need an advise

[CristinaC]

Plz I would like to know what is more important to study in a very good school like BaeSystems or Oxford or study in a regular school and have a lot more flight time?

[Send Clowns]

Why do you assume BAe or Oxford are any better than any other school? All schools are now approved, and monitored to the same standards.

I would suggest you visit a few schools, look round some different types, such as Oxford, BAe, Cabair or others who do the whole zero to fATPL, then around a few groundschools with no flying and small flight schools with no groundschool. See which is the environment you feel most comfortable with for each stage.

[carbonfibre]

CristinaC

Your question really depends on 2 main things, yourself and your financial circumstances.

Are you confortable with spending large amounts of money to do integrated which includes flying before you have passed the ground exams , find you may not have the aptittude for them and lose all that money on flying?

OATS and BAe offer a a good integrated system which i think a lot of us would do if we had the money. These days it is more likely that even at a lot of the big schools a lot of people are modular.

There are a good ground schools which specialise in that area and flight training FTO's that specialise in theres. I think send clowns has hit the nail on the head, it is with what you are most comfortable, and is it JAA you are going for or an NZ Liscence?

Also if you have the time, difficult as this would be, a personal visit would be well worth your while before making any such decision, i suspect that a lot of people have been stung one way or another during there flight training, ground school, me included.

Have fun, sorry if this has thrown more probs in though
:D

[abracadabra]

The airlines are looking for the correct licences achieved with the least amount of trouble possible. It doesn't matter which school you go to as long as you pass all your exams and flight tests expeditiously. The CAA does the testing, so theoretically all passes should be equal.

The only reason an integrated course matters is when a recruitment officer is scanning over a pile of CVs looking for a handful of people to call. Names like Oxford, BAe, and Cabair will stand out and have a reputation for producing quality. Lots of schools produce quality, but they may not be very well known. At the end of the day it's down to you though, not the school. Crap students scrape through in the end...

As far as visiting schools is concerned, I don't think you really need to bother with the integrated schools unless they are very close to you. Rest assured that they all have very efficient systems, good instructors, and professional equipment. If you are considering a less well known school I would definitely pay them a visit. Above all, talk to people who have attended the schools you are considering, and try to get a few different sources. I can guarantee than being shown around an integrated school's facilities will seem very impressive as they all employ very effective sales managers to promote them. You really need a few views from people who have actually trained there to get a balanced opinion.

Hope that helps,

abracadabra

[Send Clowns]

I would not agree about not visiting integrated schools. I did so and made my decision knowing a lot more about that school.

The school was not exactly as I had expected, and the two integrated schools I have now visited (one I did not visit before choosing a course but later visited during my course) I would say each has advantages over the other, that I could list if I did not work for their competitor!

The most important aspect of a school that will differ from all the others approved by the same CAA inspectors is the atmosphere and how happy and "at home" you could be there. Some people may fit in well in a place that is not very comfortable for others.

I would also say that an extra 150 hours or a JOC would make your CV stand out more than an integrated course would since modular came to be approved, for the same money.

Best of luck whatever you decide Cristina, hope to see you visiting us soon :D

[CristinaC]

Thank u all of u for the info.
I just have one more question do u have a lot of job opportunities in UK?

[Pilot 1500]

Not really too many jobs around at the minute in the UK but this is no different to anywhere else right now. Even when there are jobs that come up be prepared to join a very long queue!!
:D :D :D

[Andy_R]

I must agree with Send Clowns on this one. In a recent monthly publication a price from zero to fATPL is advertised at £19999 inc the dreaded VAT. I doubt that includes exam fees or similar extras, but even if it ends up nearing £30k it leaves an awful lot left over against the integrated courses. Just think how many extra hours/renewals etc that could mean for you.

Best of luck

[r_bonham-carter]

This is changing the subject rather but where did the 'Cabair having a purge' forum go to?