pmsumner

I've been quiet about the whole ATC subject, but as a year on my initial application last year approaches the subject has been weighing on my mind more heavily again. I've been reading PPRuNE for ages, since I talked to someone at London City tower about it, and today I found a link to this:

http://www.pmsumner.eu.org/~pmsumner/linkpics/flightassist.mp3

It's not too big at 3.2Mb, and you only truly need to hear the first 3 minutes of it.

It's chilling to hear someone screaming at the ATCO thinking that they're going to die. As well as everyone I know that this kind of situation rarely happens but when it does - someone's going to be there on the other end of the R/T. Scary.

Anyhow, on the whole ATC thing. I'm considering reapplying but I don't know whether it's going to be worthwhile doing. If I get offered a position and then a job with a year's training in Bournemouth, then a 90% chance of a permanent position in Swanick - where's the future for Jane and I? My aims of ending up in Shropshire will come to absolutely nothing if I end up as an ATCO - where's the nearest airport to Shrewsbury? I'm guessing Birmingham.

The whole "getting the job/not getting the job" thing doesn't bother me - I'm fairly sure where I went wrong last time and all you can do is try your best.

It needs some more thought. Is it worth the time? Is it a career where I can be somewhere that I physically want to be?