Ravenair - Liverpool
 

Can anyone offer personal opinions of their experience (CPL/FI(R) training) at Ravenair, thanks?

LF

yeah I'd like to hear from anybody who has experienced them too as they're not too far from me. I emailed them for some basic information on their CPL course a few weeks ago but haven't heard back from them...

PW

I've been recommended to stay away from them. Apparently the aircraft they use also double as air-taxis and so if a booking comes in when you're due for a flight...... Well you can work the rest out for yourselves! This is not certain however, just what I was told by someone who seems to be a good source of info on these things.

I did some hour building there late las year......

Planes are always available........although the Tomahawks are a little old but, then again, are there any tomahawks about that aren't old?
Instructors were nearly all nice chaps.......
Liverpool airport is a nice airport to fly from......
Jenny in accounts is especially nice at sorting dicounts and stuff.....
Primo (CFI) is avery approachable guy........

I often hear alot of bad press about Ravenair but form my experience i cant think of anything bad about them..

Although i didnt do my CPL with them, looking back, i wish i had!!


Hope this helps!

:ok:

One ex instructor of theirs told me the IR had some series three passes, worrying. No personal experience of them.

Well i can only speak as a PPL student (almost done) but i can vouch that the instructors i have flown with are very good indeed. It can be a bit rushed in the flying school at times but the aircraft are always available.

I plan on doing my CPL and IR with Ravenair when i come to do them.

Cheers

Dave

Simulator Training
 

Just wanted to know the type of simulator which Ravenair have and for which aircraft type?

Just wanted to do some sim hours towards IR prep and was looking for details of various sims.

Thanks

Jobs at Ravenair post training
 

Hello all,

I have decided that I would like to complete my training at Ravenair in 'The (Insert what I’m sure will be an derogatory word here) Pool'

One reason for wanting to train with Ravenair is the other operations they conduct.

I dropped into Ravenair on an hour building trip a while back and got chatting to a chap there who was an employee and an ex-student. It seems that he was taken on a check flight (post CPL/IR FI) by the CFI and given a job as a charter pilot on the Aztec and Seneca’s there. This work was to supplement his work in op's and as an FI.

Now.... i understand the fact that this is one man, but I’d really like to get into work of that type and that is what attracts me to Ravenair, along with many other things (location, cost, blah blah)

I'm sure recruitment for these things is on an 'ad hock' basis, but is there anyone who knows how often this happens?
Does this happen at similar schools? Bristol Flight Centre to name another.

Any opinions on Ravenair would be very helpful. I imagine as there is not much on pprune about them that 'no news is good news'!?!

I'm sure it is probably a pay your money and take your chances thing. However, I’m sure you’ll agree it's reassuring to here something back from people who have been there before.

Thank you so very much for any help
Geez:cool:

Ravenair
 

Hi mate,

I have flown with Ravenair as a PPL and fly from Liverpool. They are good and get a lot of good reviews about them and Liverpool is not a particularly busy airport so £300/hr delays are not going to build up that much.

However as a word of caution that I am thinking about as I intend to do my CPL/IR during 2005, with so many other wannabes out there, some modular others integrated and most from schools that have a reputation with the airlines, such as CABAIR, OATS, Bristol, Multiflight, Bournemouth, etc - would you be putting yourself at a disadvantage by going to Raven.

I am not exactly sure about the recruitment, but I would imagine if a student/instructor is particularly good and a vacancie arises, they would get a fair shot at the position and this may occur at all school, however I would imagine that most positions are advertised somewhere in the aviation press.

Hope this helps

Craig

Hi there Craig,

Thanks for the reply.

Well, i currently work at one of those schools that you mention, and i can say that by going to that school the students are not getting any advantage whatsoever (not instantly and certainly there is no direct connection to any airline). I feel that this advantage stuff is a complete myth and should be ignored. I want to train at a flying school where i will have a very real chance of employment asap after training, as an instructor, charter, whatever!!! It is not realistic to desire an airline job instantly (from my experience). Like i mentioned i will need an airline job to pay off the huge loan i am about to take out, but it is not really the type of flying that i want to do, and will hopefully move into something else when i have paid off an amount of the loan, if it all goes to plan!!

Thanks so much for the reply, is good to hear that they're at least an average school
:ok:

Keep'em coming

Geez:cool:

Interested to hear comments as well !
 

Diamond Geezer, sorry in advance for jumping on the back of your posting but you've irked my interest in this topic. I'm looking to do an MEIR conversion early in the new year. I thought I was lined up to do it some other place but they ended up not being able to accommodate me for the timeframe I wanted, which coincides with the end of a contract. As such, I want to move from one to the other as quickly as possible to minimize my downtime between contracts and thus loss of earnings in what will be an expensive time already.

Anyway, enough waffle, I am provisionally penciled in to start my MEIR conversion with Airways Flight Training in Exeter, whom from what I can gather have an excellent reputation. The downside is they are a fair trek away from where I live, but if they are as good as people say then I believe its worth it. However, if there is a good outfit right on my door step then I would give them serious consideration. LPL is about an hour away from where I live and my parents live in south Liverpool so the odd overnighter or even weeks stay is sorted, wife and kids considered ! That all said, I had discounted Ravenair a couple of years ago as a viable FTO based upon bad feedback that I seemed to be observing. Things can, and do change, so before I finally commit to AFT I would be very keen and very much appreciate to hear of fellow ppruners recent experiences. If people wish to remain anonymous then please PM me !

Thanks.

CG. :)

Ive flown alot with Ravenair both single and multi engine flying and cant fault them always some one there to help no matter what ur problem is.
The instructors are always willing to chat to the students about anything, are there is always good instructor avalibility.
If ur serious go down and have a look around some one will take u around and answer all your questions you have.
I couldant falt ravenair, yet im just 1 person

ADWJENK

adwjenk, thanks for your comments. I did check them out nearly 2 years ago, but that was with a view to renting SEP's and doing some private flying. One thing that struck me at the time was the poor contact link. There was nobody on the end of a phone line. Messages were left and not returned, or returned days later. That said, when I finally decided to swing by one day after visiting my parents I was let in and by chance bumped into an instructor who seemed a decent enough bloke. We tried several times to get me checked out but due to wx and lack of suitable slots it never happened. I eventually ended up at Shropshire Aero Club some six months later, which for my purposes worked out far better anyway !

Anyway, my point is it seemed very hard to get a hold of anyone !

Cheers,
CG.

I have to agree with Canada on this one.

I did start with Ravenair, but after my first lesson I chose another school. The main reasons were because I felt nobody really cared, and it felt like it was a "pay your money and get out the door" scenario. I too could never get hold of anyone and when leaving lots of messages, nobody would ever come back. The level of instruction was good, this wasnt a problem, but it was all very rushed. No briefings or explanations, just get in, fly and get out.

Just IMHO of course, I may have picked a bad day, and it wasn't for commercial training.

Maz

Cheers Maz
 

Thanks for your feedback Maz. Briefings before and afer any instruction, and particuarly an MEIR, are so important. Although I already have a Canadian MEIR I am pretty rusty and flying in the UK is a significantly different so I'd be looking for some spot on instruction in order to keep the hours and thus money down!

Cheers and merry xmas,
CG.


;)

JD Aviation/Ravenair in North West UK
 

Hello,

I'm currently engaged in PPL training, trying to do a bit of forward planning and looking into the options for the CPL training. Just wondering if anyone who trained/is training at JD Aviation at Manchester or Ravenair at Liverpool has any comments to make about these schools? I've run a search and there's a fair bit on Liverpool but very little on JD at Manchester...just looking for any opinions on training, aircraft, instructors etc.


Thanks
Eurotraveller

I visited Ravenair today and spoke with their Flying School Manager. They have recently taken a new approach to the school after realising that students felt alone and rushed out.

The building is being revamped, a student 'common room' is being decorated, bookings are done by an operations room manned 12 hours per day etc. All in all it looks better than the local alternative (next door), they also have more PA38 aircraft and I have been informed by a reliable contact that they are much better maintained than other local PA38's. I am sick of paying close to £100 per hour, reporting faulty kit only to return a few weeks later, pay another £100 per hour and the same fault be present!

Anyway, I am not (yet) a member of Ravenair, I will be in the next week or so and will report back, hopefully not eating my words....:uhoh:

pponting,

please do report back i will be very interested to hear what you have to say.

Regards
Geez

Hey pponting,

Did you ever join ravenair?

As i've been asking around the local flying fraternity i always get the most ridiculous of answers, such as "(sharp intake of breathe, shaking of head) i've heard a lot about them!" i ask what they've heard and never get an answer. i have visited twice and find the people and the school very good. So i will go there, but please either stop talking rubbish to wannabe's or at least have something constructive to say (talking about people in general, although it is very true of pprune too)

Thanks again
Geez:cool:

Ravenair
 

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