Singaporean self-sponsored CPL holders - where are you?
Join Date: Nov 2010
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Singapore Air Safety Publication 2
Chapter 4
"An applicant for a Commercial Pilot Licence (Aeroplane) shall produce evidence that:
(a) he has successfully completed an approved course of flight and ground training;"
Not sure if that school is "approved".
Chapter 4
"An applicant for a Commercial Pilot Licence (Aeroplane) shall produce evidence that:
(a) he has successfully completed an approved course of flight and ground training;"
Not sure if that school is "approved".
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Hi Jason,
Since you are also considering STAA, have you thought about joining their Qatar MPL program? If you are going to sink so much money, you are really better off going for something that at least give you better possibility of securing a job. I understand you can also obtain bank loans for the course if $$ is a problem. Speak to STAA about financing.
If you are going to do the CAAS CPL flying component with STAA, that will be done in Hondo, Texas. I don't have a lot of details on that as it is relatively new. I heard the first batch they sent about one year ago are still stuck there. The flying for the Qatar MPL is done in Ballarat, Australia, and that is normally about 3 to 5 months depending on weather. So you gotta weigh all these options: do you want to do a CAAS CPL, go to Hondo (google and find out about the place) for God-knows how long (think about living expenses while you're there in US$$), come back and start begging the airlines for a job, or the Qatar MPL program, go to Aus and do it fast, save on living expenses (AUD versus USD), come back for A320 type rating, and head to Qatar and fly jets. MPL does have its risk. If you don't meet the training standards, your money is sunk straight to the bottom.
As far as your main concern goes, all flight schools have their pros and cons. You'll notice in this forum that people tend to be negative. That's why they come here and bitch. I've heard negative feedback about both flight schools too, but that doesn't mean they're crap. SFC having churned out 200 batches of pilots, surely they're doing something right. I also heard from a friend of mine that STAA do bring cadets into their A320 sim as part of their ATPL ground school training. SFC doesn't do that as they don't have their own sim in Singapore.
As for this Revion thing, I don't know anything about this outfit at all, and quite honestly I'm not prepared to sink 20 something thousands for something with no proven track records. If you do decide to gamble away your money, I hope you can share your feedback for the benefits of everyone.
Good luck.
Since you are also considering STAA, have you thought about joining their Qatar MPL program? If you are going to sink so much money, you are really better off going for something that at least give you better possibility of securing a job. I understand you can also obtain bank loans for the course if $$ is a problem. Speak to STAA about financing.
If you are going to do the CAAS CPL flying component with STAA, that will be done in Hondo, Texas. I don't have a lot of details on that as it is relatively new. I heard the first batch they sent about one year ago are still stuck there. The flying for the Qatar MPL is done in Ballarat, Australia, and that is normally about 3 to 5 months depending on weather. So you gotta weigh all these options: do you want to do a CAAS CPL, go to Hondo (google and find out about the place) for God-knows how long (think about living expenses while you're there in US$$), come back and start begging the airlines for a job, or the Qatar MPL program, go to Aus and do it fast, save on living expenses (AUD versus USD), come back for A320 type rating, and head to Qatar and fly jets. MPL does have its risk. If you don't meet the training standards, your money is sunk straight to the bottom.
As far as your main concern goes, all flight schools have their pros and cons. You'll notice in this forum that people tend to be negative. That's why they come here and bitch. I've heard negative feedback about both flight schools too, but that doesn't mean they're crap. SFC having churned out 200 batches of pilots, surely they're doing something right. I also heard from a friend of mine that STAA do bring cadets into their A320 sim as part of their ATPL ground school training. SFC doesn't do that as they don't have their own sim in Singapore.
As for this Revion thing, I don't know anything about this outfit at all, and quite honestly I'm not prepared to sink 20 something thousands for something with no proven track records. If you do decide to gamble away your money, I hope you can share your feedback for the benefits of everyone.
Good luck.
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Seems to me like you already made up your mind to go with Revion.
Alternatively, could sign up for the exams and self-study, get the question bank. And save yourself $20k. It's not outside the realm of possibility, considering the study aids available today.
Alternatively, could sign up for the exams and self-study, get the question bank. And save yourself $20k. It's not outside the realm of possibility, considering the study aids available today.
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Jason - Your argument and research is sound.
Though do consider the bigger picture - Obtaining the initial qualifications is but an extremely insignificant step in the grand scheme of things. Many a licence holders were well taught/learned and remained jobless; Contrastingly, there are others whom are marginal trainees but flying jets now.
Just be clear about the ramification of your chosen path.
Though do consider the bigger picture - Obtaining the initial qualifications is but an extremely insignificant step in the grand scheme of things. Many a licence holders were well taught/learned and remained jobless; Contrastingly, there are others whom are marginal trainees but flying jets now.
Just be clear about the ramification of your chosen path.
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Hi Jason,
I believe you have most of the facts required so far. Some advice for you:
Getting a CPL/ATPL license is a big commitment. In the grand scheme of things, saving 10k+ isn't going to mean much when you would eventually spend a lot of time and money to get yr license. If you have set your mind to achieve your dream then I really do suggest that you do it full time. Unless, of cause, you have a family or kids to support. Enroll in a flight school be it STAA or SFC etc. Here's why:
1. I had counterparts with Aerospace/mechancial engineering degrees who found that they have a lot of new things to learn in groundschool. If you intend to study all 14 papers on your own with just textbook, CBT etc. without prior knowledge then it is very challenging and IMO not doable within 6 months. Whether you are a private candidate or have secured an employer, if your final goal is to fly with the airlines and confident of getting there then you would want to get your license as soon as possible. Time is key. Every week/month spent in the flight school or part-timing is lost income from not flying. I hope you understand this part clearly as youth is a very precious commodity especially for low/nil hour pilots.
2. Once you are in, you will realise the line pilot circle is not very large esp in SG. Connection and getting insider updates on who and where is hiring will be key to land jobs. Especially so for private candidates. Flight school is one avenue of getting into this circle.
3. No man is an island. Even though the teaching might be bad, they still help you a lot to digest the mountain of content in a managable way. Trust me, I came from one of the local U and I have professors that are far worse.. Does that make my U a lousy school? Not really. U rankings are almost based on academic research. The school is there to guide your learning. It is ultimately down to the student so I see no point in nitpicking on teaching quality. SFC continues to produce good pilots not because they have excellent teachers but because SQ filters and only pick the best candidates to send to SFC ie positive selection bias.
4. There are subjects that are notoriously difficult to study (MET, Instruments to name a few). You will need help from your peers and also senior's exam "feedback" to do well. It will help you to seek out impt areas to focus for the exams and make the difference between passing and scoring in the high range. This is the benefit of joining a school. As a private candidate, you will want to score in the 90%+ range for all subjext to land a decent job upon graduation because that is what your prospective employers will look at given your limited exp.
Local carrier wise, scoot is hiring direct entry SO. If you had embark on this route 1.5yrs ago you will be well placed to apply.
Help you find this useful. I wish you all the best in this long, uncertain but potentially rewarding journey.
I believe you have most of the facts required so far. Some advice for you:
Getting a CPL/ATPL license is a big commitment. In the grand scheme of things, saving 10k+ isn't going to mean much when you would eventually spend a lot of time and money to get yr license. If you have set your mind to achieve your dream then I really do suggest that you do it full time. Unless, of cause, you have a family or kids to support. Enroll in a flight school be it STAA or SFC etc. Here's why:
1. I had counterparts with Aerospace/mechancial engineering degrees who found that they have a lot of new things to learn in groundschool. If you intend to study all 14 papers on your own with just textbook, CBT etc. without prior knowledge then it is very challenging and IMO not doable within 6 months. Whether you are a private candidate or have secured an employer, if your final goal is to fly with the airlines and confident of getting there then you would want to get your license as soon as possible. Time is key. Every week/month spent in the flight school or part-timing is lost income from not flying. I hope you understand this part clearly as youth is a very precious commodity especially for low/nil hour pilots.
2. Once you are in, you will realise the line pilot circle is not very large esp in SG. Connection and getting insider updates on who and where is hiring will be key to land jobs. Especially so for private candidates. Flight school is one avenue of getting into this circle.
3. No man is an island. Even though the teaching might be bad, they still help you a lot to digest the mountain of content in a managable way. Trust me, I came from one of the local U and I have professors that are far worse.. Does that make my U a lousy school? Not really. U rankings are almost based on academic research. The school is there to guide your learning. It is ultimately down to the student so I see no point in nitpicking on teaching quality. SFC continues to produce good pilots not because they have excellent teachers but because SQ filters and only pick the best candidates to send to SFC ie positive selection bias.
4. There are subjects that are notoriously difficult to study (MET, Instruments to name a few). You will need help from your peers and also senior's exam "feedback" to do well. It will help you to seek out impt areas to focus for the exams and make the difference between passing and scoring in the high range. This is the benefit of joining a school. As a private candidate, you will want to score in the 90%+ range for all subjext to land a decent job upon graduation because that is what your prospective employers will look at given your limited exp.
Local carrier wise, scoot is hiring direct entry SO. If you had embark on this route 1.5yrs ago you will be well placed to apply.
Help you find this useful. I wish you all the best in this long, uncertain but potentially rewarding journey.
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You might also want to verify if you can join the flight schools (SFC for example) without any prerequisites. What I mean by this is, they might still need you to go through an interview etc. The last thing you want is not being accepted by SFC for the flying phase for any reason with your ATPLs in hand.
There were a few posts about comparisons of standards in SFC now vs then. I think this is all irrelevant. It doesn't matter really, what you or others think about the school; what the airlines think or looking for is still the most important. MI, Scoot, SIA all send their cadets to SFC. If it's good enough for them, surely it should be what you're looking at. Majority of the self-sponsored SFC cadets get a shot at the said airlines. Definitely says a lot.
Overall, I am with globemaster on this one for all the reasons he has stated, it is probably worthwhile doing it full time.
In any case, all the very very best.
There were a few posts about comparisons of standards in SFC now vs then. I think this is all irrelevant. It doesn't matter really, what you or others think about the school; what the airlines think or looking for is still the most important. MI, Scoot, SIA all send their cadets to SFC. If it's good enough for them, surely it should be what you're looking at. Majority of the self-sponsored SFC cadets get a shot at the said airlines. Definitely says a lot.
Overall, I am with globemaster on this one for all the reasons he has stated, it is probably worthwhile doing it full time.
In any case, all the very very best.
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I don't mean it in a way that you will be guaranteed a job after you finish from SFC, but rather it should put you in a good spot to be selected for an interview when the time is right.
Good luck and let us know how you go with this route.
Good luck and let us know how you go with this route.
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A number of the airlines have had started cadet schemes, self-sponsored or otherwise with various flight schools. As requirements for new hires have been largely planned for (takes a good 1.5 - 2 years lead time), barring any unforeseen pilot turnover, recruiting from the non-cadet CPL pool is minimal.
The circumstance now is different from what it was 5 years ago and we need to be cognisant of this when we weigh options.
The circumstance now is different from what it was 5 years ago and we need to be cognisant of this when we weigh options.
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seriously the ATPL curriculum is much more structured n organised now that it's very much possible to self study n pass the exams
when i was doing the old syllabus 4yrs back, it was really rubbish as compared to the current one now
when i was doing the old syllabus 4yrs back, it was really rubbish as compared to the current one now
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SFC trainee aviation instructor
Hi all, I saw this job post on the site - Jobs Listing ? Singapore Flying College
I heard that SFC sponsors trainee instructors in exchange for a bond.. and they get to transit to the airlines. Since I do not have money for the self sponsored path and I've yet to hear from SQ, I'm interested in applying for this job. Is SFC a good company to work in, do they have transition to the airlines and is the pay decent?
I heard that SFC sponsors trainee instructors in exchange for a bond.. and they get to transit to the airlines. Since I do not have money for the self sponsored path and I've yet to hear from SQ, I'm interested in applying for this job. Is SFC a good company to work in, do they have transition to the airlines and is the pay decent?
.
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Guys guys guys, I've got to put a stop to this, we are going totally off topic here.
This thread is about Jason so wanting to do his ground school at Revlon.
I'm kidding, good luck buddy!
This thread is about Jason so wanting to do his ground school at Revlon.
I'm kidding, good luck buddy!