CPL/ME/IR/MCC

[weedman1990]

How you doing folks,
I've looked around on this forum for a while now and cant find anything about what FTO's are good to do CPL/ME/IR with. As a Modular Student i have thought about going with CAE Oxford to do my CPL/ME/IR/MCC but i want to see what other schools have excellent feedback from any of you guys on here.

What FTO's would you personally recommend?

Thanks

[Bealzebub]

You would have to define "good"?

Most people only have experience of the FTO's they have chosen, and therefore it is difficult to make comparisons with an organisation they haven't used.

There is in fact plenty of information on these forums of individual organisations, that should help as a part of your research.

What is it you want from a training school? Does it have to be near where you live? Is cost a major factor? What do you expect after you have accomplished your training goals? Whilst there are certainly a few "red flags" out there, the majority of schools that have any reasonable history and longevity, are likely to be satisfactory within a broad spectrum of satisfaction. Those aspects that make one particular school "good" are also likely to differ from one person to the next.

If you narrow down the criteria that is important to you, then you should be able to arrive at a manageable number of potential FTO's that are then worthy of a visit, so that you can get a feel of the place and talk to people who are training there.

[Cows getting bigger]

Assuming you're wanting to stay relatively close to home (London?) have a look at:

Stapleford Flight Centre
Booker Aviation
Flying Time

There's many more but the three I have quoted are a good start.

[Jwscud]

In the south Professional Air Training in Bournemouth and Airways in Exeter are both highly and regularly recommended on here.

[Parson]

Find out as much info you can about all potential schools including opinions from previous students if possible. Make a shortlist of no more and than three and go and visit them. Make the most of your visits and find out as much as you can and make sure all your questions are answered.

You should then be in a position to make an informed choice.

Note - location should be relatively low on your priority list for such an important investment. I tried to commute an hour each way and was very difficult so ended up staying local.

[grafity]

Highly recommend Diamond Flight Academy, Kalmar, Sweden. Excellent course, well run, good price and fast.

[weedman1990]

@Grafity

I'll look in to them mate. Amazing blog by the way, cant wait until i go!!

[grafity]

Cheers bud. Just to add about the DFA, the prices quoted are what you pay. Also, if you're concerned about not coming out with a UkCAA license, under EASA land, any EASAland examiner can now conduct skills test for the purpose of license issue, in any EASAland country. In other words, if you train here you can still apply to the UK for a CAA license.

[weedman1990]

@Grafity Thanks for the info

Hi peeps,

I know this is off topic but I am looking to do upset recovery training is well but i cannot decide if its better to do it before CPL or after the CPL/ME/IR/MCC?

I have been recommended a few places to do it such as: Aviation Performance Solutions (APS) (http://www.apstraining.com)

They provide:
2-Day Basic Upset Recovery Training (http://apstraining.com/upset-recovery-training/on-aircraft-courses/basic-upset-recovery/)
3-Day Standard Emergency Maneuver Training (http://apstraining.com/upset-recovery-training/on-aircraft-courses/basic-upset-recovery/)
3-Day Professional Pilot Upset Recovery Training (http://apstraining.com/upset-recovery-training/on-aircraft-courses/basic-upset-recovery/)
4-Day Enhanced Emergency Maneuver Training (http://apstraining.com/upset-recovery-training/on-aircraft-courses/basic-upset-recovery/)
which is done at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Their prices are on the website.

Chandler Air Services in Phoenix also provide Upset Recovery Training but its a short course for a much cheaper price then APS. What is the difference with the full and short courses?

Is there anyone who can recommend a place in the UK or shall I do it in Phoenix while I am there. Just saves me going back to Phoenix if i decide to do it there.


Thanks

[RedBullGaveMeWings]

I guess you will need a M-1 visa if you want to attend a course. Maybe this is not the case as you would not receive a rating or licence after the course?

[weedman1990]

Hmm good point. Well I just emailed Chandler Air Service and they said that I don't need a Visa or a TSA clearance to do the course.

Now its just deciding whether to do the Upset Recovery Training while im there. Also I need to decide between Chandler Air Services and APS (which I heard that they're excellent).

[weedman1990]

Hey Guys,

Has anybody had any recent experiences with Booker Aviation or heard anything about their CPL/ME/II courses from past students? They seem like a they have a good reputation and are value for money.

Would be very much appreciated.

[pilotman330]

Dear Weedman!

This might be of interest: http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/518284-booker-aviation-opinions.html

[weedman1990]

Thanks for that MR Pilotman330

[weedman1990]

Hey guys,

I have narrowed down my choices now for the CPL/ME/IR to Stapleford and Diamond Flight Academy. Just need to decide between them now and find out what will be better for me.

Stapleford is literally 20 mins drive from me which is very local and they are asking for around £25,482 for CPL/ME/IR and that includes all additional costs, flight tests and licensing fees. That's also including the ME/IR being done in the DA42 instead of the Seneca for the ME. I did my PPL there so I know how the instructors are like and also that they have a very good reputation.

Diamond is all the way up in Sweden and I have converted it too approx £21,000 which includes accommodation, all additional costs and flight tests. The only thing that needs to be budgeted for is the food and flights. I've heard a lot of good things about these guys too and plus they do all the flying in the DA42 from day 1 which is a good thing such as logging multi-engine hours. I also like the international route training that they provide with the course.

Its got me thinking if I should stay with Stapleford or go to Sweden for a few months and do all the training there. Also with Stapleford I have to travel to other airports that have VOR, NDB and ILS approaches as Stapleford is not fully equipped besides having the LAM VOR at the end of the runway. This is not so with Diamond in Sweden as the airport is fully equipped with all types of approaches. Also I think that if I do go to Sweden I might end up paying the same amount of money as Stapleford before the MCC.

Im totally confused about it all.

What do you guys think?

[XanderFly]

What about Aerodynamics Malaga in Spain? The majority off the reviews I have read is excellent. CPL/ME/IR is around 20.000 euro, accommodation excluded. MCC is 2.250 euro. And there is a 'good weather factor'.

[gpiper]

Florida Institute of Technology --> Florida Institute of Technology (http://www.fitaviation.com/)

They currently offer EASA training, you can't go wrong with them, plenty of history and tradition.

[weedman1990]

Thanks for the help guys but that wasn't what I was asking. I was asking on opinions about the choice between Stapleford Flight Centre and Diamond Flight Academy. I've compared them both and I'm still stuck on deciding who to go for so I was wondering what everyone else thinks about this??

[gpiper]

Both schools are good. It all comes down on how much you
Want to spend, consider living expenses, travel costs.

As far as I am aware of, diamond flight academy is new but very well known for their high quality training, and their accom is near the airfield.

On the other hand Stapleford has a great reputation and experience, and its only 20 mins drive from your home but its more expensive than Diamond...

I would choose Stapleford if I were you

[krazyJetGirl]

Hi,
Im thinking about going to DFA, but im unsure. Habe you been there? If so, what is it like? Also with the EASA licence, you can get the skills test by a CAA EASA approved examinar so you don't have to convert to a uk licence. Is that right? Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[gpiper]

krazyJetGirl

If I were you I would stick to UK training providers as there are still FTOs who offer both cheap but also top of the class training,

Stableford is well known and offers top of tha class training but you can't call them cheap once you compare them with other modular providers.

Check out Aeros in Coventry, PAT and BCFT in Bournemouth and Flying Time Aviation in Brighton. If you want to do your training outisde the uk, Dfa is good but also some other schools in the USA who now offer EASA approved training.

;)

[krazyJetGirl]

Thanks, I did my atpls with Bcft in bournemouth. I just wanted a different experience and a change from the usual day to day routine with the ground school.
USA is not somewhere I want to go, I want to keep my training in Europe mostly if I can help it. DFA offer easa approved training so I won't have to convert or anything which is good, and they offer and international route course which gives experience flying to different places.
Still on the edge, only time will tell where I'll end up. Thanks for the help :-)
K :ok: