The CTC Wings (Cadets) Thread - Part 2.
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I read in a magazine today that CTC's selection fee has dropped to just £50....I believe it used to be around the £180 mark plus £100 if you had to re-sit a phase.
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There is one I know in the holding pool awaiting that job who has been out of work over a year, and because they were not a full course student is waiting in line behind those coming through.
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Just thought I would chip in with my experiences.
I've recently passed all the selection at CTC and intend to join one of their courses in the summer. Probably July or August depending upon how much money I can put aside til then.
It's been mentioned a fair bit recently but I thought I would also recommend the book 'getaheadfortheysky dot com'. I got it, read it, absorbed the information and prepared for each stage and got through first time without much stress. It definately helped and was my ace up the sleeve.
Good luck to everyone else that goes through their selection process. It's tough, competitive, good fun (especially the sim!) and bloody worth it should you get offered a place. At least it is in my opinion.
Cheers,
Chilli.
I've recently passed all the selection at CTC and intend to join one of their courses in the summer. Probably July or August depending upon how much money I can put aside til then.
It's been mentioned a fair bit recently but I thought I would also recommend the book 'getaheadfortheysky dot com'. I got it, read it, absorbed the information and prepared for each stage and got through first time without much stress. It definately helped and was my ace up the sleeve.
Good luck to everyone else that goes through their selection process. It's tough, competitive, good fun (especially the sim!) and bloody worth it should you get offered a place. At least it is in my opinion.
Cheers,
Chilli.
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No, not true. Read the various threads (the one you're posting in for a start) and you'll see that the unsecured loan facility through HSBC has been stopped. For how long? Nobody knows. If you can source the finance elsewhere, the Wings scheme is still perfectly viable.
My guess (largely uneducated on the grand scheme of things) is that when CTC get their record of placing people within a month of the final stage of the Wings course back, the banks will be happier to lend to the cadets.
My guess (largely uneducated on the grand scheme of things) is that when CTC get their record of placing people within a month of the final stage of the Wings course back, the banks will be happier to lend to the cadets.
£75k unsecured credit for flight training isn't coming back anytime soon.
Good riddance.
WWW
Good riddance.
WWW
Yes, and long may it be cast into the archives never to return. Having to work for the money will really sort the men from the boys with regards to who really wants to become a pilot. It's been all to easy going up to a bank, asking for a lot of money for nothing and being spoon fed your integrated course.
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While I agree that a free-for-all of massive unsecured lending to get into such a volatile industry is a bad thing particularly in the current climate, I find that last comment quite insulting to those of us who have been through this particular course and worked damn hard to get in the right hand seat of a jet.
Spoon-feeding it is not.
Spoon-feeding it is not.
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Wow, someone has a little chip on their shoulder!
I do agree that those who went through the course were spoon fed. However the spoon was very large, full of sickly tasting medicine and was rammed sideways where the sun doesn't shine! Sometimes felt like that anyway......
I do agree that those who went through the course were spoon fed. However the spoon was very large, full of sickly tasting medicine and was rammed sideways where the sun doesn't shine! Sometimes felt like that anyway......
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I do agree that those who went through the course were spoon fed. However the spoon was very large, full of sickly tasting medicine and was rammed sideways where the sun doesn't shine! Sometimes felt like that anyway......
Some people are close to starting this course and spending a lot of money to do so.
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I don't believe it's fair to say that anyone doing an integrated course is spoon fed! I can tell you from experience that CTC Wings cadets have extremely high standards expected of them from day one, much higher than those required for basic licence issue. I would agree that once the finances are sorted at the start, you don't have to worry about how you will pay for the next session of hour building, or where you will find the extra cash for ground school but I can guarantee that as a CTC pilot, you will recieve the best training there is out there. There is a perfectly good thread out there (Integrated vs Modular) to bash Integrated providers if you so wish, but this thread is not here for that purpose. I do think that there is some relevance to post about finances in here though.
Chilli Corneto, I think what they were referring to there was the fact that although the results you will achieve might be way above what other training pilots achieve, it is not easy to get there! CTC work you very hard, and there is pressure all the time to achieve - and if you fail to meet standards, the pressure is applied further. Some people are not able to cope with the pressure, and the CTC way definitely does not suit everyone but it is tried, tested and will make you a very skilled and knowledgeable 220hr pilot.
Chilli Corneto, I think what they were referring to there was the fact that although the results you will achieve might be way above what other training pilots achieve, it is not easy to get there! CTC work you very hard, and there is pressure all the time to achieve - and if you fail to meet standards, the pressure is applied further. Some people are not able to cope with the pressure, and the CTC way definitely does not suit everyone but it is tried, tested and will make you a very skilled and knowledgeable 220hr pilot.
Look, I trained Modular myself and went on to be a flight instructor at an Integrated school. I have seen both sides of the fence.
It is absolutely 100% correct to say that an Integrated course spoonfeeds you where a Modular course doesn't. That is no bad thing. A large chunk of the premium you pay is for exactly that service.
Essentially on day one you hand over the cheque, pick up your uniform, get issued your books and shown to your room. You then follow the timetable, attend the right classroom, abide by the study plan, listen to your instructor, work hard and pop out of the other end with your 11 other course mates with a CPL/IR Frzn ATPL. That is spoonfeeding.
Which is great.
You can rephrase it as benefitting from consistent training with high continuity of insutruction. Or you can call it spoonfeeding. In the same way that, say, the RAF, spoonfeeds its pilots for three whole years to get them from Effects of Control 1 to A2A Live Firing 1.
At the end of the day everyone passes the same tests administered by the same examiners and flies to an indistinguishable standard. I honestly cannot tell the difference between a Modular or Integrated co-pilot when at work because there isn't one.
WWW
It is absolutely 100% correct to say that an Integrated course spoonfeeds you where a Modular course doesn't. That is no bad thing. A large chunk of the premium you pay is for exactly that service.
Essentially on day one you hand over the cheque, pick up your uniform, get issued your books and shown to your room. You then follow the timetable, attend the right classroom, abide by the study plan, listen to your instructor, work hard and pop out of the other end with your 11 other course mates with a CPL/IR Frzn ATPL. That is spoonfeeding.
Which is great.
You can rephrase it as benefitting from consistent training with high continuity of insutruction. Or you can call it spoonfeeding. In the same way that, say, the RAF, spoonfeeds its pilots for three whole years to get them from Effects of Control 1 to A2A Live Firing 1.
At the end of the day everyone passes the same tests administered by the same examiners and flies to an indistinguishable standard. I honestly cannot tell the difference between a Modular or Integrated co-pilot when at work because there isn't one.
WWW
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Chilli, I was joking. All i meant is that there is a lot to take in! Steep learning curve and all that! Even if you are spoon fed there is still a lot of eating required!!!
I was thinking of the IR......
I was thinking of the IR......
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and there is pressure all the time to achieve - and if you fail to meet standards, the pressure is applied further.
At least I am going to know what is expected of me for a change!!!
I look forward to the work. It's all I've ever wanted to do.
Chilli
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It is absolutely 100% correct to say that an Integrated course spoonfeeds you where a Modular course doesn't.
It is absolutely wrong to say that an integrated (or the CTC highly structured modular course) spoonfeeds the cadet. To follow the logic used by WWW, any degree would be considered "spoonfeeding".
I studied law at one of the top universities in the country, and when I started a course each term I would be handed a course planner which contained the required reading for the course, the lecture/ seminar and tutorial schedule etc. However, it was up to the individual student to do the reading, attend the lectures, do the work that was required to complete the course. This is not spoonfeeding; it is simply the accepted way of structuring learning at, I would suggest, the vast majority of institutions around the country.
This is exactly the same with CTC (and I would assume any other similar course). It is up to the individual concerned to work as much or as little as he or she wants to achieve the desired result. You will not be handed "the answers" on a plate. You will have to work bloody hard. You will have to be prepared to do additional reading on your own initiative, to nail any issues that you as an individual find tricky.
I personally find it incredibly insulting that a training captain with a major UK airline seems to think that integrated (or CTC) cadets have been given an easy route (compared to modular students) to gaining the little blue book. Sadly, this seems to me to be indicative of the attitude of a significant number of people within the airline industry. Hopefully, this attititude will eventually change, but I won't be holding my breath.
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You will have to be prepared to do additional reading on your own initiative, to nail any issues that you as an individual find tricky.
You're supposed to have been spoonfed, remember!!
I personally find it incredibly insulting that a training captain with a major UK airline seems to think that integrated (or CTC) cadets have been given an easy route (compared to modular students) to gaining the little blue book.
Son, try sorting out your own PPL, then hour building abroad, then finding a CPL and IR school whilst studying your ATPL at home in the evening after work. Then book your own exams, sort out all your travel and accomodation requirements and manage the finances over 18 months. Do all that without 11 other course mates for support and encouragement.
That's the NON-Spoonfeeding way of doing it.
Do you see there is a slight difference?
Its not something imagined. I'm not prejudiced either way and I know the pros and cons possibly better than anyone else as I've spent an unhealthy portion of my life on this planet moderating the never ending story that is the Modular vs Integrated debate.
Nothing wrong with spoonfeeding.
WWW
ps I'm not a training captain