Finding A Flying School

[Shiny_Pants]

After many years of what i must realisically call 'dreaming' about becomming a commercial pilot i am now in a position where i am able to finance my own training over the course of the next several years.

As a result of this i am setting out to find a flying school in and around London where i can work towards gaining my PPL.

I've been looking at several flying schools recently incuding British Airways Flying Club who i have heard have been recently bought out by another company (although i'm hoping someone else can confirm or deny this) and Cabair who i understand are a much larger and corporate organisation.

Can anyone provide me with any personal experiences of these two organisations and any substantial differences which there may or may not be in the costs involved in obtaining my PPL.

Alternatively if anyone can reccommend any other flying schools it would be greatly appreciated.

[122.85]

I did my PPL @ Cranfield with Billins Air Services who are a small outfit. I can highly recommend them as I found it a very supportive and friendly company, I managed to do my PPL and night rating on the bare minimum 45 hrs and I think a lot of this must go down to the level of training I received.

You should expect to pay about £7000 in total by the time you add books, flight exam costs.

Good luck with whoever you choose.
Matt

[jamie230985]

I've been looking at several flying schools recently incuding British Airways Flying Club who i have heard have been recently bought out by another company (although i'm hoping someone else can confirm or deny this) and Cabair who i understand are a much larger and corporate organisation.

I'm based at Wycombe Air Center (opposite BA), I cannot tell you what they are like in BA but one thing i do know is that their rates are considerably higher than those at WAC & you very rarely see their instructors flying.

Cabair is a large organisation but if u choose the right school you get a very good service with the feeling of a much smaller friendly atmosphere. in my opinion Wycombe & Denham (I have studied at both) fall perfectly into this catagory. You get the assurance of a large organisation with regards maintenance & service but also the friendly nature of the small school!!

My choice would be Wycombe OR Denham every time!!

[jez d]

Round the London orbital are the following airfields which have PPL schools:

Stapleford
Biggin Hill
Redhill
Fairoaks
Blackbushe
White Waltham
Booker (Wycombe Air Park)
Denham
Elstree

Don't think I've missed any out? All have their pros and cons. Recommend you take a trial lesson at a couple before you commit yourself.

Regards

jez

[Charlie Zulu]

Another airfield not far from Stapleford / North Weald is:

Panshanger - EGLC

I have found a webiste for a flying school based there:

Take Flying Lessons at Panshanger Aerodrome – North London Flying School (http://www.northlondonflyingschool.com/Pansanger/Pansanger.htm)

Note I have never been to the school, airfield or anything else to do with the company. I don't even know if there are other flying clubs based at Panshanger.

Thought I would just include it in the list of airfields and clubs around the London orbital.

[*Zwitter*]

I'm training with Classair at Biggin and can thoroughly recommend them.

Nice club-like atmosphere, friendly people and they have a C172, Robin and tommahawk to choose from.

[Shiny_Pants]

I've been doing a lot of research recently on the whole 'Integrated V Modular' debate and i'm getting the impression that the airlines much prefer those applicants who have gone through the integrated route. Is this actually the case or is this simply promotional garbage from the FTO's who provide these integrated courses?

In addition to this i've heard that prospective employers look more favourably over those applicants who have remained with the same FTO from PPL through to ATPL as opposed to those who do opt for the modular route and gain their PPL through a local flyng school before progressing to one of the bigger FTOs for their commercial training.

Ultimately, i would like to think that i can go from zero hours to ATPL over the course of the next few years, however, i want to make sure that i give myself the best possible chances of making this a reality and, hopefully, making a change of career at the end of it all.

Unfortunately, due to work and financial commitments, the integrated course isn't available to me.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

Employers dont give two hoots where you did your PPL. Do it where it suits you.

[G SXTY]

is this simply promotional garbage from the FTO's who provide these integrated courses?


In a word, yes.

[Greg2041]

Hello Shiny_Pants,

The integrated -vs- modular debate is an ongoing one but in this economic, climate I think modular is the least risky option as the training can be staggered in time for a recovery, whenever that will be - and of course it costs some £30K less!

However, as it stands, BA will still ONLY accept newbies from recognised training outfits and those guys only provide integrated courses. Even then, the chance of getting a job with BA is slim and I mean really slim.

BUT BA will accept pilots from other airlines and then they really aren't bothered where the qualification has come from, so most BA pilots do indeed come from a modular route via another airline.

Strange but true!

Greg

[skyhighbird]

Heya Shiny Pants,

here's some food for thought regarding your integrated/mod question:

"The reasoning would be - one could plan all they like to do modular training through one school, but (with the exception of old CTC, or modular courses attached to Oxford or Jerez), you are unlikely to get the same robust course material, experienced instructors, equipment, support and discipline that a planned, integrated course offers."

and this one!

"BA has struggled to find modular people who fit their mould. This is not to say that they lack skills, but there is something of a culture at BA into which people have to fit to ensure the operation works smoothly. They are at liberty to pick and choose, since they offer some of the better terms in the industry, and as such are entitled to hold their views. It is not the be all and end all of a flying career".

If you want to read more then follow the link:

http://www.pprune.org/interviews-jobs-sponsorship/365782-ba-sponsorship.html

Hope that helps! But yeah, promotional garbage mostly from FTOs.

[Shiny_Pants]

Thank you for all of the replies.

[Greg2041]

"BA has struggled to find modular people who fit their mould."

Which is why they recruit modular people from other airlines!

[Shiny_Pants]

I've visited a few flying schools in and around London and found one which offers PPL training but which i would not be able to stay with as and when i want to move onto CPL training. The other (Stapleford Flying Centre) offers both PPL and CPL training and so i woulD be able to stick with the same FTO for the whole duration of my training. I know it has already been brought up in the thread but will it really matter whether or not i've done all of my training with the same FTO?

On another note i've just visited the opticians to find out whether or not my vision meets the requirements of the CAA Class 1 medical which it does. I can imagine it would have been slightly embarrassing getting the Gatwick only to find out that i couldn't meet the basic requirements.

[jez d]

SP, no airline is going to care where you did your PPL training.

Airlines who accept low hours modular trained students tend to prefer that you have undertaken your commercial training with not more than two FTOs, but ultimately it is down more and more these days to whether you meet the demographics and inter-personal skills the airline is looking for. Having said that, having 16 different schools listed on your training résumé probably won't get you very far.

jez

[BSmuppet]

shinnypants,

from what I have read, you can't go far wrong with stapleford. A very good mod school. I probably would have seriously considered going there but it is just too far for me. Shame really, the course coordinator looked nice going by the website pics of the team ;).

On a serious note I think from the advice around, being with one FTO throughout is probably more important. That is what I'm considering anyway when I chose my school

[Shiny_Pants]

Once again, i've spent most of the day carrying out quite a bit of research about the flight training organisations which can offer training from PPL through to ATPL. I know it has already been said that it isn't particularly importanct where i obtain my PPL, however, if i can find one school which can meet all of my needs then it's certainly going to be worth a look.

With that in mind i've contacted Stapleford Flight Centre as well as Bournemouth Commerical Flying Centre, both of who have been more than helpful. Unfortunately these were probably the only two schools i didn't visit in person when i was in teh area last week and so i'll have to wait until i move to London before i have a look at the facilities.

I've already had a look through the forums for feedback regarding the two organisations but any more comments would be greatly appreciated.

One question i do have with regards to BCFT is in relation to the Jetline Course. I understand this is a modular programme designed to take someone from 'zero to hero' but can anyone tell me whether or not this is operated in a similar way to other modular courses which are operated by soem of the other FTOs. What i mean by this is would each module need to be paid for upfront or can you 'pay as you fly' and complete the course and and when time permits?

If all else fails i've found a nice little flying school not far from where i'm going to be moving to where i can complete my PPL before moving on to another location for the commercial side of things.

Once again, thank you for all of the replies.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

Hi SP,

As I said before, honestly the airlines really really don't care where you did you're PPL, it could be with Shady Joe Bloggs' School of Flying, no one gives a hoot, so I'd do it as reasonably priced as poss, be it here or abroad if financially worthwhile. Any local airfield should do the job quite nicely.

However, if you are thinking of Stapleford for commercial training then you wouldn't go far wrong in my opinion. I did my groundschool at Bristol GS (again excellent), then the flying with Stapleford. Good outfit, igood instructors, VOR on the field, Southend down the road for other stuff. And I paid a bit at a time when I was there so no worries about being shafted with all money upfront and the owners enjoynig Rio at your expense.