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View Full Version : 1,500 hour Internship for £29,500 - Good Deal?


SPLIT-FFMTCC
25th May 2005, 09:12
Hi All,

Just new to this website after finding it via the links page on the FTE website. Unfortunately 90,000 Euros will not be going into their coffers for a 250 hour course.

Reason for this post is that I don't hate my current job, I just want to do one that I prefer, no desks, middle aged female office managers on power trips, etc. Basically I don't want to run into any more David Brents or the 9-5 culture/environment.

So I'm the process of selling my house, the proceeds will pay for a course to get me up to ATPL or ATP standard. I've already flown a couple of times to make sure its for me, and by God, it is.

Reason for my post is that I heard of a internship program issued by Angel City Flyers. It appears that its part UK based and then US based. I'd be interested to know if anyone can shed any light on the company, its practices, its aircraft, etc. I would be grateful.

I've done a search and found out some details from people who have done scheme in the past, all very useful but wouldn't mind some up to date info.

The course costs 29,500 GBP, is this value for money based upon a salary of around $18 average an hour of instuction? I figure thats everything from 300 hours approx to the 1,500 that they guarantee. I got qoutes from FTE, Oxford, Stapleford, etc. and it seems to be 50 grand approx standard.

Also the first eight months of accommodation is paid for, this must be worth around 2/3 grand minimum? Its certainly what I pay in London.

How do the airlines look upon CFI, CFII and MEI candidates?

Any advice anyone can give is appreciated.

George

============================================

NB Not sure if I'm allowed to post the details of the website on here, but here is the content I copied from the website.

2005 Internship Program
This program is aimed at taking the candidate from zero hours flight time to over 1500 hours total time to include:-

FAA ATP
JAR frozen ATPL
FAA Flight Instructor with single engine, multi engine and instrument instructor ratings.
If you are interested, then please send a covering letter and C.V. F.A.O:-

Mr Paul Fowler
Angel City Flyers Ltd.
Enstone Airfield
Church Enstone
OXON,OX7 4NP

Interviews will be conducted during the first week of July.

Internship Structure

The Training start date is Monday, August 15th, 2005

Start Date Duration Qualifications
Aug 2005
6 weeks
Private Pilot Certificate
Oct 2005
14 weeks
FAA CPL and IR (ME & SE)
Jan 2006
6 weeks
FAA CFI, CFII, MEI
March 2006
78 weeks
Internship to FAA ATP
Sept 2007
6 weeks
ICAO to JAR CPL/ME/IR

The above times are considered ‘conservative estimates’ by Angel City Flyers. It is our experience the average completion time is 80% of that detailed above.

Price £29,500

Included
Not Included
All aircraft rental1
Accommodation after the first eight months
Flight and Ground Instruction2
Aviation Medicals
All FAA test fees
US Visa processing fee (approx £115)
JAR ATPL Groundschool Course3
Flights to and from the United States
FAA to JAR CPL & IR conversion4
JAA professional examination & licensing fees
Eight Months Accommodation
General Living Expenses
Appropriate VAT and local taxes
Personal Flying Equipment
Instructor Uniform6
Personal Flying Equipment
Training books and materials
TSA fee (approx. $160)
See notes at the end*
Remuneration

While the intern is engaged in instruction, they will be remunerated on the following basis, paid per billable hour*.

Intern Experience Level (total flight time)
Hourly rate
Up to 800 hours total time
$15.00
800 to 1200 hours total time
$18.00
1200 to 1500 hours total time
$22.00
Billable hour is when Angel City Flyers Inc. invoices their client for the period of instruction in question
Payment Plan

On acceptance to the internship program, an initial non refundable deposit of £1,000 will be payable to Angel City Flyers Inc., Los Angeles.

After acceptance onto the course,and one week prior to arriving into the United States £28,500 GBP will be paid through a UK based ‘Escrow’ type account. This ‘dual signature’ account will provide peace of mind to both parties.

The schedule of payments into the ‘Escrow’ account will be as follows:-

Monies will be transferred from the Escrow account to Angel City Flyers by dual signature. The rate of transfer will be as follows:-

Schedule
Amount £ Total
On arrival in United States
£2000 £2000
15 hrs
£2000 £4000
30 hrs
£2000 £6000
40 hrs
£2000 £8000
50 hrs
£2000 £10,000
75 hrs
£2000 £12,000
100 hrs
£2000 £14,000
Instrument Rating
£2000 £16,000
Multi Engine Rating
£2000 £18,000
200 hrs
£2000 £20,000
CPL/Multi/SE/IR
£4000 £24,000
MEI
£2400 £26,400
SE FI add on
£1500 £27,900
Instrument FI add on
£500 £28,500

FAQs

Am I tied into staying for the duration of the Internship ?

No. For example, if you find yourself in a position to get employment as a commercial pilot during the duration of the course, you may terminate your internship early. We will pay a pro-rata cost towards your JAR conversion based on the greater of the following.

1. Hours of flight instruction as a fraction of the total expected in the internship (1200 hours)

2. Duration of your time as a flight instructor against the expected duration for the internship (18 months)

The monetary value of the conversion will be based on:-

JAR ATPL distance learning at Bristol Ground School

CPL Five hours training and testing in a single engine complex aircraft.
170A Test Fee
IR 10 hours training in a FNPT 2. Seven and a half hours training and testing in a multi-engine piston aircraft , 170A Test Fee.

These figures include VAT.

The flight training will be based on the applicable rates of Tayflite Ltd, a JAR approved Flight Training Organization operating from Perth Airport, Perthshire, United Kingdom.

The flight training portion of the conversion may be taken at any JAR approved FTO and the payment by Angel City Flyers will be the monetary equivalent of that paid to Tayflite Ltd based on the above. The intern will be responsible for any balance.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel City Flyers reserve the right to terminate the internship at any time and consequently will pay for the remaining portion of the conversion to JAR CPL/Multi/IR as detailed above.

Julian
25th May 2005, 09:41
Hi George,

I have limited experience of the Enstone side of the operation so cant really comment on the instruction standards as dont know the guy whos name is given. The aircraft at Enstone however were top notch last time I flew there using one of there TB20s. Very good setup and the guy who owns it, Steve, is very approachable.

The US side I can comment on as used as one of 3 FBOs I use over there. So here goes...

Instruction - Excellent. The outfit is run by an Irish guy, Seosamh, who now lives over there permanantly. He is very professional and both an FAA and JAA instructor. He will cover all the things you need to know for your FAA licence but also the JAA side so when you come home to do your conversion it will be much easier. He only had one intern last time I was there (Nov '04), but between them they managed the operation very well. He does post on here (Dickon) so may be worth getting in touch with him and asking how he is finding his internship - from the horses mouth as it were. Never had any problems with slots moving and they are up for trips rather than just flying round in circles all day. Scottsdale, Vegas, Santa Monica, etc - if you want to do a 'road trip' whilst getting your instruction they can arrange it so doesnt havent to be boring! They also dont just take your money and run but socialise with you outside of office hours.

Aircraft - They dont have any. They use other FBOs aircraft which has proved a big advantage as when one goes tech they just get one from somewhere else. There are quite a few clubs round there as LGB is a major airport and never had problems with availiablty (apart from when we were all fighting over the Symphany :D ).

Prices - They dont add a mark up to what they are charged by other FBOs, as I have seen done in past. I have found prices pretty reasonable to be honest, I think it was $35/hr last time I flew.

Accomdation - If you are in the Guest House HOtel then you wont have any problems (check where they are putting you but would suspect this is where). Large clean rooms, cable TV, en-suite, some even with kitchens. Decent bar next door, a 7-11 and a few places to eat out.

Area - You will need a car! LGB is not a bad area to live but everything is very spread out - dont expect to walk!!! For nightlife there is Di Piazzas next door or you go down to 2nd St.

Any specific questions then PM and will answer if I can but on the whole a pretty good outfit and a lot better than some I have used in the past.

Julian.

scameron77
26th May 2005, 00:37
Hi George,

I'm currently at ACF doing the internship program you brought up.

Because of a previous discussion I entered with Jetdriver (Uber-moderator) about what I can and cannot write about the school and the program, I'm not 100% what I can type on this thread. Therefore if you have any questions to ask please feel free to PM me. I just don't want to cause him any more agro.

If you look through my previous posts you'll be able to see what I found out during my 'research phase'. I would echo the comments made by Julian.

Regards,

Stephen

SPLIT-FFMTCC
26th May 2005, 00:53
Cheers mate, I will do.

Been looking into it further and here is my sums, if I've done this wrong somebody please correct me:

300 hours to 800 hours @ $15 hour = $7,500
800 hours to 1,200 hours @ $18 hour = $7,200
1,200 hours to 1,500 hours @ $22 hour = $6,600

8 months accomodation = approx $2,500

Total you get back is $23,800 @ $1.82 to the pound = approx 13,100 GBP back from them.

Course costs £29,500 - £13,100 = £16,400

So sixteen and a half grand, for a Single PPL, Single IR, ME Instrument Privs, CPL/IR Single and Multi, CFI, CFII and MEI and both FAA ATP and JAA ATPL(f).

And living in Southern California!!!!!

Is this too good to be true?

George

SPLIT-FFMTCC
27th May 2005, 21:23
So far I've done an exhaustive search and found only good stuff written about this school and its owner. I still find 16 and half grand for everything too good to be true. I mean in real terms you could get both JAA and FAA licenses, all the CFI stuff and even pay for your own Type-Rating on an Airbus or 737 and get plent of change out of 40k. Nobody else comes near, also its living in Los Angeles.

Application is now in the post :)

2close
28th May 2005, 09:03
SPLIT-FFMTCC,

Maybe my stupid gene has kicked in (again) this morning but I can't seem to find the very detailed info in your first post re: the Internship program. It's not jumping out at me from ACF's website.

Would you PM me the link to the info, please.

Many thanks,

2close

scameron77
28th May 2005, 09:31
Hi 2close,

http://www.digital-reality.co.uk/acf/

Then click on the blue box that has changing text in the middle of the screen, yo umay have to scroll down at little bit. It says stuff like: 'Get paid to fly' and 'Interested, Click here'.

Hope that helps

We'll put the gene down to you being Welsh :)

2close
28th May 2005, 12:59
Diolch yn fawr, scameron77,

Much appreciated.

I can now settle back in my air-conditioned cave, have a good read and dream of leaving the valleys............:D

2close

scameron77
28th May 2005, 18:55
When we're exchanging phrases in our native tongue, though you may appreciate this. Now its at least worth a google search :)

Cò an caora sin còmhla riut a chunnaic mi an-raoir?

Seriously however, if you want to ask me any questions about how I'm getting on and what I've found please get in touch, remember 8 months ago I was in the same position as you, I was lucky that I didn't need a loan I had the funds available but if I didn't make the right choice it was as good as flushing 30k of my cash down the swanny.

Stephen

2close
29th May 2005, 10:39
Cheers, Stephen,

I've got as far as the words 'Welsh' and 'sheep' and some others that the translator refuses to provide...............I really don't know what you are suggesting.....the thought that I may be involved in deviant activities with those furry tongued beasts.......oops!

Seriously though, I will drop you a PM for some further info, and I await the full translation with baited breath.

TTFN

2close

SPLIT-FFMTCC
21st Jul 2005, 17:15
Hey,

Just to let you know, I wasn't able to get the spondoolicks together to go for this course, something cropped up as it always does.

However wish the guys selected for interview in the next few weeks all the best and I hope you enjoy California. I'll maybe be in a position next year to do something about it.

Best of Luck,

George

englishal
22nd Jul 2005, 09:51
As an aside to Julians post, I too have experience of Angel City Flyers, and only have good things to say about them.

a) you won't get ripped off, they are genuine
b) they are an expanding organisation and I've known then since the start
c) they only use *good* aircraft, not much of the junk you may get to fly
d) I wish I had gone to work for them....the offer was there, but I was skint........maybe one day ;)


We've had a few adventures over there, and I'm looking forward to some more.....

(apart from when we were all fighting over the Symphony ).

Ah yes, IFR in an aircraft with two GPS's which I didn't know how to work, trying to find AHEIM with only one VOR, at the same time as Socal "lost" the IFR flight plan and reverted us to VFR without telling us. That was the strangest instrument approach ever; a "straight in for 25L". Still we beat the twin which is what counts

;)

LiSrt
23rd Jul 2005, 19:11
New here so apologies if I ask anything already answered at length elsewhere (did some searching but couldn't find what I was looking for).

1stly, this seems like the type of thing I want -- a cost-effective way of being an employable pilot; however, I'm a bit confused on some points:

Would this be a good way to achieve "escape velocity"? (i.e. get to the stage where you're actually *making* money overall from your flying). It seems this is a formalisation of the vague idea I had to:

1. go to the U.S.

2. get training necessary to be able to instruct there

3. build up the hours while making enough to live (frugally) on until qualified to apply direct to airlines (either here in the UK or in the US)

Really all I want to know is whether this type of course is the best way to achieve the goal I've described.

Something I've also been considering is going the whole hog and trying to become a US citizen at some point (not solely for a flying career) would things be significantly cheaper if I wanted to do what was required to be a professional pilot in America only?

my current situation is about £7000+ in the bank while being able to save up at least £5000 a year (temporary jobs -- hopefully I'll get something better + live more economically to be able to save more).
Loans are perhaps a possibility but I'd prefer not to have to get into debt.

got aero eng (ordinary) and software eng (2:2) degrees + some sub-PPL hours (mainly RAF flying scholarship)

Thanks in advance for any advice/info.

PhilAir
26th Jul 2005, 13:50
Hey guys,
I'm really interested in this program, although I was told one thing when it comes to flight training: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I'm dying to get in touch with someone who went through the program. Ive heard there are no JAA Examiners on the west coast, so I'd have to go to europe for my ATPL (f) which is fine, if I get the 1500 hours as stated.

Is this really true, or a rip off?

Regards,
Phil

englishal
26th Jul 2005, 16:19
They don't need JAA examiners as the conversion course is done in the UK at Tayflite I believe (or other FTO if requested).


Try PMing scameron77 as he's on the program now.

EA

HomerJay
27th Jul 2005, 08:46
can anyone provide a link to the internship? have searched but having trouble finding it

clamb
13th Aug 2005, 06:12
I checked with ACF and they are not offering the programme any more. It was a pretty good offer.