FTC Africa

[PA28-161]

Hey there

Does anyone have any experience with this org?
I see from their site www.ftcafrica.com they claim to do JAA ATPL courses.

Anyone know anything about them, I'd be very grateful for the info!

Cheers

[123.45]

Hey there....

been there, done that, got the T- shirt...trust me !!! Stay away from that school when it comes to the JAA licens!!! Hour-building seems to be fine because most A/C are faily new but it is worthwhile to spend extra money on a propper course (Bristol,Oxford...) .

cheers

[Flying Boat]

I agree with you 123.45.

They are morally corrupt as well as terrible at managing a fleet. I was there for 6 months & saw people take 6+ weeks to get a PPL, 4th Nov they got their first JAR Radio examiner, even though they sold a full JAR PPL to unsuspecting victims before that!

Getting the hours you need are questionable at FTC, allegedly standing for F*** the customer & F*** the CAA!

If you need to hour build, you only need to do a simple validation, Law written, Nav & General Handling tests. This applies to all JAR CAA PPL holders wanting to fly in RSA. You can do this with any good school in RSA, they do not have to be JAR as RSA is ICAO.

Flying in RSA is good experience, but for god's sake do not go with FTC in Grand Central, unless you want to be conned and have a higher BP due to frustration.

The final descision is yours but don't pay more than you should to dubious individuals that give aviation a bad name.

Good Luck.

FB:(

[123.45]

...thank`s Flying Boat for your honest opinion ! Can`t agree with you more, also spend 6month there and my BP was rising through the roof.
Hope you found a better school now!

There you have it PA28-161 and if you want more info, can give you plenty of contact`s from people that have been conned by Find The Cash, sorry I mean FTC.

cheers

[NickGreen]

There's a bunch of us who have been to SA and got PPLs and are very happy with our experiences - we've joined a group which is at a site being built at: www.uksa.flyer.co.uk

Like minded SA PPL's with good advice and experiences that I'm sure will help. Particularly try Glynis on the link - she's the most knowledgeable person on the South African option.

I do not know FTC personally, but I heard other stories. I was lucky to find a school and club that made my 4 weeks in SA more than just an exercise in gaining a flying licence - I've been back several times since because of that.

[Flying Boat]

NG

I agree with you, I love RSA but FTC in Grand Central is definately a NO NO.

Tell us who you flew with.

I know CFA at Grand Central is good, plus I have heard good reports from other schools/clubs in RSA.

If someone wants to get an SAA PPL I say go for it, just not FTC.

FB

[PA28-161]

Thanks 123.45, FB & NG for the posts.
Always wanted to go to RSA, never been yet, certainly dont want to wind up in an establishment that doesnt suit....and as my instructor always said, the best way to find out about a flying school, is talk to people who've been there!

Cheers!
PA28

[likair]

Has anyone trained at Flight Training Centre George, situated at George City, using George Airport? Any experiences?

They give JAR Training too although they stated that at this stage they can only offer the South African ICAO PPL.

Any hints?What was the training like?

Thanks

Their website URL is :- FTC GEORGE (http://www.flighttraining.co.za)

[Skaz]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned 43 Airschool in Port Alfred yet.
Did my training there, pretty good place. As with a lot of other schools, it is a bussiness and as such they do want your cash, but all in all a very good school.

[PA28-161]

Yeah? Seen 43 advertised in FLYER. Thought about going to Cape Flying Services....a flight in a DC-3 would be worth it?

PA28

[Petes Dragon]

For those interested, some other options include:

Progress Flight Center outside Port Elizabeth: As far as I know, they are also JAA approved for some of their courses. Provide full board and excellent facilities with good standard of training. Good aircraft equipment as well. Close to PE, so IF (decent ILS) is easy.

Blue Chip Aviation at Wonderboom, Pretoria. Last I heard, they were trying to achieve JAA accreditation, but whether they have done so, I am not sure. Standardised fleet of 10 or so C172's, all in good nick. Also provide accommodation. Wonderboom lying close enough to the big centers for decent IF training, is also far enough from JNB to be able to sneak out under the TMA.

Algoa Flying Club at Port Elizabeth Airport. This is one of the small jewels in training. They have good instructors and facilities, aircraft are well maintained and they also help with finding accommodation and transport (bicycle).

43 Air School at Port Alfred (now owned by NAC). The full monty here. Full board and structured training system allows for 0-Comm under supervised conditions.

Leo Air at Nelspruit. Small outfit with excellent standards. Also provide advanced training such as aerobatics and helicopter training in the Lowveld. Provides accommodation in a

Good Hope Flying School at Cape Town International. Good facilities and reputation for high standards. Unsure on accommodation and so on, but if you do it from now till end of march, you can sleep on the beach....

Depending on what you want to do outside of training time, there is something for everybody....

[centre]

I went out from England recently and did my PPL at FTC and had a really good experience. The instructors are very good and I had a good, cheap time in the sun. And the JAR PPL from FTC in South Africa is very well recognised over here. So, from my experience, FTC is not a bad place at all.:confused:

[skyer]

I've heard loads of stories about people going out to SA to get a JAR PPL from the numerous ones that are advertised on the the various websites, and coming back with a SA PPL and a bad view of SA flying schools.
As far as I am concerned, if you want to go out and get a license that you can use back in England, then FTC is the only place for it.
I had a good time at FTC and all guys and gals that I know who have been rate it highly.
So PA28, don't write FTC off on a couple of bad messages.

Good luck with the license!

[flutter by]

As for training in cape town

Wich of you guys out there has done their training at Delta200 or what about Cape Aero Club and Good Hope Flying CLub? any of you out there had any good OR bad experiences with any of these clubs

Wanna start my training but still deciding wich one in Cape town to use.....
any good sugestions !!!:D

[123.45]

...are you getting paid by" F*** the Customer" for the nice comments about that school ??
I never said that the Instructors aren`t good but the overall customer service and the management is one of the worst I have ever experienced and the general standard rather pathetic!
There was a time when FTC was THE school to go to, but that is about four Years ago!
There is some of very good schools around.

[Flying Boat]

Skyer,

I see you are newer than me to PP.

I know the owner asks students to post in his favour.

Don't trust any of the promises from the top.

I have recently met over 15 former students from the said, dubious, 'good school', who all had bad stories about the 'gang'.

My advice to all Wannabes is avoid GC like the plague, until they sort themselves out. The fact that many instructors want to leave, the better ones first was my impression, is testament to the status of the quality of this service company. Several departed whilst I was there.

We are all customers and not inferior plebs to be messed around.

To use a quote from 1 member of staff," Once they have your money, they don't 'care'." I use the word care to describe the general meaning of the words used.

To be fair they should be given a second chance, but only after they sort themselves out. They way they are, this will take 1 to 2 years. We are on a limited budget which is why we consider RSA.

The people at the top have enough funds to survive without we European victims for up to 2 years. Then we should give them a second chance.

Good luck in your future aviation exploits.

:D

[OSZ]

I'll be honest in admitting that I haven't fown with anyone else but with 300 hours behind me I have loved almost every minute of my trianing with FTC. The bits I haven't liked do not relate to actually flying.

The instructors are the schools finest asset. What ever other problems may arise, you know that every minute you are in the air will count. I even took a joy ride with one of the instructors who was doing an acceptance flight, I learnt lot just from that and I wasn't paying for it.

I flew with them in 1998 to get an SA PPL and then joined them again last year after doing my ATPL exams distance learning through Atlantic.

I have earnt my CPL and my Insructors Rating (JAR) with them.

Now I will not sit here and say that the last 6 months out there was all plain sailing. Anyone who was out there this year will tell you that the school has had problems, not least with the accomodation. Through it all the school want people to get through whether they be fun PPLs or serious Career Pilots.

The "new" piper aircraft as they are called are only two years old I have am privaledged to have the delivery flight of one of them in my logbook as PIC. The rest of the fleet i probably what would be expected with PA28s and C172s. They have 2 Arrows (for CPL) and 2 twins.

The key to "surviving" is to stand up for yourself and keep on top of the situation you find yourself in. For a smallish school you can, at the en of the day, have a beer with the school's Owner. How many schools can say that.

[Flying Boat]

OSZ

I agree their instructors, generally are very good, but the free learning experiences can be had at most schools & clubs if you are in the right place at the right time.

When you are a paying customer, offered a 'package' so you can devote 100% of your efforts to studying an intense course, you should not need to "stand up for yourself" if the organisation was correctly and honestly run.

Are the twins flying again or still tech?
As well as about 5 singles, when I departed.

Did you get your visa to start work with them, or still waiting? If so well done & good luck!

Socially the owner is very pleasant but I wouldn't trust him ever again, an excellent salesman! I am sure Nick Leeson, the rogue trader that brought about the collapse of Bearings was nice to have a beer with too.

This is my opinion based on my experiences, but as we were taught by FTC instructors, if you go through any bad flying experience (normally meaning weather) you should warn others so that they don't experience the same misfortunes as you.

Good Luck.

[Oscar]

123.45 seems to be a mega whinger!! have you had a go directly at them if you have a real gripe?

[sk8erboi]

Well from a JAR point of view I wouldn't now touch them with a barge pole. Have heard they have sacked their best 2 JAR instructors, one of whom was in charge of the JAR programme. That now leaves a few new instructors who apparently don't have work permits and the few other Jar ones are tied up with african licences. This has come first hand from a mate over there. That together with what they say regarding availability, arriving and no one knowing you are coming and management being economical with the truth regarding validations would stop me going there. Too many people have slated the place for me to trust it. I know my mate is coming home very soon unless things improve drastically.

[4HolerPoler]

Once again I would draw your attention to the RED warning at the bottom of this page.

Decide for yourself the relative merit of validity of the point-of-view of a FNG virgin post.

4HP

[Oscar]

sk8

what did they sack their 2 best instructors for? seems a damn silly thing to do!

everyone says the instruction is great, so something must be ok. what are payscales like? and what's staff turnover like?

and what do they say about validations that's wrong? are they deliberate lies, or sales staff not trained properly?

does it look like things could come right in the future?

[African Drunk]

What where the names of sacked guys?

[Flying Boat]

SK8y
Nice to see you here.

Oscar
I suggest you telephone them & ask the reasons!
The owner is Sue Happy, so we won't give him the chance (even though he has never apparently pursued a threat).

STAFF TURNOVER HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY HIGH OVER THE LAST MONTHS! Any management college could use this group of "workers" as a case study for poor management.
Professional managers would be horrified. I am qualified.

I learned of this today.
To be fair, allegedly, the 2 were O'O'O'(English slang).

The Ground School is nothing to shout about, they do not have the people and especially the facilities, (with support from the top) to reach the desired standard, even the SA Coms students were dissatisfied last year.
Many flying instructors were good but some were very poor in the people relations dept. especially when it came to more experienced & more mature pilots.

Not sure about the valies topic but most overseas visitors arrive with (how can I be fair?) a suitcase full of false promisses from THE TOP!
An example is the JAR ATPL GS Students, last year, all arrived with the informed idea of sitting the first 7 subjects' exams in RSA, not so.

Yes it could get better if the present owners became passive & paid a good professional manager to provide a professional service & not view students as a commodity.

AD sorry won't say.

4HP I respect your position & your experience but I hope with this subject you are a virgin too. I would not wish this subject, the plagues of Egypt would be easier to deal with, on anyone.

Have a happy flying life.

[Oscar]

Flying boat's vendetta gets me down. I can't go too wrong if I go to SA, get a SA PPL at a good school, and go to FTC for JAR PPL exams and skills test.

That will give me a chance to make up my own mind. They tell me SA has the best flying in the world, and I'm not missing it!

AD said it for me. The place is cheap, but also good. FB's mission is to create as much damage for FTC as he can. Who does he work for?

And why knock SA as well?

[sk8erboi]

What is your motivation Oscar? Have you been there, you seem terribly well informed for an outsider!!??

[Flying Boat]

Oscar

You have said the first sensible thing about this subject!

"Go to SA, get an SA PPL at a good school"
Then only subject yourself to FTC with the PPL tests if you want a JAR PPL. That should be no more than 3 or 4 days if you are any good & they can plan the examiners/plane.

SA is good & I have never knocked SA in general (at the moment it is better than the UK, in my opinion), the flying is quite good, my only problem is the poor practises that add to training problems from FTC policy makers.

Seeing as you are logged 'from SA' you don't really have a choice but to "not miss it".

I was trained by FTC instructors to warn fellow pilots of inflight conditions & problems that are hazardous to life & plane.
FTC falls into this category for training organisations, I am warning student pilots of a dangerous situation. You seem to want them to fly straight into a training CB, not very friendly.

Eventually it is up to all people to make up their own minds, if after they read what I write & decide to go it is their decision.
I would not wish FTC on anyone, but I cannot stop them from making a mistake.
Avoid FTC, take a more calm route if you want to enjoy your training.

Long live Castle Lager, Boerwors & Biltong!

[Flying Boat]

Just in case you missed it:

AD said "what were the names of the sacked guys?"
Perhaps you could tell us after your cigarette?

To all reading, check the wannabe's thread, VERY Informative.

Happy flying to all!
;)

[4HolerPoler]

I think that most subscribers will understand that we cannot allow the names of anyone who has been terminated, for whatever reason, to be posted on this forum.

This what PM's & emails are for.

You guys ever hear of DF?

Use it.

4HP

[Flying Boat]

More Info,

Please check the wannabes section for new postings on this subject.

Extremely up to date info, not from me.

Apparently lost another plane.

Happy Landings!




P.S. 4HP, I did give Oscar the credit for contacting us via PM. Obviously you don't.

[African Drunk]

If anyone does know the names of the sacked guys could they pass it on to me with a private message as i heard rumour that a couple of mates where sacked. Also i heard one of the ex FTC female instructors who went downstairs was involved in a crash does anyone know any details and if she was hurt.

[Bucket]

African Drunk, help me on this one. This is the first I've heard of this; are we talking petite redhead who sounds like Black and Decker?

What details have you heard?

Keen to know.

Ta

[African Drunk]

Bucket

Heard info very much third-hand. Same girl but not 100% sure it was her as the guy who told me wasn't sure on name.

Cheers
AD

[Flying Boat]

I also know the suspected pranger.

I hope she is well.

Nice description Bucket.

The extra plane lost by FTC was MHD (apparently an UK individual with Gurlfreund & a fuel problem), the Archer. Apparently no injuries, thank god. LAR was in the workshop, delayed for some reason.

Continuing FTC info on Wannabes.

Happy flying!

[Flying Boat]

This week I have learnt of a very bad accident one of our study colleagues had.

He had a motorcycle accident just 2 weeks before going home.

He was taken to a local hospital to do whatever seriously ill people do in local SA hospitals.

The owner of FTC apparently arranged for him to be moved to a much better hospital in Pretoria, where he is still recovering.

Is my information correct? Can someone correct me?

If my info is correct, thank you to the owner for helping him!

I hope our colleague recovers back to class1 fitness quickly.

FB

[3 green's]

be careful

Two aircraft written off this year, both with instructors on board!!!

[Flying Boat]

The 2 dismissed instructors from FTC.

Apparently 1 was dismissed and the other was greatly demoted.

Lucky! To keep his job.

[Vortex Thing]

123.45 and others I hear you and say amen.

Okey dokey. FTC also been there, seen there and got the T-shirt. Let no man or women reading this be in any doubt that 123.45 is not just having a gripe he is trying to save your life.

FTC is without doubt an organization that is likely to result in you needing you life insurance. They epitomize everything that can go wrong in an organization.

They believe that admin is a place in China and attempt to prove it on a daily basis.

The story with the instructors. The senior JAR chap is indeed a nice chap and wasn't indeed sacked. Thank god he is one of the many people there that give FTC some redeeming features. He was looked, at talked at prodded and then demoted. A great shame as he was one of the few who knew what they were doing.

The state of a/c play is that the 310 is a gate guard and even the instructors wont go near it and the PA-34 is safe except when the day ends with a Y. As for 2 Arrows. MHD is toast due to FTCs ineptitude and it was indeed a fuel problem. LAR is as safe as the PA34 if you dont mind the oil pressure and gear problems.

If you want an adrelanin sport take up parachuting or bungee jumping but don't fly with FTC 'cos you don't get a parachute or a safety harness.

Yes the owner occasionaly takes people for a beer. This is because he has no friends who arent suing him. Even his wife tells him where to go.

Yes the instructors are mostly (not all) very good and very friendly. If you are at PPL level you probably know so little about flying that you won't notice how bad an experience it was. So those PPL chaps who said it was wonderful want to wind their necks in and help save aviation in SA.

Aircraft are scarce, instructors are overworked, facilites are non-existant or poor, briefings are a luxury, you even have to pay for your own fuel many times and claim it later cos they can't pay their bills!!! Accomodation comes with free rats, an electric fence that doesn't work a security guard that is unarmed and asleep 9/10 and has a lovely view over the local township full of people would love to truly welcome you to the real South Africa.

SA is lovely and places like FTC are doing a brisk trade in ruining it. JAR have been informed by no less than 17 former clients within the last 6 months that the practices at FTC are so obviously dangerous that they should not hold JAR certification.

I recommend anyone to go to SA for PPL or CPL I did my first CPL Multi IR in SA and had a great time but only because I saw enough b4 it was too late and stayed away fm FTC.

If you want to do anything go out to SA and get an SA licence or if for professional get and SA CPL/MEP/IR and then convert it to JAR in UK. In all honesty the SA exams are far easier than the JAR ones and you save having to do the 25hr JAR CPL module as you have and ICAO pro license. All you have to do in UK is a 170a and then test.

Come one some tell me I'm making it up, I have pictures I can send you if you really want to see it :)

Edited to remove some gutter language. The rest is the same as posted.

Must be that time of year - so many folk feel that they will make a stronger point if they splash their post with profanities and culturally offensive comments.

Keep it clean please.

4HP

[PA28-161]

Well, I must say this is all a real eye-opener!

[Flying Boat]

To use a legal court phrase, "I rest my case!" (For now Oscar)

To all out there, don't forget the FTC motto, 'Buyer Beware!!!!!!!!!!!'

:ok:

[mactow]

It's good to get feedback like this about some of these places, particularly as it costs such a lot of money...and you want to make the right choice..... I'm looking at doing my PPL in Port Elizabeth and I've seen from earlier threads that the Algoa Flight Centre is good, but then there is also the Airline Pilot Training Centre. Can anyone shed any good/bad light on either of these??

[centre]

haven't really been following this lately, but by reading Vortex's rant, seems to me he has a few personal issues that are further clouding his professional judgement.
This begs the question for me: what constitutes the chip on his shoulder? Perhaps he can enlighten us as to what his actual circumstance is, without resorting to regurgitating old rumours?
I for one, listen to substatiated objective criticisms. I know this is a rumour network, but let's not take the mickey, shall we? Else, how will we believe anything we read on this site?

[sk8erboi]

Centre I can only assume you are either blind or completely ignorant. Have you read all of this post? Do you have the faintest idea what you are on about? THere are past pupils telling you what the place is like and you think you know better!!!!
Look at the wanabees forum and search on the topic of FTC. And this time actually read it before you start muttering. They are a disgrace and I would implore anyone to not go near them. It is all true...rats, no security, broken/few planes, unfinished courses, few JAR instructors.
I can only hope this isn't oscar re surfacing and thinking we are as stupid as he does his customers. If so pack it in now. You do NOT want to get started on another thread. You will lose even more credibility. There is now a fair number of disgruntled ex FTC students. I for one would be willing to look into a campaign to get the JAA approval removed. Do you know they want £1000 to sit JAA exams over there??!!
Would it be possible to move this to wanabees. I feel it has a lot of relevance to that forum?

[g-baby]

I am new to this site and already sense that everyone seems to have their won agendas.
I have spoken to the UK CAA about FTC in SA. The UK CAA vet all FTC exams so the standard is right up there. The JAR school even use FTC exams.
Also the UK CAA go out for regular inspections and have recently given FTC the ATPL JAR approval. They gave this approval because FTC's planes, instructors, ground courses are all good enough for JAR.

So my advice to everyone is if they want to know something about a school, find out the best way and get hold of objective advice. Pity that pprune doesn't seem to offer any...

[Flying Boat]

g-baby it is obvious to all that you are a close friend of the gang or even one of the gang.

FTC is not worth the trip.

They have a limited number of average quality aeroplanes and too many victims needing to use them.

I witnessed the pre-CAA check farce, they were getting everything ready just before the visit. Not necessary if they were professional and honest.

The ATPL groundschool lost lessons due to the need of the instructor to do other duties, help get the paperwork and other areas, 'up to CAA scratch', prior to a visit.

The CAA only visit once a year for a short period of time & require FTC to pay for them, so there are no spot checks & the gang can cover up on each inspection.

One of the directors allegedly has friends in the CAA and it was felt amongst all there that a visit could be easily manipulated.



CAA do a spot check & really find out what they are like, or even better give the second SA approval to 43school, so we can all go to a good school, but still in SA.


:mad:

[df1]

I agree with "Flying Boat". As someone who as both flown in SA and worked under contant "review", I can appreciate how it's necessary to get ready for those "royal" visits. And why should FTC or any other organisation be different, UK, US or otherwise?

I look at it like this. If a school is certified and properly registered for a particular type of flight training, then that is just the starting point. Much more reamins to be done in terms of making it a successful and reputable business. We all look to the CAA as the almighty power whos very wish is our command. But where are they when you're constantly kept from soloing or flight testing due to maintenance issues? Where are they when your instructor is unable to fly due to some daft internal politics? Where are they when there are discrepensies on your account? I say issues rather than problems, since the latter would require CAA attention, the former is an operational concern. Customer service is essentialy what keeps organisations in business, believe it or not!

So when we hear of the likes of FTC and its shortcomings, it is likely to be something that would affect you as a customer first and pilot second. Don't be frightened to think in terms of value for money and to be critical of what you are getting out of it. Therefore, take the advice of customers, past and present, first, then the CAA second. And yes, it is important to have forums like these in PPRUNE so that people can share their experiences.

So, if the experiences in here are anything to go by, stay clear of FTC!

[g-baby]

Not very well said df1, or is that daft one?

One gets objective and correct information from the CAA. One does not get correct information from pprune.

Most people have their own agendas for posting on pprune. Many people reading pprune don't realise this and cannot give comments rightful weighting.
We all should know that many of the postings come from flying schools trying to snub the competition. This and many other reasons for people posting create a subjective and harmful environment.

Even some of the well intentioned posting are factually incorrect! So, daft one, to choose pprune as your source of information is indeed, daft.

For objectivity go to the CAA! For misinformation come to pprune.

I have gone back in the forums to read the posting by Flying Boat. You certainly have a chip on your shoulder!!

I am disheartened that what has/had the potential to become an excellent forum has been hijacked by people such as yourself...

Your original gripe about a couple of things has now turned in a crusade. From accusing FTC of a few things you are now saying that everything they do is bad!! I see a gaping hole where there should be rationality!! I can't wait to go through all the rest of your forum's and see what other gems you have given...

The problem with lying, Flying Boat, is that you have to do it very, very well or not at all. Hiding behind a forum, has made you overly verbous but not clever...Don't mistake the two...

[Flying Boat]

Not lying just warning prospective victims to beware, if you really read my postings you will see that I have not hijacked this forum and I have said to others it is eventually up to them to decide.

Your accusations of lying show all reading that you are a member of the FTC gang.

I still say the flying side of FTC was your better side and it was others that mentioned the problems of the flying, I then added my views.

It is not a crusade (not a politically correct term to use today), just observations.

When I first posted I said give you 2 years to improve, info from other postings hint that it may need 3.

Go & have a ciggy & calm down.

Improve & I'll shut up.

:ok:


............................................................ ...........................................


I can't be bothered to carry on with this old arguement being revisited over & over again, I am now going to read with interest but only reply if absolutely necessary. I've now got better things to do than play Cowboys & Indians with FTC.

g-babe, u & oscar quit & I will, unless I hear of new horrors.

[g-baby]

The argument, Flying Boat, is not about FTC, it is about objectivity and lack of it on your part.

I am not FTC, I don't smoke and I am perfectly calm about this. I have noticed that your ablitity to recall events seems to have fallen behind even your sense of logic. Please be more objective about things in future.

You see, Flying Boat, you may be a irrational, petty, generally unpleasant person. Throwing accusations around anonymously doesn't mean anything to me because I can't put them in context - I don't know the person saying them.

My point is help me and others by getting less personal about things.

[sk8erboi]

G baby

I see the rationale of your argument, unfortunately it really does fall down here. There are a lot of ex FTC customers out there who are not happy with their experience. THey may not all log on here, however those that do I believe are providing accurate, fair advice. FB was mucked around to a disgraceful extent, is it possible to share it here FB?
The point is that had I known about them I would not have gone and wasted thousands of pounds on what really is run like a nursery school, not a commercial flight training centre.The only reason I and many stay is that we have just flown for 12 hours. Believe me I saw some turn round and go back same day.
These forums are here to provide information to others in our situation, ie pursuing a career of our dreams at enormous expense. They are here to help and guide each other through the minefield that is aviation. I will therefore not apologise for speaking the truth about them. If these postings stop one person from going through what we all did then I feel the time is worth it. Remember we are all busy. If it wasn't something we feel adamant about we would have given up months ago. I hope other forum ites will back me up on this.

cheers

SK8

[African Drunk]

g-babe & oscar

I do think that you are involved with FTC as you register then only post on this one issue and you talk very unlike any PPL I have ever met. Would it not be a better idea to admit your identity and then you denials might be taken more seriously.

[Bucket]

This is one thread I have followed with some interest if only because it must be one of the longest on record. Any comments PPRUNE!

There is clearly a nucleus of contributors here who have been to FTC and experienced a level of customer service that they feel is short of their expectations. Add to that a variety of difficulties that any flight school can suffer and what you end up with is a PR nightmare for the school and a disgruntled student.

Much of what has been written here is fact though sadly expressed sometimes too emotionally. That is not the fault of the writer concerned. When one is aggrieved at poor service, emotions can often hinder what one has to say and that's ok, because we are human.

It may serve to help potential students of FTC to separate the training at FTC from the customer service. Rememeber that the UK CAA essentially does not concern itself with the latter. It's primary responsibilty is to ensure that standards and safety requirements are upheld. If the training is let down by poor service and other matters relating to accomadation that does not fall within the remit of the two responsibilites just mentioned, then that is not of any issue to the UK CAA.

Clearly, FTC has vast, vast work to do to repair the damge done by lack lustre service and all the other problems that you the reader have already read about. If it does not do this very soon then let's be clear about this; its future hangs in the balance.

I worked in customer service for many years and I one thing I learnt from that was this; people are suprisingly accomadating when problems occur as long as you tell them straight away. Moreover, do not waffle and try to cover up or side track your customers, they are not children. Finally, offer a real solutuon to the situation promptly and carry it out. This is not rocket science, its what your customers want and have a right to expect. Especially if they've come 6000 miles to part with their hard earned cash.

Folks, keep to the facts so that those reading this can know the truth. If you have had a bad experience that try to tell it warts and all and (knowing that you feel bad and that's ok) try to keep polite.