Spending 80 K on an airline flight training course .. have I gone totally mad??

[pilotb777_300]

hey ppl,, I'm kinda new at this, well pprune that is.. I've been interested in avation all my life though. Anyway I'm 21 years old,from australia, just graduated Aerospace engineering and finihsed my ppl. I came acrosss this add in a flying mag one day which sorta cought my eye. A flight school called Macflight training have this program goin where you give them 80 000 AUS dollars and in return they take yeah from ppl all the way to ATPL, instrument, turbine endorsment and first officer endorsment on a metro 23. After the one year training period they garuntee ya a job with ****** airlines as first offcier on the metro 23. By the end of the two years I would have a total of 1100 hours. I know its a lot of money and I will probably be in debt till retierment, but would it be worth it for the amount of hours you get on RPT operation in a twin turbine. I've applied to them and passed the intial selction process and waiting to do an interview and flight test at the end of this month. One of the things that really worries me is that all the hours obtained on the metro are first officer time not PIC, which would make it bloddy hard to find work after they kick me out at the end of the program. With the amount of money I would spend I would have to be pretty dam sure of finding work aftre I'm finished.. Any ideas or opinions on the subject would be greatly appreciated cause I'm really at a loss here

[SPEEDBIRD5FP]

Without having seen the advert, or know anything about the company, be very careful, if it sounds to good to be true it usually is.. .Im just speaking from a cautious point of view, its a hell of a lot of money.

[twistedenginestarter]

For English readers that's about £30000.. .. .Worth looking into. I suspect this is the way things will go, given a bare ATPL is a licence to join the dole queue.

[pilotb777_300]

thanks for the reply guys . .. .for ppl who are curious.. the site is <a href="http://www.macflite.com.au" target="_blank">www.macflite.com.au</a>

[stevieboy]

pilotb777_300, I was once interested in the same course offered by Macflight. I contacted them about the whole course and was told that after initial training it would take upto 6 months before I could start flying in one of those Metro 23. . .. .After further condsideration I didn't go with them due to the fact it was very expensive and in the aviation business nothing can be guaranteed, especically when it comes to jobs. . .. .If I had 80 grand, I would add another 20 grand and gone to BAe Systems in Adelaide for training. . .. .Choose Wisely <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

[pilotb777_300]

I guess what I'm trying to find out is, wether this would be a route to take during this slump in aviation or would it be wise to just sit back for a couple of years work as an engineer then think about it then.

[Sean Simpson]

I've seen some past posts in the Dunnunda and Godzone forum re MacFlyte and what they do/don't offer - You will probably find out more info by posting your question in there.. .. .Cheers. .. .GA

[redsnail]

The biggest hassle with this scheme is the lack of command time. As you rightly pointed out, it does make getting another job a tad tricky. Other guys have done it (when ********* was around) but I don't know where they are. What you need to look at is what other operators that fly turbines want. Do they want a lot of command time or not? If not, then the scheme does look better.. .Have a look on the various company websites.

[mnpala]

This deal may sound good, but take the following advice :. .. .DON'T PAY THE 80,000 DOLLARS UPFRONT.. .. .Even if they offer you what seems to be a "once in a lifetime opportunity", you will be making a big mistake to pay up front, because :. .. .i). The company could sink, taking your money with it.. .ii). If you don't like the course for any reason, or have to change schools, then would you be penalised ?. .iii). If they need all your money upfront, then there could be an underlying cashflow problem. Flying training is something that generates costs throughout the course (i.e. your flying hours 10 months into the course will still cost money !). If they have all your money at the begining, then what happens later on in the course ?. .. .There are many good aviation guides available, and they all advise against "paying in advance".

[pilotb777_300]

sorry I must sound like an total idiot but where is this godzone forum..

[willflyforfood]

Be Careful. . . . <small>[ 19 March 2002, 11:51: Message edited by: willflyforfood ]</small>

[BelowTenThousand]

Dunnunda & Godzone is a forum especially for Oz and NZ. To find it, go to the bottom of the page, and "hop to" regional forums "Dunnunda & Godzone" and whoila! Yeah you are! Lots of aussies from here and abroad. Hop you find it!!

[thehoweller73]

Hi, this is a small airline..up and coming, but yes, I would do pay as you go if could, and there is another airline in Qld that does the main deal then you get to be a turbine fo on twin otters in PNG, and a lot of PIC time apparently, but it is about 90 000.
Consider if it is worth spending ten grand extra to maybe get you 3 times further. Sorry, can't remember the name but will post if i do, just look up flying schools on Gold Coast.

Ex LAME Ansett