17 Year overwhelmed while looking for flight schools - UK/EU/Citizen

[MH_359]

First time posting on PPRuNe after lurking/binge reading all the threads I could possibly find while researching different schools! For the past year I have been researching flight schools as I am due to graduate from Secondary School (A-Levels) here in the UK in 2025. My budget for flight school would be in the range £50,000 to £60,000 excluding living costs so just for training.

Therefore, I am looking to start flight school in 2025 if possible, but I just feel overwhelmed with the conflicting information online. I have come to the conclusion that an integrated course is most likely too expensive for me and not something I can justify spending 100K+ on (or persuading my parents to re-mortgage their house) as that just doesn't feel right for me to do so as there are no guarantees of a job at the end as much as a conditional offer may be given. There are just so many factors that could go wrong such as unexpected economic events, medical issues, airlines freezing hiring for whatever reason etc etc with that 100K still needing to be paid back. Therefore, the likes of Skybourne, CAE, L3 etc simply out of the picture for me.

As a result, this lead me to look at fully funded sponsorship options (the likes of BA, Aer Lingus, TUI, SQ etc). I am not old enough yet to apply, but will be giving it a shot next year so have started preparing. However, I know the odds of getting into one of these programs are extremely low with many potentially adequate candidates not getting through for whatever reason making it not something to rely on. As an EU citizen,this has further led me to looking at cheaper courses with bonds and salary deduction such as the Wizz Air Pilot Academy, Air Baltic etc - which has an initial upfront payment of 15,000 Euros ish with the airline taking up the rest in the form of salary deduction or loan with Air Baltic. Are the odds of getting into one of those schemes slightly higher if you prepare well?

Not relying on those sort of schemes either, I am drawn to schools in Eastern Europe such as Bartolini (Poland) with their 65,000 Euros Ryanair Mentored Scheme as well as Pannon Air Services (Hungary) for the Zero to Airline Pilot Program for £38K pounds. With an EASA license compared to the UK I have more options with airlines is my line of thinking in order to secure that first job or would it be more valuable to have a UK CAA license which is severely more expensive unless there are similarly priced options in the UK. Furthermore, I have looked at modular courses and I see that prices are much lower over there too, but really how much am I looking at as there is so much different info out there and how are the prospects for European airlines with modular.

Apologies for the long and slightly confusing read, but would anyone be so kind as to offer up some advice on a decent path to take with £60K budget in the UK or Europe to graduate with an EASA ATPL OR CAA if staying in the UK? Should I just call it a day and go to university instead or what I just feel like the world is working against me as this has been my passion since I can remember with flight sim, flying in GA aircraft etc. Thank you for reading if you made it this far

[paco]

Try looking on this forum for anything by Rudestuff - he has some good advice on steps to take.

[RichardH]

MH_539 for a 17 year old you seem to have your head screwed on properly as your summing up of integrated schools, sponsorships etc. is bang on the money. I wish others had the same thought process before departing with their or parent's money. I and others of vintage years & experience all advocate the modular route for flexibility and a safer financial route.

Which licence comes down to where you have a right to work, several UK students are doing both UK CAA & EASA to allow best choice of options, some schools offer this option. I can assure you that many of us have felt the way you do but if aviation is truly your passion then you shall find ways around any difficulties even though things might take longer than you want. Eg. Get a ground job at airport/airline as a foot in the door while earning some money & getting a relevant track record. Don't do a degree just for the sake of it, better off doing an electrical apprenticeship for example (also useful as a backup career).

As paco says Rudestuff has some useful tips. All the best & DO NOT GIVE UP.

[rudestuff]

If I'd known I was going to get famous I'd have put a little more thought into my username! (I created a spare email address for all the junk mail and rude stuff that you invariably recieve when you sign up for things online...)

You seen pretty switched on. Go and get both class one medicals then we'll talk.

[pilotaiden15]

OP I was in your exact position a few years ago. I finished my A levels early in 2020 due to covid and almost straight away got a full time job along with being fortunate enough to live at home with a small monthly contribution allowing me to save/spend most my money for training. class 1 medical September 2020 then started my PPL at my local airfield April 2021. Following the pay as you go modular route finished the PPL May 2022 then went on to complete my ATPL's with BGS in Feb this year- I sat dual UK and EASA to leave my options open despite not having RTLAW in the EU. I'm currently hour building and still undecided on where I'll complete the rest of my training, leaning towards applying to the Bartolini Ryanair programme and will aim to pick up a UK IR if not full conversion so my UK ATPL's don't expire. Other option for me would be aeros Leeds. Agreed with other posters above there is a wealth of knowledge on here- good luck!

[STCPRT1985]

You seem to have done the right thing with investigating different options. It is overwhelming finding a flight school. There are some "cheaper" integrated options other than FTE, CAE in Spain. Do some research of schools at Cuatro Vientos airport in Madrid, who have the integrated price around the €70k+ mark:

- Quality Fly
- Fly School
- Aerotec
- European Flyers

Obvs you'd just need to make sure they have the course 100% in English if you don't speak Spanish. Quality Fly for sure is 100% English, I am not sure about the others.

[Kylethomo]

Same

Me too

[MH_359]

RichardH Thank you very much for the kind words I extremely appreciate it! I am glad that my thought process is on the right lines as I do like calculating the risk to an extent but also chasing my passions. Your advice with getting your foot into the industry is definitely the way to go I think as quite a few people I have spoken to have jobs either in the airline for ground ops, cabin crew etc and have transitioned to the flight deck in later life to name a few cases.

I definitely will not give up, and I am working on some side projects on the side - which are currently generating a nice income for myself. However, I do question it sometimes, will it all be worth it? I have loved aviation since forever and have thousands of hours in the sim, but will the real world lifestyle fulfil my dreams as in is the job actually worth all the years of sacrifice for it?

Some posts on PPRuNe can be really quite negative/off-putting, but I tend to look past it as I really cannot see myself doing anything other than entrepreneurship, working in an airline as crew or anything else to get my foot into the door. Just do not want my passion to turn into a chore, and something which fades over time, but then if I decided to keep aviation as a hobby I would forever have the thought in the back of my mind/potential regret of not achieving the airline dream.

Thank you for replying, I really didn't expect any responses . I am extremely grateful.

[MH_359]

pilotaiden15 Thank you for your response. This is also very encouraging to hear, and I can only feel empathetic as to how it must have all been with the uncertainty with Covid with the industry as a whole while embarking upon this big adventure! I will definitely be going for EASA license perhaps dual to keep the UK still open, but the only problem I see is yes I have the RTLAW in the EU, but most airlines such as AFR, DLH etc require you to speak their home language for obvious cultural reasons. Therefore, I suppose it is more likely for a first job which is what I would want anyway to be with Ryanair, Easyjet Europe, Lauda, any low cost carrier which takes EASA with low hours would be fantastic. I really am not picky with aircraft types.

So much information out here, but I have also decided that I will take a gap year after my A-Levels to allow me to prepare, and apply to all of the sponsored schemes/partially sponsored through salary deduction both in the UK, Europe (the likes of Air Batlic, Wizz Air Pilot Academy etc) and if those are all unsuccessful I plan to while applying to those have a job alongside to start saving for modular + help from parents.

All the best to yourself too, and thanks for giving an insight from someone who is further ahead in this process than me! I hope to see you in the skies!