geryshayk How much have you paid? What does the contract say about leaving?
As long as you haven't given them much money, it's not the end of the world. You're not far in and could leave with little/ no consequence apart from the financial aspect.

Though it does serve as a warning to others. Why would anyone sign up to spend many 10s of thousands of Euros at a school of which they had no knowledge?
It's quite simple.
Go visit the school. Look at the facilities/ planes. Talk to the instructors/ sales/ receptionist/ anyone and everyone. Try to sit in on a class. Does it look well-run? Are the facilities reasonable? Would you feel comfortable in the planes? Do they have enough planes in good working order? Do the FIs speak English well and sound experienced and competent? Is information on the course easily accessible?
Talk to current students out of earshot of the sales people. Would they recommend the school? What are the main pluses and minuses? Is there anything they wish they knew before starting?
If you have contacts, try to get a personal review from someone at/ a recent graduate of the school.
Thoroughly search Google/ Facebook/ IG for reputation and reviews/ info from recent students (though take things online with a pinch of salt).
Never pay significant sums up front. Always remember you can lose what you've paid (too many ATOs have gone bankrupt so lots have experienced this unfortunately).
Buyer beware!

Edit to say this sounds a bit harsh. I truly wish you well and hope you are able to follow your dreams!

Appreciate your reply,i hope it help someone to find the right way for training and study, which cost a lot of money. I wish you luck in further steps ,and my opinion is, if you can don't waste money, prepare your self most efficient for study and giving exams . Many schools have the same problem, so don't waste your time ,just study and go for exams.

I've been pondering a career change, the better half already works as CC for Qantas, previously VAA. Generally loves the job & industry. I was initially turned away by the thought of going through these integrated schools and the 100-120k price tag.

Thank you for all the posts in this thread. In an effort to educate myself on Modular, I've been trying to hunt down prices.

Does this sound reasonable?

Before committing anything at all, get a class 1 medical £900 UK only or £1200 EASA+UK.

ATPL Exams Bristol Ground School Remotely while working £3200 + exam fees.

Central Flight Training based in the midlands (somewhat local, very drivable distance), doing PPL (Training+10 PIC) ~£5845 -> 60 Hours building (Min for MEP on their website) to 70hrs total -> MEP (6 hours) £3,985.00 -> MEIR (50 hours) £17,000.00 -> 25 Hours (build 125-150) -> Start CPL(A) 25 hours £8,738.00 -> 25 hours (build 175->200 total) -> UPRT £1,800.00+ APS MCC £4,995 else where. Roughly doing about 120 hours of time building at £142/h for £17,000 Using rough figures total about 60k.

Stapleford's in Essex, Same pattern PPL into ME/CBIR before CPL, theirs comes in at about £46,000, again adding on UPRT+APSMCC for another £7,000, Rough total of £53,000

Also looked at ACS Flight Training up in Perth Scotland, appears slightly more expensive then Central Flight Training. FTEJerez, considerably more expensive at first glance, let alone travel/accom/time off work for Spain etc.

This is my first attempt at pricing this up with no industry knowledge. If you or Alex, or any other experienced folk have suggestions on other training providers, or optimization of the training order, it would be greatly appreciated.

My next research topic would be on the process for moving from completing UPRT/APSMCC into the first job. People seem to avoid self funding a type rating? However this process taking 2yrs or so, putting me at 42, would it possibly help in moving things along a bit faster. There seems to be struggles for people non-type rated to get into work or accepting jobs with never ending delayed starting dates because the airlines TR provider is backed up.

I give up.

Applogies for not understanding. I think I missed the mark on doing as little ME hours as possible? Also unsure how the conversion between a SE IR -> MEIR or CBIR works? I've seen a few job adds specifically stating you need MEIR.

Guessing then it should have been PPL-> Nigh Rating ->SE IR -> MEP -> Upgrade to MEIR/CBIR (with least ME hours possible) -> CPL?

In terms of hours, am I incorrect in there is a requirment of 150 hours to start a CPL(A) class?, which gives another 25 hours & to get sign off you need 200 hours total PIC?

I've got a little more time on my hands now...

In a nutshell the best way to save money is to do as few Sim and multi hours as possible - because sim hours are generally unnecessary and multi hours are expensive.

The CPL has the highest hour requirement (200) so it makes sense to do that last and finish with 200 hours. Why anyone would get 200 hours then pay another £15k on top of that for 15 MEP hours and 35 Sim hours is beyond me.

10 hours is common to both the CPL and IR, meaning if you get your IR first your CPL is only a 15 hour course.

You can do your CPL in a multi OR you can get your MEP and do your CPL in a single (in any order) you don't need to do both.

The PIC requirements are 50 for IR, 70 for your MEP and 100 for your CPL.

There are about 7 or 8 different ways to get an IR but the cheapest is (one of) the CBIR routes: IRR then CBIR. Its 15 hours dual, 15 hours PIC then either 10 hours dual in a single engine or 15 hours multi.

To get an initial IR in a multi requires 15 hours, to convert an SEIR to MEIR only requires 2. Savings can be from 0-13 hours depending on ability.

An IR can be done partly using Sim hours. Sim hours don't count to your CPL. You'll be amazed how many people pay £150 per hour for 200 hours airplane rental then pay £150 per hour to spend 35 hours simulating what they could have done for free during their hour building (ok, technically free + instructor cost.)

Another way to look at it: Lets say your school offers IRR training for £210 and hour building for £150.
An IRR+CBIR will cost you (210×15)+(150×15)+(210×10) = £6750. That's already pretty cheap but now consider that you were going to pay £6000 to fly those hours anyway - you just got an IR for less than a grand in instructors fees. Compared to the most expensive option of CPL then IR you're effectively writing off training cost against hour building.

so after the IRR/CBIR, you hold an Instrument Rating, right? And once you've done the MEP and then the CPL, do you then have to do an MEIR, or is that just an abbreviation for both the MEP and IR ratings that you wouldve already done? Airlines want a MEIR and CPL so just checking. Chees rudestuff.

rudestuff Thank you for the further explaination. Really appricate you taking the time to expand & clarify it for me.

From what I gather / I’m doing

Yes the IRR + CBIR = SEIR
MEP is the same as SEP just a class
SEIR - MEIR conversion course, 5hrs min of which 3 can be FNPT.
CPL Single engine


UPRT & APS/MCC (VA is recommended through wings alliance) to finish off

Order is your choice, I aim to leave multi stuff to the end so I’m proficient but it’s entirely up to you

If you want to learn more / help understanding the CAA website -> pilot licenses is a good place to look.

Some schools will say it’s not recommended or it’ll cost you more. Don’t be deterred, on a CV you’ll have more IFR hours, demonstrate greater ability as single pilot ifr is no walk in the park, and you will stand out as you’ll have more to talk about in a interview! At least that is my thinking.

PPL first, CPL last. You can do everything in between in any order you like, but there is an optimum. IRR is 15 hours (it's also called IMC) it's basically an 'IR-light' which allows you to fly IMC , build 15 IFR hours then do a 10 hour course to 'top-up' to a full SEIR (40 hours total) Or a 15 hour course for MEIR (45 hours total) if you prefer. The SEIR to MEIR conversion minimums are 2 hours and 3 Sim, so it's obviously significantly cheaper to get SEIR first. There is also a fully taught version of the CBIR where you do 40/45 hours, and obviously schools will try to sell you the most expensive one.

Your PPL and its' SEP class rating allows you to fly SEP, getting an SEIR allows you to fly it in IMC. You'll need a separate MEP rating to fly MEPs before you can get your MEIR, so its 4 tests. You can do 3 flight tests if you go straight to MEIR without doing SEIR, or if you combine the CPL and MEP and do the MEIR last (the traditional route). Neither of those would make sense.

Also understand that the PPL and CPL are licences, everything else is a rating. If you get your MEP after your PPL then you can do your CPL test in an SEP and your MEP rating will be transferred onto it. To keep your total hours at 200 you need to do the CPL last, since you'll already have done the MEP and MEIR you'll only need to do a 15 hour single engine CPL course.

There are many ways to end up with a CPL and MEIR, but in my opinion PPL, NIGHT, IRR, SECBIR, MEP, MEIR, SECPL is the optimum order if your primary concern is cost. Breakdown is 200 hours, 76 Dual, 100 PIC and 24 hours in your back pocket for going over minimums.

Overlooked the CPL MEP link, SE CPL at the end it is, thanks rude stuff.

Any recommendations for ATOs? blackbushe, British aerobatics and stapleford are on the list.

Good morning everyone,

Apologies if this has been addressed previously and feel free to post instructions of where this is located.

I'm looking at modular training and tossing up between EASA and UK-CAA, not both. I have a UK passport and full living and working rights in only one EU country. Getting a flying job in said EU country wouldn't likely be possible due to the lack of knowledge of the local language.

I have asked around, including some CFI's from flying schools in both EASA and UK-CAA but I guess people are reluctant to say too much.

I'm just looking for some advice, nothing more. Thank you in advance for anything shared.

UK citizens have the right to live and work in Ireland. I guess you are not talking about there as you presumably speak English.
What's the other country? If it's Poland (your location), then LOT previously took on non-Polish speaking pilots (no idea now). Ryanair is obviously a big employer there too - though I think not having the unrestricted right to work in the EU might be an issue for them

The issue with asking people is that nobody truly knows and nobody would sensibly want to limit your opportunities.

Is there any reason you don't want to go dual? The additional costs and difficulty are relatively small.
Going modular, the start of the path makes no difference. Both a UK or an EASA PPL can take you on either (or both) path.
Then, for the ATPL exams, do it at somewhere dual approved like BGS. The syllabus is the same and the exams are very similar. You can sit both UK and EASA exams there too. That makes it much easier as you sit the same subjects at the same time - i.e. you only study each subject once. Additional cost is about £1k so far.
Form that point, you can decide on which way to go (or whether to do both). You've left the door open and are a lot closer to actually getting a job so will likely be in a much better place to decide.

Limiting yourself to one or the other is not the best idea especially when the extra cost would initially be the exam fees. Plenty of reasonable priced schools will give you both licences.

any recommendations on where to get a CPL at such a reasonable price? I know prices have shot up, but in 2021 the cheapest I could find was appx £5k

Look at your other posting…

I am in two minds in what to do with my training. I have aspirations to fly for an airline on a jet eventually, and I am currently weighing up pros and cons of both integrated and modular training. I am lucky enough to be in a position where with a mix of parent funding and finance I can afford both routes. After visiting a few flying schools I was most drawn to L3 and Leading edge, although the recent news on L3 has deterred me slightly. I am now considering a full time modular route which would save me £30,000-£40,000 in training costs and should still be completed in roughly 2 years if all goes to plan. However, I am slightly concerned about job prospects for modular students as I know certain ATO's have holding pools and student can get tagged during training. Does anyone know how much harder it would be to get an airline job with a modular fATPL completed across a handful of flying schools? Would the fact that I would be doing it full time also benefit me as the training would not be over a huge timescale? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am worried about the prospect of spending £60,000/£70,000 in the modular route and then be much less likely to be hired afterwards. I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere but I cannot find any recent discussion on this in particular. If there is and I have missed it, please send a link as that would also be of great help.
Aviator86444

Hi all,

Wondering if someone can help answer a question I haven't seen raised yet.

Is it easier to pass CPL and MEIR skills tests if you take go the integrated route?

Obviously there are other factors that go into this such as the quality of training, the school, pilot, what kind of hour building that you've done... but in general is it easier to pass if you've learnt to fly doing an Integrated Course?

Purely from a logical POV, not if you are doing modular full-time. In this case, the benefit of doing an integrated course is that you are doing your training full-time, where you start the next module soon after finishing/passing the previous one. If you are doing modular full-time, then it should be the same. However, if you are spanning your CPL (for example) over a long time (i.e. 1 or 2 hours a week), then yeah, you may find it harder and may need more training, hence costing more.

With the exception of a handful of airlines preferring integrated students, like EasyJet, there really isn't any down-side to doing modular over integrated. Even if you're young and want that 'campus' experience, just do full-time modular all at one school.