Where to now!?

[Francesca_Bettochi]

Hello people!

Well, its been almost 4 years since I last posted here! Tried logging in and I think my previous username has been wiped out (Francesca_B for any mods reading this)!

Anyway, like most of the wannabe's, I too decided I would like to fly as a commercial pilot one day. So in Oct 2001 - after doing some research I went and had my Class 1 medical at Gatwick. This I passed after being overly nervous as I wear glasses.

Thereafter, I went to the states over Christmas. Had my first flying lesson at Rainbow in Southern California and was totally hooked!

Unfortunately, things went down hill. Ran in to a lot of problems in my personal life after losing my family. Failed my A levels miserably and decided - to take my mind off it all was to go away. Went to Japan as a backpacking holiday and stayed there until August this year obviously working. Must say it was the best time of my life - met a lot of weird and wonderful people. Not to mention taking in a completely different culture.

Now in my early twenties and wanting to pursue what I had wanted. I am stuck thinking where I should go. What steps must I take to achieve the dream of flying as a commercial pilot. What are the protocals. I know for starters, I need to get myself to Gatwick and renew my Class 1. Bearing in mind, as for qualifications. I only have my GCSE's. Although my determination level is very high.

Of course, I have no flying hours at present.

Thanks for reading and any advice help would be appreciated.

Regards
Francesca x

ps Would be nice to hear from any pilots, air crew, wannabe's nr C London who may wanna meet up for a drink and chat.

[pushapproved]

Hi Francesca,

Although there are no formal educational qualifications required to be a pilot, most airlines/'sponsorship' schemes would require a minimum of 5 GCSEs and 2 A levels as a professional pilot.

You also have the choice of full time Integrated training or part-time Modular depending upon your circumstances. Both, long-term, will cost a lot of money. I guess you are more likely to follow a modular route, in which case your first step should be to gain a PPL!

There are then further options depending upon what kind of flying you ultimately wish to do.

Regards,

Pushapproved.

[Francesca_Bettochi]

Thanks for the reply.

As a real newbie; what does the Integrated course comprise of and the modular? What are the pro's / con's of each?

Ultimately, I would like to fly as a professional pilot - commercially.

Regards,

F

[wbryce]

Doing modular or integrated, its all the same training and same licences but integrated is strucured diffrently and costs 30k more, your mainly buying the schools name to put on your CV and some say integrated increases your chances of employment...but thats another argument! ;)

Modular training you will do each training phase at the pace you and your financial situation can hold...(your simular age to me and i have no funding, no backing...I just have a job that pays peanuts but I still manage, it takes time...).

My advice is, speak to many people involved with aviation, get to know the training process and what you need to do in order to get your professional licence....get your class 1 medical to ensure your medically fit to fly commercially and pop into your local flying school and book a few lessons towards your PPL.

[cparker]

Francesca_Bettochi

Check your private messages.

Cparker

[Francesca_Bettochi]

Wbryce;

I suppose the integrated ourse is a package offered by a school. How long does each last and what are the cost implications (not that I could fully fund one)! Also at what level do you end a integrated course and with what qualifications - which are required towards flying commercially.

On the other hand, with the modular route. I guess the time frame to complete is down to oneself but what are the total cost implications? How popular is the modular route?

Thanks

F

[Blinkz]

Hey Francesca,
The integrated course lasts about 18months and takes you from 0 flight hours to a frozen ATPL (this is a CPL/IR with MCC and the ATPL thoery exams)

The frozen ATPL is what you need to be a co-pilot in a modern airliner (it is also a full CPL and so allows you to fly single pilot commercial operations too, aerial photography etc) Integrated courses cost approx £70k all in all including accomadtion etc

Modular basically is not a single long course but involves you taking the different licences back to back. You would first get your PPL, then do ATPL thoery exams, then hour building, then CPL then IR then MCC. Each of these segments can be done anywhere you like and so you can shop around to find the cheapest options. Modular CAN be done in the same time as an integrated course but it is probably more realistic for it to take longer. It normally costs around £50k, inc accomadtion etc.

The pros and cons of both courses have been discussed here alot, try doing a search (top right hand of the page!) and seeing what others have said.

I personally am doing an integrated course, I chose this for a number of reasons over the modular route, which I won't go into here. Both routes will get you the same licence, just some people are more suited to one route then the other.

[Andy_R]

It would be worth having a read through this thread http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131649

[scroggs]

Actually, this one would be more useful: General Background Info (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=134076).

Once again, can I appeal to new users of this forum to have a look around before you post a question. Your question has almost certainly been asked before, and by reading the two threads linked to here (which are stickies, and thus are always at the top of the forum thread list), and by using the search facility, you can usually find the answer to your questions. If you don't find the exact answer you want, you will at least find out enough to know how to ask the question accurately so you get the specific information you want.

Francesca, welcome back! I will try and find out what happened to your previous identity.

Scroggs

Edit: As you suspected, your previous identity has been deleted due to lack of use.

[Francesca_Bettochi]

Thanks for the links. I will surely go through them now.

Scroggs, I remember you! How are things now? I remember at the time in early 2002 there were all the talks of Virgin and removing their pilots. Are you still with them?

F