Modular V Integrated (Merged) - Look here before starting a new thread!
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Join Date: Dec 2023
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Good morning everyone,
Apologies if this has been addressed previously and feel free to post instructions of where this is located.
I'm looking at modular training and tossing up between EASA and UK-CAA, not both. I have a UK passport and full living and working rights in only one EU country. Getting a flying job in said EU country wouldn't likely be possible due to the lack of knowledge of the local language.
I have asked around, including some CFI's from flying schools in both EASA and UK-CAA but I guess people are reluctant to say too much.
I'm just looking for some advice, nothing more. Thank you in advance for anything shared.
Apologies if this has been addressed previously and feel free to post instructions of where this is located.
I'm looking at modular training and tossing up between EASA and UK-CAA, not both. I have a UK passport and full living and working rights in only one EU country. Getting a flying job in said EU country wouldn't likely be possible due to the lack of knowledge of the local language.
I have asked around, including some CFI's from flying schools in both EASA and UK-CAA but I guess people are reluctant to say too much.
I'm just looking for some advice, nothing more. Thank you in advance for anything shared.
Join Date: Mar 2023
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UK citizens have the right to live and work in Ireland. I guess you are not talking about there as you presumably speak English.
What's the other country? If it's Poland (your location), then LOT previously took on non-Polish speaking pilots (no idea now). Ryanair is obviously a big employer there too - though I think not having the unrestricted right to work in the EU might be an issue for them
The issue with asking people is that nobody truly knows and nobody would sensibly want to limit your opportunities.
Is there any reason you don't want to go dual? The additional costs and difficulty are relatively small.
Going modular, the start of the path makes no difference. Both a UK or an EASA PPL can take you on either (or both) path.
Then, for the ATPL exams, do it at somewhere dual approved like BGS. The syllabus is the same and the exams are very similar. You can sit both UK and EASA exams there too. That makes it much easier as you sit the same subjects at the same time - i.e. you only study each subject once. Additional cost is about £1k so far.
Form that point, you can decide on which way to go (or whether to do both). You've left the door open and are a lot closer to actually getting a job so will likely be in a much better place to decide.
What's the other country? If it's Poland (your location), then LOT previously took on non-Polish speaking pilots (no idea now). Ryanair is obviously a big employer there too - though I think not having the unrestricted right to work in the EU might be an issue for them
The issue with asking people is that nobody truly knows and nobody would sensibly want to limit your opportunities.
Is there any reason you don't want to go dual? The additional costs and difficulty are relatively small.
Going modular, the start of the path makes no difference. Both a UK or an EASA PPL can take you on either (or both) path.
Then, for the ATPL exams, do it at somewhere dual approved like BGS. The syllabus is the same and the exams are very similar. You can sit both UK and EASA exams there too. That makes it much easier as you sit the same subjects at the same time - i.e. you only study each subject once. Additional cost is about £1k so far.
Form that point, you can decide on which way to go (or whether to do both). You've left the door open and are a lot closer to actually getting a job so will likely be in a much better place to decide.
Limiting yourself to one or the other is not the best idea especially when the extra cost would initially be the exam fees. Plenty of reasonable priced schools will give you both licences.
The trick to going modular and saving money is to study while you're working. Ideally you would make use of your holiday allowance and get a PPL in 4 weeks, or failing that, two 2 week blocks. That's not as hard as you think if you do it somewhere sunny, and turn up with all the exams passed and nothing to do but fly. You could even take 10 hours over weekends to learn the basics, then do an accelerated course full time.
Once you've got your PPL and night rating, start the ATPL exams. Take your time and study no more than 4 subjects at a time, take the exams then move on. 4/4/3/3 still gives you plenty of options for resits. While you're doing that, get a cheap preferably non-equity share in a 150 or PA38 - something that you can fly for less than £100 an hour. Plan to fly around 50 hours making sure you use the time wisely - learning the area for your CPL and getting plenty of cross country time. You should be half way towards CPL, and you've spent less than £18,000
Once you've passed your final ATPL exam the clock is ticking. You've got 36 months to finish up. Start with a CBIR which should cost around £6-8000. An IRR/IMC costs £2500-3000, so essentially to get an IR via the CBIR route you'll need do that twice with an extra 10-20 hours solo practice. So now you've got a PPL/Night/SEIR 150 hours and you've spent £26,000
With 50 hours left to go, I would assess the industry and see if it's worth getting a multi rating yet. Assuming it's not, I would just hour build for another 35 hours (£3500) and do a 15 hour CPL course (£3500) Total spend? £35,000 once you've paid CAA fees. Now you can get an FI rating if you want to teach (£8000) or for the same money you can get your MEP and MEIR *when the time comes.
Of course, if you really want to become a pilot cheaply, have a read of part 61.129 then get yourself a training visa for the US. You can do all of the above for about £20k and come home with over 1000 hours.
Once you've got your PPL and night rating, start the ATPL exams. Take your time and study no more than 4 subjects at a time, take the exams then move on. 4/4/3/3 still gives you plenty of options for resits. While you're doing that, get a cheap preferably non-equity share in a 150 or PA38 - something that you can fly for less than £100 an hour. Plan to fly around 50 hours making sure you use the time wisely - learning the area for your CPL and getting plenty of cross country time. You should be half way towards CPL, and you've spent less than £18,000
Once you've passed your final ATPL exam the clock is ticking. You've got 36 months to finish up. Start with a CBIR which should cost around £6-8000. An IRR/IMC costs £2500-3000, so essentially to get an IR via the CBIR route you'll need do that twice with an extra 10-20 hours solo practice. So now you've got a PPL/Night/SEIR 150 hours and you've spent £26,000
With 50 hours left to go, I would assess the industry and see if it's worth getting a multi rating yet. Assuming it's not, I would just hour build for another 35 hours (£3500) and do a 15 hour CPL course (£3500) Total spend? £35,000 once you've paid CAA fees. Now you can get an FI rating if you want to teach (£8000) or for the same money you can get your MEP and MEIR *when the time comes.
Of course, if you really want to become a pilot cheaply, have a read of part 61.129 then get yourself a training visa for the US. You can do all of the above for about £20k and come home with over 1000 hours.
Join Date: Jan 2024
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I am in two minds in what to do with my training. I have aspirations to fly for an airline on a jet eventually, and I am currently weighing up pros and cons of both integrated and modular training. I am lucky enough to be in a position where with a mix of parent funding and finance I can afford both routes. After visiting a few flying schools I was most drawn to L3 and Leading edge, although the recent news on L3 has deterred me slightly. I am now considering a full time modular route which would save me £30,000-£40,000 in training costs and should still be completed in roughly 2 years if all goes to plan. However, I am slightly concerned about job prospects for modular students as I know certain ATO's have holding pools and student can get tagged during training. Does anyone know how much harder it would be to get an airline job with a modular fATPL completed across a handful of flying schools? Would the fact that I would be doing it full time also benefit me as the training would not be over a huge timescale? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am worried about the prospect of spending £60,000/£70,000 in the modular route and then be much less likely to be hired afterwards. I apologize if this has been addressed elsewhere but I cannot find any recent discussion on this in particular. If there is and I have missed it, please send a link as that would also be of great help.
Aviator86444
Aviator86444
Last edited by aviator86444; 10th Jan 2024 at 19:47.
Join Date: Mar 2024
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Hi all,
Wondering if someone can help answer a question I haven't seen raised yet.
Is it easier to pass CPL and MEIR skills tests if you take go the integrated route?
Obviously there are other factors that go into this such as the quality of training, the school, pilot, what kind of hour building that you've done... but in general is it easier to pass if you've learnt to fly doing an Integrated Course?
Wondering if someone can help answer a question I haven't seen raised yet.
Is it easier to pass CPL and MEIR skills tests if you take go the integrated route?
Obviously there are other factors that go into this such as the quality of training, the school, pilot, what kind of hour building that you've done... but in general is it easier to pass if you've learnt to fly doing an Integrated Course?
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Join Date: Oct 2023
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Purely from a logical POV, not if you are doing modular full-time. In this case, the benefit of doing an integrated course is that you are doing your training full-time, where you start the next module soon after finishing/passing the previous one. If you are doing modular full-time, then it should be the same. However, if you are spanning your CPL (for example) over a long time (i.e. 1 or 2 hours a week), then yeah, you may find it harder and may need more training, hence costing more.
With the exception of a handful of airlines preferring integrated students, like EasyJet, there really isn't any down-side to doing modular over integrated. Even if you're young and want that 'campus' experience, just do full-time modular all at one school.
With the exception of a handful of airlines preferring integrated students, like EasyJet, there really isn't any down-side to doing modular over integrated. Even if you're young and want that 'campus' experience, just do full-time modular all at one school.
Join Date: Nov 2018
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I do not see a lot of benfit in whitetail integrated training. More expensive, less flight hours and no autonomy. Only a cool uniform and brandname.
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Yes, thats a good point that I missed. I agree that modular is really the way to go these days. Even MPLs are sketchy, like all the delays at the Generation EasyJet MPL.
On a side note, there are insurance providers out there, like Steinn Pilot Insurance for UK students, that can provide some form of financial 'safet-net' should you fail to complete training for personal health reasons, though they won't cover you in the downfall of an integrated course!
On a side note, there are insurance providers out there, like Steinn Pilot Insurance for UK students, that can provide some form of financial 'safet-net' should you fail to complete training for personal health reasons, though they won't cover you in the downfall of an integrated course!
You can get the best of both worlds by going modular. Do your first 180 hours anywhere you like - PPL, Night, SEIR and MEP. Then, if you must, go somewhere 'Big' for the last 20 hours MEIR and CPL.
Your CV will read "CPL & MEIR training completed at (Big name) flight training."
Keep it simple. If they ask integrated or modular, or where you did your PPL then tell them, but don't offer them anything more than they ask for.
Your CV will read "CPL & MEIR training completed at (Big name) flight training."
Keep it simple. If they ask integrated or modular, or where you did your PPL then tell them, but don't offer them anything more than they ask for.
Join Date: May 2024
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![Talking](https://www.pprune.org/images/icons/laugh.gif)
Hello everyone,
I am an Indian 28 years old, working as a flight attendant in the middle east and looking forward to start PPL. I’m willing to work as a commercial pilot in Middle east or Europe.
For now I am researching and trying to find out an appropriate flying school that would be able to provide with a modular option for PPL.
1. Any suggestions in Europe would be much appreciated, since I’m finding mixed reviews about all the flying schools.
I will be scheduling my class 1 medical certificate test next month most probably.
2. Also, I want to know if it is too late to start in this field.
3. I would be happy to know further steps involved in achieving my aim to become a pilot for an airline.
I am an Indian 28 years old, working as a flight attendant in the middle east and looking forward to start PPL. I’m willing to work as a commercial pilot in Middle east or Europe.
For now I am researching and trying to find out an appropriate flying school that would be able to provide with a modular option for PPL.
1. Any suggestions in Europe would be much appreciated, since I’m finding mixed reviews about all the flying schools.
I will be scheduling my class 1 medical certificate test next month most probably.
2. Also, I want to know if it is too late to start in this field.
3. I would be happy to know further steps involved in achieving my aim to become a pilot for an airline.
It's 10am where I am so it's definitely not too late to start. With a few tiny exceptions you cannot start your pilot career in the middle east. Middle East airlines generally only take experienced jet pilots. Your first airline job must be somewhere where you have the right to live and work, which for you is India or Europe (if you have the right to work there). If you don't, then getting a pilots licence is going to be your second biggest problem.
Join Date: Dec 2022
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I have a conditional job offer from BA before I start training. The catch is I have to study at one of their four approved ATOs (of which Leading Edge would be mine).
I wouldn’t at all consider integrated if I wasn’t tagged, but now I have a job offer waiting, it makes it worth considering. So, modular untagged or integrated tagged?
My big reservation with LE isn’t the price - frankly I can deal with the extra £40k compared to modular if it’s essentially ‘insurance’ that I can get a job (in this case with BA). My concern is their financial position. I mean, they want £50k+ before even touching an aircraft when the theory portion would cost no more than £10k for them to run. Meanwhile I could get to start my MEIR going modular after £50k… it gives the impression that my money is used to pay for the class ahead of me (sounds a lot like a Ponzi scheme). They don’t take credit card payments that would give me protection from their bankruptcy.
The risk of modular is not landing a job, the risk of integrated is LE collapsing on me during training.
I wouldn’t at all consider integrated if I wasn’t tagged, but now I have a job offer waiting, it makes it worth considering. So, modular untagged or integrated tagged?
My big reservation with LE isn’t the price - frankly I can deal with the extra £40k compared to modular if it’s essentially ‘insurance’ that I can get a job (in this case with BA). My concern is their financial position. I mean, they want £50k+ before even touching an aircraft when the theory portion would cost no more than £10k for them to run. Meanwhile I could get to start my MEIR going modular after £50k… it gives the impression that my money is used to pay for the class ahead of me (sounds a lot like a Ponzi scheme). They don’t take credit card payments that would give me protection from their bankruptcy.
The risk of modular is not landing a job, the risk of integrated is LE collapsing on me during training.
Join Date: May 2024
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Hey! Thanks for your informative response rudestuff , I was looking forward to getting in touch with you since I have read so many of your posts and so many other users have recommended taking your suggestions.
Yes, you are famous here.
How about other Asian or US airlines do they hire fresh cadets so I can build my hours once I have the license? Given that, I have a US visa valid for the next 10 years.
I am not sure if I go through the modular route in Europe then if I will be able to convert it to DGCA (civil aviation body in India)
Yes, you are famous here.
How about other Asian or US airlines do they hire fresh cadets so I can build my hours once I have the license? Given that, I have a US visa valid for the next 10 years.
I am not sure if I go through the modular route in Europe then if I will be able to convert it to DGCA (civil aviation body in India)
Last edited by Flytattendant; 24th May 2024 at 14:22.
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Join Date: May 2024
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There is a local airfield that is only half an hours drive from where I live that does PPL/night only but is quite cheap and would be a place I could build up the majority of my hours but it doesn't do IRR/IMC, CBIR/MEP/MEIR. I would have to do an hours drive to get that.
Would it be better to just do the whole lot in one place but drive further or concentrate on the hour building locally but do the bits when needed at the flying school that is further away? Obviously the split will be a bit cheaper but doing it all at one place will most likely get myself done quicker?
Would it be better to just do the whole lot in one place but drive further or concentrate on the hour building locally but do the bits when needed at the flying school that is further away? Obviously the split will be a bit cheaper but doing it all at one place will most likely get myself done quicker?
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