Right, the dust has settled a little here and I think I've now replied to all of the PMs and emails
I would like to extend my very sincere thanks to the following (sorry for turning this into the Oscars!):
- My fiancée, who has been very supportive during a process which is going to lead to a lot of changes and uncertainty for us
- My parents, who have told me to stop worrying and being so critical of myself at every step of the process and had a lot more faith in me than I did myself
- A.N.T. Flying School at Blackpool Airport, where I earned my
PPL, NR and IR(R) and 121 hours SEP time
- Paul, Jim and Howard of the BA Heritage Collection at Waterside, who were excellent and knowledgable hosts
- The crew of BA189 on 18/11/2014, for putting up with my questions and persistent study of various bits of the aircraft
- The caretakers and hosts of the institutions housing Concordes AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, ST, DN and FA (haven't visited the others yet but am sure they are just as impressive)
- All of the supportive fellow candidates here, but especially funkyt111 and EZY_FR, who have both gone above and beyond in the assistance and support they have shared
- All of the equally supportive current pilots and existing cadets who have shared their insights, particularly G-F0RC3, wiggy, FullTanks and naturals
- The existing cadets and BA pilots who took the time to chat with me and answer my questions on the FPP programme and BA lifestyle (and whom I will not name as I wouldn't want them to be swamped with requests, sorry!)
- The lovely chap who debriefed me following a failed (non-FPP) OAA assessment day last summer - I remember him saying that the joy of his position was to be able to see people who had previously been rejected learn and grow from the experience and come back stronger to a successful outcome. I hope I can bring a smile to his face when I return to Oxford
- All of the FPP cadets who have kindly shared their experiences online, including:
British airways future pilot programme blog | Speedbird cadet
https://rossthepilot.wordpress.com/
Full Speedbird Ahead | My journey through the British Airways Future Pilot Programme
I have an enormously detailed breakdown of the preparation which I put into this year's application, but I will not subject you to it here. If anyone is interested, or would just like to ask any questions, then please do get in touch and I will try to assist in whatever way I can (without revealing anything about the process itself!). It has been a lot of work (and it still will be!) over a long time, but it has all been worthwhile.
You cannot be too prepared for this process, and should approach it as though there is always someone who has put in just that little bit more effort or has that tiny bit more motivation than you have and to whose level you should aspire - because there probably is!
Remember also that BA have never yet achieved their desired intake numbers, so if you meet the standard, you will get in. Your fellow candidates are not your enemy, nor are they your competition in any real sense, and you will find a community of like-minded, supportive friends once you realise this. You will also enjoy the process a lot more and will find that any group exercises go much more smoothly!