Oxford Aviation Academy: Living & Studying Tips
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Oxford Aviation Academy: Living & Studying Tips
Hi all,
I'll be joining OAA soon, and I wish to know better about living and studying there. Any tips or guidance? How is it over there in Oxford? Any special thing to load in my bag apart from the waterproof shoes and coat?!
Your help is so much appreciated.
Cheers
I'll be joining OAA soon, and I wish to know better about living and studying there. Any tips or guidance? How is it over there in Oxford? Any special thing to load in my bag apart from the waterproof shoes and coat?!
Your help is so much appreciated.
Cheers
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Thank you WingoWango for the reply. Seems to be a lot of nice people in the neighborhood!! 
student88
Regardless of the current economic climate, and despite all the warnings, I'm going for it. So please guys let's not start this kind of discussion again in this thread.
Anymore tips on Oxford (The City and the Academy)?
Thank you.
student88
Regardless of the current economic climate, and despite all the warnings, I'm going for it. So please guys let's not start this kind of discussion again in this thread.
Anymore tips on Oxford (The City and the Academy)?
Thank you.
Join Date: Aug 2005
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I know that GS is from 8:40am - 4:40pm (or there abouts).
However how much time is spent at the academy during the IR (post Arizona) stage? Are you there 5 days a week all day?
However how much time is spent at the academy during the IR (post Arizona) stage? Are you there 5 days a week all day?
Join Date: Jan 1999
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Take your cheque book to Stapleford or Bristol, get a job and go modular.
It will take 12-18 months more to get the fATLP, you will be £30,000 at least richer and will hit the pilot market as things start to move for wannabes.
I respect your ambition but this is not the time to start an integrated course, after all why would an airline chose you above a pilot with thousands of hours of flying and a type rating when these guys are avalable ex Zoom, Silverjet, XL and a long list of others?
It will take 12-18 months more to get the fATLP, you will be £30,000 at least richer and will hit the pilot market as things start to move for wannabes.
I respect your ambition but this is not the time to start an integrated course, after all why would an airline chose you above a pilot with thousands of hours of flying and a type rating when these guys are avalable ex Zoom, Silverjet, XL and a long list of others?
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Good time to start training
The answer to that is yes in my opinion. There seems to be an attitude that when there is no jobs or in a depression like we are in now there is no point in training because once finished there are no jobs.
This point can be taking into consideration when deciding to fork out £60k on training. Well tell me this ok, say for example the demand for pilots is high and you decide yes this is the right time to train, you finish in about 2 years and then the demand is not there no more then you will be left with a license but no job which right now is the position im in (I started 2 years back regardless of the economic situation and i started training at 17) and so are other 1000 odd pilots.
But if you decide to train when the demand for pilots is low and it takes about 2 years to train the time you finish the demand for pilots will be on a rise so you will have a "license in hand" just in time for employment.
It's not just for aviation but its for any job really, i personally would train when there is no jobs so time i have finished i will have the necessary training and will get picked up straight away. But right now people would rather not train so when there are jobs no one is fully qualified so then the company will have to employ foreign workers who are trained.
This point can be taking into consideration when deciding to fork out £60k on training. Well tell me this ok, say for example the demand for pilots is high and you decide yes this is the right time to train, you finish in about 2 years and then the demand is not there no more then you will be left with a license but no job which right now is the position im in (I started 2 years back regardless of the economic situation and i started training at 17) and so are other 1000 odd pilots.
But if you decide to train when the demand for pilots is low and it takes about 2 years to train the time you finish the demand for pilots will be on a rise so you will have a "license in hand" just in time for employment.
It's not just for aviation but its for any job really, i personally would train when there is no jobs so time i have finished i will have the necessary training and will get picked up straight away. But right now people would rather not train so when there are jobs no one is fully qualified so then the company will have to employ foreign workers who are trained.
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But if you decide to train when the demand for pilots is low and it takes about 2 years to train the time you finish the demand for pilots will be on a rise so you will have a "license in hand" just in time for employment.
If you are going to oxford and want a job at the end then you will need 30K for a ryanair TR. bottom line.
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Unless things have changed drastically;
The food at OAA is utterly minging and best avoided. Look out for the mid-week Roast Fat With All The Trimmings. I have still no idea what that "meat" was.
Langford Hall is an overpriced dump full of very loud Algerian Air Force cadets. Move out ASAP. Nearby villages such as Woodstock and Kirtlington are charming places to stay and easily commutable by car or bike.
As mentioned above, nightlife in Oxford is a little dissappointing for a university town.
Groundschool tutors were all excellent, with one glaring exception. You'll know who when you meet him/her. "Positively charged electrons flow this way on a capacitor"
Other than that, its pretty good, easily the best taught section of the course.
Phoenix was a lot of fun, but as anywhere else, the quality of the training depends on your individual instructor. Some were excellent, others were simply killing time until a corporate / regional job came up.
IR - expect to be shouted at on a daily basis and to be made to feel like a naughty school child. A bizarre practice but I guess it works, people pass. The day can be busier than you might imagine. 7 or 8 hour days were not unusual.
The MCC in the 737 sim is a great finish to the course and the teaching is far more professional than the IR and more in line with what you can expect going forward towards an airline training environment.
Despite the above sceptical comments, I was generally pleased with the product I got, mainly due to an interview being handed to me on a plate by Oxford for a job with my present employer. As to whether you can expect similar treatment in 13 months time... well you already know the arguments so I shan't bring them up.
The food at OAA is utterly minging and best avoided. Look out for the mid-week Roast Fat With All The Trimmings. I have still no idea what that "meat" was.
Langford Hall is an overpriced dump full of very loud Algerian Air Force cadets. Move out ASAP. Nearby villages such as Woodstock and Kirtlington are charming places to stay and easily commutable by car or bike.
As mentioned above, nightlife in Oxford is a little dissappointing for a university town.
Groundschool tutors were all excellent, with one glaring exception. You'll know who when you meet him/her. "Positively charged electrons flow this way on a capacitor"
Other than that, its pretty good, easily the best taught section of the course.Phoenix was a lot of fun, but as anywhere else, the quality of the training depends on your individual instructor. Some were excellent, others were simply killing time until a corporate / regional job came up.
IR - expect to be shouted at on a daily basis and to be made to feel like a naughty school child. A bizarre practice but I guess it works, people pass. The day can be busier than you might imagine. 7 or 8 hour days were not unusual.
The MCC in the 737 sim is a great finish to the course and the teaching is far more professional than the IR and more in line with what you can expect going forward towards an airline training environment.
Despite the above sceptical comments, I was generally pleased with the product I got, mainly due to an interview being handed to me on a plate by Oxford for a job with my present employer. As to whether you can expect similar treatment in 13 months time... well you already know the arguments so I shan't bring them up.
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Aerospace101....im not that in 2 years time it will be better but im using it as an example maybe i haven't said this in my previous comment.
My dad who has been in the industry a long time as an engineer did exactly what i said i.e train when there is no jobs and everyone said what you said and now he is making more money than long haul captains do.
when there was a demand he was already and the front door with all the training needed. Thats what im trying to get across. If you no the industry will take four years to pick up then take four years to train but you want to be ready when the demand comes back thats what im trying to say thats all.
My dad who has been in the industry a long time as an engineer did exactly what i said i.e train when there is no jobs and everyone said what you said and now he is making more money than long haul captains do.
when there was a demand he was already and the front door with all the training needed. Thats what im trying to get across. If you no the industry will take four years to pick up then take four years to train but you want to be ready when the demand comes back thats what im trying to say thats all.
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The lead in times after a crisis like the one we had in 2008 between collapse in recruitment to the start of low hour recruitment with airlines like BA is typically 4yrs. Which is ALONG TIME, ie we're talking about being fully trained and ready to go in the year 2013ish.
Its called History mate.
look up what happened post 9/11 to low hours pilot recruitment. (and 9/11 was a fraction of a crisis compared to the current one)
Ideally you want to be hitting the market when recruitment reaches its peak, eg look at what the industry was like in 2007. That was 6 years after the 9/11 crisis. Therefore I'd be aiming to be all trained up for 2015. But hey, thats way too long to be waiting, i want to be a pilot now, now, now!!
Its called History mate.
look up what happened post 9/11 to low hours pilot recruitment. (and 9/11 was a fraction of a crisis compared to the current one)
Ideally you want to be hitting the market when recruitment reaches its peak, eg look at what the industry was like in 2007. That was 6 years after the 9/11 crisis. Therefore I'd be aiming to be all trained up for 2015. But hey, thats way too long to be waiting, i want to be a pilot now, now, now!!
