scroggs

As £6 said in his announcement, the Wannabes forum has seen ever-greater use over the past few years, and we felt that the time was right to sub-divide Wannabes into categories that reflect some of its most popular subjects.

However, to get the best out of this new system, we need YOU to understand what it's about and how it works. First off, if you want to talk about getting a PPL, hours building, or the finer points of some piston single or other, you're in the wrong place; go to the Private Flying forum. If you're looking to do an FI rating, go to the Flying Instructors forum. If you wish to ask a general question of professional pilots, go to Questions.

Enough of what these forums aren't for; what do we want to see you using them for?

Firstly, all these forums are for students attempting JAA licences and employment. Licences and employment in other areas of the world are catered for in the appropriate regional forums.

Pro Training EU/SA. This is the old Wannabes forum, and where you'll find threads from the past on all Wannabes topics. Essentially, it's exactly what it says on the tin: a forum to discuss professional (i.e. CPL and above) training to be carried out anywhere in the EU or South Africa. The bulk of posts will, as usual, be about training in UK, but there's a growing trend for UK (and other) students to train in SA, Spain and possibly the about-to-be-new EU countries from the old Eastern Bloc.

If you have a more general discussion point to do with professional training, this will remain the forum to post in.

Pro Training USA. For some years now, many UK and EU students have used the USA training schools to obtain some or all of their licences. This is likely to be an increasing trend, notwithstanding security and visa issues, so we've given you your own forum. Perhaps the various US schools will resist carping at each other from behind unlikely alter egos, but I doubt it. Gives us something to do and you something to laugh at. Where it gets out of hand, we will begin to expose the worst perpetrators..........

For those of you from other nations, please use your own regional forums, where they exist. For instance, HK Wannabes have their own forum within the Fragrant Harbour section, and our Antipodean friends have Dunnunda & Godzone (which may get its own Wannabes forum soon).

Sponsorship and Jobs. Pretty obvious, really, though we'd ask you to keep discussions about salaries and other terms of employment to the Terms and Endearments forum. Please remember that this is a forum for those trying to obtain their first professional flying job; experienced pilots looking to move are welcome to watch, but don't hijack the forum for your own purposes. Incidentally, this is the forum to discuss airliner Type Ratings, as TR courses are increasingly using similar selection techniques to sponsors and employers.

Groundschool. A no-brainer. OK, that's not an insult...! Please don't innundate the forum with endless 'feedback' four-choice questions; if you don't understand a subject by all means ask here, but you may want to go to your training provider or to Tech Log and pick their brains first.

Archives/FAQs. Not live yet, but if there's a thread from the past, or a new one crops up, that you think has extra and lasting value for new readers, let us know and we may incorporate it. I'll set up a sticky thread in Pro Training EU/SA for your nominations. The forum will go live when we have sufficient topics to make it worthwhile.

OK, there you go. Make the most of it.....

Scroggs