Baltic Aviation Academy
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Germany
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No, I am an employee.
they don't have enough airplanes. So, instructors are discouraged from grounding an airplane as much as possible, cause if they do, students will sit for days due to poor maintenance.
some of ground courses are jokes. not enough instructors to teach, so most of the time, you are teaching yourself at home.
if you stay in Kaunas base, you are in civilization but if you are sent to Istra base, you are in the middle of nowhere and you are expected to find your own accommodations and provide for your own transportation to an airport that doesn't have public transpo.
they don't have enough airplanes. So, instructors are discouraged from grounding an airplane as much as possible, cause if they do, students will sit for days due to poor maintenance.
some of ground courses are jokes. not enough instructors to teach, so most of the time, you are teaching yourself at home.
if you stay in Kaunas base, you are in civilization but if you are sent to Istra base, you are in the middle of nowhere and you are expected to find your own accommodations and provide for your own transportation to an airport that doesn't have public transpo.
Yes we had in groundschool an instructor who spoke very bad English, but he was replaced within a day because we as students said that this is not the way we wish to get instructed. The instructor was an University Teacher, who knows what he is talking about but cannot explain it in English. That problem was solved within a day.
Bad Maintenance? Nonsense. The planes are relatively new Tecnams and C172SP. We had besides the std issues and maintenance no problems. Every 50 hrs they go to a bigger check.
All in all honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. I have been always in contact with BAA ever since. Done also my TR737 with them. And plenty ex students who got jobs rather quick after graduating. That would NOT be the case if the students would be trained badly.
Same now with the Cadet programs with Smartlynx, Wizz, Avion Express and Small Planet. If the airlines would not believe in the school, then they would have not wanted to work with them.
Join Date: Jul 2018
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Baltic Aviation Academy advice for newbie
Hi everyone, i am new to PPRuNe and as the title suggests i'm inclined to enrol for my pilot training at BAA, based on my research it seems like it is a good academy. Would be much appreciated if there is anyone out there who's had experience with the academy or an ex-student/alumni to shed some advice on the quality and the school itself.
I've also looked into the assessment process which requires a profile test and a compass test, and i have no idea what to expect or the means to prepare for them. I have just been brushing up on my maths and physics but im not certain if this is sufficient. Any advice would be highly appreciated.
cheers
I've also looked into the assessment process which requires a profile test and a compass test, and i have no idea what to expect or the means to prepare for them. I have just been brushing up on my maths and physics but im not certain if this is sufficient. Any advice would be highly appreciated.
cheers
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Doha
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What are the differences between BAA and Pilot Academy website which also offers Wizzair cadet program through 2 schools Egnatia Aviaiton and Trener KFT? There's also L3 ATO offering wizzair cadet program? Which one is "genuine"?
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: East Yorkshire
Age: 32
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Hello Everyone,
I too am researching BAA as a potential place to study. However I'm finding it very difficult to find any unbiased, honest reviews about this place. The glossy website and the polished youtube channel certainly makes it look like a very tempting prospect. But what is the reality?
Thanks!
I too am researching BAA as a potential place to study. However I'm finding it very difficult to find any unbiased, honest reviews about this place. The glossy website and the polished youtube channel certainly makes it look like a very tempting prospect. But what is the reality?
Thanks!
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: UK
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I've looked at this school too, can anyone explain why their school is right beside an airport but they do their flying some other place instead of the one just right next door?
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Thanks!
Join Date: Jun 2016
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Join Date: Jul 2007
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Thanks RomanK and av8tor396, I think it's safe to say, this one is crossed off the list! Having done some other research into the other connected companies such as Small Planet, my gut is telling me to steer clear and don't look back!
Join Date: Nov 2007
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The academy is disaster right now. No one flying because many planes into the maintenance with problems. Many student have weeks of no flying, all time they say a new plan and new plan never happens.
Now recently ATC is not working all day so they close airport in the middle of the day. People are waiting many months between different phases and don't know what to do in this time. It feels like no one really care about students.
They have too many students in the school and refuse to invest for the facilities, they said they invest only what they need but actually it's not enough. Everyone still in very big delays.
When you try to organise your training nobody wants to speak to you, but if you have late payment problem everyone chase you immediately and say they will stop the training.
Now recently ATC is not working all day so they close airport in the middle of the day. People are waiting many months between different phases and don't know what to do in this time. It feels like no one really care about students.
They have too many students in the school and refuse to invest for the facilities, they said they invest only what they need but actually it's not enough. Everyone still in very big delays.
When you try to organise your training nobody wants to speak to you, but if you have late payment problem everyone chase you immediately and say they will stop the training.
Like someone else has said, don't just go with their happy facebook page feeds. Talk to some of the current students in order to find out what a disaster this place really is.
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: France
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It is partially wrong,
The entire fleet was grounded for 1 day due to the crash (for a check I presumed).
All the SEP operations have resumed the following day.
The P2006T Tecnam is due to be grounded for scheduled maintenance in the next weeks but still flying.
BAA is looking for new aircrafts to lease/rent following this incident and the development of the Ab initio department.
ATCs have summer holidays like anybody. They have hired new staff recently so they are not fully competent at the moment, that's right.
I do complain myself about the organisation but still have the feeling that it's worth the money, assuming you're in a cadet program.
The contract specified that the training takes place for a period no more than 2 years so, you already know what to except before signing.
Some people finished earlier, and that leads to the common expectation that it will be the same for them.
If you pass the selections for a cadet program, I think it is still a valuable opportunity.
The groundschool is OK, they changed the CBT recently (Bristol > PadPilot).
More informations for the new base are supposed to be released next week.
WarLock is no more an employee of BAA despite what he said. Fact.
The entire fleet was grounded for 1 day due to the crash (for a check I presumed).
All the SEP operations have resumed the following day.
The P2006T Tecnam is due to be grounded for scheduled maintenance in the next weeks but still flying.
BAA is looking for new aircrafts to lease/rent following this incident and the development of the Ab initio department.
ATCs have summer holidays like anybody. They have hired new staff recently so they are not fully competent at the moment, that's right.
I do complain myself about the organisation but still have the feeling that it's worth the money, assuming you're in a cadet program.
The contract specified that the training takes place for a period no more than 2 years so, you already know what to except before signing.
Some people finished earlier, and that leads to the common expectation that it will be the same for them.
If you pass the selections for a cadet program, I think it is still a valuable opportunity.
The groundschool is OK, they changed the CBT recently (Bristol > PadPilot).
More informations for the new base are supposed to be released next week.
WarLock is no more an employee of BAA despite what he said. Fact.
Last edited by Jurow; 27th Jul 2018 at 10:40.
Join Date: May 2017
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I can only comment about the ground school part of the training - overall we are on track with the schedule, but the school definitely needs to improve when it comes to organisation. They don't have enough ground school instructors which means that the schedule you have received may change, as well as the order of subjects. Communication with the students also needs to be improved. We are awaiting clear information regarding the base in Spain which the training managers don't seem to have yet, this is causing frustration among many students.
As far as the quality of teaching is concerned, it can be hit or miss. For our first subject, our teacher was simply really bad. We informed the school and they dealt with the matter immediately. A few days later we had a new instructor, probably the students' favorite here at BAA. Some of the other instructors are also great (knowledgeable, enthusiastic, engage with the students), some less, some with plenty of experience but not necessarily on top of the ATPL syllabus. Like I said, it can be hit or miss based on my experience.
Another aspect worth mentioning is the flexibility the school gives you with the CAA exams. After each block of subjects, the school will schedule a 2 to 3 weeks CAA exam session. It is however entirely up to you to decide when you want to open a session at the CAA as well to decide on the number of exams you want to take. You can basically open a session at any time and the booking system is very simple. Gives us the students more flexibility, but I can now see that it also creates some issues for the school as students from a particular group end up not finishing the ground school part at the same time.
Last edited by Constant92; 27th Jul 2018 at 21:38.
Join Date: Jul 2017
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Where you are getting such incorrect informations from?
[QUOTE] Can you imagine such big number of cadets and many airlines and they are having 1 plane only serviceable? [ /QUOTE]
This is related to the organisation of the operations which I do complain sometimes about too. My view on this point is that It will surely be fixed quite fast and that lessons will be learned.
P2006T is flying now? This is not correct. They had 2. One is gone from incident last week and another is in maintenance now few weeks and will be again for at least 3/4 more weeks. No multi engine now in the school.
ATC holidays? Wrong. One ATC left and no replacement for a while. Now imagine to be stuck in the middle of the VFR and no training and nobody want listen.
I was thinking that our complains were not considered until one TM told me that they are actually working their *** off in order to get back on track and I don't question her honesty about it, because the tensions within the staff and students have increased due to the displacement of the operations in Spain and the new questions related to this move.
At the same time the school bought 2 new sims and new aircrafts (which doesn't solve the actual problem of the undersized fleet) extending their facilities so I think the money is here, they just need somebody with a strong background at the head of the department, thing's done atm, to focus on this part.
My 2cts
Join Date: Nov 2007
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It is partially wrong,
The entire fleet was grounded for 1 day due to the crash (for a check I presumed).
All the SEP operations have resumed the following day.
The P2006T Tecnam is due to be grounded for scheduled maintenance in the next weeks but still flying.
BAA is looking for new aircrafts to lease/rent following this incident and the development of the Ab initio department.
ATCs have summer holidays like anybody. They have hired new staff recently so they are not fully competent at the moment, that's right.
I do complain myself about the organisation but still have the feeling that it's worth the money, assuming you're in a cadet program.
The contract specified that the training takes place for a period no more than 2 years so, you already know what to except before signing.
Some people finished earlier, and that leads to the common expectation that it will be the same for them.
If you pass the selections for a cadet program, I think it is still a valuable opportunity.
The groundschool is OK, they changed the CBT recently (Bristol > PadPilot).
More informations for the new base are supposed to be released next week.
WarLock is no more an employee of BAA despite what he said. Fact.
The entire fleet was grounded for 1 day due to the crash (for a check I presumed).
All the SEP operations have resumed the following day.
The P2006T Tecnam is due to be grounded for scheduled maintenance in the next weeks but still flying.
BAA is looking for new aircrafts to lease/rent following this incident and the development of the Ab initio department.
ATCs have summer holidays like anybody. They have hired new staff recently so they are not fully competent at the moment, that's right.
I do complain myself about the organisation but still have the feeling that it's worth the money, assuming you're in a cadet program.
The contract specified that the training takes place for a period no more than 2 years so, you already know what to except before signing.
Some people finished earlier, and that leads to the common expectation that it will be the same for them.
If you pass the selections for a cadet program, I think it is still a valuable opportunity.
The groundschool is OK, they changed the CBT recently (Bristol > PadPilot).
More informations for the new base are supposed to be released next week.
WarLock is no more an employee of BAA despite what he said. Fact.
Are you even listening to yourself? Me being a current or an ex employee of that place doesn't change the facts of what went on there until a month ago:
Facts:
- Never enough aircrafts. Instructors sometimes getting into arguments among each other because of this! of course, a student ends up not flying because of this.
- CFI complaining about instructors who are grounding the planes! (When aircraft is grounded for legitimate reasons, again, not enough planes! Students not flying for days)
- Students initially being told that they will fly at Kaunas base. Students finding accommodations and paying deposits in Kaunas, only to find out later on that they will fly at Istra. Deposits GONE, nobody cares.
- No public transportation in Istra! If you wanna get to Istra base you either find a cab, or pay the school hired van (each way) to get there.
- Some of the ground school subjects were simply jokes! Instructor shows up, says few stuff about non related stuff, asks students to go and study at home.
I can go on and on about the background of whats happening but its always easier to find out the truth from the current students.
As for me, it was the best day of my life when I gave you guys the finger and quit that place. If you feel like analyzing, ask yourself as to why that company has a revolving door policy when it comes to instructors and why nobody stays at that place for more then few months
Join Date: Feb 2015
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I think you guys may read "pay a visit to the school and see by yourself" every second page of this forum.
Well, I did that for the BAA.
To speak as a someone has passed their inital selection succesfully, I can suggest please stay away from this people.
I've seen almost 5 ATO's in my life including some regional clubs, until BAA.
Even upmost relax one of those 5 ATOs will treat you better than these people.
And if you don't believe "the first impression", then you may still have some bucks to lose.
Well, I did that for the BAA.
To speak as a someone has passed their inital selection succesfully, I can suggest please stay away from this people.
I've seen almost 5 ATO's in my life including some regional clubs, until BAA.
Even upmost relax one of those 5 ATOs will treat you better than these people.
And if you don't believe "the first impression", then you may still have some bucks to lose.
Join Date: May 2017
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I think you guys may read "pay a visit to the school and see by yourself" every second page of this forum.
Well, I did that for the BAA.
To speak as a someone has passed their inital selection succesfully, I can suggest please stay away from this people.
I've seen almost 5 ATO's in my life including some regional clubs, until BAA.
Even upmost relax one of those 5 ATOs will treat you better than these people.
And if you don't believe "the first impression", then you may still have some bucks to lose.
Well, I did that for the BAA.
To speak as a someone has passed their inital selection succesfully, I can suggest please stay away from this people.
I've seen almost 5 ATO's in my life including some regional clubs, until BAA.
Even upmost relax one of those 5 ATOs will treat you better than these people.
And if you don't believe "the first impression", then you may still have some bucks to lose.
Join Date: Jul 2017
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- Never enough aircrafts. Instructors sometimes getting into arguments among each other because of this! of course, a student ends up not flying because of this.
- CFI complaining about instructors who are grounding the planes! (When aircraft is grounded for legitimate reasons, again, not enough planes! Students not flying for days)
- Students initially being told that they will fly at Kaunas base. Students finding accommodations and paying deposits in Kaunas, only to find out later on that they will fly at Istra. Deposits GONE, nobody cares.
- No public transportation in Istra! If you wanna get to Istra base you either find a cab, or pay the school hired van (each way) to get there.
- Some of the ground school subjects were simply jokes! Instructor shows up, says few stuff about non related stuff, asks students to go and study at home.
I can go on and on about the background of whats happening but its always easier to find out the truth from the current students.
As for me, it was the best day of my life when I gave you guys the finger and quit that place. If you feel like analyzing, ask yourself as to why that company has a revolving door policy when it comes to instructors and why nobody stays at that place for more then few months
- CFI complaining about instructors who are grounding the planes! (When aircraft is grounded for legitimate reasons, again, not enough planes! Students not flying for days)
- Students initially being told that they will fly at Kaunas base. Students finding accommodations and paying deposits in Kaunas, only to find out later on that they will fly at Istra. Deposits GONE, nobody cares.
- No public transportation in Istra! If you wanna get to Istra base you either find a cab, or pay the school hired van (each way) to get there.
- Some of the ground school subjects were simply jokes! Instructor shows up, says few stuff about non related stuff, asks students to go and study at home.
I can go on and on about the background of whats happening but its always easier to find out the truth from the current students.
As for me, it was the best day of my life when I gave you guys the finger and quit that place. If you feel like analyzing, ask yourself as to why that company has a revolving door policy when it comes to instructors and why nobody stays at that place for more then few months
BAA operations are harmed by the amount of new students following the success of the cadet programs and their lack of preparation to sustain the pace of their training due to the high ratio of students/plane. In the last "BAA to students" newsletter they indicated their strategy to expand the fleet to 2x its size (only words some will say, but at the moment there is no other options from my perspective).
Concerning the CFI, I'm not concerned so I leave it to you.
About the LMC for the change of base, that's a real pitty, BUT you're supposed to get you're deposit back when you leave your flat so BAA cannot protect you again scammers.
To give my experience, my roommate and I have found an accommodation before moving in and the reality was completely different than the description. We asked the help of my sales manager to find the solution with the agency and now everything is mostly ok (but really ****ty owner - again). At least, we had the support of this person in BAA.
About the ground instructors, yes it's a joke for certain subjects but again, if students complain in most of the case the instructor is fired (happened 2x since february). But you cannot really escape the feeling that you have to get the knowledge by yourself, because your main source of knowledge is the QUESTION BANK. But some instructors are very friendly and skilled. You cannot predict the level of an instructor just with an assessment right ?
Flight instructors are under pressure in this school like any other nowadays due to the positive economic trend for pilot opportunities, a lot of them have made the transition.
Any way with BAA you're getting paid when you're flying (because a plane on a ground is not lucrative), and the majority of the instructors want to build hours before looking for a FO position, like in any other ATO.
My point - BAA is a valuable option if you're looking for an integrated scheme with a cadet program - stands still considering my own experience. Even after 2 weeks you could find people being disappointed, that's the way it is and the source of complains varies between individuals and their expectations.
if you don't believe "the first impression"
Had the opportunity to have a little tour of the facilities and seat in the 737sim (cold & dark without studs).
Had the answer for the COMPASS test the next day.
The only thing is that if you apply for a specific cadet program and you're not successuf, they will not tell you why (like any other ATOs).
Join Date: Feb 2015
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My assumption is; before the compass tests and interviews, they already have an idea which candidates are more desirable for the companies and you'll be treated with this prejudice. I'm also surprised by people says in this forum how the people were nice etc. The only nice person was the admin lady who took care of me with little chat and couple cups of tea.
Those are my first impression about the BAA and our further interactions with them were not succeeded to change it to a better way. It's been a while since I was there and I'm not here to play any blame game. This forum has long pages of stories about this type of ATOs having their good and bad times, and as we are not their stakeholders, it's better to tell young folks when and how they are bad and what to expect.
Join Date: May 2017
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It was a long trip for me to get Vilnius on time for the selections and I've made it on time. Obviously, being precise at timing was not their priority. I've been told to wait for the interviewer almost five hours on a couch in the lobby. The lady who suppose to interview me asked for a leave (I assume) and another lady took care of me after her scheduled skype interviews. There was no site seeing or sim-shows for me either. Waiting, drinking tea and water and more waiting. Loud students playing around and some more waiting. In the meanwhile the marketing people were not there for me to say hi.
My assumption is; before the compass tests and interviews, they already have an idea which candidates are more desirable for the companies and you'll be treated with this prejudice. I'm also surprised by people says in this forum how the people were nice etc. The only nice person was the admin lady who took care of me with little chat and couple cups of tea.
Those are my first impression about the BAA and our further interactions with them were not succeeded to change it to a better way. It's been a while since I was there and I'm not here to play any blame game. This forum has long pages of stories about this type of ATOs having their good and bad times, and as we are not their stakeholders, it's better to tell young folks when and how they are bad and what to expect.
My assumption is; before the compass tests and interviews, they already have an idea which candidates are more desirable for the companies and you'll be treated with this prejudice. I'm also surprised by people says in this forum how the people were nice etc. The only nice person was the admin lady who took care of me with little chat and couple cups of tea.
Those are my first impression about the BAA and our further interactions with them were not succeeded to change it to a better way. It's been a while since I was there and I'm not here to play any blame game. This forum has long pages of stories about this type of ATOs having their good and bad times, and as we are not their stakeholders, it's better to tell young folks when and how they are bad and what to expect.
Regarding your second paragraph, I have to strongly disagree... The school currently runs 4 cadet programs, the cadets are of all age, from many different nationalities (btw we have Italians for the Wizz, Avion Express and Small Planet programs, not sure about Smartlynx) and from all walks of life. The very purpose of the compass test is to determine whether you satisfy the school's and the respective companies' criteria before being accepted to the next stage of the selections. All the best.
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Greetings all,
I'm looking to enrol myself for a self-sponsored type rating programme with Baltic. Would to be nice for someone who's been there in the recent past to throw some light on its functionalities with respect to trainers,sims,professionalism and anything else that I may need to know. I'm getting mixed reviews about the ATO ranging from " don't even think about it!" to some others who seemed to have a had a decent experience. My options are open, if someone could re-direct me to another trto that strikes a fine balance between being cost-effective and still maintaining training standards, would be of great help.
regards.
I'm looking to enrol myself for a self-sponsored type rating programme with Baltic. Would to be nice for someone who's been there in the recent past to throw some light on its functionalities with respect to trainers,sims,professionalism and anything else that I may need to know. I'm getting mixed reviews about the ATO ranging from " don't even think about it!" to some others who seemed to have a had a decent experience. My options are open, if someone could re-direct me to another trto that strikes a fine balance between being cost-effective and still maintaining training standards, would be of great help.
regards.