Aeros OR Bristol Flying Centre

[Vulcan607]

I hear the both of the above mentioned schools are probably the best for modular CPL and I.R training in the UK...........

could some of you guys share your experiences with me regarding these schools in order to make my mind up as to which I should choose?

Regards

[Currymonster]

Dont know what you are basing your assumption upon.. Dont think that the "BIG" schools are always the best. I have just done most of my stuff at The Flight Centre Wolverhampton. Visited Bristol several times during IR and know of a few students from there. I believe the instruction is excellent, but I personally would recommend the Flight Centre. Instruction is excellent,aircraft are maintained to a high standard and they go out of their way to accomodate you.Also you dont have the delays associated with bigger airports.

MCC course is also excellent and one of the cheapest around

Only my opinion

[Mercenary Pilot]

I hear the both of the above mentioned schools are probably the best for modular CPL and I.R training

They are, also look at PAT.

[matspart3]

From an operational perspective, you'll spend far less time sat at the holding point with Aeros, purely because Bristol is a lot busier with IFR traffic than Gloucester.

[Parson]

Bristol's not too bad for delays and I believe that they now charge something like airborne time + 0.2 so sitting at the hold is irrelevant from a cost point of view (but you still put it on your log book). Bear in mind that BFC have an in-house examiner whereas Aeros don't so you have to transit to Bristol to start your test.

[wbryce]

Both are good schools, PAT and Airways in Exeter are in the same league too!

[edymonster]

Bristol Flying Centre is a top school.

As somone said you get charged airborne plus 0.2 so if your stuck at the hold your not paying for it. ATC at Bristol are good they will get you in as quick as they can when your in the air. The in house examiner is just down stairs so if you have any questions during your training, like i am allowed to do such and such in my skills test, you can always ask the him. If your lucky as well you will probabaly get a ride in the kingair or chieftian as they are flown regulalry and are single pilot aircraft. So the pilots who fly them are more than happy to take students for a ride when they are chartered out.

[Deano777]

The problem with recommendations like this is that "generally" you can only recommend one school as the majority of pupils only ever use one unless they have a bad experience (for commercial training).

I did my PPL at Bristol & my CPL/IR/FIC at Aeros and I can say that Bristol were "ok" at best as far as the PPL goes (they don't do PPL now), and Aeros were absolutely top notch for my commercial training, gained a FTP in all tests. Also the IR is very competitively priced and also gives you a 25hr/25hr split between the sim & the Seneca, this is something not alot of schools offer.
(Aeros' charges are airbourne + 10 against Bristol's +0.2, 2 minutes in the Seneca at £6 per minute adds up over the course, you do the sums)

Usual advice is to go round and visit them both, talk to current students and ask them to put you in touch with ex students etc. Do your homework and go with the one you feel most comfortable with.

Rgds

D777

p.s. I work for neither.

[Mercenary Pilot]

Bristol, Aeros and PAT all have very good pass rates, excellent reputations and are their instructors are all standardised. This means the students are a known quantity and so are much less a training risk to the airlines.

[neilia]

I had good experiences with Aeros for CPL/ME/IR.

Don't let the transit to Bristol for test put you off, it's factored into the hours and is a minor consideration. Aeros know the examiner well, and you'll pass through Bristol regularly during training so you'll feel at home there by the time IR test comes around. CPL test is done out of Gloucester.

Go and visit the schools and see which one suits you. Aeros felt like the right place for me, but everyone is different.

[727Man]

Not sure if this is still the case, I went to Bristol as they only wanted £250 up front to reserve my place, Aeros wanted £1500.

[EGAC_Ramper]

Its funny your asking the exact same question I was asking mywself over 2 years ago when I was making the decisions. Aeros and Bristol both topped my list and all I can say is you won't go wrong with either when it comes to the CPL/ME/IR.

As mentioned go visit both and see how you feel about the place and choose the one right for YOU!


Regards