Where to do FIC

[skelly2005]

Ok so im due to movedown to Hertfordshire in the next week and Im looking at doing my flight instructor rating. Can anybody give any personal recommendations on where I could do this, I dont mind traveling a reasonable distance to do this. And how realistic is it to do the course on a part-time basis? Also how did people go about instructing for a school, did you just show your face at a club and go from there or any other tips?

[Duchess_Driver]

What do you define a reasonable distance?
What part of Hertfordshire?
Part time weekends or part time weeks....either realistic really.

The Pilot Centre - Denham Aerodrome (http://www.egld.com/tpc)

HTH

Duchess

[skelly2005]

Yeah mostly weekends but ill do the odd night as and when i need too. Send a mail to denham see what they come back with. Do you have experience with them or? And its south mimms near st albans.

[Cows getting bigger]

TPC Denham appears to have consistently good recommendations, as does Carol Cooper at Andrewsfield.

Frankly, I've very rarely heard of a bad FIC.

[Duchess_Driver]

I did mine there with Eva a few years back, full time, but the guy who was on the course with me was part time (2 days a week). Needless to say part-time will take you a while longer.

Don't think anybody has walked away disgruntled....

[MIKECR]

The big question i'd be asking is what are you going to do with your FI rating once you've got it? The UK market is saturated just now with a surplus of FI's both restricted as well as unrestricted. I know of many newly qualified FI's here who cant find work. Sorry if a I sound a bit doom and gloom but that is the current situation just now here in the UK.

[S-Works]

As MikeCR says unless youa re doing this because you have a job I would suggest that you are speculating a huge amount of time and money with little hope of work. The schools have kept churning out FI's with no work and now we have a massive glut of unemployable people out there.

I get at least 30 CV's a month from unemployed FI's seeking work. It is the experienced guys that will get taken first if we ever see an upturn. However if you try and look at it realistically rather than rose tinted glasses I think the industry as a whole will continue to shrink both commercially and flight training and that will make jobs even tighter. With what looks like an ultimate return to the days of remunerated PPL Instructors the hours building FI route is likely to dwindle as well.

[Talkdownman]

I was instructing from 1988 to 2001 (when the FTO went bust). The new incumbent chose to avoid employing instructors and ground staff from the defunct FTO. My colleagues and I have been scratching around ever since........

Good luck, skelly2005.

(Er......you may be better off doing a keyboard skills course! :ok: )

[porridge]

Skelly2005
You have the following locations to choose from in proximity to your home base for an FI(R) course in addition to Denham:
1. Panshanger
2. Cranfield - 3 schools
3. Stapleford
As for part-time I know you can do this at one of the Cranfield based schools who have a good package for the part-timer to study at home with CBT.
PM me if you need details.

[markymojo]

Due your location, I believe your best bets are TPC Denham, Carole Cooper at Andrewsfield and Stapleford Flight Centre at, er, Stapleford.

Can personally recommend TPC Denham. Nice environment and aircraft fleet. Whilst I can't comment on Carole Cooper's FIC she did my examination - nice lady who's approach seemed faily consistent with what I'd been taught. I have no experience of SFC.

Further afield, there's Lance at BCFT - I gather quite good but with a tendency to make instructors cry!!

Duchess Driver, you wouldn't happen to be the legendary 'Bouncer of White Waltham', would you?!

[Duchess_Driver]

I still maintain that runway 11 is very bumpy. :ok:

[Reverserbucket]

Skelly,

Eva at TPC Denham is expecting so don't think she's doing any flying at the moment. She is very good however.

Porridge is affiliated to one of the schools he mentions at EGTC.

Carol Cooper has a very good reputation at Andrewsfield.

Wycombe Air Park might be an option - I think you may have already looked there though.

Did you fly with Scott K?

[Horst Schwul]

Seconded, Eva is very good. But TPC have another FIC instructor available. Thoroughly nice chap, by all accounts.

[Aucky]

Hi Skelly, Im from the heli side so can't offer too much advice with regards to your question, however i passed my FI rating in august, and was immediately offered work by the same school :ok: it's obviously a little slow, given weather nd economy, but it's work, and it's great fun. All i can say i right time, right place, be realistic, but don't get too disheartened, and get out there and meet people when your done! If you're a decent person and people like you, then you above the rest of the pile of identity-less CV's, also, i was told the reason i was offered work was because they had personally trained and known me, and because i'm less qualified (than the piles of CV's they were receiving), and therefore less likely to jump ship at the next available opportunity if/when things pick up.

Aucky

[TheChiefPilot]

The best place in the south is at Andrewsfield, approx 10 miles east of Stansted, Carol Cooper, by far one of the best FIC instructors/examiners I know.

Bill Stitt was also conducting FIC courses in Suffolk, search for Horizon thats his company.

Have fun, Hope you will manage to pay you bills on the large amount of money you will be making:ok:

[theflyingbus]

"I still maintain that runway 11 is very bumpy"

In fairness I have never seen Duchess Driver land on a runway that is not bumpy!!:ok:

[Duchess_Driver]

Chuckle chuckle......you wag you!

Did you have enough Gaffa tape?

[Phoenix09]

I still maintain that runway 11 is very bumpy.

Not for much longer it won't be! :ok:

[high wing harry]

I would highly recommend Wycombe Air Centre - they have 2 FIC instructors and so can offer part time or full time courses and have a great reputation

As for finding work afterwards - I wouldn't be too despondent... the so called large amount of FIs looking for work are likely to get swallowed up fairly fast as summer approaches and I know that all the last year of WAC instructor course graduates are all working in instruction as they had wanted and I don't see how this should change. Some issues can occur when schools want to employ people who have done the course with them over non-home-built instructors and this seems fairly reasonable.

All I can suggest is going to see all the schools within a reasonable distance from you and have a chat. Do your course where you get the best vibe!

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Andrewfield would be my recommendation but in truth all mentioned here are pretty good. The employment chances less so. Weekend ad - hoc work is possible with connections. But a realistic full time job as a new FI is a really big ask in the current market.

Sorry


WWW

[BEagle]

The schools have kept churning out FI's with no work and now we have a massive glut of unemployable people out there.

Which is what I've been telling people would happen for several years now.

The 'hours building' and self-funded TR route to the RHS of a people-tube has simply GOT to stop. If the airlines want pilots, they must become involved in the selection and training process right from the start; perhaps with the advent of the MPL this is becoming more probable.

It would seem that some EC nations aren't happy with the idea of the remunerated PPL/FI, so watch this space.

I'm wholly opposed to the concept of a profession which relies upon its least experienced wet-behind-the-ears members to teach essential skills to newcomers - what other profession does this? Can you imagine the furore if hospitals relied on just-graduated doctors to teach trainee doctors, for example?

[JD02FLY]

Well said that man, i am with BEagle 150%....

[fireflybob]

Beagle - well said, my sentiments also. Airlines need to be much more pro active about where their new pilots are coming from.