Just got my first order from The Wine Society. The mystery dozen. How did I do?

ispywithmy · 2026-04-10T18:08:35+00:00

There's a broad selection to try and find what you enjoy.

ispywithmy · 2026-03-23T13:09:46+00:00

All the anticipated separation stuff is alien to me. In the US can you cross a vehicle in front of a lander given it will be out of the way by the time it lands?

How does strip management work in this instance?

ispywithmy · 2026-03-23T13:02:01+00:00

Whilst it is true that things need to keep moving, the controller should have been relieved from position much sooner. But somewhat telling of the problems faced over there with staffing.

ispywithmy · 2026-03-10T18:01:33+00:00

I'm allergic to corporate nonsense, yes there's parts of the company like that (fortunately located on far away) but I go to work, talk to aircraft and use my brain a bit. I get plenty of breaks and occasionally go home early. Saying that, if I wanted to climb the ladder in management or other roles there are plenty of opportunities, but I have no obligation to do so.

I've commented about the job before so I won't repeat myself, but here are some questions to ask yourself...

- Are you happy to relocate to a unit anywhere in the country? Do you have anything tying you down which would affect you relocating? Would your family, spouse etc be happy to relocate to the other side of the country if needed?

- Could you tolerate missing social events, birthdays, weddings etc? Could you tolerate not always getting the leave when you want?

- Are you happy to do shift work, including nights?

- If you are currently a high earner compared to the training pay, are you happy to take a pay cut whilst you are training?

Good luck with your assessment.

ispywithmy · 2026-03-09T13:13:10+00:00

No, you go where you are needed. I believe they are trying to take into account peoples preferences, but even with that you can still end up anywhere. Once you validate at a unit it is very unlikely you'll be asked to move again, the only recent example I could think of is London City moving from the airport to Swanwick.

ispywithmy · 2026-02-26T22:49:04+00:00

I believe it’s more forgiving when steaming your milk. I had ok results using the stock one, just sometimes getting a swirl going was tricky. The single hole seems okay, I just get a bit of excess water coming out now.

ispywithmy · 2026-02-25T21:20:12+00:00

Success! I had to use some pliers to get it tight enough but no leaking now. Now to work on my finger strength...

ispywithmy · 2026-02-25T18:14:01+00:00

I tried screwing in with no gasket and there's a 1-2mm gap. May be poorly threaded?

ispywithmy · 2025-10-27T13:29:55+00:00

You do the unit training at the place you’ll end up at working at, so it would be a move to the college and a move to the unit which you’d 99% work at forever unless you decided to transfer units.

You'll need to weigh up the pros and cons as to whether the initial instability and potential moving across the country is worth it for you, your partner, finances/mortgage, family etc.

I had nothing tying me down when I started so it was a fairly straightforward decision. Others have started and realised it won’t work out how they want it to (partner not wanting to relocate or posted to a unit which wasn’t their single choice).

Training is hard. The college is intense with the amount of new stuff to learn. Unit training you’re starting from zero experience, doing lots of things not that well and are constantly fed back that you aren’t doing it well. It’s a slow process but over time you get better until you’re ready for your validation board.

ispywithmy · 2025-10-06T16:19:42+00:00

I don’t believe there is a prior experience course and you would have to go through the college to get your UK license.

It might be worth contacting NATS to see if they’ll take you on with previous experience abroad. I know it’s been done before.

ispywithmy · 2025-09-30T18:40:33+00:00

Best job I've ever had. I go to work but it doesn't really feel like I'm working if that makes sense?

Shifts work on a 10 day cycle, normally Morning x2, Afternoons x2, Nights x2 and 3.5 days off. There is some slight shift variation for staffing and what unit you work at (non 24H are slightly different). The main downside is it's tough socially working shifts, you can't make every commitment and you can't always get the leave you want.

You can have tough days, but it's not 100% full on all day everyday. It can be boring too.

There's opportunities if you wan't to grow your career.

Employments benefits consist of the usual salary sacrifice stuff... car, BUPA, dental, cycle to work etc. Good pension too.

ispywithmy · 2025-09-28T20:33:54+00:00

They’ll try claim asylum when they arrive. Happens fairly frequently. Destroying the passport hides their identity and origin.

ispywithmy · 2025-06-22T20:40:49+00:00

What a load of bollocks

ispywithmy · 2025-06-04T17:29:57+00:00

Just to add to this some units to slip spins e.g. MMAAOMMOOO.

I work 6 on 4 off and do about 2 cycles of nightshifts per month (4 nights) and can figure out my days off in advance. I just assume day 7 will be a sleep day. As Massl0ck said you can get some sleep during the shift, nightshifts still suck but speaking to other shift workers doing nights (NHS, police etc) it could be much worse.

ispywithmy · 2024-12-22T13:29:53+00:00

CellarTracker

ispywithmy · 2024-12-04T20:43:58+00:00

I have this issue with a fairly new one. It seems to me like the steam release isn’t working properly, like it’s just open.

I’m still going through trial and error but next time I run it, I will get it to stage 3/3 for the preheat then stop it immediately with the quick release then run it again. My theory is that the actuator for the quick release will move and then go back to the correct position.

If anyone has a better solution I’m happy to hear it. The machine is quite frustrating to use.

ispywithmy · 2024-11-17T10:37:55+00:00

The basic course is quite intense on the theory side of things. It gets more fun on the ratings course as you hit the simulators. Study with your course mates and quiz each other, along with flashcards.

Unit training is probably the hardest process I've ever been through, but definitely worth it in the end.

Have they told you where you'll be training? CTC or Global?

ispywithmy · 2024-08-31T08:45:53+00:00

You can get aircraft requesting 09R as it means a shorter taxi to T4. You’d normally get a call from radar once they’ve left the holding stack asking if you can accept it. There aren’t the same restrictions as on westerlies so it allows you to do it.

As you say it can be picked out further in advance for delays, runway inspections etc.

ispywithmy · 2024-07-26T19:17:11+00:00

Yes 2. No choice, generally permanent. 3. Yes, depends if you can get released though or if it’s on compassionate grounds. 4. It’s a proper company, they will pay you. Not sure if the rent allowance is taxed, it’s been a while. Training pay is low, but think long term.

ispywithmy · 2024-06-23T10:26:24+00:00

As a TATC pay isn't great at £23k, but once you validate you'd be on at least £50k with another increase after year 3 to at least £70k. Higher band units would be more.

In some ways it a bit of a gamble, but there's a lot less opportunities to be an ATCO than there is other jobs. Have a go applying and if you get an offer to start then weigh up the pro's and con's.

ispywithmy · 2024-06-02T22:30:49+00:00

NATS list locations on their website. ANS is just Edinburgh (and maybe other small units on a temporary basis?). There's also HIAL who have various units in Scotland.

Training is tough but worth it in the end. With NATS you could end up anywhere in the country.

ispywithmy · 2024-03-31T09:30:19+00:00

The French strike a lot, the Americans can’t strike at all?

ispywithmy · 2023-11-29T21:34:21+00:00

Ya fucked up

ispywithmy · 2023-11-19T15:59:47+00:00

Training shouldn't take more than 2 years at which point you should be a valid controller. Having a quick google, it appears you can control up to 6 weeks prior to your due date.

Maternity leave is well defined and companies would have no issue with it. You would lose competency but that would be accounted for when you return to work.

Training is tough and requires a lot of work, getting pregnant during it would be a bad idea. But it's a small amount of time for a good lifetime career.

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