The BIR thread inspires this thread.
The classroom time of any TK study course seems to have been removed. Bristol in the UK and Mermoz in France now offer 100% remote learning.
I found this reg :
I guess this AMC has been added since covid, and effectively removes the on-site classroom time requirement.
A significant improvement.
Jujupilote wrote:
A significant improvement.
Call me old fashioned, but I learnt a lot during the classroom component (and it was a lot more fun than the distance learning part I did, which was the majority to it).
A good, dedicated instructor adds so much to classroom learning. I reckon I learnt 25% from the books and 75% from interaction with my ground instructor both in and outside the class. And I hate distance learning almost as much as Zoom conferences and briefings.
derek wrote:
Call me old fashioned, but I learnt a lot during the classroom component
Possible on the learning side but unless you are in some capital or city it’s not easy to get there?
Imagine car drive to Bristol, Prestwick or London with few days off work while staying overnight in typical English or Scottish hotels with smelly carpets, no thanks !
For myself, I have done CBIR theory with CAPT (White-Waltham) and CBIR exams with CAA (Oxford), the only part that I enjoyed for classrooms and exams is flying myself there
At the time, my IMCR rating was handy to fly back to Stapleford at night in weather: let say PIC hours I logged in dark winter to start CBIR were real ones
I am half-way through ATPL TK with zoom sessions on weekends, it works great and really hassle free from the couch
I still have to go to Orly for exams, plus justify that to my family and managers at work
Having to do BIR theory by zoom and exams nearby on weekends is a real plus
Would love to do the FI instructor theoretical anyone knows how this can be done remote…are lets say 85%…?
I can not take holidays to do this FI 150Hrs course on site I would need to take two months off….
@Ibra Getting to the exams was a pain and only during the week, but most of my classroom days were on the weekend in Coventry. Fortunately fast train to get there, but agree that the value proposition on accommodation close to airports in the UK isn’t usually very good!
Classroom teaching is really a thing of the past. It’s still better in many circumstances due to the social elements, sometimes a necessity. For PPL courses and similar for mainly older people, required classroom teaching is just silliness.
Have to add that lots of people prefer classroom teaching, but that’s another matter.
This is a great development.
It brings Europe into line with what the FAA has had since for ever. Bum-on-seat at an FTO is just a license to print money. You are taught by old guys who have probably never flown a plane. I was at one FTO in Bournemouth for a few days, in 2011. I flew in and the instructor saw the plane. His eyes popped out and he said “gosh you might even have a KNS80 in there!?”
Going to an FTO class is a significant and often highly inconvenient logistical exercise for most people. You end up staying at some crappy nearby hotel or b&b, and often have to take an airline flight there.
Classroom stuff is good for most of the young CPL/IR cadets though. They stay in the same hotel in bulk and do their assignments together, so they all get great scores. I know; I saw it But for private pilots it is just a restrictive practice.
LeSving wrote:
Classroom teaching is really a thing of the past. It’s still better in many circumstances due to the social elements, sometimes a necessity. For PPL courses and similar for mainly older people, required classroom teaching is just silliness.
There are very real practical advantages with distance teaching, but from a pedagogical point of view classroom teaching really is better. I think you’ll find few professional educators with a different view. E.g. my university department (which is all about IT) switched back all of our courses to classroom format as soon as we could after the pandemic.
As a university, you have to do that anyway, otherwise you get a rebellion (actually probably the French Revolution) once the customers realise they are paying €xxxxx a year for a “video course” That’s what happened here and people realised it was a huge ripoff. The universities liked it because it saved a lot of money but they didn’t want to drop their course rates… Plus, a big chunk of univ life is getting pissed, making friends, becoming a communist, chasing girls (possible if you are not an engineering student), and getting pissed. Better than stuffing shelves at Lidl for 3 years, and the “scenery” is much better
Also there are big problems with remote study at univ e.g. plagiarism is easier, and getting someone to do your work is much easier. This is already a hard case today with social media, retired lecturers writing essays for Master students for €200, etc.
But for aviation, people can always choose residential; they should not be compelled to. Most of the material is BS anyway. Whoops, I forgot, most of univ material is BS too…
Getting someone to do your work will be easier and cheaper; previously to get that you had to stay in the same hotel as a load of other students