Stapleford Flight Centre (Merged 2009)

[giertom1]

I`m thinking to start may CPL MEP & IR in Stapleford Flight Centre, Would you all be that nice and share your any opinion about this FTO. Please.

It would be great to hear from someone who has done or still doing traning there.

www.flysfc.com (http://www.flysfc.com)

Thank you:)

[Mile High Nutcase]

Excellent School. Highly recommended. Everyone in the school is a diamond.


Also use the search facility to read more about stapleford.

regards
MHN

[Wodka]

Agreed. Top notch outfit - don't expect much hand holding though - you get what you put in. Instructors are all very busy but always happy to go over stuff if you need it.

Facilities are a bit tired but most of the CPL/IR aircraft are good, well maintained & have a high servicability record (onsite maint)

Lots of other opinions on here, have a search around. :ok:

[BSmuppet]

Agree with the posts. I searched all the past threads about SFC too. Heard that the Head of Training is a bit like Simon Cowell - which is probably good IMHO. Can't have ego's when your a wannabe. Hey-probably not good to have one either once you make it.

A little bit out in the countryside of essex but a lovely little area. And as others have written, the good looking course co-ordinator makes it a good incentive! :ok:

If you check the main SFC thread, I think there was only one who wasn't too happy-didn't give reasons though.

[macflea]

hi giertom,

i have been to both stapleford for cpl and bcft in bournemout for me/ir. if i were to do it again i would have done cpl in bcft as well. it might seem cheap at sfc but its not. for example when doing my cpl i went to south end for touch and gos , on one trip did 9 which cost about 160 pounds in addition to lesson cost about 450 pounds more or less, in bcft no matter how many t and g you do you pay the aircraft hourly rate cos it icncludes tandg. i enjoyed my time at sfc nice people but got fustrated with weather , uncrontrolled airspace, but instructers are newbies and they leave you drift through course , where as in bcft you know where you stand, i went big time over hours on cpl but did me/ir on hours. pre and post briefings at bcft done in a class room whereas in sfc while instructer munching a sandwich in caanteen. also has a head wreacker of a circuit, runway part grass and else,went soley on price , pop down to bcft for a quick look, i wasnt only guy from sfc that went there. now here come the missles.

macflea

[Vone Rotate]

I'm at SFC on my IR.

Passed my CPL and MEP first time and bang on the min hours. I don't agree with the unexperienced instructor comments at all. Most are and the only two I can think of are PPL instructors. We all have to start somewhere!

I think if you are going to struggle with the CPL course, you'll struggle which ever school you choose.

Yes it's a small airfield but taxing takes no time at all. I completed my PPL and Cranfield and spent up to 20 mins taxing and waiting etc. I think I would crumble if I had to do that on my IR in a twin costing around £5 per min!:sad:

Great school, good vibe about the place too. Go visit and decide on what you see. I don't work there either before anyone chucks it in:ok:

[giertom1]

Thank you few opinions. All of them are helpfull.
But can I have some more. Please.
If its not a problem, can you all tell me how long it takes you to finish CPL, MEP, IR courses, run over hours and £ etc...

[BSmuppet]

Tom,

Looking at your location Stapleford is the best place to go. The flexibility you will have due to the short distance is a very big factor. Also, if you read the 16 of pages on Stapleford Thread, there are really great views on the flight school (apart form one). Now in my opinion, that is excellent odds!

In terms of time to do things, that can vary widely. Weather being a big factor. I'm not even at that stage yet so probably can't give that much advice. The website has the full brochure which tells you the average time for each section:

CPL=3-6 weeks
ME/IR=8-12 weeks

as i said all dependant on weather, and if you do full-time, partime.

[Callsign Kilo]

Was there in 2005 for my PPL/IMC and 2007 for my CPL/ME IR.

Great place. Great atmosphere. Great attitude. There is no ego massaging, no bullsh1t hype and no hand holding. You put in the work, get the head down and get on with it - do this and the instructors, admin staff and the lovely Ms Green will bend over backwards for you. Don't and well....you deserve what you get because all you are doing is wasting your money and their time.

I (and my fellow mates who went to SFC at the time) all share very fond memories of the place. Good friendships were formed and there was always a feeling of 'togetherness' in our group. Not sure everyone can lay the same claim, however we were lucky. When passing over the 'LAM' VOR at FL370 I often look down at the old place, tune in to 122.80 Mhz on Box 2 and think fondly of being 'downwind left for runway 22'

[G SXTY]

I did the PPL and most of my hours building at SFC. Went elsewhere for the CPL/IR, but no criticisms of Stapleford as a school. It's a professionally run outfit with a very long track record.

You won't find many negative comments about them, and you certainly won't find a commercial school closer to Chigwell!

BSmuppet - love the Simon Cowell comparison, spot on. :)

[tropicalfridge]

Did some training there a while ago, great outfit.

[SVoa]

I just finished my PPL there are my opinion is that this is the best modular school there is right now. I lived onsight so alot of my house mates were doing CPL/ME/IR. Everyone was and is very happy. The professional instructors are ALL career instructors so they give everything to their job, excellent pass rates, you dont spend money taxiing. You get in the airplane and t/o. Its a relatively small school so you get to know EVERYONE sooner or later, which is very helpfull. One of their IR instructors is also a CAA IR examiner. He does the 170A's for the IR so youll know you can pass if he recommends you to test. VERY good school, and personally im definately going back for cpl/me/ir. I highly reccomend it to modular students.

SVoa

[BSmuppet]

EDITED

Point taken Kangy :ok: - unprofessional comment. My compliment should have been a more professionial one.

Apologies to Pprune.

[kangy]

Did my CPL/IR & MCC all at Stapleford, a very professional outfit with great instructors and staff.

The circuit will definately teach you a thing or two about steep/shallow approaches and crosswind landings.... if you can land at stapleford you can land anywhere lol

Theres a fantastic atmosphere within the club and all the instructors are usually more than happy to help if you need a hand with any of the training.

Lastly on a personal note - Ms Green is a very good friend of mine, yes she will help co-ordinating your courses and if you have any problems with your training but then theres no need to talk about her degradingly.... lets not take comments out of context huh?! := I mean after all we are professionals aren't we?

[giertom1]

I will be so happy if any Pilots (not only CPL-ers) who graduates with SFC share your experience.
Which "airline"(job) did you go for after you finish??
How long it takes you to get to fliight deck?:O

Any info will be helpfull ;)

Thank you
Tom ;)

[maxdrypower]

Tomski ,Djen Dhobri , congrats on passing all your atpls , try PAT at Bmth you know a few people there currently , very good indeed

[flyvirgin]

Hey there I hope this help’s.
Yesterday (sat 28th march 2009) I thought I’d pop down to stapleford flight centre to check out the establishment, I’m thinking of doing my commercial flight training there.
I rang up in the morning to make sure it was all ok (which it was), so off we went.
We got there and was greeted at the reception by Brian Peppercorn, we went to his office and had a good chat, he explained the whole course to me from cpl to me/ir, he told us the pros and cons which was really helpful, I was surprised because he gave up like an hour of his time to talk to us.
Once we had finished our chat he handed me over to Scott because Brian was due to fly, Scott gave me a tour of the facility and all the aircraft, the aircraft are second to none, the facilities are top notch the accommodations are amazing well worth the money, Scott also gave us a tour of the simulators.
From what I have seen the place is amazing and I will recommend it to anyone, and I will certainly be doing my training there once the ATPL have been completed.
Thanks to all the instructor’s.
Adam

[mumblinjim]

Almost finished with the IR at Stapleford and completed the CPL in minimum hours. I couldn't recommend them highly enough, brilliant instructors and approachable, friendly staff. Visited Bonus and Bristol, Bonus seemed ok but Bristol seemed a bit corporate for me personally. Stapleford gets a bit muddy in winter, but if you can land a seneca downhill on wet muddy grass, you can hopefully land just about anything anywhere!!:ok:

[mitch747]

Hi Adam,

Funny that - I went to Staplford on Saturday as well, I was also greeted by Brian. He did exactly the same for me too, a long lengthy honest chat, then took me round to see the aircraft which are in top notch condition. Trust me on this, i went to Cabair in Bournemouth before going to stapleford, and their a/c were really tatty.

I'm going to start my CPL / ME IR at stapleford after i have done my ATPL's as well. Where are you going to do your ATPL? i'm starting the course in June at the Met London Uni.

Thanks
Mitch

[Mikehotel152]

Stapleford gets a bit muddy in winter, but if you can land a seneca downhill on wet muddy grass, you can hopefully land just about anything anywhere!!

Been there, got the soiled underwear! :} Also fun are take offs and landings in the DA42 downhill on 04R using only the 600m of tarmac...I also remember take offs from O4L in the DA42 where full power with brakes on would leave the aircraft sliding sideways across the muddy grass. :p

SFC is a good FTO and I would recommend it to modular students.

[flyvirgin]

Hi Mitch.
I'm going to London Met to, I start on august 31st.

[Philmacavity]

Stapleford is great..
Dedicated and professional instuctors, never heard a bad word about ANY of them.. (Although some students may have a 'personality clash' with the head of training.. Personally didn't have an issue with him, but can see why some do!)
DA42's are a great pieces of kit.. The Arrow's, well, they do the job and are relyable, the Seneca's have seen better days, but you will 'Bond' with them.. ;) G-TEST is legendary! :)
On site accomodation is a real plus..
The course co-ordinator is a lovely lady, very friendly, makes all the students feel like they are number one priority.
Aircraft and sim availability is pretty good, although expect to have a couple of sessions 'moved' to accomodate people ahead of you on their course doing tests and 170a's.
Costs..
Just calculated what I have spent on the whole thing... I didn't need any hours building, so from starting the ground school, (London Met - full time) to having the licence issued, including all CAA fees, 170a's, landings, approaches, (No resits or partials) and accomodation at SFC.. All in £29,117.10!!

Personally, cant see why anyone would want to go anywhere else!!

(BTW - The airfield is in the middle of nowhere, there is a student car, if you have a licence or you can bum rides from other students to the supermarket - or TopGolf in Abridge!!!)

[rriisshhii]

Since leaving 6th form I have been on a seemingly never-ending quest to find the best FTO to undertake my training with, and am somewhat exasperated by it. I know I'm not the only person. I've vacillated between deciding whether to go down the Integrated or Modular route to undertake my training, and which FTO to pay a vast sum of money to in the respective categories.

I have decided on Modular simply because I am unable to see any justifications in the excessive costs evinced by the Integrated training providers. Those of you who have taken this route may argue this but that's my own opinion. Recently, one of these integ.ftos have been offering a 'cheaper' Integrated route with prospects of an 'interest free loan'. This tells me one thing; they're desperate for students.

Having almost narrowed down my choices, Stapleford Flight Centre seems to be a solid organisation. Admittedly each FTO has their own psychological marketing warfare to tempt you into parting with your cash, such as placing a gleaming polished DA42 directly in front of the open day attendees whilst leaving their less than attractive aircraft sitting outside away from the prospective candidates, but I don't blame them. Having said that I still feel that they seem to be the best Modular FTO in the UK, not just by the praise on PPRuNe but by their open day, but I will decide that for definite after visiting the Flyer exhibition.

I have searched PPRuNe for opinions on SFC but have only come across one recent thread to convey these: http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/366555-stapleford-flight-centre-opinion-please.html

I would like to know if anyone has uncovered any more RECENT views on SFC on PPRuNe, or whether you have your own? Preferably those of you who have done all your training at this establishment, but PPLs, CPLs, etc too.

Thanks very much.

[Halfwayback]

One thread for Stapleford, please!

HWB

[tigermagicjohn]

I needed to redo my complete PPL because I let it lapse by 16 years, fly as required. I prepaid for 20 hours - after 13 - 14 hours they said I was ready for my skills test - I personally wanted a few more hours to feel confident as I had not been flying since 1992!

So one thing I got from that is that they are honest, they could have requested me to fly as much as they wanted - only reason for slight delay was the bad weather and christmas holidays!

Also did my night rating with them, took 5 hours - so as they say does exactly was it says on the tin - instructors excellent and dedicated. End of the day you have to do the work and get yourself trough it all - but I appreciate that they got me trough it quickly - and could have been cheaper then I had expected, so did not try to add a whole bunch of extra hours to my flying. (I did not fly any solo before my skills test - already had much PIC time from before 1992) Still it was like flying my first solo all over again - thinking what the heck, the only way now is down again! :}

I now do PPL hire there, if I could/can I would/will do CPL/IR there, but other circumstances dictate that I might need to do that elsewhere. However yes some of the PA 28 are a little tired, the ones for CPL are better. But aircraft all well maintained, only minor problem is the compass on some of their aircraft - a bit crooked sometimes.
It gets busy there, but if you need help there is always someone to ask and will give advice!

Recommended A +

[scallaghan]

Hi

I did my IR at Stapleford, finished a few weeks ago while working full time and got a first series pass.

Very good school, Scott and Brian were excellent for the IR training and ground school.

[flying_maxime]

Hi everyone, I've seen nowhere on the flysfc website how was the exact number of planes in their fleet. Can anyone tell me about it? I plan to do the ab-initio training there but I don't want it to last 3 years because of a lack of planes or instructors.

Thanks for the answers. bye!

[Spit-Fire]

Lots of aircraft in their fleet as stated previously - the chances of all the planes going tech is nye on zero and they also have a large maintenance centre on site. Go for it, great place to learn.

[flying_maxime]

Ok thanks for the answers.
Also, how do they manage to have such low prices? the ab-initio training costs about 33000 £ ....where is the trick?

[777-Aviator]

Hi all

I need to know about the entry procedures/assessment/screening tests.
How about their accommodation/facilities?

Thanks for your help

[Spit-Fire]

With ref. to cost, not everyone believes in the greed culture, thank God!!

Add 10-15% 0n for exam fees and aircraft hire during your training, I have a feeling they may not be mentioned in the total fees literature. I had a good look around before starting there and I'd recommend the same to you if it's viable. It's 'horses for courses' out there and you may find another FTO more suitable to you.

[StudentHenry]

I went to SFC last year. The prices you are provided in the literature are estimates and do not include everything.

This is what it cost me:

PPL - £5,800
Night Qualification - £850
Hour-building (not through SFC) - £11,000
ATPL Theory at BGS - £3,800
CPL - £5,100
ME - £2,100
IR - £15,000

£43,650

Not partialling the CPL and IR would have saved me £2,000...:rolleyes: And I didn't do cheap hour-building! :p

But this does include:

170A fees and aircraft hire
Holding, circuits, approach, landing fees for training and Skills Test
CAA ATPL Theory Exam fees
CPL and IR Skills Test fees
Licence Issue Fees (mainly included in IR costs).
Accommodation for 4 weeks in Bristol for brush up courses and 2 weeks in Gatwick for exams.

And, of course, a lot people do go over hours, not because they have to, but because they decide to do an extra flight to keep current while waiting for a Skills Test or decide it that extra flight gives greater security going into the Skills Test (which you don't want to fail!).

Also, the fuel surcharge last year adds hundreds to your costs over the course.

Have fun at SFC. It's a good place. :ok:

StudentHenry.


Edited to say:

The owner of SFC also owns the airfield, so I should imagine their overheads are considerably less than other comparable sized modular schools.

You assume he spends his money on SFC and the Airfield rather than his horses...

[flying_maxime]

thx a lot Henry! And at last, the one million dollar question: How are the employment perspectives after stapleford?

bye

[Spit-Fire]

Henry sums it up very well.
With regards to jobs, if we knew the answer to that we'd be very rich. I'm taking an educated guess that the job market will take at least a couple of years before employment begins again, unless you have the money for a 'type rating'. Certain popular low cost airline/s may take your money in return for work.

Keep positive, network loads and enjoy everything you do.

[Mikehotel152]

£43,650


Sounds about right. About £40K modular. £60-£70K Integrated.

Agree that SFC is good value, but you have to be realistic about the costs of gaining an fATPL. Every FTO will only give the basic costs in order to seem more marketable.

I would recommend SFC. :)

[flying_maxime]

I've seen on the price grid of flysfc 33K £ for the ab initio atpl programm. If you ad the accomodation and various fees you do not exceed 45K £. (without type rating)
How can you get to 60-70K £ ???

[Mikehotel152]

Er, SFC don't do Integrated courses. That's referring to an Integrated course with someone like Cabair, CTC or OAA. Rough figures, obviously. Check their websites for details.

[flying_maxime]

That's what I thought. Thanks anyway. I think i'll be heading to stapleford during June to get some info's.

Also I noticed that the stapleford airfield is not equiped with IFR, how do they managed to train IFR then? Simulation, other fields?

[Spit-Fire]

Southend, Cranfield & Cambridege are used

[flying_maxime]

Thanks to all your comments, I'm pretty confident to start my training at sfc for the CPL-IR-ME. I still have some questions (how long takes the atpl theory a London metro etc) but I'm going to visit sfc soon anyway.

bye !

[Mikehotel152]

Most of your IR training is undertaken in the DA42 simulator, using Cranfield, Cambridge and East Midlands. After about 30 hours you move on to the aircraft and spent approaximately 15 hours flying holds and approaches at Southend. This stage culminates in a couple of airways flights to Southend in the aircraft. Before the Skills Test, you'll fly the Test route from Cranfield to East Mids or Cambridge in the Sim.

[CY333]

Any feedback regarding the school lately?

[davidbrent]

i finished my full Zero-fATPL programme there in March (Modular)

Myself and Three other lads from Stapleford, all finishing bewteen December 2009 - March 2010 are all now flying for Ryanair, First Officer on the 737-800.

I would say it was a fantastic investment for me personally. I've gone from a wannabe PPL to having my dream job flying Jets, in just a little over 2 years.

I would reccommend them as the best modular choice for PPL, CPL, ME & IR.

I would reccommend for hours building you go to Florida (SunState Aviation - Kissimmee)

and for MCC i would definately go somewhere where they have a 737 Sim.
CAE on the 737-800 or Oxford on the 737-400. This was a massive help in my selection and assessment for Ryanair.

Ciao.

[Aitch812]

davidbrent

did you pay for your own TR or did you go through a ryanair sponsored route. do you know if they have age limits. I'm just about to start down the whole training road at 36 and am just curious.

cheers

aitch

[davidbrent]

yes, you have to pay for your type rating yourself.

as far as official rules, ive not heard of any age limit, however, it seems that they tend to recruit more people in their early 20s (although that is only my speculation and in no way a fact)

deffo never too late to start flying, best thing in the world!

[KichalFlyer]

Hi davidbrent,

I am going to attend the open day at SFC on Sep 25th and seriously thinking of taking their frozen ATPL from zero. Since you have been there, could you please explain further regarding the lifestyle near by SFC. Is there any supermarkets/rest/social activities...etc near by SFC? What's the method of transport in that area (car/bus/train)?

Thanks in advance :D

[davidbrent]

its a quiet area on the outskirts of london, essex. there arent many amenities in the immediate vicinity, but they have a free crew-car for students and a short 10minute drive will take you to Theydon Bois which has a Tesco Supermarket, couple of pubs, café, genral shops. Otherwise your entertainment will come from the lounge in the accomodation, they got TV withDVD player etc.

[KichalFlyer]

Thanks a lot davidbrent... Actually the main purpose of being at SFC is to study and flying but I was woundering if any sort of entertainment would be available around SFC just to refresh myself. Since the accomodation is equiped with such facilities that would great :ok:

From your personal opinion, do you think that the place is boring since it's located a bit far?

[PA28Viking]

The student car is no longer free. It used to be "keep et gased up", but nobody did, so now it is 10 p per mile or something like that. Stil chep.

It is no problem going somewere. Shopping no problem in Theydon Bois, Epping or Romford. London is only 45 min away on the tube.

If you will be bored is more a question about how you handle it yourself. There is enough to do, doing your own sessions and backseating others, if you want to.

[skyfish2]

If its as good as it was in the late sixties and th seventies,unde dear old Eric T,your in:ok:

[KichalFlyer]

Thanks a lot guys to share your experience about the location.

In this case I should sort out a way to cargo my motor bike there :ugh:

[JackN]

Hi, I've done the whole zero-hours to fATPL course at Stapleford. Passed my IR yesterday and can definitely recommend the school, although I agree that when the weather's poor or you have no flights booked in (I flew 5 days on, 2 off) there really isn't a lot to do. Having said that, there's always someone about willing to give you a lift to and from the station - everyone tends to lend the favour around and drive everyone else. I've even heard of the receptionists picking people up who were stuck!

My advice is to get yourself a cheap mountain bike and head out into the countryside - it's a great way of getting away from it all for a bit.

Good luck with your training, it's great fun!

[PA28Viking]

Congratulations Jack!!

Who was your examiner?

[KichalFlyer]

I have attended the open day at Stapleford on 25th last Saturday... The place and people were incredible...
I need anyone's opinion regarding UK weather. I am willing to join on November to start with PPL all the way to fATPL. Does any one think that November would be a good month to start or shall I wait?

Thanks for your quick reply guys...

Congrats Jack :D

[KichalFlyer]

Thanks a lot Cesco for sharing your experiance. Any one else has experiernced bad weather during Nov till Feb?

[davidbrent]

yes i think, wherever you go in the UK for the winter months, you have to be quite patient, as the weather can always be a bit poor...

ideally starting courses like your PPL in the summer is better, and in an ideal world, timing it so that your ATPL groundschool, or perhaps the sim stage of your IR is in the winter, makes sense...

....however i seemed to mis-time mine... making it take a bit longer, especially having a particularly bad winter last year...

i got there though eventually, lol

[Alicia.C]

Hi!

Just read that the ILS at Southend is unserviceable until 20th December at the earliest (probably until February). Does anyone know how this has affected IR training at Stapleford, has it made flights longer? I was thinking of revalidating my multi IR there early next year. If the ILS is not ready by then, where will the ILS part of the test be conducted, and if this adds more time onto the flight, is it better to revalidate it elsewhere?

Thanks everyone!

Alicia.

[MagicTiger]

Depends what IR renewal you are doing, if you have to do in the aircraft or if you can do it in the sim.

At the moment I think they use Cambridge, does not really make that much difference. In the Sim they used Southend last time I backseated with someone there.

[davidbrent]

i think you can even go to Calais...

the trip time is longer, but offset that cost against cheaper approaches at Calais, not a great difference in price tbh

Enjoy.

[Alicia.C]

Thanks for the replies, will be in the Seneca, not the sim. I know they used 'Stapleford -> Brain -> Clacton -> Tripo -> Southend as an IR reval route in the past, but pointless going to Southend early next year if the ILS is still out. (I'm pretty sure a precision approach is required for an IR reval and cannot be simulator substituted).

Trying to work out what will be the cheapest in terms of flight time. Anyone know the Cambridge or Cranfield route?

Thanks!

[MagicTiger]

From what I understand every 2.nd renewal can be in Sim, I believe they have Seneca sim, but you would need to confirm that with them.
I backseated an IR renewal of a couple of CTC guys, and they did it in the sim.

[PA28Viking]

@AIMINGHIGH123

Aircraft can go tech, but generally I would say, at the end of one weekend you can more or less freely book your favourite slots for the next weekend.

You should be able to do two sessions per day (maybe aim at three per weekend) like 10-12 and 14-16 depending on what perp. is required.

You can do around 1.10-1.15 hours in the aircraft per session so 6 - 8 weeks will get you fare. Start in March and plan to do your test in May when the weather is more stable.

Towards the end I would recommend that you fly a bit more concentrated maybe by doing a mid week session as well to keep current.

One problem is that only a few instructors work both Saturdays and Sundays. Do not from the outset accept two instructors (you will occasionally fly with a different instructor and that is good, but as a rule find one you like and adapt to his schedule).

I did not come across bad instructors, but some I didn't like that much.

Use any opportunity to backseat other students especially in the Arrow. That will expose you to the subject and to other instructors and their teaching.

The costs are what they are - 25 times the rate plus any ekstra hours you need.

The Viking

[aviationdreams91]

BTW regarding the unifroms . does SFC offer their uniform ?? or students buy them from anywhere , and when is it essentially needed to be worn in training .

[rriisshhii]

Why the obsession with a uniform? 3 separate posts on 3 separate threads....

Stapleford don't require you to wear a uniform, and as such don't offer a uniform for their students.

[Ganzic]

I think this is great, i can do training around my job, no hassle of changing into a uniform. Also passed MEP first time in min hours now doing IR at Staple. I couldn't find a better commercial school so far, and I did try a few.

[dazdiscs]

im thinking of stapleford too ,they seem friendly and very well organised , they also have good sims and there prices are very transparent like nothing hidden, i tried to get quotes from some florida based training schools but the seem pretty vague , is it a lot cheaper to train abroad considering all extra fees and conversions

[pudoc]

Stapleford has ticked all of my boxes for sure. The CFI came across really well on the open day, told us how it is without any sugar coating which is what I liked.

The course co-ordinator can't do enough for you, I've been in contact with her since I was 14 (when I first enquired about flight training) and I'm hoping to start training within the next few months, I'm 18 now.

I feel like I'll be well looked after there.