Controlled or uncontrolled airport - which is best for CPL/IR?

[Idle Power]

I am about to undertake a CPL/IR upgrade course and am considering 2 flying schools, one of which based at a busy controlled airport (some international and freight flights but mainly GA though) and the other is based at quite a busy uncontrolled airfield with only an air to ground radio facility.

My question is - should a CPL/IR student always train at an ATC manned airport so as to perfect good RT and procedures and thereby be better prepared for life as as airline pilot?

Views please.

Thanks.

P.S. I have also posted this question in the Wannabes forum.

[BlueLine]

Your course of IR training will involve conducting approaches at airfiels with the appropriate communication facilities therefore, where you are based is of little consequence. The most important consideration is where will you go to complete the necessary approaches. If you have to travel miles it may well cost you more money and prove less convenient.

[Oleo]

IMHO - the cheapest!! It really doesn't matter in the long run. Procedures may be slightly different, but you can pick up on that later with a five minute briefing from someone in the know. Not worth spending lots of dough on.

Have fun!

[Idle Power]

Thanks that's useful information. The airfield without the ILS and ATC is about 25 miles from the nearest IR training airport.

[Bugsbunny]

Well chaps'
I would have to say the one within controlled airspace.
(1)You can still carry on training with the typically bad weather we always encounter in the uk.(ie 500ft cloud base)

(2)Your working in a commercial environment from the start with arr & dep procedures.

rgds
bugsy

[chicken6]

You do the radio, not just the TWR. Therefore, it is up to you whether to speak correctly and concisely on the radio whether you are controlled or not.

IMHO, having learnt at controlled and now teaching at unattended (not even Flight Service any more), the radio tends to override the learning at some early stages in a controlled environment. I used to hate it when my instructor couldn't talk to ME because he was reading back something that basically meant I couldn't do what I had been told I was going to do. That's my gripe, otherwise I found it quite good. Now I find that people from here *actively* avoid controlled airspace because they are scared of being told to do something and they haven't been given the confidence to say "NO, I asked you for this and if I can't have it I'm going home".

For the instrument rating, it's the same situation, the ATC will sharpen you up simply by changing your clearance when you call "Ready at Alpha" (b@st@rds! My flight test too...). OTOH, unattended means you have to keep the whole picture in your mind when you make radio calls - Joe Blow doesn't realise that if you're doing the approach for 16 it doens't mean you're necessarily going to land on 16.

Conflict resolution is also too easy when under ATC because they do it all for you. Not so much situational awareness demanded.

Good luck with your decision, it'll probably be the right one (until just before you test when EVERYTHING seems to go wrong!).

Safe flying

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Confident, cocky, lazy, dead.