We caught up with Jake last year to see how he was finding the training amidst the pandemic. He is enrolled on our Integrated Flight Deck Programme and is on target to complete his training this year. 

When did you start your training and what stage are you at now?

When I enrolled, we started with three weeks foundation which is kind of basic theory of what you do in ground school. After foundation theory you then go straight into ground school. FTA extended the ground school from 6 months to 9 months after I enrolled, so I should hopefully be finished by December 2021. Having finished ground school, I’m now flying and currently in the final phase which includes your CPL skills test and IR (instrument rating). 

This will come as good news to UK-based students who are required to complete acclimatisation flying and the IR skill test in an EU member state for the issue of an EASA licence. With the world in the grips of a pandemic, sourcing and travelling to flight schools abroad could understandably prove quite unsettling for some, however the proximity of EU airspace to our base at Brighton City Airport has made completing the acclimatisation flying and IR skill test in EU airspace straightforward, without ever spending a night away from British soil.

Infection is not limited to pandemics: sometimes it is a positive thing. Fredricka explains how her dad's love of aviation became infectious. Now in the final stages of her training, she has kept both her parents happy  by training to be a pilot whilst maintaining her love and care for horses. 

It's unusual for competing ATOs to launch joint press statements, however this is exactly what happened this week.

We united with three of Europe’s leading Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) in support of the pilot training industry and to demonstrate the duty of care provided to every trainee. Please scroll down to read the full press release.

Earlier this year we introduced a ground school experience like no other – nine months of blended, instructor-led tuition underpinned with computer-based training and e-learning material.

We have been delivering world-class commercial pilot training for 15 years. In that time we have gone from strength to strength, continually investing in our fleet, staff and premises, with plans for significant growth in the next five years.