Bartolini vs AFTA

The_Rev

Any thoughts on which one to go with for the CPL+ME/IR

What is the opinion of the airline industry recruiters on those who've done the Poland route? It is a lot cheaper after all, plus doable in 8-10 weeks.. and without the Irish Weather to contend with.

But does AFTA have better contacts with Norwegian maybe? Is that worth the extra money?

Pros Cons anyone?

pepe the prawn

The_Rev wrote: »

Any thoughts on which one to go with for the CPL+ME/IR

What is the opinion of the airline industry recruiters on those who've done the Poland route? It is a lot cheaper after all, plus doable in 8-10 weeks.. and without the Irish Weather to contend with.

But does AFTA have better contacts with Norwegian maybe? Is that worth the extra money?

Pros Cons anyone?

Have you finished your ATPL's? Reason I ask is because bartolini have quite a waiting time to get a place on their CPL/MEIR course..

The_Rev

Might drop them a mail to find out.

pepe the prawn wrote: »

Have you finished your ATPL's? Reason I ask is because bartolini have quite a waiting time to get a place on their CPL/MEIR course..

martinsvi

it's a tough one alright, from the numbers quoted by AFTA, they train 75 pilots a year and last year 30 of them walked into Norwegian. I'm not sure if they account for Turkish/Astana guys, if so, they must be hitting close to 100% employment rate

then again they are expensive and you will not finish the CPL/ME/IR in 8-9 weeks. Most students I talked to quote 3-4 months for modular studies. Now with winter approaching, I wouldn't even look at them to be honest.

Bartolini is not the only option, there are some schools in Czech Republic with fairly good reviews. Then you have the Diamond flight academy in Kalmar/Sweden who prize themselves with 100% pass rate... then I still keep eyeballing the Wings Alliance setup in UK, maybe that's the way to do it.. oogh, some tough decisions ahead!

The_Rev

response from Bartolini....
Next available slot will be in May

The_Rev wrote: »

Might drop them a mail to find out.

basill

If your choice of flight school is based on it getting you into Norwegian then you seriously need to go make a cup of tea and sit down and do some proper research into the aviation industry before you make a life changing decision.

The_Rev

I take it you're a pilot? I'm open to all advice at this stage... cheers.

basill wrote: »

If your choice of flight school is based on it getting you into Norwegian then you seriously need to go make a cup of tea and sit down and do some proper research into the aviation industry before you make a life changing decision.

martinsvi

basill wrote: »

If your choice of flight school is based on it getting you into Norwegian then you seriously need to go make a cup of tea and sit down and do some proper research into the aviation industry before you make a life changing decision.

I'm not sure if I follow you.. All the research I've done for x number of years suggest getting that first gig is difficult. What's wrong with choosing a school that - at least on the paper - increases your chances of getting the foot in the door? I don't think there are a lot of people who think Norwegian is the dream job, but for your first one, I'd be well happy with it. As The_Rev said, any tips would be greatly appreciated, but please- remain constructive and be realistic

deaddonkey15

basill wrote: »

If your choice of flight school is based on it getting you into Norwegian then you seriously need to go make a cup of tea and sit down and do some proper research into the aviation industry before you make a life changing decision.

I think his point was perhaps AFTA are a better choice in finding that first job afterwards due to their connection with Norwegian amongst others, not that he is training specifically to fly for Norwegian.

Out of interest OP, where did you do your hour building? Have you considered doing your training in the US? You will likely have to follow up your CPL/MEIR with a JOC/MCC so bear that in mind also.

pepe the prawn

basill wrote: »

If your choice of flight school is based on it getting you into Norwegian then you seriously need to go make a cup of tea and sit down and do some proper research into the aviation industry before you make a life changing decision.

What factors do you think should be considered when selecting a flight school? What do you consider "proper research"?

The_Rev

ah all I want is a discussion on what people think of the two schools and if one might have better connections and/or chance of interview than the other. Also, does the industry "frown upon" so to speak the 8-10 week concentrated courses such as Bartolinis'

My gut so far is telling me to stay at home, spread the course out over 4-6 months and maybe consider doing the mcc/joc also in the same place so that it's a complete CPL/ME-IR/MCC/JOC all in one school similar to integrated route.. also getting to know more people and making as many contacts as possible (local contacts) rather than ones abroad if I did it in Poland... anyway, that's just my thoughts... would like to hear others.

noelf

Head to www.flyinginireland.com click on in general aviation "overcoming challenges to be able to live the dream" by Paul Ryan ..

macflea

As regards the instrument rating the weather shouldn't be a problem. However it may slow down the cpl training part. There seems to be differences in instrument rating training between countries, in Poland they don't do ndb approaches and in Ireland you don't join airways but only fly radials from airports to a beacon somewhere. I stand to be corrected if I am wrong. A lot easier than the UK and cheaper

Xpro

Big misconception about Poland is that they don't fly NDB approaches and that they are crucial in your training. While in Poland and many other countries they are phasing out this WW2 equipment, but still NDB approaches are regularly flown thanks to Garmin equipment on board Bartolini aircraft, which means that NDB approaches can be set up virtually as a waypoint pretty much anywhere and you shoot your NDB approaches just as normal.
The other big advantage from Poland is that you will fly proper RNAV approaches which I don't think are flown in Irish schools due to equipment limitation, but I stand corrected on this one.. ( unless there's SBAS/WAAS planes out there)
Cheers