Kingston University

Kingston upon Thames

Aviation Operations with Pilot Training??

I'm pretty interested in coming to kingston for the aviation course and I've done a lot of research but not found anyone that's on the course or is even thinking of doing it. So I have no idea what the course is like and whether or not it's worth going. I live in North Wales and i'd be moving to london just for this course if i decided to go.
Thanks for any info anyone has at all, even if it's just that you know someone on the course.

Reply 1

Puddles the Monkey

Hi - sorry you haven't had a response to this yet. I'm just going to bump the thread in the hope that someone sees this and can help :h:

Kingston University

Kingston upon Thames

Reply 2

Hybr1d

Thank you, finding any info has been pretty hard for this course.

Reply 3

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by Hybr1d

Thank you, finding any info has been pretty hard for this course.

I think it's probably quite niche but lets hope someone sees it! :crossedf:

Reply 4

username1539513

@AYRnet

Any thoughts?

Reply 5

Hybr1d

I'd be staying in the Roehampton Vale halls, I just haven't heard much from any engineering students. Info about the course is my main concern but if you have any info about what the halls are like as well that would be great. I thought that renting my own place would be good but I've heard that it makes it hard to make friends as everyone sort of meets in the halls and gets to know each other.

Reply 6

AYRnet

Hi all,

Interesting course! I've had a look through the course info page so here are some thoughts.

Pros
ATPL theory is kept in the second year apart from other subjects allowing you to focus on it exclusively (there's a con to this, see below)

Student finance available (does it cover flight training? Seems like it may not?)

If for some reason you have difficulties finding a flying job after the course, you can use it to grab an office job somewhere to hold you over (pay bills, rent, etc.) until a flying job becomes available

Cons
I can't understand when exactly they plan on fitting 150+ hours of flying (I guess they mix it with the theory in year two, but to be honest doing flying and theory simultaneously will burn you out quick)

Flying in Florida -- I love the USA and it's a great place to fly (FL especially), but it's vastly different to flying in Europe, including some very important legal and procedural differences. If you plan on working in Europe, the best thing is to train here

ATPL theory in the second year -- while there is a positive element to this, I don't see why this isn't done in the last year, trust me, you forget this stuff fast and theory questions often come up on pilot interviews, so doing a year of other subjects after this won't do you any favours (same goes for flying if that's done in the second year too)

There are many interesting subjects, but they're not required for flying: aerospace engineering is for the guys at Airbus, mathematics for engineers is for, well, engineers, and economics and scheduling is for the good people working in ops. Point is, while these are very interesting subjects and could help you, there is a lot of info there that you will be tested on but won't need for a flying career. Everything you really need for flying will be covered from start to finish in great detail in your ATPL subjects. Airlines want your licence and don't pay much attention to a degree (or lack thereof)

Impressions
In short, if you know 100% you want to be a pilot, go for an ATPL course. You'll be able to focus on the subjects you need for flying and they're difficult enough on their own. The cost will probably be the same, or even less. However, if you're not entirely sure that's what you want, or are worried about job prospects/cost/medical, etc., then this may be a good choice for you.

I think it's nice to be exposed to more than just the flight training aspect, and it seems to be a very interesting course. My biggest gripe with these courses, however, is that if you're a pilot, your job will be focused on flying, not running the airline. Airlines in Europe aren't very interested in degrees, myself and all but one of my course in flight school don't have degrees and we're all working, so while it may help with getting a job, don't count on it. It may help and it depends on the job market, but at the moment, airlines are after your licence, not your degree. There's a lot there you will have to learn and prove your knowledge of on uni exams that's not required for an ATPL, which is fine but ATPL exams are hard enough on their own.

To be honest the biggest advantage I can see is that if for whatever reason you find it difficult to get a flying job, you can find a job in management somewhere until a flying job becomes available to hold you over for rent, bills, etc.

Hope this helps, best of luck!

Reply 7

Hybr1d

Thanks that helps a lot, I do definitely want to be a pilot but I do like the education side of things. Going to uni is something I've really wanted to do as well so when I found a course with pilot training it just seemed great. So only part I don't understand is, so will I not get a licence out of this course?

Reply 8

AYRnet

Original post by Hybr1d

That's understandable, in that case it may be a good choice for you!

You will get a licence, but I would get in touch with them and clarify when exactly you can expect to be flying (have a read of the course info page again in case I've missed something but I didn't see that mentioned anywhere). Out of curiosity you might also want to ask if they include CAA exam fees (surprisingly expensive) and if the full cost of flying is included (i.e. landing fees, etc., so you don't get a nasty bill at the end).

It may also be worth getting a Class 1 Medical done before you start, I'm sure you won't have any problems but it's better to be sure.

Reply 9

Puddles the Monkey

Original post by Hybr1d

I put this on twitter and someone responded with this: https://twitter.com/thestudentroom/status/988693474617843712

Looks like @AYRnet gave you a good repsonse though :h:

Reply 10

Jacek98

Hello,I have just completed my first year at Kingston university studying aviation operations with commercial pilot training. First year is mainly maths and physics with a module in English( extremely boring) and a module called introduction to aerospace engineering which is to do with space, how rockets work and plane structure etc. There is no roehamtpon vale halls but there are Kingston hill halls which are very close to roehampton vale and it’s a nice campus. First year is quite boring but if I passed everything I be going Bournemouth in September to do my flight training so this year should be more fun! Hope this helped mate!

Reply 11

platinumempres

@ARYnet

Is there any way of studying for the licence without the aviation degree? To become a pilot..

Thank you .xx

Reply 12

Hybr1d

All courses I've looked at include some sort of pilot studies if you want to get the licence. You could do it yourself if you have the money and can find somewhere to just get the hours etc... Going to a uni is the best option I've found as it has pretty much everything included for a cheaper price.

Reply 13

AYRnet

Original post by platinumempres

@ARYnet

Is there any way of studying for the licence without the aviation degree? To become a pilot..

Thank you .xx

Hi Platinumempres,

You can just get the licence without a degree, it's not required for the job and many people (myself included) have done that.

Look up any flight school and they'll have a course available, either integrated (see FTE Jerez, Oxford Aviation Academy, etc.), which gets it done quicker and can be useful for job placement, or modular (most flight schools offer some version of this, see Aeros Flight Training and FTE Jerez as well), this tends to be cheaper but can take longer to complete and find a job. The tradeoff is that funding isn't easily available for these courses, but it's an investment that pays off when you start working and you'll get your licence fast with no added courses to distract. Honestly, airlines aren't interested in your degree, they want knowledge and skill and that's what flight schools will (well.. should) get you :smile: