The CTC Wings (Cadets) Thread - Part 2.

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9th May 2009, 11:05

#2821 (permalink)

eoincarey

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Also, another quick question. I'm doing a little research for a friend. What are the selection/entry ratios for CTC compared to Oxford. Much has been said about CTC's 5% pass rate in selection. What's OAA's like in comparison?

P.S. Just looking for numbers here people, not a tirade viz a viz the OAA/CTC debate.

23rd May 2009, 18:53

#2822 (permalink)

michaellynas

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I heard it was about 40% for Oxford. I thought it seemed a bit high so it might be wrong. I know two people who have been/ are at Oxford, one loves it and one didn't and recommended CTC so it just depends what you want.

23rd May 2009, 19:10

#2823 (permalink)

TheBeak

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But given your mate didn't train at CTC it's a pretty worthless recommendation. I don't mean to sound arsey but it is. He may well be believing the hype......If you are going to get your money all secured and you are hell bent on an integrated course, just pick one out of the hat - I don't know anyone who has said they would recommend Oxford, I don't know anyone who has said they would recommend Cabair and I have met a few who would recommend FTE and CTC. But they don't know what the other FTOs were like. You WILL have delays because of weather, aircraft going tech, useless operations staff etc. wherever you go. There will be some good instructors and some dreadful ones. And it'll all be very annoying. And it will, as a matter of fact, all be the fault of the FTO, even the weather - after all they chose to train pilots in that location.

23rd May 2009, 20:01

#2824 (permalink)

michaellynas

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I don't want to start another debate, I'd say they've all got their good and bad points and the guy thats finished training at Oxford has been working with an airline for a few years and is just going by what he's heard from people who have trained at CTC. He still thinks Oxford is good, he just didn't like the structure of their course but my other mate loves it. The best idea is just to pick what FTOs course you think would suit you best.

23rd May 2009, 23:27

#2825 (permalink)

Bambe

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I agree with The Beak. CTC is far from perfect, but this is what the job is all about I guess.
Delays, bad weather, aircraft tech.... I have learnt to never make plans on my flying days even if the schedule tells me I'll be finished by the time.

25th May 2009, 15:05

#2826 (permalink)

cptcollins

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All I see on this CTC Cadets thread is a lot of aspiring pilots having their dreams shat on by people who didn't get in. I just read someone say "Far from perfect" (Sorry who-ever you are I know you weren't moaning), well, yes but you know, "boo-hoo" the grass will always be greener whereever you go. Delayed or not, you'll still be in a better position after 2 years with CTC than any other flying school and if being a pilot really has been a life long dream then you'll be prepared to take a few hits on the chin, moan about it subtly but deal with it. And who's this slating the DA42? I naturally assume you've never flown one before nor do you have any technical knowledge of its design or implementation because if you had your opinions would dramatically change. If you wish to comment on the Twinstar's early failures may I suggest you also research about it's current performance and maybe explain why a leading Univeristy in New Zealand, Royal Thai Air Force and our very own Royal Air Force have all recently placed multiple orders for the type?

So to all you aspiring cadets in the middle of applying or who have already got in to CTC, best of luck to you. As a cadet who's seen the best and the worst of NZ and who today sits quietly in the holding pool waiting for things to pick up (and they will pick up, this isn't the first time aviation has been ball deep in financial difficulty) I can tell you for free that the guys and girls who go through training with the right attitude by just getting on with the job in hand rather than moaning about things they can't control are the people who by far achieve the best results and get the most out of their time here.

As a little motivational boost to these people, I made a little tribute video to the UK phase of CTC training in Bournemouth. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. We all bitched in NZ, that's just life but ask any ex CTC cadet now who doesn't look back at the NZ and UK phase and say "actually yeah, that was #@$%ing awesome" Oh and any moaning at me and my (experienced) thoughts will go blissfully un-noticed, this is the first time i've been on this forum since the begining of 2007.

Last edited by cptcollins; 25th May 2009 at 15:29.

25th May 2009, 23:47

#2827 (permalink)

Zippy Monster

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Living and learning to fly in NZ is a great experience. There are many wonderful times to be had out there, on both the flying and the social front, and CTC is a great place to learn your trade. There are some negative points to the NZ side as well, however, and there's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion about them. I know some of the 'bitching' was fully justified when I was there. To be honest, I don't actually see who or what your complaint is aimed at, other than the comments about the Twin Star. Are you just bored in the hold pool or something?

Quote:

Oh and any moaning at me and my (experienced) thoughts will go blissfully un-noticed

Interesting line to take, when you've just been banging on about having 'the right attitude' in the previous paragraph. "I've had my say, and I don't care what you think." Did you not bother turning up for the CRM classes at AQC?

Hope you feel better after the rant!

26th May 2009, 06:59

#2828 (permalink)

TheBeak

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I don't really see who the Twinstar comments were aimed at either, really the only things said about the Twinstar were:

Quote:

The G1000 and the DA42 are fantastic bits of kit

and:

Quote:

With the new engines however I am sure the DA42 will be fine

With a bit of reasoning why they were perhaps not the best choice for a company that couldn't be further away from the manufacturer. The RAF are nice and close and they bought ONLY two which is not exactly the worlds biggest commitment. As for the others, they probably had a deal made with them - money talks.

So I think your other 'little rant' was unjustified. You have two eyes one mouth, exercise them in that order.

27th May 2009, 23:46

#2829 (permalink)

Kerosine

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30th May 2009, 15:24

#2830 (permalink)

one post only!

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Wow! There is preparation and then there is PREPARATION!!

30th May 2009, 15:36

#2831 (permalink)

sharpclassic

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Well, you could read all that.... or you could just turn up and not be a complete muppet and walk straight (cash dependent) into CTCs open arms.

5 years ago when they were only taking 1.5% of all initial applicants, preparation like that may have been useful but now, I really wouldn't bother!

30th May 2009, 16:38

#2832 (permalink)

Ollie23

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Sharpclassic has a point. I researched to a similar level of detail to that mentioned above, spent hours and hours preparing. Turned out I could have got away with next to nothing. A few easy personality based questions and couple of very straight forward questions about which types ezy use (which is common knowledge). This was a few months back, I get the impression it was tougher in the past, but pretty straight forward when I went through. And now you don't even have to have the sim check either!!

1st Jun 2009, 21:27

#2833 (permalink)

Viscount812

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Since when was the sim check requirement dropped then?

1st Jun 2009, 21:35

#2834 (permalink)

TheBeak

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Since a month ago and probably since they were having to reduce application fees anyway otherwise not enough people were applying and so they couldn't sell their 'wonderful' product I would imagine.

1st Jun 2009, 22:46

#2835 (permalink)

TFlexMax80

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Now come on Beaky, no-one's selling anything. You're not a customer, remember...

2nd Jun 2009, 06:29

#2836 (permalink)

TheBeak

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True, how can they get away with still saying that in todays market of FlexiCrew? Who on Earth is the customer? CTC?

2nd Jun 2009, 14:30

#2837 (permalink)

Alltheway

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CTC ATP Selection

Dear All,

I have my CTC selection in 2 weeks (ATP) and wondered if you could provide feedback on the numeracy test please?

Type of questions
Conversions needed from memory (KGS to LBS etc...)

Also, if the VOR/RMI style questions still form their computer based testing please?

Any help greatly appreciated.

2nd Jun 2009, 15:01

#2838 (permalink)

sharpclassic

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cmvidni,

Without being rude or patronising, do you know what your chances of a placement are going in via the ATP scheme?

2nd Jun 2009, 15:52

#2839 (permalink)

a320yes

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The only thing I find sometimes funny is that everyone talks about the possibilities of placement....and how many cadets are already in the pool.....when really, NO ONE is going to find a job in the near future except if you have 35k to spare, and even that is not for sure now. I´m talking about low-hour guys of course.

So what´s the point really? Why is everybody so critical about CTC and wings ATP? I just don´t see the difference of waiting at home for an interview, or waiting at home while in a holding pool that has placed 100% of its cadets over the years. It won´t give you a job anytime soon, that´s true, but things will pick up someday. The point I´m trying to make is that many people here very kindly "advise" others about the possibilities of employment, but forget that possibilities of employment are impossible anywhere right now.

2nd Jun 2009, 16:19

#2840 (permalink)

sharpclassic

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The point I'M trying to make is that CTC give preference to Wings Cadets when it comes to placements with airlines. Only when there are not enough Cadets to keep up with demand from the Airlines will ATP pilots get placed.

With a continuous stream of Cadets heading out to NZ, where will there be a gap into which a ATP pilot can be placed?