Western Australian Aviation College (WAAC)
 

Further to a recent question I posted recently.

I have been contacted by a representative from the Western Australian Aviation College in Perth. They are offering JAA integrated ATPL courses at a significantly cheaper price than some of the English based schools. Having searched the forums there doesn’t seem to be a deal of recent information regarding them.

Personally only having a brief opportunity to look at there web site and the few bits I have read, it doesn’t look too bad. They seem to be tied in with Cranfield.

What I am still unsure of is, after obtaining a class one medical, do I then hand over the cash, fly to Australia, sit the 57 week course having no previous flying experience and leave with a frozen ATPL, ready to apply for jobs in the UK?

Do I then have to factor in living expenses?

How would UK employers view this type of approach?

Thanks again.

There is not much information about WAAC as they have only recently recieved approval to run JAA courses and as such there have been no graduates yet, I think the first integrated course starts early next year. I am sure you will have to factor living costs into it however I am not sure if accomdation is included in the price. The only integrated course where you do not have to factor living expenses is FTE in Jerez, Spain where accom and meals are included in the price.

OAT and Cabair students have to pay for accomodation and food.

Definitely worthy of serious consideration.

The JAA course was set up by Mark Davies, ex Oxford and Wycombe. Top guy and good instructor - he must be....got me through my IR 1st time.

If you want more info give Mark a ring at WAAC.

That aside, Perth is a great City, with as excellent climate. Also if we keep beating them at sporting events even the Ausies are tolerable!!

Good luck

Thanks for that,

I still have a little while before i would be in a position to consider a career change, i.e finish renovating the house i may plan to flog in order to fulfill a dream. I think it would be worthwhile watching and seeing if any feedback regarding this college comes out.

Western Australian Aviation College
 

Hi there,

I am recently accepted at the new Integrated JAA ATPL course at the WAAC in Perth WA. The course starts at the 24th of July. I passed my class 1 medical a few days ago as well. Are there any people here who have some good or maybe bad experiences with the WAAC? Or are there any other people who are accepted onto this course too?
I hope to hear your experiences from you.

Michael

Hi there i studied at WAAC 2004, i can try an answer any of your questions. PM me

Anth

WA Aviation College, Australia
 

Done all the searches, but to no joy on this one so wondered what you wonderful ladies & gentlemen know about this college? I would be wanting to do the ATPL Intergrated there. It's not the cheapest, but it sounds like they do take good care of you.
Let me know if you have any pointers, as I've only really just started looking for places to train! I'm nearly PPL'd up, just have to wait for a spell of nice weather, and then hopefully it wont be much longer! So any tips would be fantastic!
Regards,
Alex

WA Aviation College ATPL Theory
 

I understand the WA ATPL Theory course is based on course material from Cranfield Aviation Training Services (CATS). I have seen the CATS ATPL material and it is of a high quality.

Sorry I can't provide any further information.

tp

Western Australian Aviation College
 

Just wondering if anyone has been to this college or has any further info regarding them!! I want to do a JAA Ab Initio ATPL course, and they have an integrated version.

My main concern at this stage is my 'employability' once training is complete - My understanding is that you have a greater chance of employment with an airline if you have completed an integrated course - e.g. OAT/Cabair/FTE/WAAC? But is it worth the extra cash?!

WAAC's course is £20k less than OAT's, but would the UK airlines be sceptical about this training and therefore less likely to find work?!

Any ideas or help appreciated!?!

Cheers!

Western austrlian avaition college
 

hi guys, iam HAMIL from EASt London uk( wanna be)

i have to say that schools in england suck, i think schools or colleges in england are very boring compared to usa or east africa , where i have recently had an education.

so iam thinking of getting my National dipolma in applied sciences and going to australia to do my Airline pilot course

is anyone in that flight schoool and does anyone no anything about it.
i have been on there website, it OK, but i need some one to telll me somthing

THNK U

Certainly you are entitled to your opinion, but didn't they teach you how to spell in the States and SA? :p :ok:

Western Aus
 

Actually I posted a similar question on the 25th May - but no responces yet.... Any Help would be appreciated!!!...

Just wondering if anyone has been to this college or has any further info regarding them!! I want to do a JAA Ab Initio ATPL course, and they have an integrated version.

My main concern at this stage is my 'employability' once training is complete - My understanding is that you have a greater chance of employment with an airline if you have completed an integrated course - e.g. OAT/Cabair/FTE/WAAC? But is it worth the extra cash?!

WAAC's course is £20k less than OAT's, but would the UK airlines be sceptical about this training and therefore less likely to find work?!

Any ideas, information or help appreciated!?!

Cheers!

Damn god school, studied there myself, cant comment on employability, much the same as everywhere else i guess. PM me if u want info

Here we go again! WAAC have not yet started the flight training element of their first JAA course (although they have held the approval for almost a year) and so nobody knows how it compares with any of the established integrated courses. anthperry is an employee of WAAC (although he/she will obviously deny it) and his/her opinion is, therefore, of limited value.

The statement "cant comment on employability" is correct only because no graduate of the JAA course has yet been employed!!

Why do you PRESUME i work for WAAC, just because ive studied there and happen to comment on their facilities and instructors??.....Suggest you concentrate on facts,,,,and dot speculate fella!!:)

Point of order
 

Just a quick point of order on previous comment from Billiebob. I am an employee of WAAC and I can state categorically that Anthperry is not an employee of this college. He is a former student who we enjoyed having here. I am pleased that he is prepared to share his positive experiences at our college with interested parties. :ok:

waac
 

tell me your whole general opinon about the college
include the people, the life the training qaulity the enviroment and the ladies
THANK YOU

As said m8 PM me for details otherwise what ever i say will be questioned

AP

As ever on Pprune, the discussion of anything Antipodean seems to descend with frightening rapidity into a slanging match, with suspicions of conspiracies and so on. A read through the Dunnunda & Godzone forums reveals a region that, at least in aviation, seems to be permanently at war with itself!

Anyway, as WAAC is becoming potentially a player for UK-based JAA students, it would be helpful if we could get some comprehensive, intellligible, unbiased information on the school, its environs (both air and ground), and how students are finding life there. As ever, we have to watch for employees inserting over-favourable information, but really such a thing is quite rare - and thank you to Peto for declaring your interest from the outset.

Information not conflict please, people.

Scroggs

Concur with your sentiment Scroggs, unbiased information is sometimes in short supply. Whilst I have offered my opinion about our college in the past (in good faith), it has drawn accusations of biased marketing etc which I geuss is understandable. As such, it is probably appropriate for me to only state hard facts and leave the marketing up to our former and current customers if they wish to voice any opinions about us. Also, I think it goes against the protocol of this sight to use it for unpaid advertising. To address the questions about more information about WAAC, our website for those who have not seen it is www.waaviationcollege.com
We received CAA approval last year for Integrated and Modular JAR training. We currently have modular students sitting courses at our college and our first Integrated course starts on July 24. We attend the Flyer Shows at Heathrow for those who wish to talk to us face to face. I believe the next one is in November. Always happy to answer questions from interested parties. We can be contacted by e-mail from website. We have always encouraged current and former customers to speak openly and honestly about their experiences at our college. I hope they choose to do so.:ok:

Western Australian Aviation College
 

Hi All,

Just wondering if any knows much about WAAC?! Application process, quality etc for the JAA Intergrated course....

Trying to find out as much as possible!

Currently about to complete my PPL in the UK, and wanting to go where the sun shines and I can make the most out of the course rather than being stuck in the UK!

Thanks for all your help!

"Currently about to complete my PPL in the UK, and wanting to go where the sun shines and I can make the most out of the course rather than being stuck in the UK!"

Hey, exactly as myself, had good experiences with the british weather as well then? hehe

I know I would prefer to do a solid course abroad and not doing it in the UK, being prevented from getting airbourne - this has happend too many times during my PPL training!

hi all,

does anyone know any good instructors at WAAC ? I will visit Perth in this coming September. At the mean while I will take a look of the school as well.
As Peto mentioned earlier ago, the integrated program was only started on July 24th. it doesn't seem to have a lot of histories from the past eh. Does anyone have any comments here?

any advices would be greatly appreicated

cheers,

WAAC
 

I’ve not seen much in the way of feedback from past JAA/JAR candidates but what I will say is that their web site is professional and concise; the response to questions I’ve posed was thorough and in-depth with no ‘hard sell’.

If the training is of a similar standard to what I’ve encountered so far then I’d have no worries committing my ‘hard earned’ to WAAC. In fact I’m currently giving it some serious consideration.

I shouldn’t imagine there would be much feedback yet as their JAA/JAR syllabus is in its infancy.

No, I’m not a WAAC employee – I’m just a great believer in first impressions, obviously thorough research is required before shelling out £40k+, however WAAC offer staggered payments and they have been running CASA (Aussie) courses for years.

Hey Michael, if you're still posting on this site, just wondered if you'd like to share any of your first impressions and experiences at WAAC.

I'm seriously considering applying for the course that starts at the end of October, it's always been an ambition of mine to go and live in Oz for a bit and what better way to do so than do my training out there!! Bit of sun, sea, sand etc:} would go down a treat rather than being stuck rainy England over the winter. Also coincides with The Ashes..hmm I think I've just convinced myself in this post to apply for em!!

Has anyone else heard anything about the start of this course? And is it true that this is the only CAA/JAA recognised integrated course along with Cabair, FTE and OAT?

October Integrated course
 

Hi Mixmaster,
I am an employee of the Western Australian Aviation College and wanted to answer a couple of your questions. We are currently processing applications for the next Integrated JAR course which commences on 30 October. It is true that we are one of only four organisations approved by the U.K. CAA to conduct JAR Integrated training.
You can e-mail us from our website www.waaviationcollege.com.au if you have any other questions. :ok:

Nice1 Peto, have emailed you guys with some queries:ok:

If I do go with you guys can you promise me one of the student houses with a swimming pool? :}

Hi Mixmaster,
Funnily enough that is a fairly common request. I can't promise anything but we would certainly do our best! :ok:
Peto

hi Mixmaster, will you go to Oz and take a look of the school before deciding whether or not you wanna study there?
I will visit WAAC on this coming September for the assessment test because I'm considering applying for the course that starts at the end of October as well.

Cheers,
zivd

Alright zivd, I'm basically waiting for my CTC, ThomsonFLy/FTE and Cabair/FLYbe applications to run their course as I can't really justify spending the $400 on just applying to WAAC with these other three schemes still outstanding. Hopefully I'll know in time as WAAC does look really good and would be my first choice if these other things don't come through.

If I do apply I doubt I'll fly out just to have a look round, going on what people have said and the schools website it all looks sound. I take it you've already applied, is there an option to take the assessment test in The UK?

Good luck with it man!:ok:

hi Mixmaster, I don't think there is an option to take the assessment test in UK, but the best way is to contact their employees for any enquiries.

If any of your sponsorship schemes don't come through, will you try the self sponsored integrated program with FTE / Cabair?? I am just curious because I am still thinking whether I should commence my trainings with one of these schools instead of WAAC.

Anyways, Good luck with your interviews :ok:

Nice1 man, I'm hoping they'll give me the option to do the interviews etc in Cranfield, seems a bit much to ask their prospective students to fly out to Oz just to do a suitably test. Would be a complete pisser if you didn't get in!

Personally If I had to go down the self sponsored route I'd do it with WAAC as long as I could do the assessment tests in the UK and get a loan to cover it. If not I'd most likely go with FTE. Cabair and especially OAT don't appeal from my experiences of them and from what I've heard from others, however if I were to get on the Flybe scheme with Cabair I wouldn't give it a second's thought. From what I can make out CTC is the ideal FTO. Cabair, who I've had flying lessons with, have excellent instructors but their ground staff have seemed proper offkey whenever I've been there. I've spoken to OAT marketing reps at the London Air Show and have researched them a lot on here, to be honest the atmosphere of the place and the price puts me off massively.

I'm also considering Stapleford which is significantly cheaper but seeing as their relationship with Barclays has come to an end, I'd find it difficult to fund the course.

Just out of interest have you got one of those professional studies loans to pay for WAAC? As far as I can see they're a max of £25,000 which leaves over £16,000 of course fee's I would potentially need to find. Have you or has anyone else had any problems or issues applying for a bank loan for an FTO that is based abroad? I'm hoping british banks would be receptive seeing as its only one of four JAA integrated courses.

hmm that was quite the essay:}

cool, I haven't actually talked with any of the banks yet because they need a prove from the school that u've applied in order to make the loan secure. However, as far as l know the maximum that you can borrow as a personal loan is £25,000. Also, you may want to try CDL (career develop loan) as well, the maximum is £8,000. That's the only two ways I can think of.
To be honest, can we apply two banks at the same time for 25,000 K loan? greatly appreciated if any advices.

If you read under WAAC faq section there's actually a topic under "Can I take out a loan for course fees?" It says, "The Western Australian Aviation College is a registered Learning Provider (number 12124) and consequently students may apply for a loan from Career Development Loans. Contact the CDL Information Line on UK Freephone 0800 585 505"
I guess the maximum is only 8,000 pounds for the course. I will see after I come back from Oz.

Actually, Cabair has already accepted me for self integrated course. However, I am still thinking are there any better options.
give me some comments Mixmaster

Cheers

For info bout Cabair check here, I've found it pretty useful.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205080

Personally I'd go with FTE or WAAC (if it was viable) over Cabair. Look into CTC too. For a modular route check out Stapleford.

The prospect of being stuck in Cranfield for a year really doesn't excite me even if the levels of tuition are top notch. Reckon I could deal with it if I got on this Flybe scheme however. Thats just me tho man, being stuck between Milton Keynes and Bedford may be your idea of heaven:}

I read that link before, but thanks

good luck. :ok:

Application test
 

Just to answer one of your questions, the assessment test and interview procedure can be done in the U.K. There is no requirement to come to Australia to complete either of those processes. Please contact us direct at the college for details.
Peto :ok:

WAAC
 

Hi there, been reading a lot of posts regarding WAAC!

Just wondering if anyone is on the October course? Or even if anyone who is on the July course has any feedback suggestions etc?

Cheers.....

Out of interest how are the first lot of integrated students doing out in Perth?

What are your experiences so far good or bad?

Western Australian Aviation College?!?
 

hi...
i am thinking of going there to do the jaa integrated course.
has anyone heard good/bad things about the college???
cheers!!!!

Western Australian Aviation College
 

Does anyone have any experience of Western or heard any reports?

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks