Money worries..!

[X13CDX]

Hi all,

My name is Chris, I am 24 and am currently funding my own way through my PPL at Leeds Multiflight, which is unfortunately a very slow process with me just not having the funds available for continual hours in the sky! .. Being able to fly commercially has always been "my dream" ever since being very young and so am far too determined to let my money troubles stop me in my persuit.. So I have obviously been looking into lots of ways in which I could fund all of my training.. I applied to CTC wings, which I have been successful in up until stage 2 (I am yet to book onto the stage 3 of the selection process.) as unfortunately as part of the program with CTC, you are required to take out a loan with one of their banks to cover the costs of your training.. I currently have a small outstanding loan that I am repaying and so I have been told I would most likely not qualify for such a huge loan through CTC until all outstanding loans or debts have been settled. Therefore ruling out CTC for me for the moment.. Then I came across a modular program to commercial level at a place called Tayside Aviation near Dundee here in the UK. They offer a modular course costing around £38000 (good compared to the normal quota of around £80000 to £100000). They take you through everything from your PPL, groud school, all the way through to applying to the airlines as a first officer.. So with this currently being what looks like my best option, I am looking into different types of bank funding etc.. I wondered if anyone else has any opinions on this modular route they offer? and any ideas or recommendations on ways I could possible go about funding this? Has anyone had many similar problems I am currently facing?.. Thank you for any help all, n hope you are all enjoying the xmas season!


Chris

[skyhigher]

Taking your time might be a good option. plan for 3- 4 years to complete your training, maybe consider ppl, cpl, instructing then IR. it can save money, and means you may have the magic 1000 hours sooner than some. i completed the ppl, then worked for 3 months, then atpl theory, then worked again for 6 months, then cpl, then instruction and finally IR. With the instruction in between, i managed to get the first job quicker than some.

with the current down turn hitting the industry, planning longer would sound good to me. Tayside are a good bunch with an ever improving set up. Dundee is great for training, ILS one end and ndb dme the other. CAS nearby and plenty of Open FIR space to play in. Approach and landing fees are included i think.

dont always go with training that promises the earth, it is VERY often just marketing bull. The cheaper, smaller schools in my opinion can be better, having experienced both.

all included my atpl cost under 35000, which is a bargin. done the modular route.

as for funding, work then do a module, then work again followed by a module. by the end you will be in less debt, have the same licence as others and be looking for a job when the market is better. It might mean a quiet life for a while, but believe me its worth it. I will soon be dept free only 2 years after getting finished and getting my first airline position. Most banks wont touch anyone training at the moment, and i think it will be that way for a long while.

hope that helps.....

[X13CDX]

Thank you very much for that. It was very helpful. Can I just ask with you completing it that way did you work to save up the amounts for each module, undertake the module, then work again until you had the funds for the next part? With everything thats happening in the industry right now it does sound like a sensible option for me. So once I have my PPL, done the ground school exams and undertaken my CPL, can I then work as an instructor to gain hours without gaining my IR and MCC rating? Thank you very much for your time.

Chris.

[Keygrip]

One of the most fascinating hurdles I find in this industry is the research for the millions of questions that crop up during your "dream".

Very few (if any) of the flight schools teach anything beyond how to physically fly the aircraft - but there is a whole world of advice and legislation that parallels the flight training.

Rather than asking for the answers - from a peer group of absolutely unknown qualification and experience - you should be asking *yourself* "Where can I find the official answers".

If you have been dreaming of being an airline pilot since the age of three (when you didn't even know what one was), go *research* the answers in the official documentation.

Of course you should read the first hand comments and questions of others - but I would be wary of the answers given to direct legislative questions, as they are often incorrect.

What does JAR FCL 1 say about "after I have PPL, exams and CPL, can I work as an instructor"? What does Lasors say about it? What does the Air Navigation Order say about it? What does the "Air Pilot" (sic) say about it? (Answer to the last one, in this case - nothing".

What is *in* JAR FCL 1? What is in JAR FCL 3? What difference will EASA make? It's all out there to be learned.

What can you do with your PPL? What can you do with your CPL? Does the answer to that answer your question of "can I work as an instructor"?

RESEARCH!!

X13...none of these points were directed at *YOU* (alone) - they were directed at all the posters who ask the same repetetive questions without bothering to try to find the knowledge themselves.

We *all* fall for it in some way - I posted a question last night in "Computers".....but could have done a Google search for initial answers and then asked for fine tune responses when I had narrowed the field a bit..................."my bad".

Welcome to PPRuNe, by the way, and best of luck with the wonderful new hobby of the PPL. It's great fun.

[L'aviateur]

From meeting people around flying schools and aero clubs, it seems that most of the modular students are working hard to earn money for flight training, and i've friends who live almost on bread and water in a cold flat (rather then spending money on gas/electricity meters), in order to fund their flying hobby and hopefully, future career.
For myself I work away (joined the Merchant Navy and have moved into Superyachts now), which is very easily funding my hobby, but not everyone can handle working abroad.

[preduk]

The guys up at Tayside are top notch :ok:

The RAF trusts them with their cadets every year, they have just built a brand new simulator which can be used for MCC training, they have a good relationship with airlines such as ScotAirways, FlyBe, Globespan and Loganair and the instructors have a wealth of experience. The currect CFI is ex-OAA and one of the instructors (who used to be my instructor also) was an instructor for the RAF flying the hawks.

What I was doing was PPL at Highland Flying School and then the rest at Tayside, it's slightly cheaper than the PPL at Tayside.

Dundee is a really nice city to stay in as well.

[skyhigher]

X13CDX,

you need to complete a flight instructor rating before you can teach, as keygrip kindly pointed out you should be able to find most of the answers in Lazors!

while you might be getting lambasted for asking questions, remember there is no such thing as a stupid question (especially in aviation)! don't ever be afraid to ask, no matter how insignificant it might seem. confusion has no place in aviation (well at least in most countries).

best of luck. its hard, but well worth it!