Modular completion time

[CraigyD]

Hi guy and girls,

I did ask this question a few days ago but had no replies so thought i'd start a new thread :).

(insert cut and paste here lol)

I have finally been offered a place as a police officer with Surrey Police (Almost a year to the day after passing selection!) so I will be working shift paterns of 4 on 3 off I believe. I plan to start flight training next summer (after finishing my police basic training). I have made a (slow!) start to the ppl gs already and hope to have a few exams under my belt before I start. I was just wondering what people think about the following time scale I have set myself and if I am being realistic:

ppl - 3 months
atpl gs - 12 months
hour build - 5 months
cpl + mep - 4 months
ir - 4 months

Cheers!

Craig

[XX621]

Bit optimistic if you ask me. Friend of mine just finished BGS - took him 12mths full time. But this has subject been discussed to death on this forum....go search!
Do you want to be a career police officer AND a fully qualified airline pilot then? - Sir has a thing for uniforms does he?? :)

I could think of better day jobs for simply financing the ATPL course? (top tip: IT), and you don't find yourself in harms way very often too.

[SkyCamMK]

I would be very surprised if a probationary police officer could afford the time to study ATPL to a proper level - do you know what is involved? Why would they finance you if they knew your plan. If you plan to use distance learning you will need more time unless you are very very bright and used to studying. As you are not showing evidence of being committed to the public service it might be that you will not even get through your probation. In 2008 a professional service requires more than in the old days when every officer had a part time job. I think you should do the job, properly first, save your cash and then reconsider if you are still fit and healthy. But what do I know?...

[XX621]

Very well put SkyCam.

I did a degree in the 90s....and for pure knowledge retention the degree is a short paperback in comparison to the ATPL theory. Its a long, hard slog even more so if you are doing it alongside a fulltime day (or night) job. It will certainly test your resolve of being a professional aviator - of that there is no doubt! Not trying to put you off, its perfectly do-able if you want it enough.

[pauloclem]

I was in a similar position to you about 5 years ago (I'm 27 now). I had just finished a degree and really wanted to pursue a professional flying career. I decided to follow a similar modular schedule as you have outlined whilst continuing with my career as a criminal investigator with HM Customs - similar job as a police officer but more a kin to the security services.

As my career progressed and I became more and more involved with case work and other work related responsibilities I found it very difficult to find time to study away from work (and r&r). For example, when I put a weekend aside for theory study the phone would frequently buzz with the offer of overtime......very hard to turn down when trying to fund a cash hemorrhaging career! Therefore, it was soon apparent that for me my law enforcement career and modular training didn't go well together.

I decided that an “all of nothing” approach was best in my case. Instead of continuing to struggle on with the odd bit of study here and there I stopped and concentrated on earning / saving money. I quit my job last November having saved up a decent amount and I'm now at OAA going the integrated route, but I also considered the full time modular option. I would therefore recommend that you think long and hard about the best way to efficiently reach you fATPL goal. I'm not advocating integrated over modular....I'm just saying that which ever route you decide to do down you need to consider how best you learn.

It might not be that easy to stick to your plan alongside an equally demanding job. So consider different options as you go and try to work out which one best suits you.

Good luck with your police and pilot training :ok:

[wbryce]

Seems a sensible plan. Alot of people in the past has completed the ATPL course distance learning while working and raising a family so its definately do able under the right mindset.

I have a good friend who worked in the police force and took a career break to gain all his tickets, hes now flying commercially. You could do your PPL/hour building while working, gain valuable experience in your job (very good for your C.V) while saving money for a full time training stint under a career break.

[CraigyD]

I have heard about the career gap. Maybe thats the best option for me. As you said, do my ppl and hour build for a few years, save my money and then hit the rest in one go.

[Mikehotel152]

I suppose we ought to put aside the issue of whether you really want to be doing the flying training to fATPL standard while also pursuing a Police career.

But in terms of time-scale only, I would say that it takes ages to do the flying side of things if you can only do it part-time. My PPL took from mid-Feb to end-July and I was available every single day apart from a 2 week holiday halfway through. The weather and aircraft/instructor availability will ruin any sensible plan! If you limit yourself to weekends, you'll have to hugely increase the time-scale. Maybe consider a trip to the US to do a PPL in your holiday. Tough and not ideal, but better than taking a year in the UK!?

As for the ATPL exams. I'm doing these full-time at Bristol GS. I'd say a bright, very dedicated person working full-time (i.e. 5 days a week 9-5) could do the entire course in 7 weeks. Then you have the 4 weeks of brush up courses and 2 weeks of exams. That's something like 13 weeks, best case scenario and it really relies on you having single-mindedness, no social life and no other commitments. Doing it part-time would be hard and you can easily work out that it would take much longer if you only have weekends to play with.

Good luck! :)

[clanger32]

Can't comment on the flying elements, but I can say that I've just finished GS with OAA on the integrated route. This has been six months of absolute full time slog - and by full time I mean that me and everyone on my course have been working 8:40 - 4:20 in lessons and then about three hours of personal work per evening.

I just KNOW this will be slated, but bear in mind OAAs ethos is to make sure you know the subject not just pass the exams, so it could definitely be done in less time if you just worked to pass the exams...but personally I'd consider that risky.

So, the point of my post is that I'd suggest you bank on at least six months worth of properly full time work, with no social life if you want to learn the topics. Reduce this a bit if you just want to pass....

[AlphaMale]

I have a good friend who worked in the police force and took a career break to gain all his tickets

Double check with this, I know of a few officers that took a year out in order to train for a different career and it was fine in the late 90's and even the early 00's but I think in the last couple of years the forces around the UK are cutting down on giving these 'gaps' out willy nilly.

I think (off the top of me head ... so don't shoot me down) you need to be in the force for 5 years or more to qualify for this 'Gap'.

When you take this 'Gap' you are told you can't work for anybody else or train for a different career, if you do then you'll have action against you.

... So get you're PPL/Night/IMC/Hour Building done by all means but anything further could result in the police taking action against you. :uhoh:

I think your time scale seems fine.

I'm looking at 4.5 weeks to complete my PPL & Night in the UK summer full time.

Study ATPL exams with BGS over 12 months while keeping down a 9-5 IT job. Also join a group and do some hour building when I can.

Then quitting my job to spend 12 - 15 weeks on my Multi-IR and CPL.

[Finals19]

As for the ATPL exams. I'm doing these full-time at Bristol GS. I'd say a bright, very dedicated person working full-time (i.e. 5 days a week 9-5) could do the entire course in 7 weeks. Then you have the 4 weeks of brush up courses and 2 weeks of exams. That's something like 13 weeks,

Mikehotel152....

Sorry mate, but can't see how on earth you could come up with 7 weeks ground study plus residential plus exams. FYI, the min study time required is 650 hours, so at 40 hours a week, if you even went as far as including the residential in the hours requirements (so 11 weeks by your estimations) thats 440 hours which won't tick the boxes with the CAA!

Full time, you might just get on par with OAA guys who are full time residential at Kidlington, and they take 6 months, so you might get it done in about that. Even then, there are handicaps to being sat at home on your own, with only your laptop and books (as opposed to a classroom and instructor) So 7-9 months are more realistic.

[GgW]

CraigyD
The only time when I was not in fulltime employment during my flight training was when I did my ppl . Your time scale is a bit on the long side. I did the ppl in 7 weeks ''fulltime'' , groundschool 7 months with a 2 week holiday, hour building 3 months, I did the mep first ( 10 days ) , the IR was just under 3 months and then the cpl ( 15 hour course ) 2 months, but that was due to bad weather, could have done it in 5-6 weeks. So total time was 16 months. The time that you have calculated it on 28 months, I would see that as a worst case cenario. Groundschool is not difficult it is just a lot of work.
I asume that as a police man you will not work the normal 9-5 working day , many of my working hours was night shift, that's mainly how I managed to do it all in 16 months.
Good luck
GgW

Surrey Police - you w.....s gaved me a speeding fine last year:yuk:

[Mikehotel152]

Finals19...

The Bristol GS course is divided into '24 weeks'. That is a recommended timescale intended for those who are working part-time.

I can assure you that there are a large number of people who have studied a 'Bristol week' in a realtime day. I know a few. I am one. We have passed all progress tests and all the exams to the required CAA standard.

The CAA aren't in the slightest interested if I choose to study a week's worth of material on the Bristol GS course in a day. Provided I do a prescribed course and pass the exams, what objection will the CAA make?

I am not advising or suggesting to people that they should try to do the ATPL in the minimum possible timescale. I was just giving a little indication of what is theoretically possible. :p

[MIKECR]

Craig,

Nothing wrong with your timescales for completing the various modules. Your plans however to try and complete your fATPL whilst joining the Police are a complete non starter. If you want to fly, then go and train yourself full time and dont bother with the police. I speak from experience....i've been in the job for 12 years. I now have my fATPL however, just wish i'd done it earlier!!!!!

Forget the police mate, its a crap job now, all the perks are gone and you'll just regret it in the long run. Go flying...TRUST ME!!

[anastasialkt]

IS there really any distance learning for ATPL? I would love to know more about that. Please.. thanks

[flightlevel1985]

Are you joking? Maybe do a search for it, there will be lots :ok: