Stapleford Flight centre
 

Hi All,

Just seeing if anyone has trained at stapleford flight centre?? I am thinking of starting commercial flight training shortly and was considering doing it at stapleford. Any experiences of the school would be much appreciated!

Evan21

Hello,

Use the search function, plenty of recent threads about Stapleford.

I can always provide you with further info about them, please send me a private message, and I shall try and answer all your questions.

Regards.

I was there in 2002. They have generally a very good reputation, and I enjoyed my time there. I don't think you will have any problems.

hey,

Im thinking, BCFT G/S, Satpleford for all the flying. Hear its pretty good! :}

what do you guys think??

Cheers guys

Scott :ok:

I finished my PPL there in march. Really good school and I reccomend it to anyone wanting to follow the modular route. Very helpfull instructors always wanting to help. Alot of my friends on the IR there were 100% satisfied by the level of training, and noticed they were really prepared for the IR skills test. All of the CPL/ME/IR instructors are career instructors and are always so eager to help. And a VERY friendly atmosphere.

I highly recomend this school to anyone.

SVoa

Now that i got my PPL at stapleford i must say all of your above comments are v.true. Thanks

These are the sorts of comments I've come to expect over the years regarding this school. When I advise Wannabes to find a good UK school with long established reputation employing career instructors who can take you from zero to IRT it is places such as Stapleford that I am referring to. More expensive than a cheapy course in Florida but so so much better for you.

There are plenty of other great schools to choose from.

Enjoy.

WWW

I did my PPL at Stapleford a few years back and was very happy with them. Went elsewhere for the commercials, but that was more a reflection of the airfield / ATC / instrument facilities than the school or its training standards.

You hear very few complaints about SFC.

I'd give SFC 8/10

They'd get 10/10 if it wasn't for certain rude, unprofessional members of the reception team. One in particular seems to think it's okay to openly discuss students financial situations out loud in front of other customers. (this hasn't personally happened to me but I've witnessed it).

The instructors are great, they really carry the company.

S88

I had a bad experience...
 

I'm going to write something that bucks the trend here I'm afraid.

I was there in 2006 and had a bad experience I'm afraid, I'd made a long hard decision to go there and take the modular route rather than Oxford and go intergrated.

There were more politics and infighting there than Northern Ireland. I absolutely agree that the reception staff were rude gossips and unprofessional, it was hard getting noticed by them when you were standing there. The head of the school, Capt. Collin Dobney, has had carisma by-pass surgery and whether or not he is a captain is truly to be verrified. In my time there he never said hello or took an interest in my training even though I had signed on for the full course.

The planes were very heavily worn to such an extent the wings on all the 152s were dented where the students leaned on them to fill them up as there was never a ladder by the pumps. The runway is only half asphalt and goes to grass just after you touch down and has a fairly extreme upslope, the plus is, if you can land there you can land anywhere.

There was no continuity in the instructors and it was a nightmare trying to get the same one twice, therefore most lessons were spent with the instructor trying to work out what you knew rather than what they needed to teach next. Most of them were fairly jaded, all apart from one who taught me little nuances I still practice today, I believe has left now.

I know that this may be different to the good experiences that some may have had but I know there are definitely others who share my bad experiences.

I left after a month and completed my PPL training at Pilot Flight Training in Oxford and had a very happy time there.

Don't be tempted to go there just because it is local for you.

Muddy Boots

I know Stapleford. The runway is 1100m, 600m is tarmac. Why touchdown halfway down the runway or am I missing something?

"Muddy Boots" First of all, how can you compare PPL with CPL training, the question here was for commercial training.
I had to do my PPL retraining at Stapelford, due to expired license, and I found them excellent and honest, they did not make me fly more than I required.
Another thing you fail to mention, landing there is not ideal, but it's free, you have a VORDME on the airfield. I did not fly C152, because I don't like them, the PA28 for PPL training looked a bit tired, but did what it said on the can.

For the CPL they use other aircraft, and it is another setup. Yes they might not pussyfoot around you, and you might need to take and show some own initiative, what I appreciated the most, was that because they are fair busy, they are not just looking to milk the most possible hours out of you.
As anything else, a flying school is a business, but it seems to be a well run business, and at a fair/decent price. I am sure there are others, sure your decision for going there instead of Oxford must have been hard, approx. £50.000 difference!!! :ugh:

If I wanted I could have blown my money on Oxford, but I did not even consider it for one second, because for that extra money I rather have it for a rainy day or a TR if required.

Now to know what gossip the staff talks about there, yourself you have to be a little but gossip too, to stand with long ears and listen. It's an open plan office, what you expect, them to go in the backroom to do their job.

I know not all are as friendly, specially when you make them wait 3 hours extra because you got back from a late flight, after closing time as I did once, overall they are friendly enough for my liking, and anyway I am not there to make friends with them either.

I know of plenty of PPL students who never turn up on time, dont prepare themselves or just simply do not have good enough airmanship or flying skills, there are many factors to consider. View it from the other side too. Nobody knows how flexible you was for training either, what instructors was available, bad weather etc. I could go almost anytime, so was never a problem for me.

And the Airfield, is not the worst I have seen, could be worse. I havent said hey to Colin either, how you expect that, school is busy, that is good, means many people are happy and passing, nobody forces anyone to go there. You probably only see Colin for your check ride CPL/IR - and from what I have heard - better not expect to many smiles, however he is not there to be our friend, he is there to judge if you are good enough to get your license.

Stapelford, 8 of 10, but then again, who would get 10???

Dear Tiger Magic John

I am glad you had a good experience at Stapleford, I however didn't and Evan 21 who started this post was seeking our opinions on this forum, he now has both mine and yours. If everyone only posted positive experiences what a bed of roses life would be.

To address some of your points but not all of them, I started there on a CPL modular course but was so put off by them that I didn't stay and complete the PPL part of my training. I am currently embarking on the CPL portion of my training.

Flexibility, alas not money, was my decision on going modular rather than intergrated.

I was resident and therefore never late and was available to fly anytime.

I have no idea what the gossip from the chattering classes was but I had the nerve to dare to interupt them to be served as a customer as I stood in reception. By the way it was Student 88 who had the pleasure of hearing the details of the gossip plus he also had the same sentiments about some of the staff.

Wow, they had a VOR/DME on top of the hill that was their runway, not exactly an ILS. It is shear luck for them that it's there, if they closed down tomorrow it would still be there as it forms part of the standard terminal approach and hold for traffic inbound to Heathrow amongst others.

Yes the runway and airfield could be worse, there could be a cattle grid at the transition from the asphalt.

Finally, so you clearly agree the Capt. (ahem) Collin Dobney is an uncharismatic old :mad:...

If we are giving it a score I personally would rate it 3 out of 10.

Go on, your turn to shout...

Muddy Boots

As an addendum, there were others who were disgruntled by Stapleford, my experiences are 3 1/2 years old, maybe they have cleaned up their act.

Stapleford Flight Centre
 

I finished training at Stapleford in Dec 09. I would rate them 10/10. I completed the hours building CPL/ME/IR with them and was very happy with the school and training. I found the instruction was fantastic and the instructors were all willing to help at anytime. I passed the CPL/ME/IR first time in min hours.
If anyone wants further information/guidance I'm happy to help PM me.

Ade :)

I like this thread.

Its a really good illustration of a wider point. Peoples expectation, experience and opinion of the same school does vary widely. The obvious conclusion is that the school is pretty constant and the wide variance reported by the student/customer is down to them rather than the FTO. Instructors often come and go and replacing a bad one with a good one (or the reverse) can transform a school its true.

Just be aware - its ALWAYS been the case that one mans food is another mans poison when it comes to flying schools.


WWW

......just like anything else WWW.

I agree that this thread is useful, mainly a positive vibe about the school. It's pleasing to see, as this is one of my potential options for the future.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Muddy Boots.

Did some commercial training with them and he's summed up the CFI and some of the Instructors perfectly. I know a few people who went there that wouldn't have a good word to say about SFC.

I suppose they can't keep everyone happy!:suspect:

3bars

I completed my PPL in October 2009 at Stapleford. The instruction was excellent and the instructors were always there if you needed any help.

However, their receptionists were very unprofessional. One of the ladies at the reception was brilliant, however a few of them were just a ****in pain in the arse. Numerous times I would stand at the front desk waiting for their attention and assistance and they would just ignore or blank me out. This is really pathetic especially as it's people like us who pay not theirs but everyone's salary at the flying school.

Overall, I have been very pleased with the instruction at Stapleford and I will be coming back to do my hour building and commercial training.

Rating: 8/10 ( would have given 10/10 had it not been for the pathetic individuals at the reception)

G-XO

The reception is open at Stapleford, for those who don't know.

The women who work behind there have work to do and just because they can be seen does not mean they can instatly jump up and attend to questions at the drop of a hat.

A lot of the comments on this post appear to be from people with an unreal expectation.

As a pilot, you have to be open to criticism whether good or bad, so why does it matter if people discuss you? Information is shared so lessons can be learnt.

Get yourself a thick skin. You are going to be watched, observed and graded many times during your flying career.

Colin Dobney is a miserable sod, but if you are putting the work in and have a problem, go and speak to him and see how he reacts.

I cocked up 1 thing on my CPL so I required a retest (approach to Southend 06 from the South). Colin came up to me a called me a C*** afterwards.

It was like a hug.

I totally agree with what Pilot2/b said about stapleford training on the previous page. Likewise, I completed a CPL/ME/IR with them and I must admit, the instructors were all very good and very friendly. Passed everything first time as well.
Concerning the IR, some might wonder if the fact that there's no instrument approach at stapleford is a problem. To my mind, it's not an issue at all. Southend Airport is just nearby and is perfectly suitable for training.
The school is providing accommodations and a student car is available as well...

I'd be more than happy to answer any specific question about their training!

Rating: 9.5/10 because the food could be better at the clubhouse :)