My Experince as a Part Timer
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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My Experince as a Part Timer
Just thought I would post this, this is my experience, it is not advice (well a little bit) nor requiring debate.
I have just completed a CPL / IR, first time passes, with Bonus Aviation at Cranfield. I just wanted to say that they were in my opinion fantastic, I am a part time student (modular of course), I continued to work fulltime, being located close to Cranfield, so this of course helped me make my decision on who to do the training with. Because of my need to stay working it meant that ideally I would want to fly late in the afternoons or early evenings and do what I could at the weekends. Bonus looked after me very well with instructors being more than happy to operate on these terms, most of the IR was done in the afternoons, the sim in the evenings and the CPL almost exclusively at the weekends. Toward test time for both the CPL and the IR they made sure that I had the aircraft I wanted when I needed it. The quality of the instruction I thought was top notch, as always I think you get as much from it as you yourself put in, so keep asking questions, stay on top of the learning, read the notes etc etc.
Further Jo in the office did every thing she could to get me test times and flying / sim slots to fit in around work and this was very much appreciated.
Further I would also like to sing the praises of Bristol Groundschool, this is where I did my ATPLs. For both the two week refreshers they get you working very hard but it is all worth it, they prepare you very well for the exams and make sure that you are more than ready to sit them. This was reflected in my results, first time passes.
In my opinion you could do a lot worse than use these two organisations, and probably not find many if any better.
I have just completed a CPL / IR, first time passes, with Bonus Aviation at Cranfield. I just wanted to say that they were in my opinion fantastic, I am a part time student (modular of course), I continued to work fulltime, being located close to Cranfield, so this of course helped me make my decision on who to do the training with. Because of my need to stay working it meant that ideally I would want to fly late in the afternoons or early evenings and do what I could at the weekends. Bonus looked after me very well with instructors being more than happy to operate on these terms, most of the IR was done in the afternoons, the sim in the evenings and the CPL almost exclusively at the weekends. Toward test time for both the CPL and the IR they made sure that I had the aircraft I wanted when I needed it. The quality of the instruction I thought was top notch, as always I think you get as much from it as you yourself put in, so keep asking questions, stay on top of the learning, read the notes etc etc.
Further Jo in the office did every thing she could to get me test times and flying / sim slots to fit in around work and this was very much appreciated.
Further I would also like to sing the praises of Bristol Groundschool, this is where I did my ATPLs. For both the two week refreshers they get you working very hard but it is all worth it, they prepare you very well for the exams and make sure that you are more than ready to sit them. This was reflected in my results, first time passes.
In my opinion you could do a lot worse than use these two organisations, and probably not find many if any better.
Why do it if it's not fun?
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Bournemouth
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How nice to hear good reports on PPRuNe - very pleasant change! 
Have to admit that my only interaction with Bonus was a few years ago, when I had to divert into Cranfield in bad weather in a PA18. No one at Cranfield was quite sure what to do with an aircraft with no parking brake - especially one that was going to be sitting there for a few nights until the weather cleared. Bonus talked to the airfield management, got me permission to use an area of grass that was closed for the winter, and helped me find tie-downs to secure the aircraft, no one else on the airfield seemed at all interested.
FFF
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Have to admit that my only interaction with Bonus was a few years ago, when I had to divert into Cranfield in bad weather in a PA18. No one at Cranfield was quite sure what to do with an aircraft with no parking brake - especially one that was going to be sitting there for a few nights until the weather cleared. Bonus talked to the airfield management, got me permission to use an area of grass that was closed for the winter, and helped me find tie-downs to secure the aircraft, no one else on the airfield seemed at all interested.
FFF
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I will not go into prices, they are competitive of course, but how long is a bit of string? If you are skilled and do any of the training in the minimum hrs then it is cheap, if on the other hand you are not, it is expensive.
They use PA44's, PA28's (Archers and Arras) and Tomahawks. They also have a Pitts for Aeros.
Go have a chat with em, they are friendly and you can make as much tea as you like!!!
They use PA44's, PA28's (Archers and Arras) and Tomahawks. They also have a Pitts for Aeros.
Go have a chat with em, they are friendly and you can make as much tea as you like!!!
