any bcft, pat or cats students?

[twhite1]

hi,

Hope you dont mind me asking, im 22 got my ppl and am planning to start my atpl studies in next few months. I have shortlisted a few schools that i have interest in and have arranged to visit this next week.

bcft on monday 5th
Proffessional air training on tuesday 6th (for cpl/ir as they dont provide atpl gs
And cats wed 7th (at luton base as theyve moved from cranfield i believe)

If there are any students at any of these schools and would be willing to meet up to give me your opinion about these schools and to chat in general about the modular route, i would be most greatful. Just let me know if your around bcft/proffessional air training on mon/tues or cats at luton on wed.

Many thanks

[Jerry Lee]

CATS, as far as I am concerned, is great as groundschool and has nothing less than Bristol GS or OAA.

May I ask you to write a report of your visits at the schools in Bournemouth (BCFT and PAT)? I am also interested to obtain my CPL, ME IR and FI rating there.
I spent a month in Bournemouth and I like the town, but I didn't have the possibility to visit the schools.

[clkorm3]

BCFT all the way. I hope to start my ground school there in April. It is very professional and Instructors are really helpful. Speak to PHIL if he is not busy.

[fwjc]

I understand CATS and BCFT are now using the same material. I used CATS distance learning and have no complaints, except that their website is a bit clunky to use. The quality of the materials and ground school was great.

A friend of mine used BCFT full time before they changed materials, and I know he was very happy with what he got. I've met their chief ground instructor and he seemed like a good guy.

Both Stuart from CATS and Phil from BCFT come across as genuinely interested in doing the best for their students. Stuart put Huge amounts of work into negotiating the new syllabus content with the CAA, and into making sure that the students got the right information and advice throughout.

So, I would suggest that on the basis of materials and instruction, BCFT and CATS are on a par. So then it comes down to money, convenience of location, and if you get a chance to visit, how you feel about the learning environment - the staff, facilities etc.

Good luck!

[twhite1]

many thanks for replies so far guys! Very helpful indeed...glad to know im thinking on the right tracks for a successful training route.

Thanks for your time

[brn-2-fly]

I did my ATPL groundschool at BCFT January - July 2010, and have and always will give them a massive recommendation.

The class instructors were 100% commited to the students and the learning material was, generally, very good.

I know i struggled in a few sections of the many subjects that have to be learned, and the instructors would always take time to make sure that i got my head around it. First time passes in every subject speak for themselves and the level of tuition available here!

And Uncle Phil is definately the man to speak to, he is always in the know.

A few of the students in my class decided to go to PAT for their CPL/IR training, and a few decided to stay on at BCFT. Bear in mind the industry being as bad as it is at the moment, the majority of them now have jobs.

[Scott C]

I will be starting my ATPL's this year also and will be using ProPilot at Coventry Airport.

I have spoken to them and they are really friendly and am hoping to go to one of their induction days next month.

I will using the PadPilot course which has been developed for the iPad as I think it is brilliant. I learn much more from diagrams and 3D visuals than I do by reading loads of text from a book.

Before I knew about ProPilot, I was going to use Bristol Ground School.

[Jockster]

I understand CATS and BCFT are now using the same material. I used CATS distance learning and have no complaints, except that their website is a bit clunky to use. The quality of the materials and ground school was great.

Not quite true - BCFT produce their own notes and question papers / progress tests etc. but use the CATS web based question bank / testing for the BCFT distance learners ONLY. The BCFT distance learners can view the CATS 'notes' as well if they wish but it is not necessary.

[Cockpit Meercat]

Scott, I have recently been to Propilot at coventry and found them very welcoming. The course material is good and the staff wrote some of the Oxford books etc so they seem to know their stuff. The Padpilot system seem's great and the prices are as good as any.
I also fancied Bristol but i wish they was closer for me and over 3 modules instead of 2.
The only problem Propilot have at the moment is they are new so you won't see a lot of people on the forum's etc bigging them up.
I think i will be going with Propilot and using the Bristol Question Bank

Confused at the moment though! :)

[Flaymy]

From everything I have heard these are all excellent schools, I think your choice will be made on personal points rather than quality between them. Certainly three I would suggest if a friend wanted to do ATPLs.