Bristol Flight center

[Davepa38]

I am thinking seriously of starting the MEIR at Bristol Flight Center soon and all I am looking for is some up to date comments on their performance. I have visited the place and was impressed.

[LL-Snowman]

just done the IR there. the instruction, aircraft, facilities, everything was excellant. very impressed with the whole set up. they have got a pretty impressive pass rate for the IR test, plus an on site examiner.
any other questions PM me.
LL Snowman.

[pipertommy]

I also completed my commercial flight training at BCF.Not a bad word to say about them.Great instructors,whole establishment is run to a high standard.And if you are lucky they may let you go and help out on a king air charter flight:ok:

[LL-Snowman]

yer that king air bit is true. i was lucky enough to get a whole day on it. definatly helps wiv the flying training, just watchin a pro do it.
id say money wud b well spent at bristol. sometimes a small set up is the way ahead. plus you get to mix it with the heavy jets at an international airport. you wont get to be No.2 to a first choice 757 at OAT.
LL Snowman.

[cawka]

LL Snowman, how long did it take you to complete the IR course?

[Funkie]

good morning!

I completed my ME/CPL/IR in July 2006 with BFC and don't have a bad word to say about them either.

All training at the school is very well conducted and company is professionally run. I was lucky in that I had only two instructors for the time I was there, one for the ME and one for the CPL/IR, though the latter did look like a certain person from Grange Hill... Hi mate!!:8 Pre and post flight briefs are conducted in private rooms with print out's of holds and approaches. All good stuff. They have two FNPT II’s, which are not only excellent training devices, but nears as damn it the same as the a/c.

The fleet of Scenca's and Arrow's are very well maintained and there own engineering dept. most definitely will pull out the stops to fix any aircraft should be need arise. Seen it done for one guy on test day - really did surprise me!

As I understand, they now have STAR's and SID's at BRS. A good thing for training, as that's what we do in the commercial world and your RT will be polished by the end of it all. ATC at BRS are also extremely helpful and will slot in when they can.

That said, your time to pass will depend on your own ability. Took me six weeks and a shed load of hard work.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time there and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the school.

Best of luck!

[LL-Snowman]

cawka,
It took me around 8 weeks to do the IR. which all in all wasnt too bad. Only had 2 flights cancelled bacause of bad weather.
LL Snowman.

[Mercenary Pilot]

BFC is easily one of the top 3 schools in the UK.

[bluemamboman]

I can only back up those positive things said about Bristol Flying Centre. The instructors really all are very good and go out of there way to help you.

The facilities are good, with two FNPTII's there was never any hassle in getting slots, likewise with the aircraft. They are well maintained and if one goes tech engineering get it fixed ASAP.

Flying out of Bristol Airport is also good experience as it can get fairly busy at certain times of the day. I was a little apprehensive before starting the course that a lot of time would be spent holding in the aircraft, but this really wasn't the case. ATC are really accommodating and squeeze you in where they can.

Apart from the good instruction and facilities, having the CAA examiner on sight really is a good bonus, firstly you don't have any positioning costs and secondly you get to know the examiner so you don't quite feel as nervous when sitting the IR exam!!!!

The second real bonus about BFC is because it's attached to centerline air charter there are great opportunities to do flights with the king air skippers when they are chartered as they are certified for single pilot operations. They are all really friendly and are keen for you to go along.

All in all a great experience for what is a tough but enjoyable course.

[Deano777]

Do they still have 3 students per instructor?

[bluemamboman]

Yes they do, I found this was fine as it provided enough time for the instructor to provide a good brief and debrief. There were also times due to the weather that if one of the students were doing there CPL then they wouldn't fly, so you could squeeze an extra sim session or flight in if you fancied it.

I found the instructors very accomodating and flexible.

[Oxfordman]

I am a high time pilot (6000 hours total, 2000 hours flight instructor). Most of my experience in small turboprop and Piper Chieftain aircraft. I recently contacted BFC and spoke with Roy Hitchon about an IR conversion. I was interested in the 10 sim/5 multi program. Roy was very adamant in trying to sell me an IR conversion at 10 multi/5 sim instead of the above.

I asked, "What is the average time of completion that a pilot, with experience as myself, can expect for IR conversion?" He said, "It depends on skill." That wasn't a good enough answer so I asked him again. "What can I expect to see for a completion of an IR conversion?" His response did not make any sense. He said, "American Instrument Ratings are not any good and people will have a hard time flying in the UK." It was a very negative answer.

I was very patient with Roy. In doing so, he admitted that I needed to budget for 30 hours.

I would be very careful with this school for 2 reasons. BFC markets 15 hours IR conversion. This is misleading. Also they are not confident enough, in my eyes as an experienced professional instructor, in their ability to pass people in a given and fair amount of time.

I have seen this strategy of flight schools to make money time and time again. For a school that has been around for ages, BFC must certainly have enough experience, and confidence, to complete IR conversions in a given and set time. Flight schools will entrap a student making them feel guilty about the amount of time and money spent during their course of training thereby psychologically inhibiting that student from leaving and seeking training elsewhere.

Roy specified each flight takes 1.5 hours at a cost of 370 GBP per hour. This is approximately 555 GBP per flight. That is too much money to gamble in a school that cannot give me a concrete answer. I asked him, "What if I need more time?" He said, "We'll give you a deal?"

I will not be attending this school.

Good luck with your training

[moggiee]

I would be very careful with this school for 2 reasons. BFC markets 15 hours IR conversion. This is misleading. Also they are not confident enough, in my eyes as an experienced professional instructor, in their ability to pass people in a given and fair amount of time.
Everyone offers a 15 hour conversion because that is the MINIMUM laid down by the JAA. Some people can make it, most can't (it takes a while to get used to an unfamiliar environment and/or new aeroplanes). Everyone I know will tell you that it will probably take more than 15 hours, because it usually does.

Roy specified each flight takes 1.5 hours at a cost of 370 GBP per hour. This is approximately 555 GBP per flight. That is too much money to gamble in a school that cannot give me a concrete answer. I asked him, "What if I need more time?" He said, "We'll give you a deal?"
Whilst the hourly rate is a little higher than ours, this sounds reasonable. There is no way that he can tell from a telephone conversion how good you are. Having 6,000 hours is no guarantee of success. Until they fly with you, they will just be guessing.

[Notoc]

Well Oxfordman - Your state you are a "High Time " Pilot with 6,000 hours !! Small Turbo-prop and Chieftain. Well with that experience I would have thought you would have at least
moved up to Q400 or J41's or even moved onto Jets - so, perhaps BFC's response to your question - it all depends on your skill and ability is perhaps the right answer !!!!!!!. Or are you a "Crap Pilot" ? Being an ex student of BFC, I endorse all the other complimentary comments about Roy Hitchon and Bristol Flying Centre (BFC) - they are indeed one of the best and leading providers of Commercial Flight Training.
Having studied your derogatory remarks, I can see that you are confused, BFC do not have a FNPT1 simulator to carry out only 5hrs Sim Training, they have two FNPT 11 sims and can carry out only the minimum of 10hrs. Roy could only offer the CAA mimimum of 10hrs Sim and 5hrs A/C, so what's the deal. You are a "crap" pilot, no one wants to employ you and you are looking to blame someone. The CAA approval for the IR Conversion is a MINIMUM of 10hrs Sim / 5hrs A/c (Inc 170A Test), most pilots will accept that if they have no UK or European experience will need longer, unfortunately, that's only human nature. I have lots of friends and colleagues who have graduated through BFC and gone on to fly for the leading Airlines. I would suggest Oxfordman, you do yourself a favour, come out of the "Jungle", make peace with Roy, pay BFC a visit and look what they can realistically offer you - a valued and respective future in the Aviation Industry - go on, you know you want to ....... and you can -- Good Luck, I wish you well !! If you need a consulation, just PM me.

[Emrts330]

Notoc relax! The man is only state his opinion. Everyone is so angry. I would think the persons reply to Oxfordmans post these people work for Bristol Flying Centre

[moggiee]

I would think the persons reply to Oxfordmans post these people work for Bristol Flying Centre
No, I work for a competitor to BFC.

However, it is clear from Oxfordman's numerous attacks on BFC that he has an axe to grind and, on another thread, he has been caught out using multiple personalities to run his campaign. Idiots like this spout rubbish and falsehoods, without actually understanding the rules or the product on offer.

Historically, FAA conversions are difficult to achieve in the MINIMUM 15 hours. Many, many people struggle to adapt in such a short time and BFC were quite right to suggest that the customer should budget for some extra training. Some get through in 15 hours and all credit to them - but plenty of people take longer.

We give the same advice - after all, a customer WOULD have the right to complain if we said it would take 15 hours but then it actually took 25. Remember that the customer has to satisfy the CAA examiner - and that means that he has to train to a performance standard, not just a timetable.

Honesty is important, and in my experience of BFC (a competitor, remember) is that they are an honest, professional organisation.

[Emrts330]

I think you work for Brisol mogie since you make with this comment (a competitor, remember)

but you dont have to write me because I am not person you must convince

[PPRuNe Towers]

Oxfordman, Shipsmate, Emrts330.

All the same.

Rob

[Currymonster]

I too can affirm that Moggiee doesnt work for BFC , the organsiation he does work for is also an excellent training establishment, and that during my IR (not at BFC) I visited the facility on a number of occasions and it looks impressive..

Just my two penneth... but I feel that someone has an axe to grind.. and maybe cyberspace isnt the place to do it, after all this forum is for fellow pilots to get good advice and opinions rather than futile remarks..

I hope that a would be customer of BFC isnt put off by a numpty placing silly posts,it would be a shame, (no offence intended as I can see you have thousands of hours experience and I may want a job with you)

[moggiee]

I too can affirm that Moggiee doesnt work for BFC , the organsiation he does work for is also an excellent training establishment, and that during my IR (not at BFC) I visited the facility on a number of occasions and it looks impressive..
Thank you good sir, I was almost starting to doubt myself there!