JD Aviation
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Join Date: May 2014
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JD Aviation
Evening all,
Looking around for somewhere to do my CPL/IR training - have seen JD Aviation at Hawarden Airport, Chester. Does anybody have any past experiences with this outfit?
Thanks in advance
Looking around for somewhere to do my CPL/IR training - have seen JD Aviation at Hawarden Airport, Chester. Does anybody have any past experiences with this outfit?
Thanks in advance
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Cheshire, England
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Good operation with very professional instructors and well equipped aircraft. Training tailored to suit you and your availability. Hawarden is a good place to operate from with full ATC and instrument procedures. I did my CPL/IR there 6 years ago and can't speak too highly of them. Best thing is to contact and go visit.
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I am in fact looking at JD and CFT. I've done all my training so far at Tatenhill. Both ATOs are approved for the CBIR, and both roughly the same price. Just depends if I want to fly the Dutchess (CFT) out of uncontrolled T'hill or Seneca II (JD) out of Hawarden.
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Although Hawarden is not in controlled airspace, it does have full ATC, instrument procedures and a bit of a mix of traffic, all of which makes it a good place to train especially if you are going down the commercial route. Even if you're not, the concept of instrument flying within such a structured environment is hard to beat.
JD
I completed my CPL / ME with JD back in 2013 -
They fitted in exactly with what I was looking for - JD is very straight with your strengths and weaknesses, certainly won't be telling you you're God's gift to aviation to get your money.
The offices are now in the new terminal with a great cafe, and the aircraft are kept in very good condition and will be finishing off my IR with them when my ATPL's are sorted.
They fitted in exactly with what I was looking for - JD is very straight with your strengths and weaknesses, certainly won't be telling you you're God's gift to aviation to get your money.
The offices are now in the new terminal with a great cafe, and the aircraft are kept in very good condition and will be finishing off my IR with them when my ATPL's are sorted.
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I am looking at doing my CPL/IR here next summer - any other feedback from recent students? Are there any issues associated with it being a smaller/less well known FTO?
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I chose JD Aviation to do my CPL last summer, and I am glad that I did my training with John. John is a very experienced instructor with an indepth knowledge of the aviation industry. I feel that one of John's strengths is that he knows his students well because he only takes on a few students at a time, despite being in demand. He has his students best interests at heart, and he also genuinely cares about his students progression which you are less likely to get at larger more 'processed' flight training schools. On days when the weather was too bad to fly, John would happily spend time helping me with other aspects of non-flying training, which gave me a broader knowledge of aircraft (the technical side) and flying in general, things that don't often get covered during basic flight training. He has very good flight training equipment, including a very well equipped and maintained Piper Arrow, a Piper Seneca and also an FNPT2 simulator which was great to use on days when I was unable to fly due to bad weather. I also had the opportunity to 'back seat' other students who were further ahead in their training than me which allowed me to see what was next to come.
One of his students has recently been taken on by Jet2, and I am hoping to do further training with him myself.
One of his students has recently been taken on by Jet2, and I am hoping to do further training with him myself.
Report
JD is (or was) also a CAA examiner so sure if you needed a report he'd be able to do it. I'm sure a HR dept will also phone to get a verbal report if you were in the runnig for an airline.
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Odai:
I notice some employers in the airline industry insist on the provision of a "flight school report". Any issues in this regard with it being a small outfit?
Allow me to approach this from a slightly different angle:
Let us say that a university graduate applies for a position with an employer. The employer, or at the very least the HR department will need to see proof of qualification. That will be the degree scroll, or some appropriate piece of documentation provided by the university. I'm not convinced that many universities would be enamoured with prospective employers contacting them for what amounts to a school report.
Moving to the world of aviation, and having completed and passed your PPL training, the school will have verified this and you will be issued with a proof of qualification - a licence issued by the appropriate authority on the basis that the training was completed and the flight test was passed.
When you complete your ATPL (or CPL) theory exams the same basic process is followed and you get a piece of paper from the licensing authority showing the passes and associated marks (and attempt number if appropriate)
Moving on to the CPL and IR courses, the same practical principles apply although in those cases a course completion certificate has to be raised by the Approved Training Organisation (ATO) in addition to the documentation required by the issuing authority to confirm that the minimum amount of training has been completed. The training records that the ATO hold are privileged information, and would you really want your ATO to divulge information which may show bad patches in your training to a prospective employer?
At the end of this you will have a proof of qualification - a licence, with relevant ratings, which is what the employer really needs to see. Most airlines will take that and the confidence in the training process that has led to its issue as sufficient proof. Its a bit like a degree qualification. Incidentally, and maybe even a bit like universities, the name or size of the school is no guarantee of the quality of the training you will receive.
I am aware of but one airline which has sought access to student training records, as if they sought confirmation that the candidate had actually done the training. Perhaps they didn't believe the physical presence of the licence. Who knows? From my own knowledge of JD Aviation, I am aware that a polite refusal to "hand over" the records was accepted in the covering letter which provided dates of training and a vague assessments of attributes. At least two JDA graduates worked for that airline.
In this day and age, and with certain types of school trying to enhance their own reputations, it may be that such "end of school" reports are forthcoming. In my opinion they add no value to the recruitment process, having the potential to be subjective and a means of talking up the school. The reality is that the licence and its ratings are the qualification, and what happens at the interview and during the sim ride is down to you and that will tell the prospective employer all that he needs to know.
Having looked at a number of your posts, you are undoubtedly researching this very carefully. You won't find everything out via Google or PPRuNe. go talk to the principals, visit the schools and make your choice, but don't expect others to choose for you.
I notice some employers in the airline industry insist on the provision of a "flight school report". Any issues in this regard with it being a small outfit?
Allow me to approach this from a slightly different angle:
Let us say that a university graduate applies for a position with an employer. The employer, or at the very least the HR department will need to see proof of qualification. That will be the degree scroll, or some appropriate piece of documentation provided by the university. I'm not convinced that many universities would be enamoured with prospective employers contacting them for what amounts to a school report.
Moving to the world of aviation, and having completed and passed your PPL training, the school will have verified this and you will be issued with a proof of qualification - a licence issued by the appropriate authority on the basis that the training was completed and the flight test was passed.
When you complete your ATPL (or CPL) theory exams the same basic process is followed and you get a piece of paper from the licensing authority showing the passes and associated marks (and attempt number if appropriate)
Moving on to the CPL and IR courses, the same practical principles apply although in those cases a course completion certificate has to be raised by the Approved Training Organisation (ATO) in addition to the documentation required by the issuing authority to confirm that the minimum amount of training has been completed. The training records that the ATO hold are privileged information, and would you really want your ATO to divulge information which may show bad patches in your training to a prospective employer?
At the end of this you will have a proof of qualification - a licence, with relevant ratings, which is what the employer really needs to see. Most airlines will take that and the confidence in the training process that has led to its issue as sufficient proof. Its a bit like a degree qualification. Incidentally, and maybe even a bit like universities, the name or size of the school is no guarantee of the quality of the training you will receive.
I am aware of but one airline which has sought access to student training records, as if they sought confirmation that the candidate had actually done the training. Perhaps they didn't believe the physical presence of the licence. Who knows? From my own knowledge of JD Aviation, I am aware that a polite refusal to "hand over" the records was accepted in the covering letter which provided dates of training and a vague assessments of attributes. At least two JDA graduates worked for that airline.
In this day and age, and with certain types of school trying to enhance their own reputations, it may be that such "end of school" reports are forthcoming. In my opinion they add no value to the recruitment process, having the potential to be subjective and a means of talking up the school. The reality is that the licence and its ratings are the qualification, and what happens at the interview and during the sim ride is down to you and that will tell the prospective employer all that he needs to know.
Having looked at a number of your posts, you are undoubtedly researching this very carefully. You won't find everything out via Google or PPRuNe. go talk to the principals, visit the schools and make your choice, but don't expect others to choose for you.
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As an opening line I thoroughly recommend JD Aviation.
I did my CPL and IR back with John a few years ago. As a disclaimer i also went on to be an instructor for him and if it wasn't for the demands of my companies rostering department I would happily still do work for John if he would have me.
John is an excellent instructor who will not tell you how good you are just to take your money. He wants you to be the best and he takes immense pride in the quality of his students. He will give his time and effort to get you through your training not just with a pass but with a knowledge to last you your entire career. He also teaches something that can sometimes be looked over and that is the biggest thing of all. Airmanship.
I work for a 757 operator at Manchester as a Captain and there are many of his ex students both at my airline and other operators based at Manchester.
My recommendation is give him a call and go and see him.
I did my CPL and IR back with John a few years ago. As a disclaimer i also went on to be an instructor for him and if it wasn't for the demands of my companies rostering department I would happily still do work for John if he would have me.
John is an excellent instructor who will not tell you how good you are just to take your money. He wants you to be the best and he takes immense pride in the quality of his students. He will give his time and effort to get you through your training not just with a pass but with a knowledge to last you your entire career. He also teaches something that can sometimes be looked over and that is the biggest thing of all. Airmanship.
I work for a 757 operator at Manchester as a Captain and there are many of his ex students both at my airline and other operators based at Manchester.
My recommendation is give him a call and go and see him.
