I think you may be misguided. What is the first thing to go in an economic downturn. Maybe the private jet?

And at the end of the day, any airline offering part or full sponsorship should not be turned down. Only if you have a choice to make, having had a number of offers of sponsorship should the pros and cons be considered.

TurboJ, if you had read my previous question you would have realised that I do have 2 confirmed offers, with the potential of a third. That is why i was asking about the pros and cons.

Thanks for your opinions Adios. That aside TurboJ, if you would like to add anything with respect to what you consider the pros & cons of the aforementioned schemes, then that too would be appreciated.

Honskter - I was making a general comment - not aimed at anybody in particular.

At the end of the day it depends whether you want to fly corporate or airline - there are fundamental differences between the two including aircraft, rosters, lifestyle etc.....it entirely depends on the individual as to what suits their personal circumstances - you can make a career with NetJets, Thomas Cook, BA CitiFlyer etc....

TJ

Just for information - last year's TCA scheme does include a type rating bond. It's worth £12,000 over the first two years of employment i.e. if you finished the rating and left TCA after one year, you'd be liable for £6,000 towards the rating.

Still a deal that favours very well against the other schemes out there though.

Good luck with this year's scheme guys,

V1R :ok:

Vee One,

Oat has never mentiioned the bond, but as you say, it is much shorter than the commitment one makes elsewhere, so learning of it does not lead me to change my earlier ranking. I would not be surprised if NetJets uses a type rating bond, though Oat says nothing of that either.

TurboJ,

I think NetJets owners are less likely to suffer in a bad economy than the customers of scheduled airlines will. I would not be surprised if many of them invest in Hedge Funds to take advantage of downturns. More importantly though, they have signed a five year contract and they will pay the fees whether they fly or not. I know what I would do if I was one of them and was paying regardless.

Finally, I don't think NetJets owners are completely immune from downturns, just less so than the standard Ryanair, EasyJet, ThomsonFly or Thomas Cook customer. I doubt Warren Buffet would have bought the company for Berkshire Hathaway if it couldn't make money in both good times and lean times, as that is what he does best.

Stage 2 Aptitude test tips!
 

I have been accepted to go through for stage 2 and have been studying my butt off! :eek:( Maths - have not used algebra etc for years!) Could anyone give me some tips on what standard to expect? (ie. will there be anything like Linear Interpolation on it!!!!!!!!):{ Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

OAT Maths
 

flyingkangaroo,

I wasted hours relearning the GCSE maths syllabus before going to OAT. There's nothing really complex like calculus. If you want to score well then get into long multiplication, division, addition, subtraction and your tables. Most of the Qns are situational and it's about being able to see the 'quick route', though some you do just have to slog through working out with pen/pencil and there is a little algebra (I think... sorry been a while!).

Try the following in your head...

"Aeroplane uses 42 litres of fuel to travel 120 miles at 500mph, how far will it have flown by the time it has used 350litres?"

If you got it then you should do pretty well.

One answer (you can do it different ways but I'd recommend this)...

The 500mph bit is deliberately irrelevant so ignore it. 42 & 120 are both divisible by 6, hence 7 litres takes you 20 miles. 350 litres, would you believe it, is divisble by 7, hence 350/7 = 50 so 50 x 20 = 1000miles. Easy, as long as you've stopped and thought long enough to realise that and you know your tables.

Enjoy and good luck! (though not too much as I want minimal competition for stage 3 slots thanks ;)!). Cheers, BM

Thanks Businessman, also was the test multiple choice?

Adios,

Just to give you a source, the bond info was passed onto one of last year's successful candidates at the TCA interview stage.

flyingkangaroo,

The best place for info on what to expect during selection is OAT's forums (there's a link from their homepage). Don't worry about the maths - it's a decent level of speed and accuracy at the basic operations that'll get you a good score. It's not multiple-choice - you'll enter the answer in a box on the screen.

V1R :ok:

Thanks for the info, feeling more confident and looking forward to next week! :ok:

Just would like to find out if anyone has been schduled to head down to Oxford on the 18th of July. If so, PM me and lete gather and explore the place!

The bond only applies to direct entry pilots, not cadets.

randomair,

Have sent you a PM.

V1R

Has anyone been through stage 2 today?
 

Just wondering if anyone had their Aptitude test today, any tips as Iam due to take mine on the 18th!!!:ok: