IR Distance Learning Ground School

[Flyin'Dutch']

Have FAA CPL ME IR and CAA PPL IMC.

Want CAA/JAR IR.

Anyone done the IR Distance Learning course with Atlantic at Coventry?

Any comments on or off list?

TIA

FD

PS: Yes you clever lads I have done a search and could find nowt specific to this ;)

[chrisbl]

I am in the same position as you FD, glad you asked the question first. There seems so little to study with for the JAR/IR unlike the FAA/IR.

[david viewing]

FD

Is this a G-reg issue or is there some other motivation? Masochism?

DV

[Maxflyer]

I believe BOSE-X is currently doing a PPL IR with Atlantic at Coventry. He is away at the moment, but I'm sure on his return he will be able to provide you with all you want to know.

[Charlie Zulu]

Don't do it Flyin'Dutch!!! :D

If you are then why don't you go and do the JAA ATPL ground school instead? Only another 5(?) subjects. Then you'll be dual qualified for FAA and JAA.

That is what I'm doing at the moment...

My head is hurting.

;)

[Flyin'Dutch']

CZ,

When I came back from the States with my CPL a lot of the punters asked whether that meant I was going to leave and pursuit a career in aviation.

My mortgage is way to big to be able to afford anything like that!

;)

Nope just have some extra time on my hands next year and having a JAR IR would mean that I can fly even more aeroplanes in the airways.

I will never want to do any commercial flying so doing the ATPL would be a waste of time and energy, besides I am of course not clever enough to do all of them!

FD

[Foxy2004]

Just got my PPL IR. I did the groundschool with GTS at Bournemouth. Rate them very highly; good material, fast response and always ready to help.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Foxy,

Did you do the IR writtens or as many do, the ATPL writtens?

Can you give me a guestimate of the amount of hours you did (as in both for flying and exams?)

Kind regards

FD

[FullyFlapped]

Charlie Zulu,

I'm also doing the IR studies at the moment. I did consider doing the extra work and going for the ATPL, but like Dutch I've no desire to strap on the gold braid, so decided not to.

However, your comment about "ATPL means you're FAA and JAA qualified" intrigues me ... can you expand ? What rights would an ATPL give me in the US (bearing in mind I don't have ANY licence issued by the FAA) ?

Cheers,

FF :ok:

[kala87]

I've done the JAR IR distance-learning ground study course with Atlantic. We had two brush-up courses, each for 1 week at Coventry, before sitting each exam module at Gatwick. The standard of tuition during the in-house brush-up courses was first rate. I was the only IR student (although the ATPL courses were well attended) so I had the luxury of one-to-one tuition from my tutor! The back-up during the home study part was excellent, and I found the tutors highly knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with at all times. Another real bonus was watching Douglas DC6's and DC3's and Lockheed Electras trundle past the window at Coventry!! You also get to study Boeing 737 systems using Boeing's CBT training software. You will need this as around 30 per cent of the questions on the Navigation and a fair number of questions on the Instruments paper required quite detailed knowledge of EFIS use and interpretation.


Having said that, the JAR IR option (as opposed to ATPL) obviously only appeals to a tiny number of aviators. For each of the exams at Gatwick, I was either the only candidate or one of two candidates. For most people, the ATPL course makes more sense (total of 14 exams). If you aren't considering a commercial career in a JAR country, the FAA route makes more sense for a private pilot - you just need an N-reg, aircraft to fly when you get back to the UK.

[Foxy2004]

Flying Dutch,

I did the IR exams as I'm a PPL and no wish for a commercial ATPL. I think the 7 IR papers are about half the ATPL syllabus.

I did them in 2 sittings and prepared for about 2 months for each. GTS reckon on 300 hours total plus a compulsory (and really really good) 5 day consolidation course for each of the 2 sittings. I think I probably did a few hours less than this, but not much. I did it pretty much full time, as it's very difficult to do more than 5 hours a day full time or 1-2 hours a day if working.

It's a minimum of 55 hours sim/flying for ME. You can take it SE, and upgrade later. SE, I'm told, is significantly easier. I took longer than the minimum as I'm not the youngest nor most talented pilot. It is very demanding, and rewarding, and stops being fun when the pressure grows.

I did the flying full time. This involved a couple hours briefing, planning etc plus a couple of hours flying per day and you come back exhausted. So it takes 6 - 8 weeks minimum. This depends on whether you pass first time (I didn't).

Is it worth it? Well I'm glad I did it. It was my attempt to conquer my personal Everest. Is it sensible for a weekend PPL? No. Do you want to be sensible all your life?

PM me if you'd like more details.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Thanks for all the replies.

Have made contact with AFT and will go and have a look around in the next few weeks.

FD

[Hampstead]

I'm also planning to do the JAA PPL/IR, in fact I've just moved the plane to a G-reg from an N-reg in order to do this.

I've seen a few mutterings of a new Private IR under the new EASA regulations. Is this just a rumour ?