Originally Posted by
Googy
Hey guys, I'm planning for my future right now and just wondering what is better, RMIT's aviation diploma, TVSA flying school at bacchus marsh, and CAE/Swinburn
if anyone has any experience at any of these, and knows which is better, please do let me know. CAE unfortunately does not do gas turbine engines though unfortunately
Only go with the more expensive courses if they actually help you get employed afterwards. Looking at that list I see no advantages to any of them that I could say go with one or the other. RMIT and Swinburn you are paying extra for extra tuition courses, which unless you are swimming in cash and are interested in attending some extra classes for the hell of it, then they are a waste of time when it comes to getting a job. TVSA is another flying school, and as with RMIT and Swinburn/CAE, it will depend on the instructor you get lumped with as to whether you are better trained at any of them.
Gas turbine, diesel, AvGas, steam gauges or EFIS, does not matter, what matters is the quality of training. If you get the basics right you can fly anything, with only minor coaching, which then means on sim checks for employment you will show that you have good foundations and will be easy to train further. One thing that was so disheartening to watch in my final years in airlines was the steady decline in flying skills. Some pilots with hundreds and a few with even thousands of hours that took tens of hours to convert to other types because they were never taught the foundations, only the tricks to fly 'x' aircraft and never understood what they were doing. Others with virtually no advanced skill finesse, like handling crosswinds and turbulence without over-controlling. Having to 'teach' airline pilots that a plane behaves differently when its loaded vs light, or if you carry extra speed into the flare it will float, or you set datums and wait (power and attitude for performance or calculated/considered heading changes when navigating), rather than push controls until you see a response.
Go to various flying schools, chat with instructors or even students for an idea of what each is like. Go for a TIF as suggested, at the ones you shortlist, to get a feeling not only for whether you like flying, but do you feel comfortable with the instructor, or do they make you feel on edge. Remember that you will be learning one on one with an instructor for a long time, if you don't feel comfortable with them, or they seem incompetent (or both), it will cost you hours and money.
And just to be clear, the Uni courses using HEX or whatever it is today is not a free ride. It is a debt around your neck until you pay it off, and because most uni students don't treat it that way the Uni's tend to take more than if you managed and paid for your own training somewhere else, knowing that by the time the students realize how much they have spent it is well after they have left.