squawkident.

Hi, Has anybody got stage 3 assesment this wednesday 9th August.
If so where are you staying? Im about to book my accomodation and it would be good to meet up first especially as they are testing our team work skills.

SI

Flies-like-a-chicken

Can anybody who is currently on, or has recently finished, the CTC wings scheme give me a more detailed description of the timescales involved for each section of the scheme than is available on the CTC web site?!

Thanks,

FLAC

EGAC_Ramper

Greetings sqauwkident,

I'm actually heading to phase 3 9th Augustso will see you there.I'm flying into Southampton tomorrow on good old FlyMayBE from belfast and staying in the Dale Farmhouse.


Regards

girl friday

Flies-like-a-chicken:

if you get a PM response to your query can you post it up here, would be really interested to have a look at that.

or if anyone has a link to more detailed info?

girl friday

Pazu888

Anyone else got stage 4 this Thursday (10th)?

girl friday

19th May 2006, 13:25 #797 Mooney12 vbmenu_register("postmenu_2592046", true);
Over 150 posts! About time I clicked here and ordered a Personal Title.

Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Norwich
Posts: 162


Well aren't all you 21 year old 757 pilots great!!

I have to disagree though....whats the rush? Go to uni, have a good time, get a degree and then apply to CTC. Thats the best way in my view.

Im 23 now, have a degree (which still may come in useful down the line) and unlike the above people (busz, spaceman18 and boy) Im headed to a proper airline. Im not into any of this flying during the night business you charter boys have to put up with

Bring on the cheeseboards




- I realise that Mooney posted this some time ago, but was just wondering what people's opinions are on this? CTC seems like the best training option to actually get an airline job at the end of it, but does anyone think i/we'd be better off trying to self-fund training at somewhere like oxford (i know, i know, don't shoot me for suggesting it!) and go for a 'proper airline'?

just considering that any successful CTC cadets are pretty much tied in to the company they end up working for for 7 years, i'd be interested in how people weigh up the two options.

p.s. i appreciate that the fact that other training has to be self-funded can steer people towards CTC as the only option, just interested in people's opionions - the original comment seemed to get less response than i would have expected.

girl friday

edited to try and mark what comments are mine and what are Mooney's more clearly!

fly now

hi guys ,
I am staying in Bournemouth on the 10th..
any suggestion about cheap b&b ???
hugs

sicky

Is it just me, or are people coming across as being a bit "dis-loyal"?

I'm not trying to have a go, but personally as long as i am stable in a job and happy, then 7 years would be no time at all to stay there. In most airlines you could end up flying through the night, is that not part of the job? Obviousley, in some airlines it is, more than others.

I just don't quite get all of this "proper airline" stuff. I wouldn't be too picky unless i had trhe choice of a few offers!

Again, not trying to cause any conflict, i'm just a bit confused at people taking this stance.

Also, there are a vast range of airlines that recruit from CTC, including so called "proper airlines"

Wing_Bound_Vortex

Think the " proper airline " comment was with tongue firmly planted in cheek! It's just too easy to take the pi*s out of the charter boys, their all nighters and long gangly 757's!

Just what do you consider a proper airline would be anyhows? And Girl Friday don't worry about the whole being tied in to an airline thing, you arn't you can go where you like after 6 months, you're just a normal employee like anyone else. It all comes down to weighing up your options wrt pay and conditions at other airlines.

WBV (again with tongue firmly in cheek )

Wing_Bound_Vortex

ps.....and bring on the cheeseboards!

WBV

BitMoreRightRudder

People just to point out that no cadet is tied to an airline for 7 years. You can leave when you want, accepting that ezy or whoever won't make the bond repayments if you do, and you must then repay your loan to HSBC through taxed salary. You are not contractually obliged to stay in one airline for 7 years. Plenty of cadets have left ezy within the first year of employment.

CTC will almost certainly place you into the RHS of a jet if you pass the course, and that is the advantage of doing your training with them. Whether the airline you go to is considered a 'proper airline' by anyone else's standards doesn't really matter. You are going straight to a jet with 250hrs, and will build experience quickly at a relatively young age, meaning you are well placed to seek employment elsewhere in the future should you wish.

Any airline that operates a sizeable fleet of jets and makes a regular profit is a 'proper' airline in my book!

Good luck guys

WBV guessing you're on lates too this week mate!

PS I've given up on the cheeseboard idea

Bigaircraft

You know I did that, and I'm so glad I did, one of the best descisions I ever made and good life experience, plus the qualification of course

P.S. the fact that I worked on the deli in Tescos during that time adds to the significance of the cheeseboard

PPL152

Is it true the total costs with CTC exceeds a £100,000 ????

Thanks
PPL152

Superpilot

Factor in interest on loan, food and accomodation when on leave and loss of earnings. Yes it does.

PPL152

Ok, but initially, how much would you require to pay them? I presume the £100,000 come into play after you get into an airline right?

All I'm interested is how much it will cost from zero, to when I'm placed in an airline... if i have a job... then i'm safe...

Pazu888

You have to pay a bond of £60,000 to CTC. This normally comes from a bank loan. You then pay this back over 7 years once you have full employment with an airline. If you stay with your placement airline (eg. Easy) then you get the extra money on top of your salary to pay it back. If you go somewhere else, you pay it back from your salary.

The foundation course costs £3000-4000, which every cadet has to pay, but you get refunded money (per-hour I think) if you don't need the full-length foundation.

The living expenses (I was told at stage 2) total about £5000.

Both the foundation money and the living expenses money can also be loaned from the bank.

Therefore the only money you need to pay is for stage 2 (£160), travelling between the different selection stages, and possibly a bit when you get back to UK for the latter stages of the course.

Think that's all correct?

bjkeates

You must deposit a cash bond to CTC which is paid (usually by HSBC if you opt for their finance) in instalments. This is initially £60,000 but by the time you actually get round to start paying it back, it has gone up to £84,000 with interest. The repayments then work out at £1000/month for 7 years.

So, in answer to PPL152, let's call this bit £84,000 as that's what you'll actually be paying, whether it's directly from your salary or through the airline's repayments when you're on your (reduced) cadet salary.

So far, other costs to me have been:
Insurance - £600+
Foundation course - £4100
Class 1 medical - £302
Various trips to Bournemouth and Dibden (inc Stage 2 fee) - wrong side of £500 (and that's low compared to some people)

Accommodation is provided, including (I think) bills when living in the provided houses in Bournemouth (I'm about a year of getting to that stage yet so I don't know) but food and other living expenses are not.

I'd say it's definitely upwards of 90 grand in total, but you can't put a concrete figure on it because that depends very much on your lifestyle. One thing that is very important to remember, though, is that although it may seem a lot the debt is all manageable - far more so than in many other courses. The £60,000 bond is unsecured, meaning you won't have to go and remortgage your parents' house to pay for it like you would with some other schemes. There are no up-front payments, and HSBC take care of all that side of the finance for you once you've signed the forms. You won't start repaying it until you start working for an airline, and although people may argue that it's not true "sponsorship" because in effect you'll be paying for it through a slightly reduced salary, it's definitely the most manageable and affordable way of getting into one of the best FTOs with the best career prospects on offer.

The main concern to me was raising the money for the foundation course, for which CTC do not pay - which is pretty much the cost of a PPL. With regards to the £60k bond, it doesn't matter whether you go through CTC and their method of doing it or another FTO and take out a bank loan independently. It's going to cost you a hell of a lot of money wherever you go if you want the best prospects of a job; the main difference is the way you pay it back. If you don't like the sound of getting in nearly £100k of debt (which I will be, taking my student loan into consideration as well) then you'd be better off getting a job elsewhere, doing modular training and working your way up through the industry rather than entering on jets.

Essentially, although it's expensive, you get what you pay for.

And to those of you wondering whether or not to apply - from my experience so far, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. It's absolutely fantastic out here, the whole set-up is just absolutely top notch.

jd8

You are gonna pay for your training whatever way you do it. This way you don't have to front up the cash, but you still pay.
There are pro's and cons but I don't think anyone will complain that has got thru and is sitting in a nice shiny jet.

I missed on the sim and am in a better position financially for it, but had to do it on my own which was harder.
With only £18000 of debt now (with no interest accruing) and a good job I am not complaining.
It's not a jet yet (and yes I fly passengers) but I'll be a better pilot personally for it.

And no its not in the UK or a third world country...

p.s, It's a great scheme run by great people so good luck to ya all.

PPL152

Thanks for all replies,

The CTC scheme seems to be the best on offer as regards to job prospects. I also have a PPL with 80 hrs and more, so the foundation course, I hope would not cost me that much.

I'm entering first year Unversity studying B.Pharm next October, and the course takes 5 yrs. However I'll save as much money I can for the extras (foundation, etc) and when I've got 'em, I just go and do it if possible.

bjkeates

You have to pay the cost of the full foundation course regardless of whether you do the long or the short course; then, for those on the short course, the refund for unused time comes later. So it's still going to cost you an up-front payment of NZ$12,000 regardless of whether you have 80 hours or not.

Also, your PPL hours need to be fairly recent. Some people come out having logged 40 or 50 hours but none for a few years and take the long foundation course because the learning curve is quite intense and being on the long course helps.