This Review Overall Rating
I did my AUPRT through an Airline Sponsored Scheme at the start of February 2020 and was very impressed with the quality and content of the course.
The theory was undertaken over 1 day at their base at Goodwood Aerodrome and was informative and well delivered, with useful student-instructor interraction. (And the pizzas at lunch were a nice touch! )
Due to the weather causing the airfield to be waterlogged, our flying was done out of Lee-on Solent Aerodrome (hard surface) near Portsmouth (which we were told about in advance of the course starting). Its really good that UH have the ability to switch operations to here in cases such as this as it allows flexibility and adaptation, so there is no disruption to training. The flying was full-on yet fun. Each session was 1 hour and accross the 3 hours we did each, all of the AUPRT requirements were covered thoroughly. Our course had 6 of us and we rotated nicely between us and managed to get it done within 4 days. There is a cafe and rest area at both Goodwood and Solent.
During the course, myself and my fellow course mates stayed in an AirBnB about 10 minutes drive away in Fareham. There are other accomodations around the area too, and a retail park nearby that has restaurants etc.
The aircraft used were Slingsby T67M Fireflies, which handle beautifully and also feel safe and comfortable while doing all sorts of crazy and intense manoeuvres. I never once felt as though my safety and security was hampered even a little bit.
Instructors are fantastic, friendly and humourous and clearly have a lot of experience in the field (Aerobatic pilots, Spitfire pilots and Airline captains). The quality of instruction is great and I really learnt a lot. Any questions or queries I had, the instructors were more than happy to answer them and were very approachable.
Overall I very much enjoyed the AUPRT course with UH and I came out of it with a very high level of confidence in Upset Prevention and Recovery and flying, but also had even more appreciation and respect for flying. The sessions were very fun and as we were based on the south coast, the views were absolutely AMAZING! especially as we took off from Solent and then did our flying over the Isle of Wight!
Advice: - Wear comfortable clothing, Dont eat or drink too close to the flight as you will pulling Gs!, dont fly on an empty stomach either as you need to have good nutrition and energy levels, ask any questions that you have about the course, and most of all ENJOY IT.
Course(s) taken:
General
Aircraft
Theoretical Training
Practical Training
