could some1 explain to me the simplist route to become a civil aircraft pilot???

[WanabePilot]

please could sum1 explian the abovr please , any help much appreciated !:ok: :E

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi WanabePilot,

Well you've just gone and asked the million pound question that I would like to know as well. This has been discussed many times on PPRUNE, but as I'm bored in work and the easter bunny has delivered lots of easter eggs, I'm in a good mood...

Anyway for my two pennies worth, the route to becomming a "Professional Pilot" of which encompasses the career of an "Airline Pilot" is a long and and ardeous as well as no means "simple".

Firstly you need the required basic licence, so I will assume you live in London, United Kingdom (or anywhere within the UK).

The licence you require at a minimum is a JAA CPL/IR with ATPL Written Subject Exams (14 of 'em) passed. People call this a "Frozen ATPL". Normally airlines will also have expected you to have completed the CRM and MCC course(s).

Abbreviations:

CPL : Commercial Pilots Licence
IR : Instrument Rating
ATPL : Air Transport Pilots Licence
MCC : Multi Crew Co-operation
CRM : Crew Resource Management

There are two routes to gaining the above licence requirements. The first one is via the "Integrated" route and the other is via the "Modular" system.

Integrated

Going down this road will lead you into a flying school for a year and a half or so with no previous flying knowledge. At the end of the course you will (hopefully) graduate with a JAA CPL/IR with the ATPL Subjects Passed (aka Frozen ATPL), you will also have the CRM / MCC courses completed as well as, in some cases, a JOT course (Jet Orientation Training).

The pros of this course is that it is an intensive course and you'll have the licence at the end as long as you work very hard and pass all of the exams and flight tests.

The negatives to the Integrated course is that it is very expensive, usually around the £60,000 to £70,000.

Modular

This route is for those who prefer to work at a more methodical pace, usually staying in full time or part time employment to actually pay for the training.

Each module (course) is a building block to the previous, the usual route is to take the following courses (in roughly the order specified):

1) Private Pilots Licence
2) Hour Building to 150 Hours Total Time (100 Hours Pilot in Command)
3) ATPL Written Exams - Study for and Pass (14 exams usually spread over two modules)
4) CPL Flight course and Skills Test
5) IR Flight Course and Skills Test (The VERY expensive bit)
6) CRM and MCC Course(s)

(3) can be taken at the same time as (2). But you cannot start on (4) or later until you have completed the ATPL exams (3).

This route can be completed in the same time as an Integrated course if done full time. But the usual time is two to three years, doing the ATPL exams distance learning (a little like Open University).

The modular route has a big advantage as you can pick and choose which schools you use for each module, you are not tied to any particular school.

A modular course can be done for around £35,000 to £40,000 (quick estimates) from no previous experience, thus saving a fortune over the Integrated method.

Other things to remember

Since 9/11 hardly any airlines are sponsoring. Airlines used to sponsor a "handful" (say 10 or so) students per year through the Integrated training, but the competition to get onto a course like this was tough.

Now there are surplus of pilots around the airline industry doesn't need to do this, so any training you will be doing will be out of your own back pocket, remember its £60,000 to £70,000 (roughly) for the Integrated and around £40,000 for the modular courses.

If done via Integrated you will not be able to work full time as well, so budget loss of earnings into the equation. Modular courses are as and when you have the time / money etc. But there are certain restrictions in that you need to get a CPL/IR within 3 years of passing your ATPL exams etc etc.

Anyway the best of luck!

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[Flypuppy]

This question has been answered a number of times.

There is a thread called A question for the professionals (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=119608) which sums most of the important bits up.

[AIRWAY]

Hello,

Did any of you read todays edition of Flight International and the new proposal for a MPL ( Multi-Crew Pilot Licence ) :confused:

Any thoughts about it?

So they want to reduce the flying time in the air and transfer that time to sinthetic simulator time in a multi crew enviroment. Is this a good idea?

According to them this new licence will be adopted by 2006 :eek:

I read awhile back a thread regarding this but i cant find it now, sorry.

Regards
AW