PPL a disadvantage?

[TeleMaPhone]

It is said that having a PPL when trying to get into a full time Commercial Licence course (or traineeships) is a disadvantage.... Do you agree with this statement?

[EngineOut]

I disagree very much so!

Regardless of having a PPL...

You are not 'getting into' a course like you would a job, you are going to do a course and pay your hard earned cash to do it!

Don't let anyone fool you that their 'course' is selective. They will try to make you feels that their course is the hardest to get into so you don't go looking at other flying schools. They will end up teaching you and happily take your money, so don't lose any sleep over it.

When you end up going to get anything from your first job to an airline job, the training organisation won't have any weight on the outcome, rather it is all up to how you perform, how much effort you put into your training (to get the mosy out of it) and how dedicated you are to your career, (as well as a few pieces of good timing luck along the way). If the training organisation is not up to YOUR standard, move to another; there are lots of good ones out there.

[Chimbu chuckles]

I would go so far as to suggest that ANY Flying School (or 'Aviation College' or WTF they want to call themselves) who purports a need to 'interview' you for a 'highly sort after' place in their 'Professional Pilot Training Program' should be given an EXTREMELY WIDE BIRTH!!!!

YOU are NOT competing for anything...they are COMPETING for your MONEY.

YOU SHOULD BE INTERVIEWING THEM!!!!!

The ONLY reason any organisation would suggest the a PPL earned elseware would be detrimental is because it adversely effects the amount of money they can take off YOU!!!

If I had the time I would LOVE to 'apply' to one of these places and go in there and interview them...with no mercy or quarter given!!!

God it would be fun to watch them squirm in their seats...the stunned looks on their faces as you hammer them about why they feel they deserve your (or more likely your parent's) $60K

[Eee Tee]

I wonder if this comment was in reference to another point?

CASA requires a CPL candidate to have 200 hours total time to be eligible for a CPL, UNLESS you do an integrated training course at an approved flying school that has an approved 150 hour CPL syllabus.

So, if you're not careful and do your PPL at a non-approved school you MAY have trouble being eligible for the 150 hour CPL course. You may have to fork out more $$ to aquire 200 hours. Can be expensive!

My only advice is to advise your school that you would like to be eligible for the 150 hour CPL course at the beginning of your PPL training.

Cheers.

[Hydrolix]

Would you believe that BAe in Adelaide requires private "cadets" to undergo flight grading (about 10 hours of initial flight screening) to see if they are suitable to be enrolled in the course. Yes, some people fail it and BAe tells them to go elsewhere and do not take their money (a lot). Can you believe it.

[tealady]

telemaphone, I fail to see how any flying experience can be a disadvantage. There are only so many ways you can fly an aircraft - no operator will teach you to fly their aircraft into the deck. It's codswollop that your training can't count. You must get recognition of prior learning. All flying schools MUST adhere to the same syllabus put out by CASA. oh sure, everybody has their little idiosyncrasies and favourite little dos and don'ts but, in the long run you still come out with the same qualification be it PPL or whatever. What really counts is your attitude, airmanship and adaptability. Good Luck - go get your PPL if that's what you want.

[I Fly]

Eee Tee is quite correct. Except I would say "will be" not maybe. If the school is not a RTO then you will have to pay GST for the 200 hour CPL and no GST for the 150 hour CPL. (that's common sense as produced by politicians)