Where next?

[nick14]

Hello all,
I need some direction.

I am about to finish school in July 2006 and I am going to embark on the quest to find a CPL, ATPL GS, ME, FI(R) and instruct.

I would be most grateful if someone could suggest where my next port of call is in terms of the next thing to do.

I have a PPL and 45hrs:cool: and i will expect to have a night rating and aerobatic rating by July with approximately 75-80hrs possibly more, possibly less.

I am planning to go to london metropolitan university to do the ATPL ground school and the states for some hour building but in what order?

Many thanks in advance.
Nick:ok:

[TenAndie]

If you already have 45 hours and a PPL, i would do the odd hour here and there upto when you start your ATPL. Get your ATPLs out of the way first as there is no certainty that you are going to pass (although im sure you will) which would make the hour building a waste of money.

Then go to the states, do your hour building, then your going to be very prepared to do your CPL and FI(R).

If you do the hour building first then take a 7 month break from flying to do the ATPLs, your going to be rusty and may need some hours just to get back up to scratch.

My advice......

ATPLs
CPL
FI(R) or IR (in any order)


Good Luck :ok:

[GusHoneybun]

First, make sure that you can hold a Class 1 medical. This is done dahn at Gatwick and costs an arm and a leg (not literally).

With respect to the hour building, make sure that you do something more productive than just burn holes in the sky. The states is great as most aerodromes have some sort of let down aid. Take an instructor and practice instrument flying. When flying on your own, make sure you construct a good plog and stick to it. It is imperative that you start the CPL training in the correct frame of mind. Practice your forced landings and stalls and set yourself very high standards to reach (ie height loss in stall <50ft).
When you sit your CPL test, you only have the experience you have gained to rely on.

[wubalaj]

Even with the PPL, get yourself to an integrated school with the best training. Preferably, FTE, Oxford and Cabair in that order, although I understand that money is a serious issue with these things.....Modular will get you the licence but few opportunities of a job !!! you get what you pay for despite the crap you hear on this forum from disgruntled modular students.

[dlav]

Oh dear, here we go........

[LFS]

wubalaj,

To be fair nick was stating he wanted to do a CPL and FI rating so an integrated course would be a bit of a waste of time for him.

[nick14]

Many thanks to all.

ATPL's it is then!



:ok:

[clear prop!!!]

1 before you do another thing or start building your hopes up...A CLASS ONE MEDICAL!!!

2 get ALL the finances in place incuding a plan for breadline earings during your early instructing years

3 an IMC, it will give you practical experience which will help with your ATPL's and come in handy later

4 If you can, do a residential ATPL course...working with others helps LOADS

5 Keep some hours going while doing your ATPLs

6 Go to the States and do some hours it's cheap and forget the negatives about overseas flying you hear on this site. get some intruction along the way to check you bad habits ...maybe a multi or even an FAA IR. Don't jusy spend hours in the air punching holes in the sky and building bad habits!

7 CPL

8 FiC

9 Multi and IR (the more time you spend flying before this the better!

10 Dont ever magine what you could have done with the cash and ignore the fact that your mates earn 5 times what you do....but hey thats flying for you!

good luck!!

[PSF2J]

Any one that tells you that Integrated is the way to go entirely is full of bull. It is not! Where you get your licence does not matter, the quality is usually the same. Some companies i know of don't like people from some integrated courses, because they are alienated to a certain way of doing things. I'm not going to say anymore.

I am 21, i left school and went straight into flight training as stated above, and i got a Flying Instructors Rating. I enjoyed my flying and 4 weeks ago, got picked to fly a Citation XL, as i type, i'm sat in Texas doing my Type Rating, i have 750hrs. Don't let others tell you the aviation situation is dire. It isn't when you're young! I may be a chip off the block, but from the friends i've gathered along the way, i don't think i am.

My advice: GO FOR IT

(P.S. I was modular through many schools!)

[Send Clowns]

wubalaj

Wind your neck in.

You are talking garbage. Usually I would moderate that comment a lot (see the next paragraph), but this guy is talking about instructing on a CPL. It is showing complete ignorrance to suggest he should go to an integrated school. This would cost him £25,000 extra with nothing to show for it except fewer hours single-engine P1 VFR, vital to instructors and, unless he has strong character, the wrong attitude for a PPL flight instructor.

By the way you are also wrong about "few opportunities of a job" even outside instruction. I know a lot of people who have been offered jobs recently from modular training, including one who has had 4 interviews (2 offers, pending the other 2 results). I know many others who have had interviews. You actually have no idea what you are talking about yet have the gall to say other people talk crap.

Clear Prop

A lot of sense, but particularly for a future instructor I would be even more wary of the USA. I would always say be very careful where you go there, and, as you say, make sure you fly to a purpose. By preference do much of your hour building here, the environment is very different.

I flew in the US at a good school, and that was not good enough for decent UK instructor standards. I flew at a bad school there (only hour building, with 180 hours fixed-wing and after damned good RAF and Royal Navy training so OK for me) and the instructors were good people but the standards they kept were not even nearly the standards my boss expected me to look for when I was taught to instruct!

(I don't mean the FI(R)s are bad at US schools by the way, but hour building and pre-CPL training, before any US-based FI(R) schools jump down my throat)

nick

Lots of great advice here. Read it and take it as you can best judge it.

Good luck! You'll love it, instructing is fantastic :D

[nick14]

Thak you all so much for your kind advice,

I feel wubalaj has been unfairly rubbished, his advice was well meant if a little off track. I have been researching this career for 2years now and I have a little knowlage to know i would be spending uneccessary cash at an integrated school for my particular career path.

Many thanks again
Nick
Buckle up:cool: