I had a good laugh at the CTC representative on BBC Breakfast this morning chucking out the usual flying school propaganda pending pilot shortage spiel and advertising the Virgin MPL scheme. He omitted to mention the £109000 payment.

The only pilot shortage will be for flying instructors!

stu-baylis- Were the application essay questions found within the main application or were they sent to you after submitting the first part? I've managed to access the application page but I'm unable to find any essay questions!

Thanks

V1

They spring up after proceeding through all your previous flying experience. There is no separate tab for them though as with the other sections. IMO poor site design. :}

So anyone qualified beyond PPL level is excluded. Someone with first time passes cannot apply. An MPL & 330 rating for £110,000 :sad:

Good luck to all that apply but this is just further proof that the job of first officer has become just a matter of putting anyone in the seat whilst creating an extra income stream.

To allow a guy from CTC to go around talking about pilot shortages on BBC is also not on. This was nothing short of advertising. If there were a pilot shortage then all virgin has to do is open up recruitment offering a bonded A330 rating and they would be inundated with applications from experienced FO's.

Good luck with you MPL pilot up front when the s@#t hits the fan and he is left to sort it. Lets hope the skipper has some good handling experience.

They are getting cheap pilots and I am one of them :O

Being presumptuous, the new cadets will join as second officers/cruise pilots, no? And regardless of that fact, what does this mean for F/O's from other companies who already have a type-rating and experience looking to work for Virgin? Is that door now shut?

Still down for some?

Isn't it incredible how simply scrolling up answers most questions! And I quote: '1/ We envisage future recruitment will continue to include significant numbers of experienced pilots via our existing 3,000 hr application routes. With almost half of our pilot workforce expected to retire within the next 15 years, there will be opportunity via both the cadet route and via the conventional experienced pilot recruitment route, and we’re also looking in the longer-term to offer an intermediate programme between the two.' I apologise. I guess I've failed selection!

This is the result and reality of all these CTC schemes:

I fully understand who is going to apply and get a chance to step into his/her career dream, better do a mpl than funding a training with no guarantees at the end. What I don't get is which game the CAA is playing. Those fellows will end up flying an A330 along intercontinental route with more or less 3 real t/o and landing per month and 98% of cruise time with autopilot on. What kind of experience are going to build with that? I could accept the Flybe MPL because Flybe cadets were going to fly turboprop aircraft into :mad: weather and awful approaches and I could even partly understand the Easyjet one, still 4 legs to fly per day and a wide range of airports with different types of approach where they can build up a quite amount of skills on, but the virgin one is just a shame of a program. It's awful to say but I am awaiting the first occasion where a MPL cadet is going to prove his/her skills during an emergency situation. Said that good luck for who is going to apply.

'Please enter the earliest available date you could start training?'
How did you go about this one?

Hey there
Does anybody know when the selection days at CTC are expected to start? Will it be possible for the candidate to choose the date?
Thanks

Does anyone know if the BBVA maximum amounts have changed from previous years?

I originally understood it as the maximum they could lend is 60% of property value less mortgage. I.e. Property value £100k mortgage of £20k = £80k. Max amount (60%) then = £48?

Now, when looking at their site I can't find that statement.

InformationAlpha - I think what you see is what you get with that one!? I guess depends on your job notice period, current commitments etc... Definitley no trick to this one!

For those who have submitted their applications, how many words were required for the essay questions? I am still waiting to hear back from one of my references so I would like to make the best use of my time.

Hey everyone,

I would also like to apply for the Programme, but I'm unsure how to answer the question about driving offences. A few months ago I drove a car in Germany while exceeding the permitted alcohol limit.. Should I write this down or should I refrain from sending the application at all?

Would be grateful for any advice!

Hey guys,

It's just me or the part where they offer a guarantee to few applicants who cannot afford the bond is now missing? :confused:

You'll be alright as you mentioned it was in another country . . . :rolleyes:

Personally I would tell them about it. What's the worst that could happen? Yes They might turn your application down because you have been honest or they might see your honesty as a quality they want in a pilot working for their company and take you on. A far worse scenario would be that they accept you and you get you excited, turn your life upside down in preparation for starting the course only to find it has shown up once they perform a background check on you and see that you haven't been honest and cancel your offer?
In any job interview etc honesty is always the best policy

Good luck with the application

That's a bit harsh don't you think?

I've got some advice; don't drink and drive!