend of mine.I was wearing a light blue cashemere sweater and a dark blu pair of jeans with an AirOne lanyard :ok:. I expected it to be worst.. I liked it, I was very concentrated and I hope I made my best! I am really into control! I love IVAO, I often control on EGLL_S/N_TWR and that's great!

Anyone received an email?

Cheers!

This is becoming a habit...

Lozzo 87 & JonathanB: The video is on the NATS careers website - something like 'Life at the College'. You haven't missed anything if you watch it online.

Lozzo87: The personality questionnaire is now online and only sent to candidates who reach a certain level in their Stage 1 tests held at either Glasgow, Manchester or London.

Marco888: You get a choice of locations for Stage 3 but it may involve waiting a while until dates come up on the system. Choices are London, Manchester, Swanwick and Glasgow. I think there might be a couple of other possibilities, but someone else might be able to remember those ones!

That's what I thought - Well it says so on the email. But I phoned HR yesterday and was told only Swanwick now.

However she may have been confused because that's the new rule for stage 1. Although HR seem to have been up to date with everything so far...

The news ticker in the application system is also currently announcing that they will not be paying any expenses for Stage 2 tests in May, in addition to that as of April all Stage 1 tests will be in Hampshire at the HQ (CTC, Whiteley I assume).

Well, just heard I failed my stage 2... such is life.

Thanks for the help on here guys & good luck to those of you who are going through it!

Bad luck. :(

Did you get any feedback from them?

Nothing on the e-mail... perhaps it's worth giving them a bell...

ANDREA_CTA,
I can barely remember what I was wearing on the 13th let alone anyone else!

I haven't heard either, all in good time I guess. Good luck!

Stage 1 Experience
 

Hi all,

Had my stage 1 yesterday afternoon. Not sure how many groups there were, but mine was headed by the older lady. She did mention that over 100 places were confirmned, but many hadn't turned up. Our group (all guys, 17-20 in total) was, for me anyway, quite surprisingly boring, like hardly anyone spoke to anyone, and when we left, everyone just shot out!

We had the motivational paper, followed by the checking paper. I forgot how long we had for each but its if I remember correctly it was 5 mins for each. In both tests we were told not to use the scrap paper, but it was left on the table :confused: so I guess you could use if you wanted albeit in a secretive way. Some questions related to distances between cities, both within the UK and International. Also had 2 questions regarding what a 737 and a 777 would be used for, i.e domestic short haul, intercontinental etc.

You're given 2 pencils and an eraser. Make sure you completely fill the circles of the answer paper, however I found it wasted my time checking to see if I'd filled them in heavily enough. Then had the ATCO come along and give us a short description of his role and his experiences. Nice chap, not a seasoned speaker but gave all the info that was asked of him, and when he began to struggle, the older lady intervened and asked him other questions related to life as an ATCO. He did mention that he's on the Area Control career path, and that this path is more intense as it involves more studying and the course for him is longer. He also mentioned that in his 3rd stage he was honest in admitting that he didn't know much about aviation in general but he had started to develop an appreciation for ATC. He entered NATS in 2007.

Then followed a 15 minute break, again everyone seemed very relectant to say anything and it felt errily quite whislt enjoying those yummy bics! Only guys I spoke to was from Southhampton and east London.

Back into the room, time for the dreaded CUBES :\ Blimmey gave me teeth itch, didn't even finsh the questions. Completed the tests with the diagramic reasoning, and yet again found that time had beat me. We had no video and no personality questionaire. Although the email suggested we would leave by 17:30, we actually finshed by 16:30.

Also someone mentioned in previous posts about attire - in my opinion it seemed there was a split between smartly dressed candidates and those in jeans, so its your choice really.

Lastly we were asked to sign a letter stating that if are employed with NATS, we would expect employment at Swanwick or in Southern England, and that employment up north is very limited.

All the best for those who took came along yesterday :)

Quick question
 

Hey guys

I know most of you know im still 17 and 18 next month but i was wondering a few things if you wouldnt mind answering them:

1) when you apply online for the course, what type of questions are asked on the application letter online?
2) Do you need a CV before you apply (i have made one but i need to add a few things to it.
3) After you apply how long do you have to wait before they invite you to stage 1
4) Does everyone that applies get to stage 1 or can you fail for applying (which i will probably end up doing lol):{:{

Thanks for reading this and hopefully someone will reply;)

Oh yea

PS i have tried to go to my local library and asked if they could get books on ATC but she said that she checked every library in NI and said there are no books on ATC. I know i can get books from Amazon but are there any shops that sell them????????????????

Don, the letter did say about where the majority of work was, but essentially was for you to confirm that you could be relocated anywhere in the country.

Abz, To apply it's only the very basic "are you eligible?" questions that are asked, then you automatically get offered a place on a stage 1 course within a few days. I think you might need CV/formal application type stuff prior to stage 2 if you get through stage 1. Book wise the one that has been mentioned throughout this thread is quite out of date, but I guess a reasonable start if you can get hold of it.

Thanks JonathanB

Its just that i am still doin A-levels and my mum wants me to go to uni but i am more interested in ATC. i dont feel like i belong here in school thats why i want to go and become an TATC so any advice?????????? Should i go for A-levels or ATC??????????

And is the actual course hard asuming after you pass all the stages lol... is the college work hard?

Dappa Don,

I found the same about people being scared to talk to each other. Half the peole in my session didn't say a word and just looked straight ahead for 3 hours. Who knows why. Did you make an effort to talk to anyone? If not then it's your own fault you were bored. Everyone I spoke to looked so relieved that someone had talked to them and were quite happy to chat. We kept getting interrupted by the invigilator trying to start tests.

Abz217,

1) when you apply online for the course, what type of questions are asked on the application letter online?

Just general suitability for the career. It's very short and nothing to worry about.

2) Do you need a CV before you apply (i have made one but i need to add a few things to it.

No.

3) After you apply how long do you have to wait before they invite you to stage 1

It's very fast. If you have answered the correct answers then I think it's an automated process to invite you to Stage 1.

4) Does everyone that applies get to stage 1 or can you fail for applying (which i will probably end up doing lol)http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/boohoo.gifhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/boohoo.gif

You can only fail if you don't meet the requirements set out, one of them being 18 or older for example. If you're not deaf, blind, a midgit or a giant and have 3 GCSEs I think you would be likely to get to Stage 1 (I've paraphrased a bit there ;) ).

Abz217,

I've only just done Stage 1 so I don't know facts about the college. However, I would hazard a guess that something like half the people don't make it through that it's likely to be slightly taxing.

I would definitely say finish your A-Levels. At worst it will be good exam practice, but assuming you don't make it as a controller you'll probably have to go back and do them again ifyou then decide that you are going to university. I studied engineering at uni and had to do a foundation year thanks to not doing very well in my A-Levels, so I've been there. I spent all of my time working during A-Levels. I was earning more back then than some of my friends from uni were after graduating so you don't necessarily need a degree to get reasonably well paid, but for the life experiences I would recommend it. Just remember it will cost you years of your life to get back to where you are now if you decide to drop out.

Thanks gingerpaul

Ive already got the pdf file for stage 1 and have been trying to look at s/d/t questions in this forum

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?

I dont understand how to calculate this question:ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:..... can anyone explain it to me in simple terms lol???????????????????????

Uni vs. ATC is a tough on and already discussed on these forums. I was going to go for ATC, but ended up going to Uni. I applied for NATS at the end of Uni but instead have had a career from my degree for the past nearly 8 years. I still had the niggling about ATC in my mind though and so am now going for it again. I feel that I'm older and wiser, more responsible and more ready for it in my own mind, but people vary!

My advice would be to visit some Unis and see how you feel really. Perhaps try and visit the college with your parents too. In a way taking the decision to go for NATS straight away is probably more grown up than going off and having 3 years at Uni first!

Thats the problem i aint smart enough to go through with my a-levels and i am seriously really interested in ATC and know most of the in's and outs of it. i just cant get enough lol

I jus done my AS modules and well lets put it this way ... i didnt do too well lol

Ok, work out the time first, FL320 (32,000 ft) to FL250 (25,000 ft) is 7000 ft. Divided by 800 ft per minute descent is 8.75 minutes. 540 mph is 9 miles a minute (540/60), so distance would be 9*8.75 = 78.75 miles.

Probably a little more complicated than you'd get in the motivation, although there was one a little similar. I don't think it needed you to know the conversion of FL to real altitude, but I may be wrong as it's just a natural thing for me now.

Abz, I really would suggest you should concentrate on your A-levels. If the TATC studying is in any way comparable to the ATPL studying, then it will be very useful to you to be able to have done them. It can also show that you are keen to study to the recruitment people which can't be a bad thing.

Then again, I didn't get as good grades in A-levels as I'd hoped, so made myself even more determined to get a good degree.

First work out how long it will take to descend to the flight level shown:

The aircraft will descent 7,000ft at 800fpm so it will take 8 min 45 sec.

Now you have to work out how fat it'll travel in 8min45sec (or 8.75)

So 540 (speed) / 60(minutes) = 9miles per minute

The aircraft will travel 9 miles across the ground every minute.

so 9 x 8.75= 78.75 nautical miles (nm)

remember "distance over speed times time"

d
s x t

Yea erm i got a D and an E in my 2 modules that i did... and my school is one of the best in NI.... they will only let you back in to the school to finish A2 if you get 3 C's or above in your final AS year. I am repeating these exams in the summer so i will wait and see what happens

If you're determined enough, you will succeed I'm sure! I remember years ago the Letts study guides were very good - work through over Easter like crazy and do all the tests with no cheating and it should help enormously, but you have to be strict with yourself.

Anyway, this is getting rather off-topic!

yea erm sorry about that lol
i will try my best but back to the ATC

any other things you think i shouldknow before applying? except for tell the truth on the personality test lol

From what I understand the exam process is strict at the college, as you would hope considering the number of lives you would be in charge of at the end. If you fail one exam you might get to resit it. Fail it again and you're out. You owe it to youself to knuckle down and work hard over easter and nail the A-Levels to prove to youself that you have what it takes to work hard to achieve a goal, even if you don't enjoy it. It took me getting to university to understand that, and I fear that it might take you not getting accepted through the recruitment process of NATS for you to get it. I had whole modules at uni that I didn't like, but if I had failed them I would have been chucked out.

Imagine the scenario. You leave with a D and an E at AS-Level. You go through the stages and you are fortunate enough to pass and get accepted to college. You then fail an exam twice and are chucked out. What is your back up plan? No university worth going to will accept you, so you're back where you are now, only a year or two older.

I know it's easy for me to say, and I'm not trying to be hard on you. I just take a realistic view on life rather than the dream world that a lot of people live in (not you necessarily by the way). For example I know very few people make it through the selection process for NATS. I would love to get through, but realistically my chances are slim. However, I do have an engineering degree from one of the best universities in the country so I'm not going to struggle to find other work.

I wish you the best of luck but I would suggest finishing your A-Levels, as boring as it sounds. What are you studying anyway?

Just re-read my post. Just call me Mr Sunshine... I hope you can see the point I was trying to make. Genuinely interested in what your A-Levels are though. :)

Why it seems to be a common idea that ATCOs do not need to be that smart? (Or that's what I understand from #2657.) Certainly they should be smart enough to be able to answer a simple DST question without "an explanation in simple terms". Kids aged 12 do such calculations at school so how about starting using your brain?

Also, avoiding typing multiple question mark/exclamation marks/smilies in a row may help the impression.

Stage 3 booked at Swanwick for 8th April.

I can imagine that date will creep up on me very quickly. Time to get my head down.

Just found out i passed stage 1 and the personality questionnaire, now im waiting for stage 2! yey! I was wondering if anyone else who went to manchester on 27th Feb AM got through and is on the forum??

I am currently waiting to the result but let me ask you something.
Assumed that I will pass all the stages, how many will attend the course? Is there a pre-fixed number?
I can image that all who are "valid" will be invited to fill in the online questionaire.. am I wrong?