What proportion of European pilots train at the 'big' flight schools

[mrsurrey]

Hi All,

Please could someone tell me what proportion of European pilots train at the big flight schools? namely oxford, CAE and FTE Jerez?

[mrsurrey]

OK I guess that was a badly worded question.

What I'm wondering is whether it is best to go to a prestigious expensive school (£105k?) or just look for the cheapest option at each stage (£35-40k?)? I know people on here seem to be split 50/50 on that, but I was wondering what proportion of people actually take each route?

[Bealzebub]

That rather depends on where you want to go, and how you intend to get there. If you are looking for a cadet position with an airline, then you need to research where your target career airlines source their cadet recruits from. If you are looking at a "stepping stone" progression through the career progression jobs then you need to decide where you are likely to get the best bang for your buck! Quality training doesn't usually involve the cheapest options available.

Be realistic, and be honest with yourself.

[redbull21]

MrSurrey

The big 4, CAE, OAA, FTE & not forgetting CTC put through somewhere between 200 - 250 european pilot per year, actually a little over a year as most courses run for about 14 to 15 months.

What percentage that is of the total number of european pilots trained in a year is not a figure I have to hand, you might possibly look at the CAA website and search for number of JAA CPL MEIR licences issued over the course of a year (they do have that database available) and then subtract the 800 to 1000 from the above 4 FTO's which will give you a rough idea of the remainder.

Cheapest is not always the best, neither might I add is the most expensive!

As stated above, it depends on what you want, for instance Flybe will take both integrated (though there is no true integrated anymore in Europe!) and modular candidates but they only want the modular candidates to have attended no more than two different flight schools, if you do your licence and ratings at half a dozen different schools to get the cheapest, Flybe won't entertain you, so you see the advice given above is sound, figure out your target market and then work out what they look for and then look at available options.

Smaller schools like BFC (bournemouth Flight Centre) and Stapleford produce good quality gardulates on modular courses and for generally less cash than the big four and their students get jobs. Not all those who graduate from the big 4 land jobs!

By the way, I don't work for either BFC or Stapleford before I get accused of pointing potential customers towards their door!

Good luck and choose wisely.

Edit, sorry BCFT - not BFC!

[mrsurrey]

thanks guys, I found this http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/175/Flight%20Crew%20Licensing%20Transactions%20April%202009%20to %20March%202010.pdf which suggests about 1000 ATPL graduates per year under CAA (which I think is just the UK?).

Are CAE and FTE covered under CAA? Are they not outside the UK?

Thanks

[Groundloop]

Are CAE and FTE covered under CAA? Are they not outside the UK?

FTE uses UK CAA examiners and FTE graduates are issued CPLs by the UK CAA.

[ford cortina]

What I find interesting is this, the CAA issued 1287 CPL (Aeroplane) but only 138 Instrument Ratings.

And Mrsurrey, the initial professional license you gain going to any flight school is CPL :ok:

[Sagit89]

Not nessesarily you will get CAA license from FTE.
The EASA Regulation states that you receive the licence from the Authority your Class 1 was issued by.

Quote from FTE:


With the introduction of EASA, new regulations will require a pilot's licence to be issued by the EASA state where the initial Class 1 medical was performed. This means that anyone wishing to hold a licence issued by the UK must do their initial medical at Gatwick.

FTEJerez is approved under the UK CAA and has a well established system for licence application which normally takes a few days. With other authorities, however, there can be a wait of up to 3 months for licence issue and you cannot start a type rating until you receive the licence. FTEJerez cannot take any responsibility for delays in licence issue due to initial medicals issued by EASA countries other than the UK.

[Halfwayback]

MrSurrey

Welcome to the Wannabee forums!

I am sure you wil agree that your questions have been fully answered by the respondents above.

Should you have further questions perhaps use of the "Search" facility at the top of the page will elicit the answers - and give you a better understanding of the state of the industry at the moment.

HWB
Moderator