Thought I'd fire up a new discussion for those that are in the system or soon to be training for their licence(s). Whether you're being pushed through a sausage factory or being made to feel special at the aero club then this is for you! I'm currently knocking out my PPL and CPL theory papers through night classes and self study, haven't got the money to fly regularly at the moment but will hopefully be in fulltime study at Waikato Aero Club next year.
Good on ya, go for it.... All the fun is in the learning. I've had 38 years at it,and I'm not completly pissed off with it yet. Why Hamilton..? Its a busy place and you do spend a bit of time being jerked around by the controllers.... [I know this] Taupo is probably better value for money for training, but I guess it really depends on where you live..... A work mate always used to say to me "to be a pilot you need a good education.. 4 years in standard 6"... Anyway if you want any advice, its probably best NOT to ask me... All the best...have fun.
I've had a look around and they are the only organisation that don't 'promise' grandeur careers straight out of flying school. They seem straight forward and it look's like a good setup, and on par with the rest of the flying schools offering government funded training (the big kicker for me). Also the fact that it's an Aero Club rather than a flying school, so I'd expect that I'd be getting better treatment and better student-instructor-aircraft ratios than at somewhere like Ardmore Flying School or the Internation Aviation Academy. I'm gonna head down (from Auckland) and check it out sometime in the next two weeks, and also hopefully catch up with Marty at the same time - he's the one who suggested checking it out in the first place.
Waikato Aero Club have a long and good reputation and you couldn't go too far wrong there. My daughter Georgie is going through the Ardmore exam sausage factory at the moment, shes just got CPL met and nav to do. When thats done I think she will go to Auckland Aero club (boyfriend is an instructor there) to do the flying part. I like the aero clubs as they are a little more friendly and you can also have a bit of fun in aviation on the way through. After that its off to the USA to convert her to FAA. 80% of the worlds aviation happens on an FAA certificate and that will open up many doors for her. At the moment (18yo), all she aspires to, is to fly a Dash 8. Not a bad goal and there are plenty of them around.
Good luck with your flying. The Aero Club environment is a lot of fun and Waikato is pretty good. If you can get the student loan then go for it, you'll save lot's of time and doing it fulltime is best if you can. I've been instructing at Massey coming up ten years now and it's always great to see the guys finish the course and get into jobs. The industry is 'cyclic' for sure and the best way to succeed is to never give up. It's a bit slow at the moment but sure as eggs it'll pick up again just as you're ready to enter the job market. When I started 20 years ago it was tough but nowdays there's so much going on all over the world and good pilots are always in demand
Hey Gareth - as you know I'm at Waikato - I've done most of my training there while working full time at Eagle, and have managed to finish most stuff off - I have a couple of challenges ahead but I'm sure they'll work out. We've got a C180 on line too, and you can go fly aeros whenever you want. I told Gordy you were coming so he had a good heads up And Slackie and Megan work hard in the tower to accommodate us - I can honestly say that I've never been mucked around. Held a few times, but never mucked around.
just finishing off at the iaanz, not to bad a place if you don't mind checking your account balances for eronious charges , just passed meir and onto cpl. To celebrate bought myself a lovely cbx 250
MAD crashed today. Pilot died. Can't release name yet though, but a very experienced aero pilot. A very sad day. We spend a lot of our lives operating in a very special, but extremely unforgiving environment.
Wow. I'm really sorry to hear that Marty. My condolences to the family and those who were friends/colleagues of the pilot.
