FTO CAA Registration
 

Hi All

Im well underway with my PPL training and have made a substantial dint in ground school, thanks to what seems to be an unending torrent of depressingly poor (yet predictable) weather. I fly from a very nice small and local school with only 2 aircraft and 1 instructor. Im just wondering if the is any way of checking the credentials of the FTO to which I am handing over substantial amounts of money to? I have thoroughly trawled through PPRuNe, other forums and the incredibly badly organised CAA 'website'. Surely there is a database out there similar to G-INFO which tells me everything is hunky-dory and nothing to worry about or indeed distract me from the wonderful Air Law & Meteorology - god forbid!

Cheers
Ryan

If the link doesnt work, then google 'standards document 30'

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/PLD%20S...ument30v30.pdf

Well, you pay after each flight, don't you, so even if the school does go bust (which isn't something the CAA would know anything about anyway) your only problem is getting the adminstrators/receivers/liquidators to pass your training records to your new school. Which they may or may not be the remotest bit interested in helping you with, particularly if nobody is paying them to do it.

You have, after all, heeded the advice repeated, here and elsewhere, ad nauseam, not to pay up front, haven't you.

Read the note headed "Finance" in the document referenced above.

If I wanted to know about the financial position of an RF or FTO, I would simply go to the Companies House and take a look at the records there.

Companies House

The chances are you are at a Registered Facility not an FTO. There is no requirement for Registered Facilities to provide any financial information to be registered.

Thanks for the help folks.... to answer Gertrude's question; I pay as I go and pay cash for each lesson as the hour is added to my logbook. Have no qualms about my FTO/School/Instructor at all. Everything is very nice and friendly but no harm making sure as in this industry when **** hits the fan there's not much you can do!
Thanks again.