Flight School Dillema

[I8UU8ME]

I have been doing my research online for a long time, i have read many posts on this website but really have not been able to conclude with a decision, on choosing which school to take up for INTEGRATED TRAINING which is expensive but im cool to take it up if its worth it !!

i am looking at schools in EUROPE the best ones

like oxford, jerez and CTC i have my offers from these schools to accept me under integrated course !

however i was unsure if i should just do a modular at a lower rate in a eastrn European country giving a jaa license !! like Few posts i read asking the same question but could not get a satisfactory understanding ..

and do a type rating later with the rest of the money saved .

please guide me to take a calll !!! on which institute on the basis of course quality is the best in terms of integrated if i eventually have to do a integrated course !!
among JEREZ/OXFORD/CTC

[welliewanger]

Howdy,
I know I'm going to get flamed to death here. The regulars on this forum don't like integrated training as it's a "waste of money" blah blah blah. It's hard to justify the extra cost, but I managed to.

IMHO Integrated training has added value for the following reasons:
- The training is more likely to be delivered to a high standard (not necessarily better than all modular courses, but it's regulated by the CAA to tighter requirements as far as consistency and structure are concerned)

- It's all set up for you, you don't have to continue searching around for where to do the next module... and which module to do next. This means you can devote all your effort to training and not stress about organizing stuff.

- You're immersed in an aviation environment with loads of other students. You never stop talking about planes. You're not only learning in the classroom.

- YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET A JOB STRAIGHT AWAY. (That's gonna piss a few people off!) Early in 2006 at the "Flyer" conference at Gatwick I asked the chief pilots of 6(ish) airlines including BA and flybe and they all said they preferred integrated students. Many of them had (or had previously, when the market was good) different requirements for integrated applicants e.g. 750 hours if you're modular but if you're integrated then you just need to have passed the course.

I went to Jerez. Although I didn't get a job straight away, I'd still do it again. Once I'd factored in the cost of living (included in the price at FTE) it wasn't too much more expensive and for the above reasons I managed to justify it to myself.
The quality of training was excellent (I instructed for 18 months afterwards, so I've seen other modular students in the UK) And the lifestyle was great. That's really something you have to think about. If you're going to be slogging your guts out for over a year, you'd better do it somewhere you feel comfortable.


As for paying for a type rating. People here like that idea even less than integrated training! And this time I have to agree with them. Very few job ads only require a type rating. They want the rating to be current with at least 500 hours. You're only going to get that by paying for the TR and the hours. That costs a lot of money and the recruiters can tell that's what you've done. You're not likely to get a job like that.

The only realistic way to get an airline job is to get a bonded type rating. This means that either you pay for the TR and they pay you back over 5 years. Or, they pay for the TR and take it out of your salary for 5 years. If you leave, they charge you the difference. This way they ensure that you're not going to leave them so they get their money's worth. And they know who taught you and to what standards.

[Whirlygig]

The regulars on this forum don't like integrated trainingNo, the regulars don't like people who peddle untruths.

but it's regulated by the CAA to tighter requirements as far as consistencyCobblers.

YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET A JOB STRAIGHT AWAY. (That's gonna piss a few people off!) Early in 2006 ....Poppycock. NO YOU ARE NOT.

Integrated is not better; at best, it's the same except more expensive and the world is a very different place than it was four years ago.

Why encourage someone to spend thousands on an expensive course which can be completed in a year when there will be no job at the end of it? What worked for one person years ago will not work for another now.

Cheers

Whirls

[mad_jock]

I don't know whirls apart from the more likely to get a job straight away line its better than most posts on intergrated.

And I do have to admit that the Intergrated FTO's do have a flight standards deptment which most Mod don't but thats a size thing more than anything.

Another reason I would add to his list is that some students need a controlled enviroment to learn in. This is not so much towards the flight side of things but more for the ground school.

The whole thing revolves around whats best for you and if the extra is worth it for you. 80% of people it is not.

Please ignore any comments on likely hood of getting a job there are no jobs just now unless you have networking contacts.
Ignore comments on quality of training (they are the same)

The main thing which ever way you train is to come out as a balanced individual (chip on both shoulders) and realise that which ever way you trained nobody really give two hoots about it. Its a stepping stone. Which ever way you trained you will still be ****e when you intially go on line. But with time you will improve. Where, how and when is very rarely discussed flying the line. The only time it has been brought up in my experence is a Intergrated trained FO bring's it up usually to inform me "thats not the way they taught us at Oxford" with some procedure, thats proberly correct for a fancy jet. But inapproprate for 25 year old heap of a turbo prop whose autopilot I wouldn't bet my lunch money on doing what you expect when you go for a coupled approach.

[welliewanger]

Hehe, I told you I was going to piss some people off! At least mad_jock has some constructive and well reasoned points.

[bajadj]

Please close the thread for the following reasons.

1. Everything remotely answerable in the original post can be found in the "ad nauseum" thread.

2. NOBODY ON THE PLANET has completed integrated training at ALL three FTO's so first hand comparisons are impossible.

3. I'm in a bad mood!

[pez1]

In addition to the above, the OP has to be a troll?!