Originally Posted by
BAW747
Hi folks.
Looking at joining L3’s Integrated ATPL course, starting next year - however - I have hears *rumours* that there are significant delays between applying and starting ground school, and ground school to Foundation flight training.
Also, is it true that Tagged cadets on airline schemes are given priority, so all those who are not tagged, are pushed to the back of the line?
I also hear they are sending cadets to Leading Edge, at Oxford, to complete their CPL IR ?
Can any current L3 Cadets, or people in the know please inform as to the updated situation? This makes financial planning very difficult, and the unknown as to when you will start.
Thanks.
I was offered start dates pretty quickly after passing selection, but that was over a year ago so maybe it's changed now. I also found that ground school ran very well and stayed on schedule. It's at the end of ground school when the delays start to creep in both before and during the basic flying phase i.e. up to a few flights before the CPL test.
The delays are variable. My basic flying phase started a bit late and took a few months longer than it should have, however there are other cadets who've had it WAY worse than me. It is likely that there's some desire to give airline cadets special treatment, but I'm whitetail and personally I've found myself scheduled to fly pretty frequently compared to cadets on airline schemes. A lot of it is also down to the weather especially at this time of year. My best guess at my finish date is about 6 months behind schedule, which is an extra 6 months of living allowance from my parents that I'm going to have to pay back at some point.
It is true that cadets are being sent to Leading Edge for IR as well as to AFTA in Ireland, plus Etihad Aviation Training in the UAE for the pre-CPL phase. They claim that rigorous auditing and standardisation ensures that these providers are up to L3's high standards, and I'm sure they are. It does make you wonder though how they can claim to provide world-leading training and charge a premium for it but then effectively admit that the training is just as good at another provider.
I think the majority of instructors were around back in the CTC days and the standards of training are excellent. I believe the problems started when L3 took over and began parachuting people into management positions when they didn't have proper experience of the industry. They also suffered a squeeze in capacity when Phoenix closed down and, I guess wanting to keep the money coming in, were too slow to react and reduce their intake of cadets.
In terms of my general experience, I honestly have no doubt in my mind that L3 are the most incompetent company I have ever had to deal with. At all levels on the admin/management side I find the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing, and major issues are dealt with reactively while those of us at the bottom are left thinking "how on earth did you not know about this before?" I know of a few cadets who decided to move to other providers, and I seriously considered it myself when I wasn't so far along with the training. I strongly suggest you consider saving a chunk of money and frustration by looking at a different provider.