FI Courses - London Area

[markymojo]

Hello all,

Well, I can now proudly exclaim my satisfaction at getting through my CPL and IR relatively unscathed, and now it's on to the next hurdle... a Flight Instructor Course.

Whilst i did my IR in the UK, i have little experience of flying about the place, especially VFR, so thought it might be a good idea to base my FI training near the busy London area to really get myself up to speed.

Grateful for any recommendations you might offer for any such organisations. I'm aware of Staplefords and Cabair Biggin Hill as 2 possibilities based on reputation and possibility (however slim!) of employment afterwards, although the latter seems a little bit more expensive than it's competitors.

Regards,

Mark

[OpenCirrus619]

Which side of London?

NW: The Pilot Centre (http://www.egld.com/tpc) at Denham.

SE: Clive Elesmore at Headcorn - SE Aviation (http://www.seaviation.co.uk/). Although the web-site says Lydd he is currently out of Headcorn.

Both are easy to get to by train (OK, so there's a bit of walking / cab ride at each end)

OC619

[markymojo]

Thanks OC, i will check them out.

Testimonials for the schools would be very helpful too, if available.

[OpenCirrus619]

Mark,

The Pilot Centre is a friendly place - I was a member there for a few years (before moving to Kent). I didn't fly with Eva (CFI) more than a couple of times but the comments from those who did and (perhaps more impressively) from the other instructors were always positive.

Clive (who I'm currently 75% through an FIC with) seems to be recommended by (pretty well) everyone I've spoken to in Kent. I've also seen some very positive comments on this (and the Instructors) forum about him. What I can say is that I am certainly learning a lot (and working hard) at the moment.

OC619

[VFE]

Lindsay Brown of RFC at Bourn airfield near Cambridge may be a little further north than you'd like but he's widely respected and great fun to fly with. He will make a good instructor of you, that's for sure.

VFE.