BCFT Bournemouth reviews

[jxc]

Hi Guys

I think i have decided to go to BCFT for my GS and then my cpl & IR but would like some feedback pref the negative feedback that one can expect, as I only ever hear good feedback.


Cheers

JXC

[will fly for food 06]

That because there isnt any negative feedback that i know of. I finished at BCFT a few months ago. It took ten months to do the ground school, Cpl, Mep and IR. All first time passes including the ground school.

[mb2ai]

hi peeps

What did you think of not doing the MCC there? or did you do it there?

Because if I go there I want to do all of my training there, including the MCC.

Are any of their grads activley being employed? Thanks for your time

[jxc]

What was the mix of the ages like for the students was it a good spread ?

JXC

[Nearly There]

BCFT are not offering an MCC at the moment, because the Tri Star sim at European Aviation had a fire and is now dead.

European are now offering the MCC on the 737 200, you can do all your commercial training at BCFT then go over to European for MCC, unless BCFT sort something out in the meantime, they where talking about buying there own fixed base sim ( Citation) for this purpose a short while ago.

As for age range, I only did my ground school and night rating there, and thought I might be the oldest (34), but 2 guys where older than me on the ground school and a couple of guys doing CPL and IR were also late 30s early 40s.

Age did not become a problem in anyway, the course gelled well.
Good school and I doubt you will get much if any negative feedback.

[will fly for food 06]

At the moment BCFT do not do MCC. This is because the simulator they used to rent caught on fire:eek:. I did my MCC at European on the 737-200 which was also very good. There was a good mix of ages from 18 to 44 on the course i did at BCFT. Now i'm part of the group of people job hunting. BCFT managed to get me an interview with a company because of my Jet time but they didnt have any slots so im starting my FI in a few weeks to keep busy.

[maxdrypower]

Jxc Sent you a Pm . But I start there for GS 7th april and im 38 , im ore worried about being outed as a thickie more than anything else

[mb2ai]

will fly for food,

Well done on completing your fATPL. When you say jet time, what do you mean?


Everyone else,

What do you about accommodation down that neck of the woods?

[will fly for food 06]

BCFT has a list of local places where you can rent a room.

"Jet time" hours in my log book where I have flown jet aircraft but not requiring a CAA qualification if you know what I mean. Unfortunately that phase of my flying career finished so i then had to convert to civilian licenses.

[potkettleblack]

Would you not consider going to another BOH based school that is advertising here on pprune which has links to the likes of Flybe and Jet2?

AFAIK BCFT have no links/relationships call it what you will for jobs after you complete your training. The usual caveats apply though and you need to go in with your eyes wide open. I would be asking lots of tough questions of the CFI to see who is getting their CV put forward and what hoops you need to jump through.

[will fly for food 06]

BCFT do have links with a certain company. I had an interview with them because of BCFT and someone on my course got a job flying another aircraft type with them. That is only a special link though and not on the same level as some other places you state.

[SinBin]

Apologies for my lack of grammar skills, just got back from the middle east and I'm knackered.
Everyone I was there with have got jobs, ranging from dash 8s, Falcons, 737s to A320s. I'm on the A320 straight from there and I didn't pay for a type either. There are 2 of us who trained at BCFT who joined bmi mainline straight from there and I'm very glad I went to BCFT as networking was the key to the job, and at BCFT there is a very good chance of networking as some instructors also fly for the airlines. It is a highly respected school with the airlines

All good from my point of view.

[jxc]

So from you guys who have finished what the amount you spent on training excluding ppl so from GS hourbuilding IR MCC not a breakdown just a total ish figure

Many Thanks

JXC

[SinBin]

About £30-35K

[will fly for food 06]

same here.

[windypops]

BCFT's ground school is as far as I'm concerned very good. It is well structured and most importantly well taught. However remember that lecturers can and do come and go and any school is only ever as good as its employees. I would recommend the ground school for residential, and this is "somewhat" objective as I have a fair amount of education behind me and have experienced a range of teaching styles and methods and I consider BCFT very good. I have of course not experienced any other ATPL ground school so cannot give a comparison to other providers.

With regard to the flying side of things, I believe this may be a slightly different matter (I have gone elsewhere) and in my opinion perhaps does not complement the high quality of the ground school as well as it should. Pass rates do not seem to be quite as good as some others at Bournemouth, but whether this is down to the teaching or perhaps just a different calibre of student recently is impossible to say. This is something worth noting with any school, and the only way to get a decent opinion is to back seat at as many as you can, chat to students, chat to the ops staff and chat to the instructors who will teach you, not just the sales people/heads of training.

I have first hand experience of “sales technique” from BCFT which contained some misleading and factually incorrect information. I am also led to believe that they have increased their class sizes from the 10-15 they advertise on their website (not sure about their paper literature), that’s not to say it’s a squeeze as I’m sure there are Fire Regs etc they should abide by, just a bit sneaky in my opinion.

I would also be aware that some opinions and posts on pprune are at the request of some of the staff at BCFT. However I'm sure many ex/students on here are writing exactly as they found.

At the end of the day there is no holy grail of school, and what is right for one is not necessarily the same for others, after all while the above is my opinion, I’m sure if you visited and chatted to students you would find plenty of good stuff. I just believe there are a few issues which if ironed out would turn BCFT into something very good indeed. (for example little things such as encouraging students to dispose of the fuel samples in a way that does not damage the aprons, or leaving headsets next to the magnetic compass, it’s the small things in my opinion which set aside a Professional pilot from a really excellent Professional pilot).

Apologise that this has turned into a long post, and remember to make your own opinions from visiting as many schools as possible.

[SinBin]

Well no-one asked me to say anything!

First time pass rates at BCFT I think were a standard average as throughout the flight training world. How someone with no experience of the level of instruction there can comment on it confuses me. Pure speculation I'm afraid. It is down to the individual whether he/she passes first time. The level of instruction I had there was first rate. A few hiccups along the way whch were down to me. Nerves are the biggest part in passing or failing not instruction which is entirely standardised across the board.

[CABUS]

Great school with a very friendly atmosphere and some excellent and approachable instructors and best of all, a fantastic local pub;). I had a great time there, the ground school was good as well and got me through with a very high average.

Basically they make it good fun in and out of the classrooms which really helps get you through, they also arrange social events and the instructors go for a beer with the students on quite a regular basis.

Go for it I have got no regrets.

[fokkerboy27]

Good outfit,

Did my IR/CPL conversion there and one of the instructors landed my CV on the desk of the Chief pilot in the company that i am flying for now.

They will do what they say they would.

Don't miss out on a good P.ss up in the aero club,try to beat my yard of ale time!

Cheers.

[Nearly There]

Cabus is correct the local pub is great, friendly bar ladies!! and the beer and food is not bad either...:ok:

[maxdrypower]

Well I visited all the major players in this game and have to say for me PERSONALLY BCFT far outshone the others. OAA and Cabair to me were like an episode of the apprentice , take from that what you will.
I was shown round BCFT by the lovely Dena who did a great job depsite being close to death with lady flu .
OAA it was a well scripted marketing type and a 19 yr old Oxy advert who was very proud of his epaulettes which set him aside from others (mod/int) apparently . They lost me five minutes after introducing him to me .
I wasnt happy with Cabair for other reasons , two of the students moaning about the GS didnt help .
No one I met at bournemouth had a bad word to say and it suited my wish list so thats where Im off .
Maybe the right decision maybe the wrong decision , but it was based on my personal needs and impressions I got of the place.
I will let you know :O

[windypops]

SinBin if your comments are aimed at my post, perhaps you should re-read it.

I did not say that you specifically had been asked to say anything, I’m just passing onto others that this practice occurs (and more than likely from every school).

You also say “How someone with no experience of the level of instruction there can comment on it confuses me. Pure speculation I'm afraid.” Again if this is aimed at me you are very wrong indeed, I have flown, and back seated, and chatted to students (at most of the main providers) and I stand by my comments. It is OK for people to have different opinions and shouldn’t be a cause for “confusion”.

I don’t entirely agree with your comment that training is standardised across the board. If this were the case then every school would be exactly the same as the next, but I think we can all agree that this is not the case. There is a structured syllabus set down by the CAA, and this is monitored closely by regular visits to the schools as well as monitoring pass rates, but each school, and of course each instructor has there own teaching techniques and it is these factors which can make the difference between an “excellent experience” and an “average experience”.

I made it pretty clear that people can have different experiences, and what is right for one is not necessarily right for another individual, please don’t be so offended by the fact my experiences were different from yours.

[potkettleblack]

If you want an unbiased view then go and knock on the door of the CAA examiners at BOH and have a wee chat and that will tell you who they consider to pump out the better candidates for multi/CPL and IR tests. We spent quite a bit of time chatting about the various schools when I did my tests 18 months or so ago. Unfortunately for BCFT they weren't top of the list. Don't believe me then take a pack of biccies and go and have a chat to them. Contrary to popular opinion they are quite a friendly bunch.

[SinBin]

Windypops, I'm not offended in the least. Just going on my experiences with them, obviously, which were good.

I'm really not that bothered, have got a very nice job flying very nice aircraft to some interesting places, so I did ok out of them!

Happy landings!