JAA ATPL via distance study.

[df1]

Hi,

I am considering undertaking a JAA ATPL distance groundschool course.

Having weighed up the pro's and con's I think this is the best option given my circumstances.

I would be grateful to here the views from anyone who has opted for this route.

Personally, I fly on an FAA Commercial and will be taking a contract in Africa soon so the flexibility of distance learning is appealing. Specifically I am keen on a computer-based type course (if it exists) whereby I don't have to lug volumes of books around with me.

Does anyone have any recommendation?

Many thanks
df1

[Megaton]

Do a search on Bristol and you'll find plenty of positive recommendations. I passed 14 at the first attempt with Bristol in the early days of JAR when they were much harder :p

[dorosenco]

df1,

I did that myself. It took me 7 months to get everything done full time. I mean, full time distance learning. I was able to put 6hrs/day into studying. The school I attended told me that a minimum of 15hrs/week are required to pass the tests in 10 months.

I suggest that you pick out a school in the US or UK depending where you want to sit your exams. When I did mine I had to travel to the UK twice for the brush-up and exams, that's expensive ... In the US you have : Delta Academy and Naples Air Center, both in Florida.

Almost all schools have their materials on CD-ROM these days, so don't worry about that.

A good price is 1,700-2,000 UK pounds for the course.

good luck,

[FlyingForFun]

There are only a small number of schools which offer distance learning, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to contact all of the schools before you make your choice.

The main thing you should look for initially is the quality of their notes, since this will be your main source of information. I would be careful about any school which won't send you a sample of their notes, or invite you in to look at their notes. In your case, that will obviously include any computer-based material.

The next most important thing will be the brush-up course - narrow it down to a couple of schools, then see if you can sit in on a half hour or so of a brush-up course to see the teaching style and talk to the students.

You should also look for a school which responds quickly to your queries. You will, no doubt, need help from instructors as you study, and knowing that the school will respond to your e-mails quickly is a big boost.

There are lots of past threads about which is the best school, and you will see a couple of names coming up over and over again (and I'll add my name to the list of people recommending Bristol, who have supplied all of their notes, and lots of additional material, on CD ROM for longer than anyone else as far as I know). But this is a very personal thing - pick a school whose style suits you, which doesn't necessarilly mean it will be the same school that suits other posters.

Good luck!

FFF
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