European Flight Training (EFT)

[BigGrecian]

Those costs are totally for a thread on EFT rather than aviator and also out of date.
350 for the initials and 500 for the CFI.

The don't forget the 300 for the JAA Multi
Not forgetting the £712 for the JAA CPL test as well if your doing JAA!

[henriksch]

"MEI (Initial) is $400."

Unless you do it at the local FSDO.. Then it is free.

[CloudHopper321123]

Don't do it

OK guys here is the current situation at EFT:

2 full time instructors, 1 part time (although most of time the 3 are present).

Aircraft are owned and shared with Ari Ben Aviator. They are very very old and in terrible condition. By the end of today only 1 twin and 3 cessnas were flyable, and only just. The aircraft are worst I have seen, very poor condition and flown day and night, with little time allowed for servicing and upkeep. Only 1 or 2 cessnas have all navaids working.

With 3 instructors, they have almost 30 students and are due to have more in the next week. If you call they will tell you they can fit you in. Lots of students taking time off work to be here, and then going home without the license / rating that they came here for.

Also, in the last 3 weeks 2 twins (ari-ben aviator aircraft) have landed gear up. Word is that the FAA are closing in, its getting unsafe here.

I am only one person, but most of the students (at EFT at least) feel the same.

The instructors good at their job, but they have far too much students and charging too much for very bad aircraft. I could tolerate the aircraft but I would need to fly to do so! Schedule system is also the worst.

Needless to say I'm not amused

[Tommyboy735]

Yea, buddy of mine went by Aviator last week, said they had only 2 planes operating! One guy said he went flying only once in a month.

[JONNY99]

JAA

Cloudhopper I had EFT singled out as the most appealing place to train in florida/the states, where would you recommend over there?

[davey147]

If you want to train in the USA, then go to an FAA school and get your FAA licences and ratings.

At the moment I personally dont think there are many good JAA schools in the States, so I would stay away from them. There are many good FAA schools though.

If you want JAA training, then do it in JAA land!

[AlphaMale]

Jonny, I'm in the same boat.

I have looked at the hours / reviews from ex-students / cost etc and I think EFT would be my best option (mainly due to the fact I'll work there as a CFI and gaining a lot of Multi time).

With feedback that cloudhopper and tommyboy ae giving I'm really having second thoughts.

I wrote an e-mail to Aviator and the response didn't answer my question ... as if they were hiding something (this put EFT back as favorites), I might even consider Spain or simply do the JAA route in sunny UK/South Wales (I guess that will mean 1hr+ in the car to Bristol/Exeter).

Keep the feedback coming guys, it's a big help to people like myself and many others.

Wonder how Cpt Relax is out there? ... He is on the Multi-APP I believe and did his research for quite some time. Get in touch old friend!!!

Thanks

[737hustler]

Don't bother with them

I've done FAA in Florida, there's lots of good schools. But JAA - don't waste your time with EFT.....

I wasted 2 weeks having money sucked from me - along with 3 other people I know. For example - 6 weeks a PPL student took and still no solo flight!

PM me if you want any more detail... Its cheap (though still overpriced for florida) but its not worth the savings...

If only I'd have seen more info about EFT on Prune before i went out there...

[Trismegistro]

I was in touch with Cpt. Relax, but i don't have any news from him since september, when he supposedly started the course, my guess is that he hasn't even visited pprune, a bit odd considering that he has been there more than 2 months.

[maxwell4065]

Cheapest not always best!

(Trevor) said I would earn over $15,000 per year instructing at EFT

Take whatever Trevor says with a pinch of salt when it comes to money.
AlphaMale, if you want to instruct there are many jobs in the UK that pay better than $10 per flying hour.
I completed the FI at EFT in 2005 but did not return due to the financial side of things!
Max

[AlphaMale]

This is spelling trouble for me. I guess IF everything went to plan and it was a perfect world it would be a good deal.

I'm going to start writing a new plan I think ...

FAA PPL/CPL/IR & CFI and work in the states then convert to JAA CPL/IR

or

FAA PPL/CPL/IR convert to JAA CPL/IR back in the UK and get a FI and work here in the UK on better money but probably making less hours per year on my log.

I could always look into doing the full training in the UK after my PPL.

It is strange that we've not heard from Cpt Relax? I did PM him for an update but no reply? and I keep checking his posts ... nothing? maybe he doesn't have tinternet or he doesn't have anything to say about EFT?

Time for a new plan

[henriksch]

Regarding the 15k usd instructing..

I lived with an EFT instructor when I was there. (I was instructing at Ariben), and he made more than 15k a year.

He was there instructing for 7 months, and I think he made around 700-1200 usd every two weeks.

I even think they now have a base salary, on top of the increased hourly pay.
Was told this by another former roommate of mine, who works there now.

[AlphaMale]

And what does he think of the school?

I know it's hard to compare schools as you never do the CPL/IR in two schools to compare.

[henriksch]

Well.. Cant speak for him.. But he has been an instructor there now for over a year.

[AlphaMale]

It's always the same.

I've read nothing but good and bad points about EFT for over a year on both UK and US forums

AriBen seem to get a bit of a bashing so I guess EFT is just AriBen with better management?

How many hours has your friend built while there for the last 12 months? TT and Multi if you can?

[henriksch]

hmm.. Not sure about the guy there now. (I will ask him when he come online), but the guy who were the for 7 months ended up with over 800.. I know this because I ended up with 807 (565 multi), and he had more TT than me.

EDIT: He says 1100 TT

[CaptainKC]

Where is the JAA conversion done after EFT

Hi All,

I would like to hear of anyone who has actually done the Faa to JAA conversion. The dollar is cheap and the flying in US is attractive warts and all, I got an email from EFT saying some are going tp Spain, but no details. Looking at some of the threads posts Bournemouth was mentioned, I know the UK standard is good, so how much training and how much Sterling is required after you climb through the EFT route??? Look forward to hearing from someone who has gone from A to Z FAA to JAA with EFT

Cheers

[razzele]

I flew 663hrs there as an instructor in around 6.5 months. Most of that was in single engine due to the demand, and the additional surplus of MEI's at the time. Combine that with briefings and as reported i grossed 7-1200 dollars every two weeks.

As you can imagine I chose to work hard there. Certainly beat the FI opportunitys available back home in the UK during winter.

[henriksch]

Plus you fridays off put your thursday nights into good use..

@CaptainKC

I first did my PPL with EFT, then my ATPL writtens at NAC.

Then I got all my FAA stuff at Ariben, where I instructed and then converted at EFT (Multi rating and CPL) and Aerodynamics Malaga (IR)

My ME conversion was one flight with an examiner.. No training. Had 565 hours on it, and had been instructing on it for a while.

Price: 1,4 hours + 250 usd fee

For the CPL I went out "Timebuilding" with an instructor, who showed me what I needed to know/do, and I then rented the Arrow for about 4 hours solo.

Did the 2 hours 170A.

Did the test.

Price: 1,8 hour test + fee + 640 usd solo + 500 usd 170A

My IR was 4200 Euro.. Quoted and paid.

[AlphaMale]

Hmmm interesting. This is what I was hoping to see and this is what I had planned for.

Some saying Trevor speaks the truth and is a top guy and some saying take everything he says with a pinch of salt.

Planes are old ... nobody tries to prove otherwise. But some saying they are not airworthy (big comment to make)

Additional fees / costs etc are a problem yet some say the website is accurate? I know Cpt Relax has gone out there basing his figures on what the website states, but will he be sent home early for not being able to support himself financially?

I know you can't critisise EFT/AriBen on their quality of instructors as much as although they are employed by the FTO their are basically APP students just like you and me. So the quality of training 2 years ago can't justify the level of training I'll get on my Multi-APP course in the Easter 2009.

I think I need to gather more information and ask Trevor again, might actually phone him this time.

663hrs there as an instructor in around 6.5 months

102hrs per month seems fair to me as Trevor said I could expect between 80-120hrs

but the guy who were the for 7 months ended up with over 800 - EDIT: He says 1100 TT

1,100hrs TT in 7 months is nearly 160hrs per month! That is what I'd like to see going in my log book.

I ended up with 807 (565 multi),

This means 70% of your time was spent in twins? that is exactly what attracted me to this school.

If I could log 100hrs per month with 70 of which being multi time I'd be over the moon.

Thanks for the comments and figures guys and congratulations henriksch on passing your conversions with ease!