Atlantic Flight Training

[biggsy20]

Hi, has any one done there ATPL with Atlantic, I am thinking of doing a residential ground course and possibly onto flight training.
I just want some feedback from old students who did the same or who have had any experience with them.

Many thanks all who answer.
Mike

[Crashlanding]

Well not sure how many replys you will get as a lot of people from atlantic will obviusly be sponsered.

Ill answer anyway.

Firstly I too was a sponsered cadet but only in the 50/50 department not the fugley so ill not be too bised towards them.

OK ground school wise, they have got some good instructors both air and ground that do know there stuff.

On the ground side, I did it modular distance learning while working (That will be a big clue to those at Atlantic as to who I am).

When ever I had a question, I almost alway had an answer that day by email if I sent one by email, and by phone there and then if I rang up. If it was a question they didnt know the answer for immediatly they went and found the answer for me.

The material has changed since I was there so I cannot comment on that side.

Flying wise.
This can depend on your learning style, but I had no problems with the way I was tought in the air, very proffessional and knowledgable in that department, with good debriefs on what you have done wrong and what you need to do to get it right.
Only thing you might find which ive found in many places is that time might slip so you might be later than you wanted to get airborne, but with aviation ive always said to everyone dont expect the weather or aircraft to be perfect all the time, dont expect the insturctors to be always on time as where ever you go thing do go wrong.

Overall they are an ok bunch.

And just remeber AFT train the cadets that are going to fly for AA so there training may seem tough but its too make sure you can handle yourself when and if the time comes.

Good luck with your exams and training.

[QNH 1013]

I did both the writtens (distance learning) and the flying training with Atlantic Flight Training about a year ago. I found them all very helpful and honest. Like Crashlanding, I always got answers to any questions very promptly and always felt everyone there was working hard for their students / customers.
Aircraft seemed well maintained and tech problems (we had a few) were sorted incredibly quickly, usually by the next day.
Briefings and debriefings were the best I have ever had, and the proof of the pudding was in the results. All first time passes in the writtens and first time CPL pass.
I suggest you go and visit them and have a chat.

[rockeye]

I was fortunate enough to be trained by AFT several years ago as part of the fugly scheme,i`d imagine many of the same faces are still there,and received what i consider to be the best grounding in aviation you could hope for.I would strongly recommend anyone hoping for a career in aviation to try to get onto this scheme and try to secure a job within the airline, i was fortunate enough to be taken on by the airline, if your straight,hard working,honest,and buy your share of beer,you`ll fit in like a glove and enjoy a wide,varied and interesting career,i loved every minute of it,if Kathy Burnham is still there pick her brains,she`s an excellent instructor and you`ll learn a lot from her,we had a ball training for my gft in little G-HART a tailwheel 152 in the scottish highlands, good luck to anyone trying to get on the scheme or going to Aft for your training,I`d like to point out i`m in no way connected to Aft just passing on my experience of a great company who gave me an excellent start in aviation.

[Airborne16]

I did the ground school with Atlantic a few years back and found the notes to be of a very poor quality and littered with mistakes. However, crashlanding says the material has changed so maybe there will have been some much needed improvement.

I finshed my ground school at Bristol and found them to be a lot more professional than anyone I encountered at Atlantic.

[CanAV8R]

I did my ATPL with AFT a few years back along with a few friends. I got through with min time and min £££ and landed a job in the group not long after completion. Have since moved on.

A good group of people to train with as you are not just a number as in other schools. They are well connected as well once you complete your training. If i was funding a youngster through the UK ATPL, I would not hesitate in sending them to Atlantic. Hope this helps.

[gphillips134]

i wonder if these people that have replied now work for this company as there reply's seem to say that the sun shine out of this companys £"$%.
I was a student here doing it distance learning, the main thing you need when doing it this way is email support, when asking a question via email and not getting a reply for about 5 days (on average sometimes longer) it does not fill you with confidence about the ability for them to get you through the exams.
Also the notes are covered with mistakes, not very helpfull.
The good thing with hotmail is you can set it up so you can see when someone at the other end opens your email and the time they do this and also the time when they reply to your email.

Having gone to cabair at cranfield, i so the difference in how profesional instuctors deliver the information needed for the exams i have now finished all 14 exams with a very high average, this is some thing that would not have been achieved if i have stayed with this company.

Also bgs comes highly recommended from many different sources

[Penworth]

I can't comment on the ground school side of things as I'm only here for the IR (although having said that talking to the ground school lads they all seem happy enough). The flight training has been very professional and as QNH1013 says the briefings and debriefings are really good and really help me. I have had a few tech problems (like losing all the electrics in cloud with a 500' ceiling!) but they have all been sorted out really quickly and so haven't delayed my training. The only down side is they only have one seminole and two warriors so sometimes it can be hard to get flying, especially with the weather this time of year.

PW

[Crashlanding]

Just a comment for gphillips134.

No I dont work for or have I ever flown for AFT, AA, or Highland.

I was a pasts sponsered cadet and wasnt taken on by any airline after completion of the course so as I said I can give a fairly good unbiased opion. Sure id have love to have been taken on to fly any plane in the current market by AFT, AA or Highland (Id have loved personly to fly the citation or the electra) but thats not to be as they have there own full time fugly students and those of us that where on the PASTS scheme where going to go to other airlines but this was before 9/11.

So if anything I should be bitter with AFT for not having a job, but I cannot say that as the training I had was very good, and the standards in the air were excellent, and as said by others if the plane went tech it tended to be fixed by the following working day.

The groundschool notes where not the best I had seen, but like I said they have since changed since I was there so I cannot comment. I alway had a reply quickly by email unless the relevant instructor was on hols (and that does happen in any company).

I passed all 14 exams, with only 3 that I had to retake.
I passed both my IR and CPL in the first series.

And found there MCC course to be very good as well.

[blagger]

I'm doing groundschool with AFT at the moment - notes seem good quality to me, email and phone feedback has always been spot-on and they were helpful and friendly when I visited. Maybe they haven't got flashy CD tutorials, but it seems a good honest setup to me so far. (and I'm told that Jeppesen have taken on their notes).

blagger

[QNH 1013]

gphillips134,

I do not work for Atlantic Flight Training, or any of their associated companies, and I never have done.

I am, however, a satisfied customer and I got my first commercial work within two months of completing at AFT.

I believe my comments above are an accurate, unbiased view.


QNH 1013

[biggsy20]

Hi all,
Jeppesen have taken on there notes, while i was visiting they were being used, they seemed of very good quality to me.
Some of the answeres i have read are a great help, but i noticed a few unhappy people who did distance learning. remember i will be doing a residential course.
Atlantic are still in poll position for me.
:ok:

[biggsy20]

At last I have made my decision, I am off to Atlantic Flight training on 11th April 2005 to start my ATPL full time ground school.
If there is any other students going to Atlantic on 11th April 2005 on the same course and fancy meeting up, make friends before we go, that would be really good, also sharing some housing to keep cost down.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Mike:ok: