CPL in the UK in feb, how long will it take?

[hedges81]

Simple one for you all, am thinking of starting my cpl in feb next year (cant start any earlier cos of the ATPL theory) and am thinking of doing it in the uk. Has anyone out there done a cpl in the uk at that time of year, and if so how long did it take, ie how much was it affected by the stinking brittish weather at that time of year?

Cheers for any constructive responses.

[EGBKFLYER]

Not CPL but did a FIC at that time of year, which requires similar conditions.

Worked out fine for me but it's pure luck. You can have a fab Feb or a rotten one in 2007 - as they say on the financial ads - past performance is no guarantee of future returns! i.e. because this year was fine doesn't mean next year will be.

Risk of bad wx is higher in winter than summer but you know that. What you do depends on what risks you can afford to take - i.e. can you do it later in the year, what happens if it takes longer than planned in Feb etc etc. Having balanced risk and reward (crap wx v shiny CPL in Feb), you pay your money and take your choice.

Good luck.

[Linda Mollison]

One of our fastest CPL courses was in February one year - 3 weeks - and we have had people take 5/6 weeks in August.

You cannot plan for British weather being as expected for the time of year.

Linda

[hedges81]

aye, i suppose one should always expect the un-expected with the british weather and in that respect i suppose my question has no definite answer.
Still interesting to hear of other peoples experiences with winter cpl training though.

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

As Linda said you can't really plan. Just to give you an idea, I started my CPL in December. The course was finished March, so it took a while.

[geraldn]

Ever thought of going over the pond to the west??,
it took me 5 weeks straight and i didnt fly every day mind you.

[portsharbourflyer]

Consider doing the IR first and then the CPL, the IR won't be quite so weather dependent, ok so you will need to do a 55 hour IR course rather than a 50 hour course, but most people will go over hours anyway. Also if you complete the IR first then you will only need to do a 15 hours CPL course afterwards. Hence you start the IR in february therefore you should then start the CPL in the spring.