Afternoon gentlemen,
I've been observing the content of this thread with mounting interest and now feel compelled to add my tuppance worth.
I too am studying this course. My motives? As a Flight Operations Manager in the RAF my knowledge is gained through osmosis, currently I am the FOM on a Jag Sqn and have to interact with pilots and engineers throughout my day. I felt my trade knowledge required bolstering and subsequently enrolled on the course, at my own expense as the RAF won't subsidise me sufficiently.
On receiving module one I was amazed at the volume of documentation, however not being in civil aviation I felt it was not up to me to question this as there are quite clearly fundamental differences to military and civil aircraft ops and anyway maybe you need this stuff in civvie street. Furthermore my intention for the future is to depart Aunty Betties finest and pursue a career with an airline at Stansted so I am keen to prepare and display my motivation to any potential employers.
Up until now I have been studying this course with mounting frustration, the quality of the product is appalling, I have actually studied two OU courses and concur that the quality of their study materials is far, far superior!
The poor grammer makes for trying reading, the quality of the diagrams does not make comprehension easier and the numerous mistakes in the text and the self assessment tests have all resulted in my complete loss of faith in the integrity of this course, or put another way, how do I know that what I am reading and trying to understand is indeed the case?
The cost of £1200 I consider to be prohibitive, especially when you compare the cost of the entire ATPL syllibus from Oxford Aviation, around £540, and the qulaity of the product is extremely high.
As I am serving in the RAF I am not covered by ICAO/JAR/JAA so the correspondence on these subjects is outside my knowledge, however as my intention is to pursue a career in civil aviation I am interested and if anyone can point me in the right direction of Doc 7192 I would be very grateful.
To summarise, I am rather dissapointed in the course so far, not so much the content but more the qulaity of the product, however on the plus side, my cred on the Jag Sqn I am the FOM for has risen hugely, not only with the two winged master race but also the 'ginger beers'. Whether I need to know the intricacies of a pressure ASI, radio theory or aircraft structure is not the point, the simple fact that I understand them and can make informed decisions based on that knowledge is what matters. I am enjoying expanding my knowledge and the fact that I am potentially gaining an industry recognised qualification ensures that my time is being spent productively. If No Sig and his mates in the recruitment side of airline ops value this course then I am prepared to slog it out because the benefits outweigh any shortcomings.
I await your responses.
Mosquito.