Part-time FI course

[FlyingForFun]

I wonder if I could ask you guys for your opinion on this.

Having completed the CPL course, I'm trying to decide on the best way of continuing from here. I currently work full-time, and I'm planning on staying in my current job until next March or April.

One of the options which I'm looking at is to do an FIC part time between now and then. I would only be able to spend time with my instructor at the weekends, but I'd be able to spend my evenings studying at home. The school I'm looking at seem happy with this, and I'm going to phone the instructor tomorrow, and discuss it with him personally - but in the mean time, if anyone else has had any experience of doing this course in this way, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on whether it's a good idea or not.

(The other option is to do the FIC after I quit my job next April. I may be able to use the time between then and now to do an FAA IR, with the aim of converting that to JAR in 2005. The big disadvantage of this option is that, after quitting my job, it would take me several weeks to complete the FIC course - during which time I would be spending money without earning any - before I could even begin the long task of searching for someone willing to pay me to fly.)

Thanks,

FFF
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[NinjaBill]

Where have you found that will do a part time FR(R) course?

[FlyingForFun]

Ninja,

The school is West London Aero Club at White Waltham. The operations manager seemed to think that this wouldn't be a problem, and neither did their soon-to-be new FIC instructor - but, as I said, I haven't spoken to the current instructor yet, and since he'd be the one teaching me, it would depend on him being ok with the idea.

FFF
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[Say again s l o w l y]

FFF, shouldn't be too much trouble about doing a part-time course, alot of people do that. You shouldn't have any more problems than anyone doing a full-time course and in some instances you'll have more time to go through the exercises properly.

Good luck, once you start instructing then you really learn how to fly an a/c. It's great!

[GT]

Did mine that way in '95 at Leicester. Worked very well for me. Excellent course too. Don't think you'll have any problems.

Regards, GT.

[FlyingForFun]

Thanks, guys. Seems that this is a good way of doing the course - and your encouragement is making me more certain that this it the route I'll take.

FFF
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[rmmonteiro]

hi guys, could yo please tell me how many hours total time , must one have to engage in this flight inetructor rating?

thanks

cheers

RMM

[FlyingForFun]

RMM,

Minimum total time is 200 hours on aeroplanes. 100 of that must be P1, and that increases to 150 if you only have a PPL. All the information is in LASORS, section H.

FFF
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[Send Clowns]

I did the FI(R) part time. It helped that I was doing the course at the school I work for, but that was not essential. Took me a while longer, but was not too difficult.

[Miles Magister]

FFF,

See your private messages and search for my posts in October. This topic was discussed at length then on "IR or Not?" started on the 10th October.

[Whirlybird]

I would LOVE to have done the helicopter FI course part time. However, I couldn't as the course I wanted was too far from home. I know from experience that I don't do well on intensive courses - I get too anxious, lose confidence, and don't do as well as I could if I took more time and had breaks. I know this is contrary to the received wisdom that the quicker you do anything in aviation the better, but people are different. In the end I got exhausted and depressed, then caught a bad cold so couldn't do enough theory revision. I finished the course but abandoned the whole thing before the test, and went home to recover. I went back several weeks later, feeling much better, for a few hours flying to get back up to scratch, and then the test. Part time in the first instance would have been a much better idea for me. Go for it FFF. :ok:

[FlyingForFun]

Miles,

The thread you're talking about is more concerned with whether to do the FI course, whereas I've already made up my mind to do it, I'm now interested in how and when to do. I've replied to your PM - I won't post the reasons here because I don't want to drag the thread too far off topic. It's a valid discussion, but for a different place.

FFF
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