Originally Posted by
Flightyowzameanwhile
Hi all,
I have recently passed the stage 3 interview and am deciding on whether to join the program or not. I was wondering are there any updates on the previous delays for the core flight training phase? Has the situation improved?
I’ve literally just got back to the UK from Phoenix, so it’s still fresh in the memory and probably the most recent experience anecdote you’re going to get so, here we go.
The Phoenix setup is a bit of a strange one because you’ve got so many different groups of cadets/military guys all kind of fighting for the same resources. Luckily for you, CAE have the resources out in Phoenix to weather this, and there was never really a time personally where I struggled to get an aircraft or sim for my required activity, which was pretty consistent for everyone on my course (Seminoles are slightly different as, if a few go down due to maintenance issues at the same time, you may not be able to get the required aircraft for your mission, so bear that in mind). Unfortunately, the management are very reactive rather than proactive, and prefer to tackle problems as they come up instead of trying to prevent them, which is incredibly frustrating as i feel if they were a bit more proactive, they could have a great setup.
When it comes to scheduling, this was the bit that irked a lot of cadets - there is no consistency to it. Some weeks you could fly 3/4 missions a week, some you could fly none, but you won’t be told any different. Luckily, instructors have been given control of their schedules again, so you can get an idea of how much you’re going to fly, but for some of my time out there, schedulers had complete control over everyone’s schedules so you kind of had to sit around and wait, which was incredibly frustrating as it just seemed like you were waiting for some that was never coming (and in some weeks, never did come, especially between mid-April and mid-May where i flew very, very little).
Delay wise, I ended up being 3.5 weeks delayed to leave Phoenix. This was due in-part to one of the F3 instructors becoming ill for an entire week which definitely slowed everything right down as the other F3 instructors was busy completing his own ATP training at the same time, so prioritised that over getting us out, understandably. So, without that illness of the instructor, I reckon I would have been 2.5 weeks delayed, so not amazing but certainly by no means bad considering it doesn’t have an impact on my next stage of training, and CAE to help you somewhat financially with payments after your contracted time out in Phoenix if you are still out there. However, I would not be surprised at all if you see reports of these delays increasing in amount in the next few months, as policy changes that luckily didn’t affect my course take hold. But have an open mind, it is just a stepping stone to the next stage of your career, and it is a finite time, regardless of how long it feels it takes. Yes, it is frustrating, but look at the bigger picture and compare it to other flight schools too - I have heard rumours other flight schools have 6/7/8 MONTH delays to their training, and most of those don’t even have a job attached at the end of it, at least many initially. So yes, there are delays, are they frustrating? Yes. Would you avoid the course because of them? No, absolutely not. You’ve got a great opportunity to join one of the best and safest airlines in Europe right from the start of your career, take it, you will not regret it.
Feel free to PM if you still have any questions, don’t want to clog up with chat with too many walls of text.