Hey, to anybody who has recently successfully progressed through selection then congratulations & good luck for all the future training.

I'm still working my way through! Having passed Stage 2, I'm now at the same point as some other guys on this string; I'm searching for info on Stage 3 (& Stage 4 with a view to reaching this point).

I've done a lot of prep for the interview & feel confident about this. However, I'd be keen to learn:

- Typically how long the interviews last?
- Who are they with? (I currently believe it to be with a Pilot & a senior company figure).
- Do they focus on each area of questioning prior to moving onto the next or do they move back & forth?

With regard to the group exercises:

- Was it 2 group exercises that you participated in?
- Typically what is the size of the groups?
- Is there any written aspect to this?
- Do the problems set, simply differ in nature or does the team functionality change? ie. Do the teams naturally evolve during the exercises? Are there appointed roles like 'leader' etc?
- Debriefs? Is this just in the form of inclusive group discussion or is there clear direction/questioning from the assessors at this point?

If anyone can help with any of these points or are able to surrender any other related info or specific tips then that'd be great! Please contact me anyway you like.

To others who are trying to learn more about the latter stages, good luck for the rest of selection & I'll be sure to pass on anything I can learn. :ok:

To my mind any relevant information was given in the Phase 3 brief email and whoever gave your initial brief at phase 2. I.e. there's very little that you can do to prepare for the group leadership tests - this is true. In my opinion whatever anyone says here will not really give you any kind of a step up for the exercises. There's no right or wrong answer and it's down to your personality on the day to sort out what the best thing to do is - and any attempt at preparation would probably be couteractive; you'd just end up preparing yourself for what you think they want to see. However, don't leave yourself regretting your interview performance: 'simply telling us that you have an interest in flying is not enough, demonstrate it by having a good understanding of the industry that you wish to get into' - so make sure you know as much that is going on in the industry as possible. The rest, in my opinion is common sense - you can deduce from the phase 1 questions what attributes are being sought (if you didn't already know from the countless careers websites that no doubt you will have looked at in the run up to applying) so have an answer for the obvious questions arising from this. I'm no expert, but I'd imagine that this is probably good advice for industry-wide applications. It's all about taking a common sense approach to preparation, listening to CTC's relevant advice and then relying on your own nouse for the final bit. And if you can't do that, then there's no real point in applying. I wish anyone going for the wings scheme good luck - it really is worth it..

Just to kinda emulate what trainee99 said, its true there isnt a right or wrong answer criteria for the interview, you would have proven from stages 1 and 2 that you have the maturity, qualifications, level of education and aptitude required to succeed as a Pilot on such a high calibre course.

One thing I would stress is BE YOURSELF. I was constantly asking myself before the interview 'what would they want to hear' which ultimately is the wrong thing to do, if you're not yourself in the interview and get in as a result of pretending to be someone youre not, would that be a good thing in the long run? For me the selection process enabled CTC to gain a clear understanding of who I am and what I can do, but likewise, the thing alot of the applicants forget is that the selection process is a chance for YOU to assess the career of a Pilot and decide whether or not it would live up to your expectations and whether or not you have what it takes. I can only presume that if one didnt have what it took to become a Pilot, would it not be better to find out in the early stages before getting out to NZ and struggling either with the course itself, leadership qualities or social aspects of being on the course?

Try and take something from the selection process yourself, use it as a factor that could either underline your decision to become a Pilot or change your perspective of it.

With that in mind I went into Phase III and basically said 'this is me, this is what I do, this is what I have done, this is what I like doing, this is what I dont like doing, these are my faults and these are my strengths, take it or leave it' (obviously not in an arrogant way though!) I mentioned not going to University, getting into debt on my credit card when I was younger, I mentioned how I felt I could have done better on certain aspects of the previous sections of the selection process and I mentioned a few other aspects of my past and personality I would consider slightly disappointing.

having said that I would also like to say that I did mention lots of my achievements strong points and qualities, I found having a history in the ATC helped as that gave a good basis for discussion concerning my leadership abilities.

I'm not saying go in there and diss yourself or anything, nor am I trying to give some 'secret method' to passing Phase 3, as I said earlier there is no particular rules regarding passing at this stage, it is merely a general picture of the applicant and their suitability.

As I mentioned, I was brutally honest with the interviewers, and in my mind, at certain parts of the interview I was overly honest and wondered if things I had said would have a negative outcome from phase 3, but it became apparent that my honesty was respected and I passed this difficult stage.

None of this stuff I am saying is revealing any secrets or anything guys and girls, it is mentioned at phase 2 that being yourself is in itself a key quality. Be proud of your achievements and quite frankly brag about them, but let the interviewers see the real 'you', that will benefit both CTC and yourself in any decisions made from that point on.

Good luck with applying, hope to see some of you out here soon! :ok:

Hi all,

Could anyone tell me the purpose of stage 4? As in what is the chop rate and for what reasons are people chopped at this stage?

Thanks all,

Andy

Just as a guess, stage 4 is to test your ability to understand and apply instruction, and to show your ability to improve with practice.

They adjust the type of flying you do in the sim to reflect your prior experience and how well you're coping at the time. Dunno if they've changed the fundamentals of the process as it's been a while since i did it, but i had a visual departure, into imc at 500 ft, sequence of climbing/descending turns onto nominated headings, a basic configuration change by dropping gear and flaps, then radar vectored to the ils to fly the app, broke cloud at 600 ft and a low level circuit to land.

Thrown in were a few basic maths questions and things like recalling dates i'd previously said, like my brother's birthday etc whilst under the flying pressure. It's all to see how you cope with multi-tasking.

The way i did it was usually to say stand by, finish the flying segment and then when s+l tell them the answer! And i still scraped through! dunno how...........:}

Don't worry about chop rates, is it gonna help your flying?? No. Concentrate on flying smoothly and working to improve the tolerances that you fly within. You get a couple of goes at the profiles so that's your chance to make improvements. That's what they'll be looking for.

Above all, and i know how easy it is for me to say this with hindsight, but enjoy it! It's a good laugh, with excellent instructors. Have some fun :ok:

WBV

I agree with WBV, Stage 4 is an assessment of your ability to analyse your own performance as well as an opportunity to demonstrate flying aptitude. My experience was virtually identical to WBV's with similar tasks and questions in the 737 sim.

I was having so much fun, I forgot I was being assessed. When I was congratulated on passing the final stage it came as a bit of a shock because I'd forgotten that's what I was there for! The chop rate is low (compared to other stages), they have a good idea that you've got the right stuff by this point. Don't let yourself down and relax too much, but don't worry about it either. Enjoy the 73's left hand seat, it'll be a while 'til you get another chance to sit in it!

73!? I got the Kingair!

Yeah, dont relax too much, when I took phase 4 I had that attitude of 'hey I have just seen a large group of 20 people at phase 2 peel away to 2 people including me, I rule!'

The day after phase 3 I wandered into the Kingair and failed miserably, probably due to my own naive arrogance! I eventually saw it as a good opportunity to get myself into the right frame of mind and resat it with a heightened respect for phase 4.

At the end of the day it is still an assessment, and although it is fun, its probably not best to look at it as some sort of reward for passing 1, 2 and 3. You can still fail, believe me.

Not trying to be negative, as I understand it and as has already been mentioned, the chop rate is low at 4, the right attitude and the right frame of mind is essential for this stage, as it has been for the previous stages and it should still be treated with the same respect.

On a lighter note, one advantage to failing phase 4 first time was that I got to play with both the Kingair AND the 737!! HA!!

Anyway good luck all!

Phase 2
 

Hi all,

Got a phase 2 day on 14/06 just wondering if anyone else here was going ?

Also, does anyone know of the numbers invited vs numbers passing to stage 3 ?

Thanks,

Rich.

Anyone got stage two on tuesday? 7/6? I'll be down and am staying in a local hotel.

woohoo! Passed stage 2 yesterday, I don't know if any of the guys (and gal!) that were there read pprune, but if you do then I hope you did well too.

Stage 3 is on 6th July so I've got abit of time to prepare! Any advice?

You've got 15 pages of advice here mate, pretty much everything has been covered. just be yourself I can not clarify that enough.

Well done on getting through.

Cheers, do you get feedback from stage 2 even if you pass it?

Yes, you do get feedback from stage 2 no matter what your result.

I'm new to this forum, it was recommended to me by a pilot I spoke with at an airshow.

Im 17 and thinking of applying to the CTC Wings Cadet scheme once I have finished my A-levels, (currently taking the final exams), I know i cannot apply until I am 18 (August).

My question is - if (and yes i know it is a huge IF) I am successful in all stages of application, can anyone give me an approximation of how long it would be from initial application at stage 1, to succesfully being picked and going to New Zealand?

I know it may sound as if I am being very presumptuous asking this question, but please dont think im saying 'I know im going to pass, how long will it take?'.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Davedek,

From my experience, it will take a few months from intitla aplication to start date. Depends on how quickly they process the aplications and how soon you can come for the assessments.

M330

Length of time varies upon alot of factors but I believe it is common to get a reply from filling in Phase 1 questions within a month with an invite to phase 2 if successful, it is then usually about another month unitl phase 3 and phase 4 for me was the following day, I believe this is fairly common. From then, if you get offered a place, it is dependant upon your situation regarding finishing work, getting your class 1 medical etc etc.

Just to illustrate this was how it went for me...

Jan 04 applied phase 1
Feb 04 attended phase 2
March attended phase 3, then phase 4 the following day.

However I failed phase 4 but got invited back to resit after 6 months. Eventually in december I resat phase 4 and passed, but it took alot of messing about to get a medical at xmas then I had to work a month notice at work so I didnt end up leaving the UK until early march 2005

so all in all for me, 14 months, minus my 9 month delay comes to 5 months, and thats not seen as particularly speedy. I think if you really nailed it you could get it down to 3 months. But again it depends on alot of factors.

Selection happened a bit quicker for me, I got through in 40 days from stage 1 through to passing stage 4. I booked my class 1 the day I passed stage 4, passed it a month later. Faxed my certificate through that day and flew out to NZ 2.5 months after that.

I'm sure it varies depending on a lot of factors, but it all seemed pretty speedy!

Thanks a lot for the feedback, very much appreciated.

August start anyone?
 

Heya, anyone starting NZ in August time? If so, let me know.
Thanks
M330