equinox_code

hmmm. i've phoned around, and emailed loads of places, in fact, i only finished speaking to a guy at oat about an hour ago. he seemed certain that without being in a position to secure funding against a home, that i would be unable to get a loan from hsbc for over 25,000. that's what has led me to believe that ctc is my only option

Potential

To my knowledge, CTC is the only European FTO where you can get an unsecured loan to pay for your training.

equinox_code

is there anyway i can get hold of a map or some better directions?

RS999

Hi Equinox Code. Heres some directions to the CTC Crew Training Centre at Bournemouth travelling from the A31. (The A31 is to the north of Bournemouth and can be joined from the east from the M27 near Southampton, from the north via the A338 at Salisbury or from the west via the A35 at Dorchester).

Leave the A31 at the Ashley Heath roundabout and take the exit for the A338. Follow the A338 until the exit signposted for Bournemouth Airport.

At the junction turn right (onto Christchurch Road) and continue to a roundabout. Take the second exit then after about 100m turn left into Matchams Lane. Proceed up the lane and turn left into Eastern Business Park (this doesn't look at all like you're going into a business park by the way).

Follow the lane over a single track bridge and three speed bumps until you are facing the FR Aviation security barrier. (There are signs along this lane for CTC). Turn right just before the barrier until you come to a second barrier (approx 100m) with a keypad on your right hand side. Press the button marked 'CTC' and announce yourself. Drive in an CTC is in front of you on the left.

Use this link to see a location map.....

http://www.ctcaviation.com/0203.html

Hope this helps and good luck with Stage 2.

MajorYaw

My apologies. If it comes down to the full £60K unsecured, what you say is probably right. I know someone going to FTE and thought he had a similar situation but having checked, it appears he's financing it differently.

In which case, if CTC is your best case scenario, be sure to give it your best shot and be as ready as possible. Best of luck with selection.

PS Enjoy the process. It is actually very good fun.

dannyv

Hi there equinox_code

I am also going to the phase 2 assesment on the 18th, hope to see you there. I found the following site http://www.thatquiz.com/tq/practice.html?fraction very helpful for brushing up on some maths questions on fractions, long devision etc. If you need to revise techniques http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/maths/ is really helpful and explain quite well the methods you need to use (been 5 years since did A level maths, come back to earth with a bump )

equinox_code

thanks a lot for all the help, people. been revising the maths as much as possible, i can't believe how much i've forgotten! long division seems to have got harder too. to be honest, i'm not that confident about my chances, the maths will probably let me down. right now, my knowledge is barely at foundation level gcse. i used to be so good!
from what i hear, you onoly get one chance at this program, and as it's the only one that odesn't require a secured loan, i'll be completely gutted if i don't get on.

thanks again to all who replied

Potential

Equinox code,
Given that you feel that you are not up to standard on Maths, why don't you put your CTC application on hold for a while? You can always continue with it when you feel you are ready. I applied to CTC in November last year and my application is currently on hold until April 2008.

flightless_bird

I read this thread in its entirety and I found some of the stuff on here really useful for preparing for all the assessment so I thought I would give a little something back.

I recently did phase 4 and here are some tips to add to the good advice already written here: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showpos...postcount=1080

Find out more about the main instruments in a light aircraft:
- attitude indicator (AI) or articial horizon
- vertical speed indicator (VSI)
- altimeter
- airspeed indicator
- direction indicator (DI)

You don't need to know the physics behind how they work, just what they are called and how to read them. Also make sure you know are familiar with a compass rose, what 090 and 355 means for example and which way you would turn to go from one heading to the other.

And do remember to say "standby" if your flying turns to crap when you asked mental arithmetic questions. I read this in the thread but still forgot to do it and it's amazing how your flying deteriorates.

And just as an aside, you may not be in a Raytheon (formerly Beechcraft) King Air. If you have your phase 4 at Nursling then there as far as I know there are only Boeing and Airbus sims there so you will be in a B737-300.

Best of luck all.

equinox_code

i probably should have put it on hold. though i have no regrets. i blazed the aptitude. only got 1 miss on the last test. was worried for a while that i'd screwed up the shapes test, but either way, i got onto phase 3. i have to redo the maths, which is a worry. i found that a lot harder than i thought it'd be. i'd swear sometimes all of the multiple choice answers were wrong.
anyway, i'm gonna work like mad for this next phase. i've got two weeks to practice my maths and prepare for the interview. maybe it's being overconfident, but i don't see why i shouldn't get through this if i put in the work and research. the only thing i can imagine letting me down is if i still struggle with the maths, and if the pressure affects my nerves too much

equinox_code

hi again people,
my phase 3 is in 2 weeks. i've no flying experience, though i want to have a flying lesson before then as i think it will aid me to answer the interview questions more confindently. Is there any particular sort of aircraft i should be looking out for? there is somewhere very local to me that does microlight, should i go for that or would it be more worth while if i were to travel a little further afield and spend a little more money on flying a cessna152? i'm on limited funds so can only afford one lesson

PPL152

Don't get me wrong - but I have this feeling that you are somewhat rushing.

Why don't you contact CTC and tell them you would like some more time to get prepared for Phase 3?

I applied in November and have Phase 2 on hold and I am thinking to further put it on hold until I finish my degree.

As for choosing between Microlight or Cessna 152, a Cessna is more close to an "aeroplane" and is more fun in my opinion rather than a Microlight.

equinox_code

how long do you think i should put it on hold for? i'm unemployed at the moment, so all of my time is going into preparing for this phase 3. i don't want to be troublesome. i've already hassled them via email because of problems with my application. i don't want to seem like a problem case

PPL152

If you are polite and use manners, and explain to them that you sort of want to really succeed by giving yourself time to prepare well, then I do not think they will ever see you as a "problem case".

If you are going to put the application on hold, then you can probably arrange with them so that when you are fully ready, you can contact them to book another date for Phase 3.

Always ask politely though, and try to show them that the main reasons for doing so is that you want to get on this scheme, no matter what.

NB: In my opinion, giving yourself time will also enable you to be more calm during the interview - which is also very important I guess.

lewni

It is probably worth doing a lesson before you go to phase 3. I did my phase 3 last week and I failed. I have only had one introductory lesson a couple of years ago and they asked me why I had not pursued my flying career more as I am now 24 with only 1 hours experience. I think you need to come up with a very good answer to this as it stumped me a bit.

Other questions which they asked me regarding the industry are:
What is the maximum number of hours an airline pilot can fly each year?
Can you tell me about 3 recent news stories within the industry? - Do some reading on this i.e. Flight International.
Also learn the typical duties of a pilot, what they do before take off etc.

equinox_code

without wanting to sound like i'm getting people to answer questions for me, when asked why you haven't done much to persue your career as a pilot, does a good answer exist. it's the one potential question that i'm struggling to find a decent answer for

socloss

My advice to you equinox_code is to predict the questions they will ask you and as lewni said, read up on the industry etc. I only have 1 hour under my belt (trial flight in January this year on a C152) but said that I wanted to do more but that finance was the single reason I couldnt - they should have no problem with this as everyone has different outgoings and financial obligations, the key thing is that you emphasise how much you want it and that you prove to them you know it is what you want to do. For example, have you attended the Flyer Shows at Heathrow, or Farnborough Air Show or spoken to exisiting pilots and created more contacts for yourself, they like that. Speaking to existing pilots will give you an excellent insight into a typical day and will prepare you for many Qs you will be asked.

Anyway it can be done with little or no experience, do your research, read Flight International and as long as flying really is what you want to do then this should automatically come across to them in your interview.

It worked for me as I am off to NZ very soon so it will work for you if you really want it to.

Best of luck

socloss

MajorYaw

I don't want to sound like a twerp but I'd hasten to add that what you tell them must be your "truth" not someone else's. There's a lot that they can ask you within an hour, and no one on here will have had the full gamut of questions.

If you are lying or stretching the truth too far, they will be able to tell. As with all interviews, it's very ease to make a candidate sweat and then see what really lies beneath.

If this is the one shot you have at the one thing you really, really want then delay your application, make the contacts, get the information, get the experience and then you will have no problem truthfully demonstrating what you've done and what you know.

Recounting information from sources such as this, which CTC are well aware of, could blow up in your face.

One final thing: have you ever been in an assessment centre environment? Have you successfully completed teamwork assessments and do you know what's expected? This is just as important as good interview performance because if you're a guy no one wants to sit next to then you won't be getting your hands on a 737 sim.

equinox_code

i'll certainly tell the truth. there'd be nothing worse than being caught out. i'm just trying to think of the best way of saying "i've only 1 lessons worth of experience and i've done nothing else to persue this career" in a good way. i'm having real trouble with this one. like someone else mentioned earlier, i think i may put it on hold whilst i try and find an aviation show or something of similar ilke to attend. a friend of the family flies for BA. i'm going to phone him at the weekend and quiz him for a while. do you think they'd be bothered if virtually the only thing i'd done to persue a career in aviation was thoroughly prepare for the ctc selection process?

i haven't ever been in any teamwork assessments, though it is something i've been looking into. from what i gather, it's important to share my opinions without dominating conversation and make other people feel included. aside from this i don';t know all that much about what's expected.

can i put my phase 3 on hold, or do i have to specify a new date when doing this?

newbie008

no offence mate you sound young! Use some common sense, there very helpful, just ring them up explain you want to put your application on hold and I'm sure daphne will say 'when would you like to do stage 3. You answer with a date or rough estimate and hey presto stage 3 changed!! Not that hard to do