De Opleiding
| PHASE 2: ATPL GROUND TRAINING – 27 WEEKS |
ATPL Ground Training is conducted at our airline training centre at Oxford Airport. The first phase of theoretical training takes 15 weeks and is followed by internal OAA tests. These thoroughly prepare you for the official JAR exams – the first 7 of which follow immediately thereafter.
After a short break, you complete the 12 week second phase followed by the remaining 7 JAA exams – again only after you have refined your skills in the internal OAA tests. The JAA examinations are sat at our Oxford Airline Training Centre which is also an official CAA Examination Centre.
Passing all 14 JAA examinations is a pre-requisite to commencing Foundation Flight Training at Goodyear.

Here are the subjects for each phase:
Phase One Subjects
- Principles of Flight
- Aircraft General Knowledge – Systems
- Aircraft General Knowledge – Instrumentation
- Human Performance
- Meteorology
- VFR Communications
- IFR Communications
Phase Two Subjects
- General Navigation
- Radio Navigation
- Flight Planning
- Aircraft Performance
- Mass & Balance
- Operational Procedures
- Air Law
| PHASE 3: FOUNDATION FLIGHT TRAINING – 20 WEEKS |
Foundation Flight Training is conducted at our Airline Training Center at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Arizona. Weather, equipment and instructors are all first class, allowing you to concentrate on learning to be a professional pilot without delay and in an enjoyable environment.
You will complete a total of 110 hours of single-engine flight training in the PA28 Warrior aircraft, along with 10 hours in an FNPT II simulator.
You will also complete 10 hours multi-engine training in the PA34 aircraft before taking your Multi Engine CPL Skills Test in the PA34 Seneca Aircraft. By the time you return to the UK, You will be a competent multi engine pilot. You will also hold a commercial pilot’s licence pass result, and you will have a firm foundation of instrument flying experience.

| PHASE 4: FIRST OFFICER FUNDAMENTALS (FOF) TRAINING – 2 WEEKS |
A unique and highly innovative feature of the APP course when first introduced in 2003, the FOF was designed specifically to meet an increasingly important need to ensure that new pilots are trained in a number of key areas previously considered outside the scope of traditional flight training courses. The FOF represents a breakthrough in addressing these issues and is highly commended by airlines and graduates alike.
This short but intensive 1-week course is delivered before students enter the final, advanced training phase at Oxford. The aim is to prepare them for their rapidly approaching role as First Officers and covers the following:
- First Officer Responsibilities and Crew Resource Management Issues. Whilst early training necessarily concentrates on single pilot needs, the student’s future lies in the very different operational environment of a 2-pilot, multi-engine commercial flight deck. Within the FOF, a specially selected team of current, highly experienced, airline training captains offer OAA students a bespoke, 4-day module, designed to focus minds firmly on the future. This highly participative exercise has proved an invaluable and deservedly popular scene-setter for the more advanced flying and jet simulator training still to come.
- Commercial Appreciation. All airlines now require pilots to understand the commercial realities of operating an airline business in an ever more competitive trading environment. Within the FOF, OAA students are given a first exposure to the realities of airline life by a series of briefings, presentations and exercises covering topics such as airline economics, business analysis, and other relevant issues, including the relationship between the flight deck crews and other key airline staff including cabin crews, fight dispatchers, and even senior management.
- Communication Skills. The ability to communicate effectively with other crew members, with passengers, and with operational staff members is a critical skill for airline pilots to acquire. For many, the FOF course represents a first realistic opportunity for them to develop such skills as they participate in delivering briefings and formal presentations on flying and commercially related topics selected by the OAA staff. As part of this same phase, students radio communication skills are also honed to prepare students fully for flying in the intense European air traffic environment.
- Airline Interview Preparation Seminar. The final FOF module covers preparation for the critical airline interview hurdle which all must successfully pass before gaining employment. Students are given practice in interview technique, instructed in the art of CV preparation and psychometric testing, and advised by specialist, qualified staff in the range of skills necessary to prepare properly for the all-important interview.
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| PHASE 5: ADVANCED FLIGHT TRAINING – 12 WEEKS |
From this point forward you will be concentrating on multi-engine flight training using the PA34 Seneca aircraft and simulators; flying in poor weather and highly controlled airspace with airliner traffic. Being so centrally placed, you will find Oxford Airport is well positioned for accessing the busy airways and the many highly challenging destinations – exactly what you need in order to prepare for your future career.
Advanced flight training consists of 50 hours – split between aircraft and simulator. The high-fidelity simulators are perfect for the task in hand, enabling you to practise many procedures which cannot be undertaken in the actual aircraft. This phase culminates in the Instrument Rating Skills Test (IRT) with one of our two resident CAA Flight Examiners.

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| PHASE 6: JET TRAINING: Multi-Crew & Jet Operations Course – 3 WEEKS |
The last three weeks of the APP FIRST OFFICER concentrates on Multi-Crew Co-operation (MCC) and a Jet Operations Course (JOC). This phase will teach you how to work in a Multi-Crew environment, and how to operate a modern commercial jet. Whilst MCC training is a JAA requirement, the unique additional JOC is one of the strengths of APP FIRST OFFICER as it gives you that invaluable training in multi-pilot operations which is so appealing to airline employers.
You will fly realistic routes, using genuine airline operating procedures, all in the six-axis, full-motion Boeing 737-400 simulator. By the end of the 36 hour phase, you will be as well prepared as it is possible to be to move directly to airline interview and airliner type specific training.

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Welkom op mijn weblog, mijn naam is Jan de Boer. Ik ben 22 jaar en ik begin 22 mei 2009 aan de opleiding tot verkeersvlieger en doe dat via de EPST. Om de verschillende onderdelen van de opleiding te voltooien zit ik in zowel Oxford (UK), Phoenix (US, Arizona) als Maarssen (NL). Op dit weblog zal ik mijn vorderingen tijdens de opleiding bijhouden.