Modular Flight Training

By adopting the Modular training approach, a student allows themselves the freedom to complete sections or modules of their training at different schools and according to their own schedule.

The Modular approach is often cheaper than an integrated programme of training, provided it is well planned by the student.

Most people take longer to complete a series of modular courses (typically three to five years). Should financial considerations cause long gaps in the training process, it may be necessary to carry out extensive revision of previously mastered skills before moving forward again. This inevitably raises the cost of the training.

Having completed all the required steps in their training, a student will have logged approximately 200 flying hours, of which only about 35 will have been in a simulator.

Advantages:

• Provided the student plans carefully, the cost of Modular training should be much less than an integrated course.
• Student will complete their modular training with more flying hours logged.
• If a student is unhappy with the standard of training provision, they are able to move their training to a new provider relatively easily.
• The student can choose the best training provider for each module of their training.

Disadvantages:

• The responsibility for planning and structuring their training rests with the student.
• The time required to complete the steps required for a frozen ATPL will generally be longer.
• The student will have to investigate and deal with a number of different training providers.
• The students training records will be held by a number of different training providers and will therefore be more difficult for a future employer to reference.
• If the student has a gap between courses when they do not fly regularly, then they may find that skills already acquired degrade and need to be revised during the next module of training.

When efficiently planned and executed, the Modular approach to training can be a very good option for students wishing to work towards their ATPL particularly for those who are unable to commit to a single, uninterrupted programme of study. However the Modular approach does place the responsibility for researching and planning their training very much with the student. Whilst this maybe a good thing in many ways, it does require them to assimilate a lot of information about professional flight training requirements right from the outset in order to benefit from the potential cost advantages.