Hello All,
For those of you who have attended or have worked with people from this program what do people think about it? Mostly positive? What is bad about the program and finally how is Waterloo Wellington as a flight school? Are students maintaining one instructor throughout the program or are there occasional switches.
Thoughts on Conestoga's Aviation Program
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shawnthesheep
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Re: Thoughts on Conestoga's Aviation Program
Many moons ago, it it's infancy, it was two separate entities, and once you completed both sides (academics and flight school) you were able to graduate. It's come a long way since (15 years ago).
Current CFI (M.S), and Training Manager (K.G.) are top notch, and the senior staff (A.B, D.V.) have been around long enough to drive a good program.
When I was going through it, it was up to the student to complete on time. You could get everything done in 16-24 months as long as the funds didn't dry up and the weather cooperated (some long stretched in the winter). Anecdotally, we started out with 27 (in 2004), and 6 completed on time. About another 6 finished within 36 months. Those that didn't complete was due to $$$. Of those that completed the training, only about 6 of us are left. Some switched to non-aviation jobs like transportation logistics, while some are still aviation and are non-flying (AME, Ops Manager).
Booking was still done by paper; it's since switched over to an electronic format.
Instructor turnover from what I hear is industry driven; as in, you probably won't have 1 instructor complete all of your training from PPL to CPL/ME-IFR. Many leave for 703/704 jobs and some go regional 705. When times were slower, I was fortunate enough to have done everything with 1 instructor, and when they were busy I had a pool of 3 others to cover from.
WWFC has been around for ages, and its fleet is big and growing. Maintenance facilities have grown, to reduce downtime. Not sure if P.G. is still involved, but he was always good to talk too.
The only thing that irked me was holding short for a busy circuit (at 6$/min for the twin), you were eager to get airborne.
I had an overall positive experience and would recommend WWFC.
I strongly suggest that you go in and visit the facilities multiple times, and talk to staff, talk to students. Get a vibe, to see if it's a right fit for you!
All the best in your choice and training.
Current CFI (M.S), and Training Manager (K.G.) are top notch, and the senior staff (A.B, D.V.) have been around long enough to drive a good program.
When I was going through it, it was up to the student to complete on time. You could get everything done in 16-24 months as long as the funds didn't dry up and the weather cooperated (some long stretched in the winter). Anecdotally, we started out with 27 (in 2004), and 6 completed on time. About another 6 finished within 36 months. Those that didn't complete was due to $$$. Of those that completed the training, only about 6 of us are left. Some switched to non-aviation jobs like transportation logistics, while some are still aviation and are non-flying (AME, Ops Manager).
Booking was still done by paper; it's since switched over to an electronic format.
Instructor turnover from what I hear is industry driven; as in, you probably won't have 1 instructor complete all of your training from PPL to CPL/ME-IFR. Many leave for 703/704 jobs and some go regional 705. When times were slower, I was fortunate enough to have done everything with 1 instructor, and when they were busy I had a pool of 3 others to cover from.
WWFC has been around for ages, and its fleet is big and growing. Maintenance facilities have grown, to reduce downtime. Not sure if P.G. is still involved, but he was always good to talk too.
The only thing that irked me was holding short for a busy circuit (at 6$/min for the twin), you were eager to get airborne.
I had an overall positive experience and would recommend WWFC.
I strongly suggest that you go in and visit the facilities multiple times, and talk to staff, talk to students. Get a vibe, to see if it's a right fit for you!
All the best in your choice and training.
"A good traveller has no fixed plan and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu
Re: Thoughts on Conestoga's Aviation Program
Just curious what you are doing now in the aviation industry? I am also interested in the Conestoga program, thanks for the info. 
Re: Thoughts on Conestoga's Aviation Program
After Conestoga, went the instructor route. Taught for 15 months. Went to North-Eastern Ontario/Quebec on a 703 PC-12/45, then North-Western Ontario on a Beech 1900D. Spent 6 years gaining valuable experience in both seats; enjoying the journey. Got tired of missing family get-togethers, so decided to move back to Ottawa. Got on a Dash 8-Q400 with a regional 705. Upgraded recently. Still enjoying the ride. Priorities have changed over the years, but been chasing lifestyle since.
"A good traveller has no fixed plan and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu
Re: Thoughts on Conestoga's Aviation Program
Grey_Wolf wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2019 1:08 pm Many moons ago, it it's infancy, it was two separate entities, and once you completed both sides (academics and flight school) you were able to graduate. It's come a long way since (15 years ago).
Current CFI (M.S), and Training Manager (K.G.) are top notch, and the senior staff (A.B, D.V.) have been around long enough to drive a good program.
When I was going through it, it was up to the student to complete on time. You could get everything done in 16-24 months as long as the funds didn't dry up and the weather cooperated (some long stretched in the winter). Anecdotally, we started out with 27 (in 2004), and 6 completed on time. About another 6 finished within 36 months. Those that didn't complete was due to $$$. Of those that completed the training, only about 6 of us are left. Some switched to non-aviation jobs like transportation logistics, while some are still aviation and are non-flying (AME, Ops Manager).
Booking was still done by paper; it's since switched over to an electronic format.
Instructor turnover from what I hear is industry driven; as in, you probably won't have 1 instructor complete all of your training from PPL to CPL/ME-IFR. Many leave for 703/704 jobs and some go regional 705. When times were slower, I was fortunate enough to have done everything with 1 instructor, and when they were busy I had a pool of 3 others to cover from.
WWFC has been around for ages, and its fleet is big and growing. Maintenance facilities have grown, to reduce downtime. Not sure if P.G. is still involved, but he was always good to talk too.
The only thing that irked me was holding short for a busy circuit (at 6$/min for the twin), you were eager to get airborne.
I had an overall positive experience and would recommend WWFC.
I strongly suggest that you go in and visit the facilities multiple times, and talk to staff, talk to students. Get a vibe, to see if it's a right fit for you!
All the best in your choice and training.
+10000000
