training in Western Australia

[Dozza2k]

Hi,
i am an 18 year old wannabe and since my eyes are'nt good enough to fly for the RAF, i want to fly commercially. I am very interested in the RACWA school at Jandakot. Has anyone trained there? or indeed work there? All i want to ask is what your impressions of the school are. I love Perth WA so i know that the area is just perfect. I have recieved all the company info about the school, but i would really like pupils or former pupils impressions on the place, on issues like the accomodation, selection procedure (if any!) etc. If anyone can spin me anything i would be grateful as it is going to be a large investement!!!!
Thanks
Dozza

:rolleyes:

[hoss]

Dozza2k,

Dude if you want to learn to fly in WA,rather than train down south where finding 'the first job' is difficult have a close look at places like Port Hedland,Broome,Exmouth,Carnarvon,Kalgoorlie-Boulder and increase your chances at picking up a job.

Just my thoughts,but Broome,Exmouth and Carnarvon in particular would be great places to train. I believe these places have Flying Schools and am sorry if I ruined your plans for Perth.

Best wishes, hoss:cool:

[defiant]

Hey there Dozza2k,

I started my training in perth. It was really good starting at a busy aerodrome like jandakot. It makes you more aware of controlled airspace and also traffic avoidance.

I was at the RACWA upto my 1st solo and a bit past, but then found it hard to get the same instructor regularly. So i moved to the other end of the strip with the aeroplane company and foudn them to be excellent. (finished my gfpt with them).

Then I headed to NSW and got my CPL MECIR.

But i recommend jandakot if you want to put your skills to the test! :)

Enjoy.
Defiant.

[Piston Twin]

Dozza, I would suggest that if you are interested in learning to fly, then you should take a walk along the entire strip at Jandakot and check out all the schools. Then pick one where you feel comfortable.

The smaller schools tend to be more personalised, where the bigger schools you are just another number.


The biggest thing I would say to look for is a scholl and an intructor that you feel comfortable with. And always remember that if your not happy speak up, your the one paying the instructors wages.

PT

[Azimuth]

Dozza2k check your private messages

[topend3]

whether you want to train at a big school or a small one is a personal choice, at racwa the aircraft and facilities are A1, but the service may not be as personalised, these guys are churning out pilots, your instructor will probably be flat out and maybe not have the time to devote to your individual needs, that is the advantage of smaller schools with fewer students.

main thing is to find an instructor you get along with and an environment that is what you are after.

price may also be an issue, i have seen the light and won't hire an aircraft off racwa again as they are charging more than where i presently fly...

[the wizard of auz]

Just keep in mind that jandakot is a very long strip and it has flying schools all the way along it. exmouth doesnt have a flying school anymore that I am aware of. try to avoid places that start with R, A (except the aeroplane company) and P and you should be right.

[Richo]

d2k

I learnt to fly and worked at the RACWA.

It is an excelent school with an award winning CFI and senior staff. The club has the best facilities for training and an excelent ground school. The widest selection of training aircraft and availability of any of the schools at JT.

The staff is a mixture of junior instructors who have picked up work there after completing thier training, and some of the most experianced and quallified staff on the aerodrome.

The club has its own engineering and first class maintenace facility.

It is of course a club, and the member facilities are also excelent. Very good bar and social fracilities and a restraunt in the building.

Is is, as so elequaently mentioned, a very large organisation. So it has the problems of a large organisation. Some would have you belive these are insurmountable and are the only reason not to go there, but you need to be the judge of that. One of the problems at JT is the knockers, mostly who work at other places on the field. But there are some with genuine concerns.

For that reason, I recomend that you do visit the other schools at JT as well and have a look around. There are some very good schools at JT and there are some average ones, just like everywhere really. If you are going to do tertiary (uni) study as well, look at the Curtian flying club for good rates.

All the best for your training and remember you can fly anywhere but will always be welcome at the club bar for a beer.

TE3, bit surprised about the rates. I thought RACWA had the best rates on the field, unless of course you are a member of one of the uni clubs. But nowdays I only fly (privately) for fun, and the club has two of the most fun aircraft on the field (DHC1 and DH82) for hire which sadly the uni clubs do not.

[topend3]

cheers mark,

curtin flying club is better for the rates thought yes you are right the racwa is quite competitive in their member rates...

good to see you got out of alice and back to perth...

cheers:O :O

[Serengeti]

Firstly, welcome to the flying community. Where ever you go you must remember that everyone has had to make the same decision, and thus one should never say a bad comment about the other flying schools.
I currently work at RACWA as an instructor and have done all of my training there. The posts above are 100% correct, especially Richo's. Rates are not quite as competitive anymore but the diversity of instructors at the Club is quite impressive.
A tip on how to get one-to-one instructor-student relationship at RACWA,,,,, choose an instructor that is closer to the bottom of the list as you walk in the door. Ok so they wont have the same experience, but every 10 hours the student HAS to go with a senior instructor and the secondary instructor must be at least a grade 2. The junior instructor will devote 100% time to you as they wont be as busy. Booking with them is much easier and they still have the LOVE for instructing, (by no way am I saying that other instructors have lost this).
Look up and down the strip, but RACWA only allow grade 2's to do CPL training and the amount of experience that these instructors have is enough to gain the confidence that you are getting the best training for your dollar.

If you have any questions about the club, dont hesitate to message me to get my phone number, to talk.

Good luck to where you go and enjoy the business.

By the way, who is Richo??? Would be interested to know! :)


Serengeti

[Richo]

Serengeti

You would have seen me around there lately, I have been flying in the displays of late.

I am BIG and UGLY, and did I mention I am BIG.

Say hello some time, and we will grab a beer. That goes for anyone who will remebr me from the good old days, from anywhere on the field.

[Serengeti]

Yeah asked Johnny Mac about you yesterday, and said you had worked there. And I think we have met. You borrowed a VTC or something from me.
I'll say g'day nexxt time I see ya!

CA

[MLS-12D]

hoss, probably plenty of job openings at Port Hedland, for obvious reasons!

[hoss]

Yeah fair enough,but it may be good 'character building' for him.;)

Safe flying, hoss

[Finnair]

Dozza, here is a little story about my experiences of applying for the RACWA from abroad.

I initially saw the groovy internet site and compared it with three or four others at Jandakot and must admit, I was very impressed with the facilities and the general aura surrounding the place (again based on the internet site). I e-mailed them and was quoted various prices for what I intended to do.

However, and this is where the brown stuff dispersed, when I e-mailed them again to have some literature forwarded to my then address, they discovered my nationality was NOT Australian and the fees jumped because I was an overseas student. I can specifically recall that I was going to be charged an extra $3000 just to have my visa upgraded to an international student visa. Fortunately my homework paid off and I found a school on the strip where that was not included. I got the paperwork from my school and did the visa work myself!!!

Once bitten, twice shy and hell am I glad I avoided the Scare-Oh club!!

[pa28capt]

There are many flying schools in Jandakot. The only way to determine the best one for your interests is to visit, and look at the facilities, and staff etc.

The RACWA certainly do have good facilities, well maintained aircraft, and many staff.

And the rest of the schools are just as good.

At a smaller school, like the Aviation Institute, where I work, you will have the same instructor, and learn in a more personal atmosphere in comparison to just being a number.

Our rates are competitive, drop in and say hello.

Happy Flying!!