Advise regarding frozen ATPL
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Advise regarding frozen ATPL
I would appreciate any advise you can give regarding my current plan to obtain a JAA fATPL license. I have to try and find the cheapest option as I already have a student loan of 30K after training to be a doctor which unfortunately did not work out.
My current plan is to go to South Africa ( Cape town flying club) to obain a CPL and MEIR. A PA34 will for used ME training.
Prior to going to SA I will be going to the USA to build hours in a Cessna 172 G1000.
I then planning to go to Greece to convert my SA license to JAA license in a Diamond DA42. I planning to go to Agnatia. I have already read some of the bad reports regarding this FTO. However I will not be able to afford going anywhere else that is much more expensive.
I will then return to the UK to complete a MCC course at Jetlinx.
Do you think that following the plan above will pose any disadvantage when I apply for a job?
My current plan is to go to South Africa ( Cape town flying club) to obain a CPL and MEIR. A PA34 will for used ME training.
Prior to going to SA I will be going to the USA to build hours in a Cessna 172 G1000.
I then planning to go to Greece to convert my SA license to JAA license in a Diamond DA42. I planning to go to Agnatia. I have already read some of the bad reports regarding this FTO. However I will not be able to afford going anywhere else that is much more expensive.
I will then return to the UK to complete a MCC course at Jetlinx.
Do you think that following the plan above will pose any disadvantage when I apply for a job?
Last edited by jv2379; 21st Aug 2008 at 12:16. Reason: Adding a question
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So your going to go to SA to do a set of ICAO professional licences on a steam driven 30 year old PA34, then off to the US to hour build on a glass cockpit state of the art single engine light aircraft (why I have no idea) before heading off to Greece to convert all of that lot to JAA. You have read all the bad stuff written about a certain school out in Greece yet you are basically saying that you are willing to risk the little cash you have cos they are supposedly cheap.
You have little or no cash yet you are transversing the globe and putting all of your eggs in 1 basket. Each of those schools has you by the b*lls. You have no backup plan to be able to change schools should things not work out without buying an airline ticket are heading for the hills. Whereas you could do your hour building somewhere cheap in the US and then go to any myriad of schools in the UK or near Europe which would allow you to pay as you go and reduce any risk. You could train part time whilst earning cash and break up the training into manageable bits when cash comes along.
There are reasons why schools are cheap and that bad posts are written about them which should be patently obvious. There are also obvious reasons why good schools get little or no bad press whatsoever and have long waiting lists to get in and charge a premium.
As well as the above you are also training at quite possibly one of the worst times that the industry has known. Should you get as far as an interview employers will be keen to know what went wrong in your previous career so some time spent now thinking of ways around any issues there could be an idea. Some interviewers might quiz you on your choice of schools and they won't want to hear that you chose the cheapest option.
Unfortunately quality flying training is expensive and that is the fact of the matter. Save your money, build your hours on a PFA aircraft or via trips to the US, do the distance learning with someone like BGS and then when you get the cash together head off to do a JAA CPL and IR at a decent school. Ideally do this bit fulltime as it will ensure you are focussed and hopefully get through in minimum time.
Good luck.
You have little or no cash yet you are transversing the globe and putting all of your eggs in 1 basket. Each of those schools has you by the b*lls. You have no backup plan to be able to change schools should things not work out without buying an airline ticket are heading for the hills. Whereas you could do your hour building somewhere cheap in the US and then go to any myriad of schools in the UK or near Europe which would allow you to pay as you go and reduce any risk. You could train part time whilst earning cash and break up the training into manageable bits when cash comes along.
There are reasons why schools are cheap and that bad posts are written about them which should be patently obvious. There are also obvious reasons why good schools get little or no bad press whatsoever and have long waiting lists to get in and charge a premium.
As well as the above you are also training at quite possibly one of the worst times that the industry has known. Should you get as far as an interview employers will be keen to know what went wrong in your previous career so some time spent now thinking of ways around any issues there could be an idea. Some interviewers might quiz you on your choice of schools and they won't want to hear that you chose the cheapest option.
Unfortunately quality flying training is expensive and that is the fact of the matter. Save your money, build your hours on a PFA aircraft or via trips to the US, do the distance learning with someone like BGS and then when you get the cash together head off to do a JAA CPL and IR at a decent school. Ideally do this bit fulltime as it will ensure you are focussed and hopefully get through in minimum time.
Good luck.
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Reply to thread by potkettleblack
I'm originally from SA and can stay there for free with my grandmother.
The cost in SA for obtaining a multi engine rating, CPL and ME-IR is approx [FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']£7000. By gaining SA licenses I will also have the option of working in South Africa. [/FONT]
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[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']As mentioned by potkettleblack do every in bits as money is available. Thats exactly what I'm doing. However if I have to pay the UK prices for all my training I will be in my late 30s by the time I will finish my training. And then there is the additional cost by keeping current. Unfortunate from a financial point the only way I will be able to do it is to find the cheapest option.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I will be enrolling at BSG for my ATPL studies in the near future.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I'm choosing to do my initial training in a PA34 to learn to fly on instruments utilising a conventional instrument panel in additional to learn to use the throttle and mixture controls.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
The cost in SA for obtaining a multi engine rating, CPL and ME-IR is approx [FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']£7000. By gaining SA licenses I will also have the option of working in South Africa. [/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']As mentioned by potkettleblack do every in bits as money is available. Thats exactly what I'm doing. However if I have to pay the UK prices for all my training I will be in my late 30s by the time I will finish my training. And then there is the additional cost by keeping current. Unfortunate from a financial point the only way I will be able to do it is to find the cheapest option.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I will be enrolling at BSG for my ATPL studies in the near future.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I'm choosing to do my initial training in a PA34 to learn to fly on instruments utilising a conventional instrument panel in additional to learn to use the throttle and mixture controls.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
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Got to agree with potkettleblack. Especially on doing some of your single engine flying stuff on aircraft with the G1000. You'll be paying extra to fly with this kit and it's not important for that particular stage of your training.
Plenty of flight schools will offer you a PA28 or Cessna series aircraft with a conventional cockpit which will set you up nicely on the PA34, whilst saving you some dosh.
Also just thought I should point out, that some employers won't like seeing you completing your training at so many different flight schools, in as many different countries. The fear is you might be picking up bad habits especially if the school has a bad/poor rep. Also there is a lack of standards continuity from chopping and changing so much. Hence why an integrated course is favorable. I understand that is not an option for you financially, so the next best thing is to make your modular training a one stop or a maximum of a two stop course. Aviation is that small, that chances are your future employers will have heard of most of the crappy flight schools out there.
Best of luck with whatever you choose to do!
Plenty of flight schools will offer you a PA28 or Cessna series aircraft with a conventional cockpit which will set you up nicely on the PA34, whilst saving you some dosh.
Also just thought I should point out, that some employers won't like seeing you completing your training at so many different flight schools, in as many different countries. The fear is you might be picking up bad habits especially if the school has a bad/poor rep. Also there is a lack of standards continuity from chopping and changing so much. Hence why an integrated course is favorable. I understand that is not an option for you financially, so the next best thing is to make your modular training a one stop or a maximum of a two stop course. Aviation is that small, that chances are your future employers will have heard of most of the crappy flight schools out there.
Best of luck with whatever you choose to do!
My two pennies worth:
If I were trying to do the whole thing on a budget and had a choice of any country in which to do the training, I'd probably go to the States and get one of those all-inclusive 'zero-to-hero' packages.
Definitely no point in doing the hour-building in a C172 G1000 unless money is no object. Even if money were no object I'd choose conventional instruments for hour-building. Personally, I wish I'd done my hour-building in a good old-fashioned taildragger.
Nothing wrong with doing an MEP Rating in a PA34. The Rating only lasts 6 hours and the Seneca is a good twin on which to learn the basics of twin engine flight.
Cape Town Flying Club is a nice place. I'm a member and did some hour-building out there awhile back, but you ought to read this if you're considering an SA CPL/IR: SA pilots' grading scrutinised: South Africa: News: News24
Doing the IR in a DA-42 is reputed to be easier and usually cheaper than something like a PA34, but fuel surcharges and the Thielert fiasco have complicated that comparison. Again, cheapest place for that is the States as far as I know, though someone will come along and contradict me any second now!
If I were trying to do the whole thing on a budget and had a choice of any country in which to do the training, I'd probably go to the States and get one of those all-inclusive 'zero-to-hero' packages.
Definitely no point in doing the hour-building in a C172 G1000 unless money is no object. Even if money were no object I'd choose conventional instruments for hour-building. Personally, I wish I'd done my hour-building in a good old-fashioned taildragger.
Nothing wrong with doing an MEP Rating in a PA34. The Rating only lasts 6 hours and the Seneca is a good twin on which to learn the basics of twin engine flight.
Cape Town Flying Club is a nice place. I'm a member and did some hour-building out there awhile back, but you ought to read this if you're considering an SA CPL/IR: SA pilots' grading scrutinised: South Africa: News: News24
Doing the IR in a DA-42 is reputed to be easier and usually cheaper than something like a PA34, but fuel surcharges and the Thielert fiasco have complicated that comparison. Again, cheapest place for that is the States as far as I know, though someone will come along and contradict me any second now!
