My name is Peter Kirk. I am 20 years old and I completed my Ryanair Mentored training at AFTA in May 2021.
The idea of becoming a pilot was first floated to me around the age of 12 or 13. At the time, it seemed more of a dream than a realistic profession however as I progressed through secondary school I started to realise that it was not as unrealistic as I originally expected. Although I explored many other career options, once I visited AFTA’s open day at the age of 16 I was sold. I booked a private show through in which a senior instructor gave us a tour and answered all of our questions. A few weeks later I took my first introductory flight and from this moment, I could not see myself anywhere else.
The Ryanair Mentored Programme particularly appealed to me as it was a direct gateway into one of the world’s biggest airlines straight out of flight school. I was fortunate enough to be accepted onto the programme and be offered a place beginning September 2019. The opportunity to learn Ryanair SOPs from the beginning is a huge advantage as it will give us a head start as soon as we begin our Type Rating. AFTA and Ryanair also organise frequent meetings with Ryanair crew where we discuss various aspects of the job and ask any questions we may have. These meetings are invaluable as they give us exclusive insight into the job and help to keep us motivated.
Having had only 3 hours of flight experience prior to joining, I very much was starting from the bottom. AFTA’s training however, is designed to bring you through the very basics all the way through to an airline standard. It is structured in a logical and progressive order and nothing is left out.
In January 2020 I began my ATPL theory. This was the hardest stage of my training, however AFTA’s instructors are extremely helpful and comprehensive. Once COVID hit in March 2020 there was a lot of uncertainty, however AFTA worked tirelessly to allow us to continue our theory via remote learning and in total I only lost about a month which I consider incredible. After 7 months of study, I completed my ATPL exams with all first time passes.
One thing that particularly stands out to me about AFTA is the friendly atmosphere around the academy. Both instructors and students are always there to help and support one another if ever you are uncertain about anything.
AFTA really go above and beyond to make your training as thorough and as enjoyable as possible and I cannot recommend them enough. Although many might consider this a difficult time to be joining the industry, the recovery can already be seen and I can’t wait to make myself part of it.