FFF,
Well done on the pass! and thanks for your nav plotter, which by the way was Phil's idea not mine! But it certainly makes the nav work quicker and more accurate.
I have a few comments on your thread,
Firstly regarding the captaincy element you are dead right! The flying isn't much different to PPL but the Captaincy element is the real CPL course.
Secondly regarding the Nav phase of the course, I have to disagree completely with your views on the use of the chart and the VOR plotting, the extra workload which the VOR plotting, as far as I understand, is there to test/train your CRM skills and train you to cope with the multi tasking you will deal with in a normal commercial flight. A VOR nav plot takes a few seconds and gives you a reasonable position call in the event of a PFL (real or practise). Remember CRM is the real issue here, if you have Nav aids at your disposal/on board use them!
Thirdly, I too found the idea of just 1/4 1/2 etc positions strange at first, but as it was explained to me, you are flying a Commercial Flight and not PPL VFR ie your not trying to micro navigate by ground features!
Overall a great thread and you obviously made a great effort producing it, plenty of good gen' for my test next week! Cheers mate!
As you said earlier your thread was more about the CPL course than EFT but I believe it's worth a thread on EFT for others to get first hand comments. I based most of my decision on where to train on comments from PPRUNE and so far both PPL/hour building in SA and CPL/ME/IR here at EFT appear to have been good decisions. I'll confirm the last later!
Keygrip, an excellent read!
Lots of usefull information and helped calm the butterflys a little....cheers
(PS He isn't my examiner next week!)