Having read this entire thread I felt the need to post even though most of what I am about to say has already been said. But I think it’s important to vent my experience and try my best to turn away people who are still thinking of going here.
I went to this school a few years back - at this point the place was decent enough to get a PPL. The instruction was average/great dependant on instructor. More importantly, at this point the school seemed to be managed better. I actually really enjoyed my time there then, and learnt alot.
I got my JAA PPL and then returned a year later to build some flight time. At that point the school was in tatters. The management was so uptight that flying in wind was practically disallowed. The accommodation was horrendous – there were rats living within the school accommodation (I have evidence to prove this), and the daughter of the accommodation manager was stealing money from the student’s bedrooms. Plentiful symptoms of poor aircraft maintenance/operation were present – many PPL students were being told to ignore blatant signs of spark plug fouling and rough idling as just “the engine being cold”. The school teaches awful standards of airmanship, and unless you’re on the ball with your studies and can spot dangers with the aircraft, then quite frankly you will be a danger to yourself and others in the sky.
The owner may be Adrian Thompson, but don’t underestimate Kyle Andrews influence throughout the school (Im pretty sure he owns a portion of the company) and be sure, they will happily take any cash they can get for future training as if nothing has happened and you wont get it back. They both operate the place to gain money for nothing – and that’s it. I left around 6 hours of time there from my last visit and vowed never to set foot there again. I have tried to get my money back but have just accepted that I won’t be seeing it again. I just thank god I didn’t deposit a large chunk of money with them.
I feel sorry for current students, and actually feel sorry for most of the instructors who are actually just decent pilots trying to earn a living and get their careers off the ground.
Dont go there!
Last edited by GAZ45; 18th Oct 2013 at 12:19.