View Full Version : FCL what a shambles
Just been informed by the CAA that the ATPL results will not be arriving until Monday morning now and to top that off they also say that there are no spaces available for resits until June at the earliest.They think we have nothing better to do than sit around waiting for them to get into gear.They inform me that there is a very high demand at the moment so why dont they have a sitting every 2 weeks like they did in the good old days. I for one am bloody annoyed as the service they give is nothing short of scandelous, as its taking nearly 2 1/2 weeks to process the results and then they say wait another 10 weeks before the next.
I'm sure a lot of you like me will find this very inconvenient and in my case may cost me my airline job.
Maybe they should mark the papers using the same system they process the credit cards then we could all get on with our lives.
Megaton
26th Apr 2002, 17:08
If this is the case, I'll be well hacked off. Due to work commitments I have only a limited timeframe in which to sit the exams and CPL course. If they delay results and any subsequent retests that may be required I will have wasted an awful lot of time and effort. Never takes long to cash the checks though, does it?
<<I'm sure a lot of you like Ime will find this very inconvenient and in my case may cost me my airline job.>>
You are having a laugh ain't you? There are many many folks with 10 times your experience still looking for jobs. Reality check req.
redsnail
26th Apr 2002, 20:27
If you think getting the results late is going to wreck your career... Wait until you get delayed by the weather, instructor unavailability, aircraft unserviceability and CAA examiner delays. Oh and when you are paying for the flying, are you going to go ballistic at ATC because you can't get an airways clearance when YOU want it?
Life is chockers with delays.
They suck big time but venting your spleen like that does no one any favours.
JB007
26th Apr 2002, 23:35
I'm afraid Redsnail is correct...
Chillout man,
It all depends on where you want to sit your exams, if it's Oxford it's always chocker....I had no problem and got all the dates I wanted at the good old LGW portacabin !!!!
As for may cost you an airline job....*laugh* - get on planet earth mate...
crispy banana
27th Apr 2002, 00:06
I seem to remember a post a good while back from someone (possibly fcom??...) stating that they had to get the ATPL's done within a certain timeframe or else they were out of a job :eek: .....not sure of the exact details,but is this possibly what hes referring to?? ....
If not then ditto what everyone else has said...;):p
Gin Slinger
27th Apr 2002, 00:18
hmm....FCL - trying to think of a nemonic that rimes with 'Financial Rapists'
Matt Black
27th Apr 2002, 00:31
Both points are valid.
Yes, aviation is subject to all manner of delays, technical, weather, operating difficulties etc - all form part of an aviators lot. As the phrase goes, if you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have signed up.
Having said that, FCOM makes a good point. He is a paying customer of the CAA, and as such he - and the rest of us - should expect a prompt service at a reasonable cost. The CAA are not delivering this in this case.
The question in my mind is why? What incentive do the CAA have to do this? Is the licensing function a monopoly, and if so, who is the independent watchdog to regulate it?
Discuss!
I think in my case I do have a valid point.I have been flying airliners in the UK for 7 years and have over 5000 hrs on jets.I have recently completed a new rating and am hampered by the fact I cant get it on my licence until I've jumped through all the hoops again.Time is a factor and I think the CAA have an obligation to accomodate their customers and assist them whenever possible. So yes I am annoyed that the CAA can't put anymore chairs in the exam room until June because they are all too busy shining their butts on the spare ones.
Matt Black
28th Apr 2002, 23:43
FCOM,
Sorry to hear about your predicament - I wish you good luck.
Have you ( or has anyone else ) tried writing to the Head of FCL?
WX Man
29th Apr 2002, 08:02
(getting F***cked Costs Loads)
So they print ambigous questions, testing irrelevant material and then provide shoddy service. You would at least have thought that in 2002 you could do your tests on a computer and have the results within 30 minutes of finishing the exam?
Wee Weasley Welshman
29th Apr 2002, 08:14
Blame Winston Churchill. He made the Air Ministry pay for itself from fees collected - unlike any other Government functionary of that time.
When you get a bit further into it and perhaps get to meet a few CAA types you will discover that they are a pleasant enough and pretty hard working bunch of civil servants.
However; it is every Wannabes God given right to whinge about the Campaign Against Aviation in their pursuit of Ceasing All Aviation.
WWW
Dutchie
29th Apr 2002, 08:42
Fully agree on that WWW!! :p
Polar_stereographic
29th Apr 2002, 09:03
WWW,
Agree 100%.
But, are the CAA employees civil servants? I know we think they are, but are they?
PS
Professor Fog
29th Apr 2002, 11:58
I sat the exams last year in Glasgow ( at the Glasgow Nautical College) and there were never more than a dozen people at any one time, for some of the exams there was only myself and one other.
So if you're really desperate check it out, there is a travel-inn about 10 yards from the college !!!