lightening
31st Aug 2003, 22:51
I thought I’d put a post out to help any wannabes out there stressing over where to go for their IR training. You could say that it is a subject that has been done to death, but the way FTO’s carry out their training is changing all the time.
I started my IR training, but found myself having difficulties with some aspects of the course due to the nature of the training, therefore I made the decision to leave. I then completed my course at an FTO at Humberside.
From this experience I learnt that even if good industry links are offered by an FTO, it does not necessarily mean they offer the IR training that will work for you. It is not worth gambling with your IR pass for these reasons. We all know that the IR is the hardest test you’ll ever have to sit in your career. Having now passed my IR with the second FTO, the difference in training was phenomenal. Instead of being given the bare essentials to scrape through the IR, I was trained in a way that can be applied to any aircraft. You may say that that’s what the IR is all about, which is true, but some FTO’s advertise the IR at the legal minimum’s containing only 15 hours twin, which just isn’t enough in many cases. I could have completed my IR at another FTO and perhaps done less hours, but it would have probably cost me the same amount of money, if not more due to having to sit the IR more than once. But more importantly the FTO at Humberside taught me certain aspects of flying a multi-engine piston aircraft which will save both myself and my passengers lives one day. Can you put a price on that?
As for carrying out all your training at the same place, at the end of the day, if you get a good IR pass, it doesn’t make any difference. So as for choosing an FTO, less hours is not necessarily less money. Go and visit the FTO’s you are considering, have a chat with current students and you’ll know soon enough whether it’s the right place to go.
I started my IR training, but found myself having difficulties with some aspects of the course due to the nature of the training, therefore I made the decision to leave. I then completed my course at an FTO at Humberside.
From this experience I learnt that even if good industry links are offered by an FTO, it does not necessarily mean they offer the IR training that will work for you. It is not worth gambling with your IR pass for these reasons. We all know that the IR is the hardest test you’ll ever have to sit in your career. Having now passed my IR with the second FTO, the difference in training was phenomenal. Instead of being given the bare essentials to scrape through the IR, I was trained in a way that can be applied to any aircraft. You may say that that’s what the IR is all about, which is true, but some FTO’s advertise the IR at the legal minimum’s containing only 15 hours twin, which just isn’t enough in many cases. I could have completed my IR at another FTO and perhaps done less hours, but it would have probably cost me the same amount of money, if not more due to having to sit the IR more than once. But more importantly the FTO at Humberside taught me certain aspects of flying a multi-engine piston aircraft which will save both myself and my passengers lives one day. Can you put a price on that?
As for carrying out all your training at the same place, at the end of the day, if you get a good IR pass, it doesn’t make any difference. So as for choosing an FTO, less hours is not necessarily less money. Go and visit the FTO’s you are considering, have a chat with current students and you’ll know soon enough whether it’s the right place to go.