NZQA qualified flight schools, Ardmore
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Well at least Wikipedia had the sense to pull it from the main database...
Seriously whoever wrote that (well we all do, cos its got his name on it
) needs to look at where he would like to end up in this industry...
Looks like a scam brewing to me...
Seriously whoever wrote that (well we all do, cos its got his name on it
) needs to look at where he would like to end up in this industry...Looks like a scam brewing to me...
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He's still nearby, he was always just there ad-hoc. I think you'll find that the previous owner has moved into another specific training field and one of the employees has taken the business over. Nothing too sinister just a shuffle of the decks. New building etc. Nothing stays the same for ever
Join Date: Aug 2010
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mattyj, calling what's happened at EFTL a mild shuffling of the deck is like saying the Titanic was merely a runabout that bumped into a channell marker. The new owner was NEVER an employee, and from others accounts it was anything but a smooth transition.
Moving to a new building and making things look all new and shiny doesn't mean the quality of service will be good.
Things do change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Unfortunately I fear the latter is the case.
Moving to a new building and making things look all new and shiny doesn't mean the quality of service will be good.
Things do change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Unfortunately I fear the latter is the case.
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Yup unfortunately the AAC Cirrus is gone
But on that note AAC now is NZQA qualified, through their offshoot the New Zealand College of Aviation.
That Eagle fleet list is the biggest load of cr@p I have read in a long time. I hear they are now owned by a couple of Russian gentleman now so looks like the management has changed a bit and in turn the experience of the guys that used to run it has gone.
Not to mention "50 students" really!! Must be hard to get a booking in 3 172's in that case.
But on that note AAC now is NZQA qualified, through their offshoot the New Zealand College of Aviation.
That Eagle fleet list is the biggest load of cr@p I have read in a long time. I hear they are now owned by a couple of Russian gentleman now so looks like the management has changed a bit and in turn the experience of the guys that used to run it has gone.
Not to mention "50 students" really!! Must be hard to get a booking in 3 172's in that case.
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50 students!!!! 
Currently only 2 C172's are available (the 180hp no longer is), so with some quick maths we could work out that 50 students per year (as advertised on their website as a one year course) would equal 10,000 flying hours. Meaning each aircraft would need to be doing 5000 hours per year.... that equals 13.7 hours flying EVERY DAY!!! Now factor in weather and maintenance disruptions and it would simply never work
I know that most places will advertise "shiny side up" and every organisation will have an upside and a downside however this is simply ridiculous.
Currently only 2 C172's are available (the 180hp no longer is), so with some quick maths we could work out that 50 students per year (as advertised on their website as a one year course) would equal 10,000 flying hours. Meaning each aircraft would need to be doing 5000 hours per year.... that equals 13.7 hours flying EVERY DAY!!! Now factor in weather and maintenance disruptions and it would simply never work
I know that most places will advertise "shiny side up" and every organisation will have an upside and a downside however this is simply ridiculous.
Join Date: Jul 2010
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hi bean, i train at ardmore airfield and would like to say be careful in your decision. The cheapest solution is not always the safest with that amount of money on the line. With regards Eagle, I know of 3 students that were there for over 3 months learning to fly that never went solo or never heard them make radio calls in/out of the circuit. It has been getting alot of bad press through the aviation industry especially on the airfield, no doubt you'll hear some of it at the bar. But go and visit them all meet your potential instructors and the planes and make up your mind and definately make a trip to the bar some good times on a Friday night.
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Whatever you do don't go near Ardmore Flying School. AFS just treat you like another number, they are a sausage factory. Though do go down to the bar and ask around you'll get the best feel for who's best on the field.
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sorry long post, but bear with me...
At the risk of stating the obvious, it sounds like you have your CPL and are looking for a place to complete a Ccat. If this is the case and you are not starting from scratch.... FYI
A handy piece of information for you Bean is that AFS run a Ccat course from which they select their instructors and only AFS students are selected for this course. It provides opportunity for progression for their students, but, unfortunately means others such as yourself have even fewer options.
I have some experience at Ardmore and if we were to cut out AFS then from those that are left, my observations tell me the likes of Eagle and Airline Flying Club fall below par. AAC is a better option, the people there are friendly and helpful and if it is indeed NZQA then i'd say go for it.
AAC actually has a couple of people studying for a Ccat at the moment so you would be amongst good company.
I have to reiterate flyboy's first comment.... tomorrow's friday, do it.
A handy piece of information for you Bean is that AFS run a Ccat course from which they select their instructors and only AFS students are selected for this course. It provides opportunity for progression for their students, but, unfortunately means others such as yourself have even fewer options.
I have some experience at Ardmore and if we were to cut out AFS then from those that are left, my observations tell me the likes of Eagle and Airline Flying Club fall below par. AAC is a better option, the people there are friendly and helpful and if it is indeed NZQA then i'd say go for it.
AAC actually has a couple of people studying for a Ccat at the moment so you would be amongst good company.
I have to reiterate flyboy's first comment.... tomorrow's friday, do it.
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Well I am somewhat bias, but AAC is a good option. If like mentioned you already have a CPL and the money for a Ccat the club is a good place to do it (no student funding available as yet), and yes there are a couple of guys working though their Ccat at the moment. Also a good amount of experience and things to learn from the more experienced members also.
But if I were you, don't follow any of the 'wouldn't go near' comments, go EVERYWHERE that is an option and look at the pros and cons of all the operators, so Eagle, AFS, AAC and Airline.
But if I were you, don't follow any of the 'wouldn't go near' comments, go EVERYWHERE that is an option and look at the pros and cons of all the operators, so Eagle, AFS, AAC and Airline.
Last edited by scon; 7th Aug 2010 at 21:50.
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first of all thank you for your comments and just to add an update...
Burntheblue - "At the risk of stating the obvious, it sounds like you have your CPL and are looking for a place to complete a Ccat. If this is the case and you are not starting from scratch.... FYI"
I have 2 flights both of which were just scenic flights to see if I enjoyed it, I will be starting from scratch.
I'm heading to Ardmore after lunch today to talk to all the schools and to get prices which hopefully I can get some feedback when I post up stuff tomorrow, but I'll be heading to the bar afterwards
Burntheblue - "At the risk of stating the obvious, it sounds like you have your CPL and are looking for a place to complete a Ccat. If this is the case and you are not starting from scratch.... FYI"
I have 2 flights both of which were just scenic flights to see if I enjoyed it, I will be starting from scratch.
I'm heading to Ardmore after lunch today to talk to all the schools and to get prices which hopefully I can get some feedback when I post up stuff tomorrow, but I'll be heading to the bar afterwards
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I am biased too.
Clubs produce good instructors.....leave sausage factories to produce sausages.
I Met a B Cat from one flying school , who had 2 thousand hours, and ONE type rating, a Cessna 172! Gee whiz, great variety of experience there.!
Airline Flying Club are training several C Cats at the moment, they are an organisation that is growing quite well, must be doing something right.
Make sure you do the rounds, compare all the prices and promises, its your hard earned cash.........
beware of the glossy print, and sales talk in the industry.
Clubs produce good instructors.....leave sausage factories to produce sausages.
I Met a B Cat from one flying school , who had 2 thousand hours, and ONE type rating, a Cessna 172! Gee whiz, great variety of experience there.!
Airline Flying Club are training several C Cats at the moment, they are an organisation that is growing quite well, must be doing something right.
Make sure you do the rounds, compare all the prices and promises, its your hard earned cash.........
beware of the glossy print, and sales talk in the industry.
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Hi Guys, I did some flying with AAC (Aero Club) found them to be professional but very friendly at the same time. The only disadvantage was that they didnt have the student funding. Although Im told that they have done heaps of work toward NZQA and are very close to having this all completed including the 141 stuff
I did some C Cat training with them but unfortunately didnt compelete it(other things cropt up) I choose them because I heard through the grapevine that their C Cat training was superior. At the time I was there they had 4 full time B cat's so this made it easy to get bookings. Jason and Sandra were my instructors and yeah found them to have a wealth of knowledge, Tim and Nathan were really good too. Friendly all round crew.
As mentioned elsewhere in this post shop around! Im sure all four training organisations on Ardmore are capable of doing your training, I guess at the end of the day its the place which best suites your needs and cost, go off recommendations too.
I did some C Cat training with them but unfortunately didnt compelete it(other things cropt up) I choose them because I heard through the grapevine that their C Cat training was superior. At the time I was there they had 4 full time B cat's so this made it easy to get bookings. Jason and Sandra were my instructors and yeah found them to have a wealth of knowledge, Tim and Nathan were really good too. Friendly all round crew.
As mentioned elsewhere in this post shop around! Im sure all four training organisations on Ardmore are capable of doing your training, I guess at the end of the day its the place which best suites your needs and cost, go off recommendations too.
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Hi all,
the bar Friday night was the ideal place to go and free fries and cheap beer who could ask for more. Ok so the schools...
Ardmore Flying School was a busy place but they require full time study and I hope to continue on work part time during the course. Also they're starting dates didnt fit with my schedule, nice people there though.
Airline Flying club unfortunately don't do NZQA which is what I need.
Auckland Aero Club have a bar !! but the instructors were sound and answered all the questions that needed answering. Their prices seem reasonable too and the training is very flexible.
Eagle Flight Training was also very helpful. Their course costs are abit lower than the others, they have 3 full time A Cats and a B Cat which they said can easily be booked.
I'm abit torn between the 2. Any suggestions???
the bar Friday night was the ideal place to go and free fries and cheap beer who could ask for more. Ok so the schools...
Ardmore Flying School was a busy place but they require full time study and I hope to continue on work part time during the course. Also they're starting dates didnt fit with my schedule, nice people there though.
Airline Flying club unfortunately don't do NZQA which is what I need.
Auckland Aero Club have a bar
!! but the instructors were sound and answered all the questions that needed answering. Their prices seem reasonable too and the training is very flexible. Eagle Flight Training was also very helpful. Their course costs are abit lower than the others, they have 3 full time A Cats and a B Cat which they said can easily be booked.
I'm abit torn between the 2. Any suggestions???
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Renewal
Hello There
I posses a NZ CPL/ME IR and its been 5 years since I left NZ.
Can somebody tell me to renew the IR how many hours I am suppose to do ? Whether to do the Multi IR or Single IR ( I have the BE76 rating though) do I have to do the IR Law again?
and also I have read lots about the Ardmore schools, I infact graduated from Armore Flying school but they cannot accomadate me, so my choses are Eagle and AAC.please advice .Prefer Ardmore cos I have been there and have a place to stay since I have some contacts .
All I need to do it to renew my NZ IR again with minimum hours and money.
Thanks
I posses a NZ CPL/ME IR and its been 5 years since I left NZ.
Can somebody tell me to renew the IR how many hours I am suppose to do ? Whether to do the Multi IR or Single IR ( I have the BE76 rating though) do I have to do the IR Law again?
and also I have read lots about the Ardmore schools, I infact graduated from Armore Flying school but they cannot accomadate me, so my choses are Eagle and AAC.please advice .Prefer Ardmore cos I have been there and have a place to stay since I have some contacts .
All I need to do it to renew my NZ IR again with minimum hours and money.
Thanks
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What a load of c#$p! Its not that they can't accomodate you, they won't accomodate you. AFS has absolutely forgotten the relationship between customer and service...what a joke..if you have money to spend and they are able to do the training ..and they did your initial training too and they still can't "fit you in" then they need to be blacklisted...c'mon AFS get your act together!!!
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if you have money to spend and they are able to do the training ..and they did your initial training too and they still can't "fit you in" then they need to be blacklisted...c'mon AFS get your act together!!!
Firstly. How is that even a problem?
Secondly. Ever considered they actually could be THAT busy. Go spend a sunny afternoon at any flying school, these places run a pretty busy apron.
Finally. And completely on the contrary, id say the fact they aren't willing to take your money proves how busy they are.
JAMUP
Tricky decision, not sure if AAC are still running the Duchess ZK-SMI and if they are, whether or not they do Inst. Ratings. Or, whether they would be able to sort a SEIR in ZK-JRA or that new fangled G1000 they have there. Id say go in and have a chat with them first.
Failing that, unless there is some other secret flying school I don't know about, or Airline Flying Club now do IR's, I think your hand has been forced. Eagle run a Duchess, ZK-YES and do MEIR's.