Training Routes...the definitive guide.

[Determined]

Hello All,

before I start, I'd like to say that I have searched for previous posts that I know DO exist regarding my queries. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find them. So to save anyone any hassle, if anyone can dig up relavant threads and post the links here it would be appreciated.

Basically here are my few details:

-21 year old stuck in IT desk job.
-14 hours SPL with 10 hours solo / Class 2 medical.
-Irish national living in Dublin.
-Clive Hughes: "Getting A Commercial Pilots Licence" is on order but I fear it may be out of date.

Well people, the time has come to "get off the pot" and get on with my ultimate goal of RHS.

I am in the fortunate position that my parents are willing act as guarantors for a loan to fund a full ab-initio course. They unfortunately, do not realise or understand what is involved and the uncertainty of the future job market. This alone and the financial responsibility involved with such a large sum has literally kept me awake at night.

a) I unfortunately don't have as ready access to loan facilities here in Dublin such as HSBC in the United Kingdom. Does anyone have any advice as to similar schemes here in Ireland? Are there restrictions to non-nationals applying for loans in the UK?

b) I have a general idea of the training routes available: Ab-initio and modular. If anyone has the patience and time, could they outline the concrete routes to Frozen ATPL under the JAA? I can tell you it would be greatly appreciated.

c) Wee Weasley Welshman, your dedication and subsequent success is an inspiration to all wannabes. I know you have already outlined your career path to date, but if you could spell out how you got to where you are today, I would appreciate it. I understand the old CAA route could have been followed cheaply previously, but what advice do you have for someone in my situation today?

d) I know there are people out there with a wealth of information/experience. Come on people, if you could do it again, what route would you follow?

If the way to go is the full ab-initio whack, then I'll "suck it up" and sign the loan application on the dotted line. But to be honest, I'd prefer to avoid such risk and explore the alternatives...

Hope I haven't bored you all too much...

[Capt Wannabe]

Just a thought but have you considered applying for sponsorship. Most airlines have an age limit of around 26 so you've got a few years left.
Being Irish, you may want to contact Aer Lingus. Although they do not have a scheme at the moment, they may be able to tell you if they will be starting recruitment again soon.
Basically, you've got nothing to lose by applying to these schemes, and you can be researching the self-sponsored route at the same time.
Best of luck


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CW

[Determined]

Hi Capt. Wannabe, thanks for such a quick reply.

I met all of "Aer Lingus most stringent requirements" in the aptitude tests of 2000 CEP but "lacked assertiveness" in the preliminary interview.

The future recruitment requirements for Aer Lingus are to say, bleak at the moment.

[TooHotToFly]

Hi there. To summarise the different routes -

Integrated Course - 195 hours flight time, around £50,000. Courses are generally scheduled to last around 13 months. Currently 4 schools approved to run the course are Cabair, OATS, BAe (Spain) and WMU (America).

The modular route - where the basics of the integrated course are split into 4 or 5 different modules - your PPL, Hour building, ATPL ground exams, CPL / Multi-engine Course and the Instrument Rating. Cost generally around £30,000. Doing it full time, you would expect to take just over a year. The advantage the modular route has is that you can just do each module a time, therefore meaning you don't have to give up work, move out of house etc.

It doesn't matter which route you go, you come out with a JAR Frozen ATPL. At 200 hours you are probably more likely to get a job if you have completed an integrated course rather than a modular course (in my opinion).

Of course once you've got your licence you can do one of 2 things - just keep applying for jobs whilst just doing enough flying to keep current, or work either as a flight instructor, glider towing etc. to build your hours up to the magic 1000 mark. Once you have got around 1000 hours (which would probably take you a little over a year) you would then find that it becomes a lot easier getting a job. If you have a thousand hours, I don't think airlines care which route you went.

[Determined]

Just wanted to bring this back to the top of the pile again and thank TooHotToFly and Capt Wannabe for their posts. If anyone else can contribute, I'd be grateful...thanks.