Skyborne still worth it?
 

Looking at joining Skybornes intergrated ATPL program and just want other peoples opinion

Is Skyborne still a good ATO? I have read good things about them from previous years, but things change.

But does anyone have any insight onto the state of Skyborne right now?

And would it be silly to start training with them next year?

Just finished up my course at Skyborne in the past few months. So can give on overview of what I’ve seen the past few months.

Groundschool is in my opinion the most solid and best held part of the course. Even when they were operating above max capacity prior to opening the Bournemouth site, there was never a class delayed on starting the flying phase.

The US holds a different story, with UK students, US students, Indigo students and then some military training, there was a significant lack of aircraft when I was there. Talking to people who are out there now they seem to be reducing the quantity of students from non uk programs to ease this, with a possible foresight of completing MEP and UPRT out there although this was never confirmed.

The rest of the flying completed in the UK ran fairly smoothly, originally they only had 4 aircraft which was just enough, however I am now aware that they have recently got more aircraft to support the 2 sites they have.

Overall they seem to be adapting well to the increase in students, as someone who would reach the flying stage when you would, I would imagine a lot of the problems I faced will be pretty much gone!

Good luck with everything!

Thanks for the response, I am looking forward towards the challenge.

How present at the school were airlines?

Were you tagged by an airline? or any of your class mates?

or are you required to go job hunting now your finished?

Job wise they have lots of connections and are very helpful.

I managed to pursue a job on my own at the start of ground school to get tagged.

Once we returned from the US the graduate team were frequently sending over airlines that had opened applications. They will then have prep days for the airlines for you to attend, and some airlines actually come into the school to do assessments!

Out of my course of 20 only 1 is without a job, and Skyborne continue to send them opportunities to apply for.

That sounds promising. Starting next month, so looking forward to it. Good luck with your future career!

Heard they're being sold so will end up like CAE and L3, just another average school sucked up by a big corporate.

Skyborne being sold? Source?

all the PE houses have the IM

Just finished my training there in December and I’ll give my honest thoughts and opinions.

Ground School Phase:

6 months of ATPL GS theory which was taught very well, split into 3 modules (12/8/8 weeks) with 5/4/4 subjects per module. The courses are classes of 20 which makes it an ideal amount where there’s not too many people and not too little so you get a very family feel atmosphere between peers and is easy to get along with course mates and other courses ahead of you. There is a big stigma of competition as soon as exam week lingers around the corner which isn’t ideal of who can get the most bank questions done which seems to be a running theme amongst cadets for some reason. Myself I admittedly struggled during ATPL’s however Skyborne were brilliant at the time in offering one to one support where need be. I took some extra time out of the advertised 6 months to get done with my exams as the timescale for me was too little. There wasn’t many issues that arose from this and is quite common for students to back course during this phase however the support in making that decision was second to none. I finished my ATPL’s in an extra 2/3 months

SEP CPL Phase in Vero Beach

After being shipped away to vero beach there was a slight delay in getting started due to requiring us all to be background checked for TSA clearance however this was outside of Skyborne’s control and up to the faa and governing bodies over there. After being cleared off with my background check the day before my first flight I had a medical event where my FAA class 3 was revoked (I will not be going into key detail as to why) however Skyborne were brilliant in offering me one to one support during this time where I thought my career was over, swiftly outlined the steps I need to take and places I need to go and offered me transport to and from medical appointments. After 2/3 weeks I regained my FAA medical and was finally flying. I was flying a lot initially to recoup the initial delay due to TSA and my medical issues. I quickly caught up with the rest of my course and went on to finish my SEP CPL in 6 months and 1 week of touching down in America. (Less than 5 months of actual flying from my first flight to CPL skills test)

the flying there and instruction is brilliant although a few issues with an fi over safety concerns I had which I raised with management and they were swiftly resolved. (Just culture is a beautiful thing)

the QOL over there is a real slog of being homesick after 3 months and if you want to make the most of the free time you will need some deep pockets.

MEIR MCC UPRT

After finishing in vero beach and a month off we were back to Gloucester for the MEP MEIR MCC UPRT phase. The MEP and MEIR phase was a little slow and very stop start due to weather however I got it all done in a timely manner and not many delays outside of Skyborne’s control. The level of instruction was top notch, the fi’s were all brilliant and very knowledgeable and you always came out of the sim or flight having learnt so much compared to the last sortie. The MCC phase was pretty standard nothing to comment negatively or positively there however the schedule was quite intense with 4 hour sims but thats to be expected. UPRT was outsourced to FPT in shoreham which was amazing.

Graduate services

I was very fortunate to be tagged by an airline during my training before I’d even flown an aircraft in the states. Subject to a final sim assessment during Mcc which I passed I was given the job at the airline. I’m currently in the hold pool with them awaiting a start date. The industry is always changing and it is hard to predict when airlines come and go. My advice is just take whatever comes your way and don’t say no to any opportunities or you will be stuck in that position of having to renew your IR still with no job!

Final thoughts

Would highly recommend Skyborne to anyone, I know the demand for this ATO has skyrocketed since I joined and started and I’m hoping the quality doesn’t take a hit due to increased numbers there going forwards. It was a very personal experience and your not a number to them by any means. Made some good friends for life both FI’s and students alike. But of course Skyborne may not be for everyone and I strongly suggest researching all the ATO’s before making a decision!

any questions OP feel free to message! Good luck in your training.