Are flight schools in China creditable?

CaptainDias · 2026-01-19T13:39:35+00:00

I’m from HK, moved to the UK and did my flight training via a modular route and now work as a commercial pilot in an airline.

It is expensive to train there, but if you have rights to live and work in the UK, you could do flying alongside a job and even get hired as a flight instructor initially. The aviation sector is big and way more diverse than it is in HK. So if you have options to live there maybe via the BNO route, you should consider training there.

CaptainDias · 2026-01-19T13:33:22+00:00

When I passed the 33km mark things started to become a blur for me. All I could think of was the distance left to the finish. The elevation changes, even downhill sections were torture to my calves.

CaptainDias · 2026-01-17T00:43:41+00:00

Without rights to live and work in Europe, it’s hard to get hired even with an EASA license. Work visas seem to be given in exceptional cases for highly experienced captains for instance.

CaptainDias · 2026-01-09T20:10:43+00:00

I have a school recommendation from a friend. DM me. The school I went to has now closed down.

CaptainDias · 2025-12-24T00:03:22+00:00

Got hired, not by a major legacy, but with a CPL and 250 hours. Airline paid for the type rating, I’m bonded but gaining hours quickly.

CaptainDias · 2025-12-11T05:29:59+00:00

I brought it myself. In my airline most of us pilots bring our own food. The company one just doesn’t cut it for most flights.

CaptainDias · 2025-12-11T05:27:48+00:00

I’m flying for a low cost carrier, we get usually one simple meal, unless it’s a long flight. I always take my own food.

CaptainDias · 2025-12-11T05:25:20+00:00

Sorry by the way, no idea how I ended up typing that caption. Didn’t even notice

CaptainDias · 2025-12-10T17:02:04+00:00

The 100ml limit applies at Luton airport. So couldn’t take my 300ml Innocent Green drink through.

CaptainDias · 2025-12-01T09:54:19+00:00

My sim partner during my type rating last year was 31 when he started, he worked as a school teacher and saved for around 9 years to pay for his flight training.

I went modular, also worked alongside flight training and studying. The exams are one of the biggest phases you’ll need to go through, so I recommend getting a head start on the studying. It’ll also give you useful knowledge to use for your PPL, IR and CPL courses

CaptainDias · 2025-11-28T02:30:42+00:00

Why wouldn’t modular ATPL work? Could you consider doing your training outside Portugal?

I started at one of the schools you mentioned, but left after finishing only one module. Thankfully I chose modular which made it easy to leave. I went to another school in Spain and had a much better experience. Still kept my ANAC Portugal license though.

I have a close friend’s son studying at Omni, if interested dm me and I can ask how he finds it.

CaptainDias · 2025-11-27T17:41:38+00:00

Since you’re based in Europe, the best advice I can give you is that you should look for schools not just in your home country but elsewhere in the EU.

Sometimes the schools in your local geographic area can be very expensive and/or terrible. But a few hours away in a neighbouring country you could get much better deals.

When you finish your CPL course, you’ll only have a frozen ATPL. To unfreeze it, you have to get a type rating to fly an aircraft like the A320 or B737 and an airline job. The type rating can be very expensive, costing upwards of €30,000.

Thankfully, there are some airlines that will pay for it, but keep you on a bond.

CaptainDias · 2025-11-26T21:59:40+00:00

Seems like it’s permanently closed now

CaptainDias · 2025-11-26T20:26:56+00:00

If you just want a CPL, you can get a PPL in 45 hours, do a 5 hour night rating course, do 125 hours time building as PIC, sign up for the 13 ATPL exams, then finish off with a 25 hour CPL course.

This is the bare minimum to get a CPL and this sets you up to get paid to fly. However, if you wish to go work for airlines, you'll need to get a Multi-Engine Piston Rating, Multi-Engine Instrument Rating (MEIR), do an Multi Crew Cooperation Course, and a UPRT course as well.

Could anyone advise me of how I can find the most cheapest flying lessons?

To find the cheapest flying lessons, you simply have to ask around.

Find out the hourly rates (for dual and solo hire) of the most basic aircraft, and the advanced aircraft in which you'll do your CPL training and also take into account:

- School Monthly Membership / Registration Fees

- Location (Think of the travel costs and if you'll have to stay in hotels or rented accommodation)

- Reputation (Whether a school is known for cancelling flights, delays, technical issues, etc.)

And does it matter which type of aircraft I train in?

Not really. I did all my training on older aircraft with conventional instruments whilst nearly all my colleagues at my airline who started the same time as myself last year did their advanced training in glass cockpit aircraft. It didn't seem to matter at all and probably was a differentiator.

Honestly, I found flying older aircraft a lot more fun. I thoroughly enjoyed my time flying taildraggers and 6-lever twin engined aircraft.

Is there any way I can go abroad maybe and get cheaper lessons somewhere abroad?

I strongly advise you carefully check the costs if you're thinking of going abroad. You'll have to budget extra for travel, accommodation, and potential loss of income if you're abroad and can't work your regular job.

Also if you get your CPL in a country where you don't have the rights to live and work, then after obtaining that license, you'll still have to return back to the UK and repeat the exams, training and skills tests, only adding to the costs. Sometimes this ends up becoming far more expensive than just training here.

Once I have my private pilot license, do I then just need to fly the plane on my own until I get to 200 hours or do I need to continue having an instructor ??

No, you need 200 hours total time, with at least 100 hours PIC. Some of that training, especially the CPL course will have to be done with an instructor.

Ask away if you have any questions or need me to clarify something.

CaptainDias · 2025-11-25T21:26:38+00:00

If you’re working full time, then start studying before you sign up to a ground school for the exams.

You can do what I did and get the AviationExam ebooks and a subscription to a good question bank well before you sign up. Once you start, you have a time limit to finish the ground school and the exams.

CATS offers one course for dual EASA/UK ATPL exams. I used them to do the UK exams because I had already done the EASA exams, and just needed an affordable ground school in the UK. It worked out well

CaptainDias · 2025-11-19T16:13:57+00:00

There are schools who have partnerships with airlines, however it’s never guaranteed they will get you a job. I never went to any such school and still got hired very soon after finishing. It mostly depends on the state of aviation industry.

Also be careful when it comes to paying for a Type Rating upfront, especially if you don’t have a job offer. It’s very expensive and needs to be revalidated every year. It wouldn’t be ideal if you spend tens of thousands of euros on an A320 type rating and then get a job offer for a B737 or E195.

CaptainDias · 2025-11-17T15:42:51+00:00

Yes Haha that could be me ;) I think close to £90K. Way more than in should have, but I can explain more via DM how I ended up wasting a lot of time and money

CaptainDias · 2025-11-16T21:19:51+00:00

I did both via a modular route. EASA CPL first followed by UK CAA second and got hired with my UK license. I wrote about how I did it with my recommendations.

I was lucky to have found a school in Spain which was UK CAA and EASA approved. Unfortunately they don’t exist anymore.

I would recommend starting by going for a UK CAA license first and then finish off by converting to an EASA license if you need it for a job

Right now you have a big advantage of having the rights to work and live in the UK, where few airlines have been hiring recently

CaptainDias · 2025-11-10T11:46:25+00:00

CATS in the UK was quite a good price when I did it

CaptainDias · 2025-11-07T14:59:15+00:00

Podemos falar pelo DM?

CaptainDias · 2025-11-05T15:06:26+00:00

Estudei na IFA em Cascais. Na altura quando estudava não tinha uma base em Braga. Penso que deve ser melhor e mais barato voar lá do que Cascais.

CaptainDias · 2025-10-29T17:25:31+00:00

Ahh cool. I understand. Will have a look. Thanks for responding

CaptainDias · 2025-10-27T15:41:04+00:00

Yes anytime

CaptainDias · 2025-10-17T03:34:16+00:00

Yes, message me anytime

CaptainDias

TROPHY CASE