British Airways Future Pilot Programme.
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Lincoln, UK
Age: 31
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Panic over, found the certs in an envelope that says 'GCSE Certificates' on it, how could I have missed that?! Time to get reading and researching ready for selection day!
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: IRL
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Quick Q about the FTE assessment day,
It says on the email 8:30 to 15:30.......for my assessment fee do I get a free lunch?? or is there a good place nearby that any of you could recommend?? also is there a chance that we cud be finished before 15:30??
It says on the email 8:30 to 15:30.......for my assessment fee do I get a free lunch?? or is there a good place nearby that any of you could recommend?? also is there a chance that we cud be finished before 15:30??
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Scotland
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Off to OAA next week for assessment, been a long time since I looked at any maths/physics, any advice on level required. Is it basic calculations and compass test.
Many thanks in advance.
Many thanks in advance.
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Glasgow
Age: 40
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Junio, yes, I should think so. Tell them when you get there that you want an early finish and they'll probably let you leave about 0835.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Northern Ireland
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A general query:
I am aware B.A. require B,B,C minimum A Level grades; if one achieved A,C,D for instance, would this be equivalent and meet the entry requirement?
Thank you in advance!
I am aware B.A. require B,B,C minimum A Level grades; if one achieved A,C,D for instance, would this be equivalent and meet the entry requirement?
Thank you in advance!
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Cornwall
Age: 34
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NathanJohnston,
I've read some of your posts before; and I believe you're still doing A-levels, correct me if i'm wrong though! Do as best you can in them mate, otherwise, you'll end up regretting everything you did in your last 2 years at school... like myself! Aim for AAA
! Otherwise, you'll have to miss out on fantastic opportunities like this... until you have a degree of course! Good luck!
I've read some of your posts before; and I believe you're still doing A-levels, correct me if i'm wrong though! Do as best you can in them mate, otherwise, you'll end up regretting everything you did in your last 2 years at school... like myself! Aim for AAA
! Otherwise, you'll have to miss out on fantastic opportunities like this... until you have a degree of course! Good luck!
Last edited by FlyVeryHigh-; 9th Jan 2014 at 07:58. Reason: Spelling Error
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Hungary
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Hi
I can confirm, that it is enough to provide the UK NARIC certifications after the assessment day. I sent an e-mail to BA whether it is enough or not, and they replied it is enough to provide them after the assessment day.
I can confirm, that it is enough to provide the UK NARIC certifications after the assessment day. I sent an e-mail to BA whether it is enough or not, and they replied it is enough to provide them after the assessment day.
Join Date: Dec 2013
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Nerves are starting to set in now, 
Hopefully the 13th is a lucky day for me
Is the center in Hounslow easy to get to, had a look on google maps and it appears to be off the main road quite a bit, is it all clearly signposted???
Hopefully the 13th is a lucky day for me Is the center in Hounslow easy to get to, had a look on google maps and it appears to be off the main road quite a bit, is it all clearly signposted???
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Northern Ireland
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Your encouragement is very much appreciated FlyVeryHigh! I certainly will! I have flew solo after my 16th birthday (C152) and obtained my PPL one day after my 17th birthday. So I will look forward to this coming November! Once again your encouragement very much valued, every success to you also!
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: UK
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Hi Junio, good luck on Monday.
The easiest way to get there is take the tube to Hounslow Central, 5 minute walk. Exit the station and turn right (under the bridge), walk 2 or 3 hundred yards, and you'll see Clovelly Road on the left which leads to the Civic Centre. It's the road with loads of purple signs.......you can't miss it. Go throughout the car park and it's the first building, entrance 'Lampton Park Conference Centre', with a small sign next to it saying 'Flight Training Europe'. It's very easy to find.
The easiest way to get there is take the tube to Hounslow Central, 5 minute walk. Exit the station and turn right (under the bridge), walk 2 or 3 hundred yards, and you'll see Clovelly Road on the left which leads to the Civic Centre. It's the road with loads of purple signs.......you can't miss it. Go throughout the car park and it's the first building, entrance 'Lampton Park Conference Centre', with a small sign next to it saying 'Flight Training Europe'. It's very easy to find.
Last edited by 123breath; 11th Jan 2014 at 09:58. Reason: Grammar
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Amateur Experience At OAA
Complete waste of time/effort/money at OAA. A lot of the staff lacking in professionalism and basic manners.
Some of the many failings of the day:
- Interview: Captain from BA completely not aligned with the target audience of the programme. Supposed to be open to "people with little or no flying experience". Soon as he figured I had not taken a flying lesson he wasn't interested and continued to bring this up through the rest of the interview. Both interviewers did not introduce what their roles were so I had to stop and ask before the first question. Arrogant and patronising tone of captain was a reoccurring theme throughout the 45 mins. This guy was clearly lacking in life skills and an appreciation of anyone who has a background in anything other than flying. Why send someone old school like this along if you are looking to change your recruitment policy and bring in people with other life experience?
- OAA Staff: Guy that runs the show comes into room looking for feedback in front of all other applicants in the middle of the process. Yes I'm sure that's the best way to get open and honest feedback. Dear oh dear.....get a grip.
Ladies that were running the day were pleasant enough but the explanations before the tests etc. were amateur hour and no clear guidance on timings. They also spent a lot of time talking about how bad CTC/Jerez are. Funny thing was-right behind her work men were patching up and relaying the hut style/portakabin roof above a class that was going on for future pilots. I wouldn't be too proud of the facility- It's a bit of a dingy place to be honest. A lot of the day was spent hanging around doing nothing. Thank god I didn't waste two days annual leave on it as I understand that was the format last year.
- Testing: Maths/Physics test covering all things learned and fully tested about 10 years ago at high school. Why not just look at exam results? Clearly OAA/BA thinks it knows better than Her Majesty's Inspectors. Numeracy test is fair enough and I understand they need to rank people but is that the best they can do??? Also why do the 225 question personality profile on that day and make it sound like a time constrained challenge? Sounds like they needed to plug some things in to justify taking people out of work for the day and charging £250.
- Competency interview was embarrassing- HR (further reinforcing the stereotype label of Human Remains/Hardly Relevant) person was looking for what appeared to be part-time job type examples (e.g. Customer Service- whilst flipping burgers at Burger King I burned a bun. The customer complained and I arranged a fresh whopper and free side of fries- clap clap well done you can be a pilot now).. As soon as you mentioned anything remotely business orientated she didn't have a clue and/or wasn't interested. It had to be on her level of understanding/mental capacity it seemed.
Overall I thought the day was a really poor reflection on OAA and BA. Would be hilarious if I got through now.
Best of luck to all.
Some of the many failings of the day:
- Interview: Captain from BA completely not aligned with the target audience of the programme. Supposed to be open to "people with little or no flying experience". Soon as he figured I had not taken a flying lesson he wasn't interested and continued to bring this up through the rest of the interview. Both interviewers did not introduce what their roles were so I had to stop and ask before the first question. Arrogant and patronising tone of captain was a reoccurring theme throughout the 45 mins. This guy was clearly lacking in life skills and an appreciation of anyone who has a background in anything other than flying. Why send someone old school like this along if you are looking to change your recruitment policy and bring in people with other life experience?
- OAA Staff: Guy that runs the show comes into room looking for feedback in front of all other applicants in the middle of the process. Yes I'm sure that's the best way to get open and honest feedback. Dear oh dear.....get a grip.
Ladies that were running the day were pleasant enough but the explanations before the tests etc. were amateur hour and no clear guidance on timings. They also spent a lot of time talking about how bad CTC/Jerez are. Funny thing was-right behind her work men were patching up and relaying the hut style/portakabin roof above a class that was going on for future pilots. I wouldn't be too proud of the facility- It's a bit of a dingy place to be honest. A lot of the day was spent hanging around doing nothing. Thank god I didn't waste two days annual leave on it as I understand that was the format last year.- Testing: Maths/Physics test covering all things learned and fully tested about 10 years ago at high school. Why not just look at exam results? Clearly OAA/BA thinks it knows better than Her Majesty's Inspectors. Numeracy test is fair enough and I understand they need to rank people but is that the best they can do??? Also why do the 225 question personality profile on that day and make it sound like a time constrained challenge? Sounds like they needed to plug some things in to justify taking people out of work for the day and charging £250.
- Competency interview was embarrassing- HR (further reinforcing the stereotype label of Human Remains/Hardly Relevant) person was looking for what appeared to be part-time job type examples (e.g. Customer Service- whilst flipping burgers at Burger King I burned a bun. The customer complained and I arranged a fresh whopper and free side of fries- clap clap well done you can be a pilot now).
. As soon as you mentioned anything remotely business orientated she didn't have a clue and/or wasn't interested. It had to be on her level of understanding/mental capacity it seemed.Overall I thought the day was a really poor reflection on OAA and BA. Would be hilarious if I got through now.
Best of luck to all.
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: UK
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To be honest, how could you know for certain that you want to be a pilot if you've never even had a trial lesson before? While the BA FPP is open to those with no flying experience, I'd be quite surprised if anyone made it onto the programme without at least half an hour in the air. It's not prohibitively expensive, and at least then you can say that you've done it and loved it as much as you thought you would.
I think there are several good reasons for doing the maths/physics tests. Firstly, skills deteriorate over time, and that's one of the reasons for having to apply to university within a certain time-frame (for some subjects) after having acquired the entry qualifications. Secondly, testing every candidate on the same tests establishes a level playing field; from which a much more reliable representation of everyone's current (and relative) maths and physics skills can be determined. What good reason exists for not doing that? If you're as good at each as your qualifications suggest you are then you won't have a problem. If not; my first point is reinforced. The last thing any FTO wants is to take on candidates who will need to relearn a lot of basic high school maths and physics.
I think there are several good reasons for doing the maths/physics tests. Firstly, skills deteriorate over time, and that's one of the reasons for having to apply to university within a certain time-frame (for some subjects) after having acquired the entry qualifications. Secondly, testing every candidate on the same tests establishes a level playing field; from which a much more reliable representation of everyone's current (and relative) maths and physics skills can be determined. What good reason exists for not doing that? If you're as good at each as your qualifications suggest you are then you won't have a problem. If not; my first point is reinforced. The last thing any FTO wants is to take on candidates who will need to relearn a lot of basic high school maths and physics.
Join Date: Dec 2011
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As already noted, I enjoyed the day at OAA; there was uncertainty in some areas but I approached everything positively (if pushed, my only worry coming out of the process was that I may have been too enthusiastic/ambitious in the interview). Better to repair the roof than to drip on the students, and I'm sure qualifying pilots will have to deal with worse distractions - good practice
I will not be drawn into a game of one-upmanship, but I have flight time in the (very) low three-digit range and almost everyone I chatted with on the subject had at least a couple of hours flying or gliding experience. Whilst the programme is indeed open to all, I would agree that going in with no experience at all would seem to be a distinct disadvantage and perhaps a tactical error.
One chap had flown all the way across the Atlantic to be there and held a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and another had come from Singapore. "Competitive" does not begin to cover it! Still, an experience in itself, and one which I value regardless of the outcome.
I will not be drawn into a game of one-upmanship, but I have flight time in the (very) low three-digit range and almost everyone I chatted with on the subject had at least a couple of hours flying or gliding experience. Whilst the programme is indeed open to all, I would agree that going in with no experience at all would seem to be a distinct disadvantage and perhaps a tactical error.
One chap had flown all the way across the Atlantic to be there and held a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and another had come from Singapore. "Competitive" does not begin to cover it! Still, an experience in itself, and one which I value regardless of the outcome.
Join Date: Jan 2014
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GFORC/GDA- I don't disagree that it's an advantage to have some flying experience but the guidance from BA is clear: "designed to select and train aspiring pilots, who currently have little or no flying experience".
All I'm saying is that if I had known that I would have needed to pick the "30 min flight experience" rather than the "paintballing experience" from my red letter day I probably wouldn't have bothered coming along. If that's what BA thinks sorts then men out from the boys then good luck to them.
All I'm saying is that if I had known that I would have needed to pick the "30 min flight experience" rather than the "paintballing experience" from my red letter day I probably wouldn't have bothered coming along. If that's what BA thinks sorts then men out from the boys then good luck to them.