Here is my advice. Go and look about, ask all the questions to the FTO.
And then collar a few students, milling around. Ask them. They are experiencing the organisation first hand and they are the best source. As a tip ask the older ones and the ones wearing the most stripes
They can tell you what works, what doesn't. Here is a very important question. Ask them how long the course is going to take
them to complete. Some FTO's band about statements like 13 months. Ask the students. You may be horrified.
Ask the students how many hours they have gone over. This gives you an idea of how much extra money you may need as contingency.
Ask the students how often they get to fly. What is the availability of aircraft and instructors.
Ask them if they actually learnt anything in ground school or whether they had to resort to learning the questions parrot fashion from a database.
Ask if they felt their secondment to the US, Spain or where ever was worth while? Was it a massive shock coming back to the UK afterwards?
And ask if they actually enjoy it? You are going to be there for what might feel like forever at times. Some examples using hideous generalisation -
Some say Oxford is very snooty. Lots of ex-public school boys flashing daddies cash. Cabair is in the middle of no-where. Nothing to do. What sort of a life do you wish to have at your FTO and who do you want to be surrounded by?
And do some extra digging. Make sure you're chosen FTO isn't going to go bust half way through your training. That would be expensive and upsetting.
Apologies to any Oxford students past or present. Its just what I have heard, I have never been there, maybe you could give a more accurate account not based on heresay. But Cabair is in the middle of no where!
