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ATC Training

A group blog by ATC Training in Division Updates

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Contributors to this blog

  • Daniel Crookes 35
  • Andy Ford 33
  • Samuel James 30
  • Adam Arkley 26
  • Adam Farquharson 17
  • Oliver Rhodes 16
  • Alex Beard 9
  • George Wright 3
  • Fraser Cooper 3
  • Kieran Hardern 3
  • Nathan Donnelly 2
  • Sebastian Rekdal 2
  • Fergus Walsh 2
  • Chris Pawley 2
  • Jack Edwards 2
  • Will Jennings 2
  • Craig Stewart 1
  • Simon Irvine 1
  • Kye Taylor 1
  • Reece Buckley 1

About this blog

Entries in this blog

ATC Training

Training Group Restructure

Hi all, Around 300 million years ago, the movements of the Earth's tectonic plates saw the continents combine to form the Pangaean supercontinent. It lasted for roughly 100 million years, before fragmenting to form the continents and oceans we see today. The plates keep moving; approximately 250 million years from now, it's likely that the continents will once again coalesce to form a new supercontinent - Pangaea Ultima. In January 2017, our division's Regional Training Schemes - RTSs
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

British Summer Time (BST) begins Sunday 29th March at 01:00

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring At 1am on Sunday 29th March the clocks will advance one hour. This means that 1am will immediately become 2am, cruelly stealing from us an hour of our day. <insert traditional joke here> For those of you
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

S1 Examinations - from March 31st

Hi all, We announced in November that we would shortly be introducing S1 examinations. Since then, members have been working to produce an S1 syllabus which was published to OBS mentors and ATC examiners two weeks ago, and the web team have worked their usual magic to set-up S1 examinations on the CT System. S1 examinations will be introduced at 23:59z on Tuesday 31st March. Until then, students will continue to progress through the current system, receiving a rating upgrade once
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

S1 Examinations

Hi all, In order to improve and standardise the quality of our S1 training, and in response to feedback which we have received from mentors, students, and controllers, we will shortly be introducing S1 practical examinations, in line with the process followed at S2, S3, and C1. This will not change the process of training, whereby members initially attend in introductory group session, complete eLearning courses, and receive one-to-one practical training. However, instead of being reco
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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Staff Changes

TGNC TGI - Josh Howker

Evening all, @Josh Howker will be leaving the Training Department in his role as TGI. Josh has been a great addition to the team and has helped drive some great changes in TGNC. After recently obtaining his PPL he has decided it's time to put VATSIM aside for flying! Please join me in thanking him for his efforts in the Training Department and wishing him the best in his flying. Thanks, Dan ✈️
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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Staff Changes

TG Enroute

Evening all, A small public service announcement! @Phillip Speer will be stepping aside from his role as TGI TG Enroute; he has built up enough of a pension (so he tells me...) to warrant just one staff position so will be remaining as a DI. With that being said, I have officially granted our in-house Norwegian a VATSIM pension, therefore, he will be taking on the role of TGI TG Enroute, @Sebastian Rekdal in case you know any more Norwegians! Sebastian will be carrying on the exce
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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Staff Changes

Training Group Instructor TGNC

Hi all, Please join me in welcoming @Ben Cook to the Training Department in his new role as Training Group Instructor for TGNC. @Fergus Walsh will be moving from his current role as TGM to TGI to facilitate an upcoming change in the way the division handles its administrative workload. Fergus and Ben are both very keen to finish the development of our training syllabus for OBS-S1, which aims to provide students and mentors with a more defined path of progression. Thanks,  
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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Vacancy

TGI TGNC

Hi all, I am pleased to announce that we are recruiting for a new TGI in TGNC!  General Tasks: Have overall responsibility for training within TGNC; Select and train new mentors through an ‘OTS’ check; Review ATC feedback submitted by pilots; Maintain training standards within TGNC (inc. by ‘sitting in’ on mentoring sessions); Organise group seminars as appropriate; Approve students for their S1. The candidate must: Hold an S3 rating
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Vacancy

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ATC Training

ATIS 101

Hi all, Whilst provision of an ATIS is principally the responsibility of the TWR controller, members on all positions - including DEL/GND - are permitted to operate a VATSIM ATIS at any time. Please note that ATIS use is governed by the Global Controller/ATIS Information Policy. The following tutorial shows how to set-up a basic ATIS using EuroScope: 1. Click on the runway icon on the EuroScope ribbon for the runway selection dialog; 2. Scroll down to find the aerodrome
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

5
Staff Changes

New Division Instructors

Hi! Please join me in welcoming @Jamie Paine and @Sebastian Rekdal to our team of Division Instructors! Both Jamie and Seb have driven change within ATC training over the past few years and, I believe that they will be great additions to the team! Thanks, Dan ✈️
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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ATC Training

Changes to the Manchester Familiarisation Sessions and Gatwick Endorsement

Hi all, Over the past couple of months, me and Josh have spoken to mentors and students to see what could be improved in regards to S1 continuation training. The most common things that cropped up were that the Manchester Familiarisation Sessions weren't getting used to their full and proper potential, and that the Gatwick Endorsement was not properly training people. Here are the changes that we have made;Manchester Familiarisation: As some of you may be aware, TG New Controller, along with the
Fergus Walsh

Fergus Walsh in ATC Training

7
ATC Training

New Phonetic Alphabet

Hi all, In order to keep-up with changing worldwide trends, we are today introducing a new phonetic alphabet to be used throughout the UK, effective immediately. Please could all controllers and pilots ensure that they are familiar with the following: Alpachino Bread Cucumber DIVISION! CLEAR THE LOBBY! Entropy Floxinoxinihilipilification Gnome Hexokinase Ionotropic Junior minister Kymograph Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

C1 Waiting List

Hi all, It seems there's been a range of information flying around on how the C1 Waiting List works. To clarify, in order to be eligible for a C1 place, you must have: Reached the top of the C1 waiting list; 12 hours on UK ATC positions in the three months prior to a place being offered; At least 10 hours post-S3 on each of the main APP positions in the sector on which you wish to train: LON_S - LL, KK, THAMES, SOLENT; LON_C - ESSEX, BB, NX;
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

7
ATC Training

British Summer Time (BST) begins Sunday 31st March at 01:00

"There is nothing stable in the world; uproar's your only music." - John Keats At 1am on Sunday 31st March the clocks will advance one hour. This means that 1am shall immediately become 2am, thieving us all of an hour of our day, and @George Wright will spend the next six months dancing 'the funky chicken' whilst dressed as Bob the Builder. For those of you in other timezones: as you were. For those of us in the UK, we must now engage in intellectual gymnastics every time we use t
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

13
ATC Training

E duobus unum: Merging Waiting Lists

Hi all, At the beginning of 2017, in the delightfully entitled post ‘Exitus Acta Probat’ (Latin for ‘the end justifies the means’, from the poetry of Ovid, if you’re interested), Sam announced the merger of the old RTSs into the Training Groups (TGs). One of the main reasons for doing so was to reduce the discrepancies in waiting times between the RTSs. In the same spirit, and following discussions with students, mentors, and staff, we have now merged the S2 and S3 waiting lists for TG
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

ATC Training

Dear All, The Training Department is looking to bring on board a number of new members to the ATC Training Team. We are looking to welcome two new Training Group Instructors (TGIs) to the team, one for each Training Group and expand our team of Division Instructors (DIs). Please find below a summarised list of responsibilities and requirements for each role. Training Group Instructor (TGI) Responsibilities: Have overall responsibility for training within their designated gro
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

CTS Controller Booking Etiquette

Hi all, Following a couple of queries and concerns raised over the last couple of days, I wanted to post a reminder of booking etiquette, particularly for new members who've joined fairly recently and might not be aware of the conventions. The website regulates that "booking shall not be excessive in duration", which is deliberately a rather vague rule (perhaps the main source of confusion). "Excessive" is a difficult term to define, as what may be considered excessive in one case may
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

January Changes

Hi all, After a few months of testing we are adjusting the way that ATC exams are picked up. Previously our Head Examiner has assigned exams to our examiners, the new method will allow examiners to pick up exams without waiting for them to be assigned. Our aim is to minimise the time students are waiting after being submitted for an exam. To ensure that examiner currency and any potential speculative bias is removed, we have set criteria that governs whether an examiner can  pick up and exa
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in ATC Training

5
ATC Training

More aerodromes for S1 AFISOs/AG operators

Hi all, By popular demand, we're adding another four aerodromes to the list of those which validated S1s may control: EGAD Newtownards EGCJ Sherburn-in-Elmet EGSQ Clacton EGHJ Bembridge Documentation for all four of these aerodromes - and many more - is available on the CIX VFR Club website.
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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ATC Training

ATC Update, Winter 2018

Hi all, As the year draws to a close, we wanted to give you all an update on what ATC Training has achieved over the past 12 months, and look forward to the next! Over the past year, we have: Issued 115 S1s (up by 51.3% from last year); Issued 58 S2s (up by 123% from last year); Issued 19 S3s (up by 46.2% from last year); Issued 4 C1s (down by 25.0% from last year, but the sample size is low - the absolute difference is by one); Inducted 90 visitors an
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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Staff Changes

Training Group Manager

Hi all, Firstly, I would like to start by thanking all of those who applied for the vacancy, the applications and interviews were very strong and provided us with some very good ideas for the future.  Please join me in welcoming Adam Meade into his new role in the Training team. Adam will be working closely with @Oliver Rhodes and @Nick Marinov to ensure that we continue the good progress that has been made this year. Last but not least I would like to thank @Lee Roberts for stepp
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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Staff Changes

General Manager - ATC Training

Hi all, It is with great pleasure that I would like to welcome Oliver Rhodes into his new role as General Manager - ATC Training. Oliver will be leaving TGNC and TG Heathrow to manage the day to day running of ATC training and will be working closely with myself to help continue its development. This role will allow the day to day running of training and the development of training to be split between 2 people. This will enable the department to run in such a way that day to day activities
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Staff Changes

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ATC Training

Time to say goodbye

Dear all,   It is with regret that I will be leaving my role as ATC Administrative Manager, with immediate effect.   For the most part, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time within the department. During my time, we have seen a huge improvement which has only been possible with the immense effort put in by each and every person within the department, both past and present. It also wouldn't have been possible without the mentoring team dedicating their time, and students showing a wil
Alex Beard

Alex Beard in ATC Training

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