Sounds good to me. Not bad for a Tower only ATCO :ok:

AJ7, this is more out of interest than anything, but what are the busiest times of year and what are the busiest times of the day during the week?

Also what's the maximum number of a/c you handle at any one time?

Not necessarily.

I got my confirmation phone call to say I'd passed Stage 3 at 6:30pm

From what I've heard they only phone you if you've passed. Otherwise you only get an email. For the few days I was waiting, I was panicking every time someone sent me a text (As I get a text when NATS email me) and getting frantically excited every time my phone rang!

Slinky

Busiest time of year - Summer.

Weekdays tend to be busier than weekends, with all the business shuttles up and down the country and to the European hubs, in terms of time of day, we get busy with Long-Haul arrivals from 6am, then its pretty much solid all day till maybe 9pm where it starts dying off till 11pm ish. Varies day to day, and if theres bad weather then it starts getting interesting...

In terms of traffic controlled at once... anything up to 20 a/c in GMC, i suppose 7 or 8 in arrivals and again 20 or so in departures.

Chris - I got a confirmation email saying i was through, and then the call wasn't until next day I think.... email was definitely before call though.

Adrian

Thanks for your reply to my question... much appreciated :ok:


Alex

?
 

Hi ya'll

Have people who took their S1 on the 18th of March heard their results yet?

Cheers,
Nick

Nope, not yet. We've only got a maximum of another week to go though.

Hi,

Could anyone tell me how long it took to get from taking their S1 to actually starting the course?

Thanks

Hi all,

Yeah Im still waiting for results from 18th March, Those that took them on 10th and 13th March seem to be getting their results now so we shouldnt be long !!!!!

Here's hoping !!!

Air22,

I had my Stage 1 on the 10th November and was subsequently offered a course starting at the end of April. Couldn't take that due to my current contract so starting in July instead.

Hope that helps a bit...

ChrisR
 

I am also panicking every time someone sends me a txt! I daren't check my email in case I become addicted to checking every 5 mins and have had so many 'withheld' calls this week that I am certain I am going to need cardiac treatment very shortly...:eek:

And that's only after 2 days!! This is really painful!

Lol!!! Thanks for that!! I'm not sure how much it's going to settle my nerves though!

I'm working for the next three days so hopefully it'll take my mind off it for a bit...!

Indeed - when you see that 01489 number come up you know that's it! I've never heard my office go so quiet so quickly.....!

Hi Paperclip810,

That's great thanks.

I was also wondering, do NATS trainees tend to start off on a lower salary than those people who have self funded and join a non-nats airport due to the fact they've paid for your training?

Many thanks

I only got an e-mail when I passed.

Oh God! There I was thinking that if I only got an email it was a sure thing that I failed...this wait is agonising!

aewaite17

Thanks for telling CJayne that its not a withheld number... there ends my wind ups!

Good luck to everyone waiting for results... and the close family of said candidates!

A week after I completed my OPQ and still waiting to hear about a date for Stage 2... Is this usual? Is it worth chasing them or should I wait a little longer?

This waiting game can be so frustrating!

Hi Tobiwan,

I had someone PM me with a similar concern yesterday - almost a week gone and no response.

I assume NATS say it's a 15 working day waiting period for all stages so probably only fair to give them their time... I also assume the Stage 3 results are taking priority on HR's task list at the moment.

If you haven't heard by the end of next week, maybe worth giving them a call...

Good luck to all those waiting - I know it's not nice!

Thanks Paperclip, I appreciate the response. :ok:

Looks like those of us from the 18th March will be waiting until next week now. Bugger!

Heh, aye. Didn't opt for the text update so I'm just checking email every few hours. Annoying to keep seeing "2 new message" only to find out it's junk from cdwow or something :ugh:

I didn't opt for the text update either, but it still arrived! You can always log into the NATS Careers site and update your options if you so desired.

Stage 1 tests
 

Hi, I am also just turned 18, did my Stage 1 in London on the 31st, just waiting for the results.

Good luck to you, let me know when you hear back.

Stage 2
 

Hi ya,

Just turned 18 done stage 1, do you have any tips for the next stages if I get through

Stage 2
 

Can you confirm with me what the stage 2 involved

Browr006,

No need to post 3 times! Have a good (long) read through the whole of this thread - you'll find there's a pile of information about the online personality test (what you get after passing Stage 1) and what you'll get at Stage 2.

If, once you've read all that, you still have questions, please ask!

Good luck...

My question would be - Will I still pass the eye medical having stared at a screen to read 140 something pages of info?

But absolutely, read it all if you can. Will be worth it.

I used to read 10 pages a night! Although when I started this lark the thread was only 90 pages long....

Eek
 

Was 8 pages long when I applied, and only 12 when I got through stage 3... :}

Guess I've seen this evolve a little bit then...

browr006 was that the AM or PM slot? I had my stage 1 on Tuesday as well (I went for the PM slot), and despite knowing that I've got to wait for a couple of weeks to find out if I get tot he next stage, everytime I get an email I'm secretly hoping that its to tell me I'm through.

Stage 2
 

Hi all,
I have my stage 2 on the 15th of this month, and am looking for more information on the computer tests. Ive read the whole thread, (crikey) but could someone describe or even draw what the the format of the Relative Direction task and the Sort task looks like?

I want to know what to expect! and what format/ form the tests come in.

Thanks in advance

MH

Hi Madhouse,

You get as long as you need to practice the computer tests before the actual testing begins, so don't worry too much...

Relative direction test: Imagine an arrow, vertical, with the arrow head at the top. You need to imagine you are now standing on this arrow, facing the arrow head (ie. you are looking 'upwards'). A dot appears on the right of this arrow. Press 1 if the dot is on your left, press 2 if the dot is on your right. Dot moves. Repeat this process.

Sorting task. You are instructed to 'sort' shapes or numbers into categories. You are presented with a picture of a blue triangle. Press 1 if this is a triangle. Press 2 if this is a square. Press 3 if this is a circle. Press 4 if this is a diamond. New shape appears, continue as before. Occasionally the 'categories' will change, so you need to keep an eye on them.

The tasks do get progressively harder (and more complicated), with more 'rules' introduced, but this is the bare bones of it...

Hope that helps a bit!

Well after visiting the info tower at kemble (and helping dad drop an engine from an rj146 which was cool) I've got myself a visit to the control tower at gloucester.

Since this is a control towere rather than info, what sort of different questions should I be asking?

At kemble I was asking basic questions about the towers role and how many movements and so on, so how much more advanced with the control tower be compared to the info tower?

**
 

Hey everyone,

I know its the wrong thread, but thought I'd slip a quick question in.

Can someone please tell me what is meant when a atco says for example, "[callsign], start up approved, with information Quebec (Q)"

Question emphasizing the "information Q" part :)

Thanks a bunch!
Nick

djnick007 - the controller is referring to the current ATIS information letter (e.g. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc.) so that the pilot knows whether they have the latest information, and if not, to obtain it. The QNH (barometric pressure at mean sea level) will also often be given if necessary.

Stage 3
 

Almost a week to the minute since I left my stage 3 in Glasgow and still no reply. The waiting is killing me with this one. The last stages weren't too bad but this one is ridiculous.

Gogz

Hi, was just wondering if many people fail the personality questionaire.. my 15 working days will be up on Thursday and im starting to really panic!

It is possible to fail on the personality questionnaire.

I did stage 1 in February, then the the personality questionnaire 12 (working days) later, then after submitting the questionnaire, I got an email about 6-7 days later saying I had been unsuccessful.

I'm not sure if if the personality questionnaire is the sole reason for people not progressing. In my own case, I am confident I did well in the psycometric aptitude tests, but I let myself down in the motivation paper - and so I think the personality questionnaire was the final nail in the coffin on top of a not great motivation paper.


I didn't come accross this forum until after stage one! and since then I have read every single page, and I intend to keep reading it until I reapply next year.

I now have a year to learn that prep material! Fingers crossed.

i just wish i didn't have to wait a whole year - I am making a career change and I want this to be it. The year long wait to reapply is so much worse than the 15 day wait to hear if I'd passed the initial tests!

Good luck to everyone.