Yesterday (12 APR 2017) I contacted FIS by e-mail for the first time. I am looking for flight training for a PPL (and then probably CPL) for my youngest and might want to train for a PPL myself. Every day that I am researching all this the 'might' gets closer to 'probably will' to a point where I started to do some planning.
I had contact with Hans at FIS by e-mail and got a very fast reply to my questions. I ordered the "Kit 1 - Flight Training" package to start intensive preparations for my youngest. At young age becomming a pilot might be a pipe-dream so I want to see effort and awareness that getting a PPL/CPL is about studying, passing exams, training, failing, perseverance, mastering English, being responsible etc and not just a pleasure ride (in which case a LAPL and flying ULM in clear weather conditions is more then sufficient IMO) before I spend 15K/25K Euro pp (all in) for a initial PPL knowing it will cost more behind that initial PPL later.
I received filled in order forms and clear instruction from Hans (FIS). My order was placed with FIS the same day. As the world of aviation is new to me I didn't know FIS and was under the impression that everybody at some stage went to the US. Apparently that is more so for the heavier work such as ATPL licenses.
However, I found this board an red all the comments. My main concern before ordering and providing credit card info was making sure FIS wasn't a scam. So I found them on Google Maps, in testimonials, checked out the phone numbers, certification claims, etc. So now I am at ease. Call me an internet paranoid
My incentive for looking at FIS was not so much the price, although further research showed me they have very competitive pricing. So here is my impression AS A NEWBIE after my internet research on the subject and reading all of the comments about FIS.
- Weather. Yes Spain will have bad weather too but I approach this statistically and not based one or more individual experiences. Nobody can deny that in the South of Spain your chances of good weather are much higher then in the channel region (South UK,North of France, Belgium, Netherlands, ..., etc). All, non aviation related, weather statistics show that. So I feel for those of you that had bad luck with the weather when at FIS but I cannot hold that against FIS, can I?
- Experience in bad weather conditions is needed. OK, I agree because even a newbie like me can understand that. But if one has a PPL what keeps that person from taking some extra flying lessons in those geographic ares where he will fly most or of which he wants to master the weather conditions better? First I want a GOOD PATH towards a PPL/CPL then we will deal with more specific needs because without PPL/CPL there isn't even any need to become more specific IMO. I am a first-things-first man.
- Instructors get sick and then you must wait because FIS hasn't sufficient instructors. Hmmm! FIS has a 4 weeks PPL program I saw, but nobody keeps you from spreading it over 6 or more weeks or cut it in multiple visits. Running a tight schedule will increase your risk of getting behind but it is an educated decision you that you make. Furthermore I never read about the student getting sick, I figure that happens too? Business people involved in project planning know you need to build in margins and I guess that is not different when you plan a training scheduled that includes a number of elements that are not under your control such as illness, whether and equipment availability. Maybe that is a to pragmatic approach in aviation I don't know but I am sure someone will point that out then.
- About other schools. The need for good instructors seems to be high and most schools have the same problem. Sick, late or even no show instructors, no replacements and students that needs a lot of patience is what I seem to understand. And there are for sure some excellent ones that anticipate everything that can go wrong but very often that comes at a price. In my case I would have to look from the North of France to the West of The Netherlands and in the end how do you really know where the good ones are. So a longer somewhat short stay in Spain sounds more practical then driving 200 km to and from a good aviation training school with a possible stressful training flight in between.
- The simulator at FIS doesn't work. OK that I have to accept because it was confirmed indirectly by a poster of FIS saying it was fixed. I figure that if these things are discussed online management of a flying school starts working at it because specifically in the FIS training offer, where people go to Spain, you cannot easily say come back next month. I also think that where there is technology there is failure, interruption for maintenance, repair contracts, etc. So expecting no failures is not realistic, yet expecting a decent repair time is, IMO although I have no idea how things go in the simulator repair business, a normal expectation.
- FIS has plains/at least one plain with motor failures. This generalisation was illustrated by ONE example and contested as being a pilot error. Hard to say but I figure that if this would really be an ongoing problem and given the fact that apparently quite some people pass at FIS this board would be filled with complains about that which it clearly isn't. So I am going to ignore that the more that FIS seems to have two new Cessna's now with glass cockpit (although I have no clue why the glass cockpit is important).
- Flying in Spain isn't good for our own schools (in our countries). Sorry but the internet shops aren't good for our own stores and apparently, while this is economically a bigger problem, nobody seem to care. I actually say that the FIS formula keeps local schools from MILKING candidate pilots as they show it can be done way more economically elsewhere. In my book competition, if quality is maintained, is good.
- From all comments I can at least draw one conclusion based on an apparent consensus of posters on this board: FIS has excellent instructors.
And isn't it that what we all look for? So training for engine failure up to the wheels on the ground seems to me, again a newbie, what you would want to master as part of a basic PPL. You train for the problem situations not for leisure landscape watching. Assuming that you will always be able to restart the engine doesn't sound like a realistic expectations even while engine failures that are due to a defect are very rare (statistically) compared to engine failures that are due to bad mix regulation, forgetting to switch gas tanks, etc which are all pilot errors that you can correct if you are well trained (you see I did some newbie home work
. If you cannot restart the engine THEN, under stress, calculating your potential gliding distance, finding an airfield or a spot to land on, communicating, etc that is why I would want to train for and I understand that at FIS that is exactly what they do.
The above is a PERSONAL OPINION and I have NEVER set foot at FIS and never had any PL training. This below is how I (we - my youngest and probably me) plan to go about it. I'dd enjoy comments if someone has improvements or sees unrealistic approaches in what I planned.
- I ordered the "Kit 1 Pilot Training" from FIS (I expect it within 10 days as advertised) and I will use book # 7 (Communications) to prepare for the RT part of the EPL. We will practice with the questions from the applicable 9 FIS
test question books to prepare. (See below why I ordered the complete Kit).
- We will enlist in a local Aviation Club and get access to local teachers to dry run the above RT without having to go to Spain. Knowledge from a book is different from what people with experience tell you.
- Additionally lift the level of English. That will be less needed for me as I work in English daily but the English of students coming out of high school with English as the 3rd language (Belgium) can be improved. I will first take the EPL in a certified exam centre and will aim for level 6 and will then have an idea of the expectations. I had military radio procedure training when I was in military service so I figure getting used to the Aviation RT format and vocabulary, the accents and poor radio quality conditions in noisy cockpits shouldn't be a big problem. I will then adjust the English training of my youngest where needed. I know they record (video+sound) the EPL exam and it would be nice if one gets a copy
to show how it works. I am aware of the certification needs of the exam centre in order to have a valid EPL certificate that can be transcribed on a PPL/CPL of any EASA member country.
- I will get a class 2 medical certificate (I would do PPL but not CPL) and my youngest a class 1 because if later a CPL is the goal then I want to be sure upfront we do not detect a major medical complication at that point. I want to know it UP-FRONT because without class 1 medical a CPL is not a possibility. If however a medical situation submerges later then that is an acceptable risk one needs to take. I do the medical in second place mainly to avoid surprises in the future and I do it after the English test because without that learning to fly, IMO, is to limited (maybe gliding).
- I will then start using the other books of the Kit 1 from FIS and their questions books to reach a decent level of knowledge, see some perseverance and continued interest and see if it becomes clear that flying isn't just sitting in a plane and looking at the landscape to impress your friends (young people will be young people) before I start really spending money.
- At the same time, and to prevent that the theory presented in a dry book form without any practice would cause a to high threshold, we will use x-plain version 11 with Cessna 172 to learn the instruments, basic vocabulary and PLAY TRAIN some and get a BEGINNING of an idea of what to expect when one steps into a Cessna 172 for the first time. Call it amatory familiarisation.
- Next, after the self-study and the x-plane simulator, I plan to schedule in the 100 Hours of required ground training at FIS and take all 9 theoretical exams if I see that the level of answering of the test questions in the FIS question books is sufficient. I am not a fan of PPL/CPL exams in the local language because all aviation manuals, the flight control language and other communication, books and internet information are all, at least, available in English. Even ATC in Belgium is in English and not accessible in the local language as I found out. So I see passing the written theoretical exam in English as an added value if one would go behind a PPL or in type ratings where I suppose air plain specific documentation and training would be mainly in English. It also keeps MUCH MORE future training options open if for instance some continuation in the US would be needed (e.g. certain type training for type ratings).
- Next the practical training. I believe in 'total submersion". Students have summer holidays and going to Spain for two mounts with the family (renting a house or apartment and going there by car) sounds like a plan that everyone will like. So we take flight training and the others have holidays and provide practical support (meals, shopping, etc). In about 60 days one should be able to complete at least 45 flying hours each and there would be room for some extra hours (ah, the weather in Spain, sick instructors, the others wanting to visit Cadiz and Seville, can we have a party dad, etc
. And we would take the 9 practical exams as well.
- Then, supposing we pass, I get the PPL, transcription of the EPL etc on the licences and then take some local lessons to fly in the channel region weather conditions (North Sea) and start building up some flying hours and experience.
- After that we plan for a CPL and for me only extra ratings as needed (e.g. NVRF, full IR-HPA, complex, Mountains, etc according to what I need when I need it or what I would like to do without needing it) which should allow me to fly non-commercial in most of Western-Europe. We'll see from there if we ever get there.
What you have read about are the conclusions a newbie came to when rationally evaluating all the information available on the internet and without being in the realm of pilots and aviation. One needs to start somewhere. Except for the fact that everyone knows that pilot licenses are not distributed in Santa packages and that it will take effort, will be hard and test ones character by moments, I wonder if the above plan makes sense or if it is completely idiotic given the way contemporary pilot training works.
Thank you all for reading.