Flying Start English

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Flying Start English

Flying Start English (FSE) is an Aviation English Training Centre providing online tuition to prepare

All our Instructors are qualified native English speaking teachers and aviation professionals; for example, pilots, controllers, engineers and cabin crew. We therefore have a vast range of expertise to cover all aspects of flight operations. Many of our students have improved from Level 4 to Level 5 and some have achieved the ultimate - LEVEL 6 !!

31/10/2024

QUALIOPI Accreditation renewed for another 3 years

Great news, we have just passed our QUALIOPI renewal audit which allows us to continue training French students who wish to use their "compte personnel de formation" (CPF) to pay for their training.

So for all French Pilots wanting to prepare for the FCL055 exam, you can still come to Flying Start English and the French Government will help fund your training🙂

28/10/2024

ICAO/EASA English Test Requirements
The ICAO DOC 10197 is now available as a printed copy. It was first published online in May 2024 and is now available to purchase as a hard copy.

So why is this important?
Since the ELP requirements were first published by ICAO in 2004 there are numerous ICAO ELP Test providers. Within Europe they are commonly know as FCL 055 Test providers which relates to the EASA regulation FCL .055 Language Proficiency.

Since COVID there has been an explosion of test providers, many of them now offering online tests. However…there is a large discrepancy in the quality of these tests and the assessment results.
Certainly within Europe I know of pilots who have been awarded a Level 3 with one test provider and then 2 days later been awarded a Level 4 by a different test provider. This situation makes a mockery of the current testing requirements.

The ICAO and EASA Member States who approve English Language Proficiency tests should be encouraged to consider these guidelines before issuing approvals.

Perhaps all Approved Test Providers should be re-assessed to see if their tests meet these new guidelines?

What do you think?

23/05/2024

I have just returned from a most enjoyable and educational visit to the International Civil Aviation Englsih Association (ICAEA) Conference in Hong Kong.
This was the first time I have attended the ICAEA conference and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet many new faces; a few old faces and to meet in real life some peers with whom I have only spoken to via WhatsApp or email.
The conference was hosted by the English and Communication Department of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Special thanks go to Professor Eric Frignal and his able team of assistants who ensured that the conference ran smoothly and nobody got lost within the campus grounds!
Every day we were invited to a mixture of thought-provoking presentations and workshops from a variety of speakers from around the globe. One message was very clear, pilot/controller communication has undoubtedly improved since the introduction of ICAO ELP requirements. However there is still need for further developments particularly in the area of training and testing of ELP for Engineers and Ground Staff .
One highlight was the announcement from Catalin Popa from ICAO that a new ICAO Document 10197 “Test Design Guidelines- Handbook on the Design of Tests for the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements” has just been approved and published online. I sincerely hope that in the future this document will help to harmonise ELP tests.
Overall it was a great experience and I hope to attend next years conference in Mexico and meet my new friends again

12/04/2024

Formation de bon niveau dispensée par une contrôleuse d'un aéroport Londonien . Rigueur et enrichissement des connaissances . Des mises en pratiques sur les différents items liés à l'examen FCL 0055 . Formation éligible et inscription à l'examen au CPF ce qui contribue aussi à l'attrait pou...

01/05/2023

Preventing Runway Incursions - The importance of Prepositions
Line up Behind ……………..or Before!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, the following exchange was heard at a major International Airport
Controller: ###X. Behind the landing A320 , via Alpha line up and wait behind
Pilot 1: Line up be…be………. before landing A320 , ###XX
Controller: ###X Negative, Negative, hold position, I say again Hold position
Pilot 2: Holding position, but if it helps we can line up and wait behind the landing A320, ###X
Both the Controller and Pilot 2 (believed to be the Captain) were native English speakers whereas Pilot 1 was a non-native English speaker.
The speedy response by both the Controller and Captain is reassuring, but it begs the question was there a real risk of a runway incursion or was this simply a language error.
It certainly increased the heart rate of the Controller!

08/03/2023

Inconsistent ICAO/EASA Language Testing

Recently an airline contacted us to provide some coaching for one of their line pilots who had just failed to attain a Level 4. He had achieved Level 4 in four of the descriptors and level 3 in two of them

The pilot had only 2 lessons and unbeknown to ourselves and the airline , went to a different EASA approved test provided and was awarded a Level 4.

This is not the first time this has happened and through word of mouth, many pilots in Europe know which test provider they can use to either ensure they obtain a Level 4 or to “upgrade” and achieve a Level 5 or even Level 6

I would love to claim that we can assist a pilot going from Level 3 to Level 4 in just 2 lessons, but I am more concerned about the lack of consistency in ICAO ELT testing, particularly within EASA. If one EASA state approves a Test Provider, then by default that Test Provider is approved, and their test results are accepted within all EASA states.

The situation appears to be getting worse rather than better and can result in (it seems to us) test takers shopping around for a more ‘favourable’ result. This can then undermine professional test centres whose fundamental aims are to improve the level of English Language in the aviation industry not just to award Level 4,5 or even 6.

All testing should be reliable, impartial and consistent wherever the test is taken.

11/02/2023

Achieved Level 5 - Now a new flying job !!!

So, two of our recent students have achieved Level 5, AND now they have both been accepted as pilots by major European airlines!

Not only do we help prepare for your EASA FCL0.55 or ICAO ELP exam but we can also help you to prepare for job Interviews. Two for the price of one!!!!!

Co-incidently a former student, an airline pilot who went from Level 4 to Level 5, has asked us to provide his daughter with some lessons to prepare for her final interviews to become a student Air Traffic Controller.

30/01/2023

Another Level 5!!

Yet another pilot who has just completed our FCL055 Exam preparation course has achieved Level 5 , (previously Level 4).
This allows him to apply for a job with a major airline.

Many airlines now require Level 5 as the minimum requirement, not Level 4.

We strongly believe that all pilots and controllers should aim for Level 5 (or even Level 6!) to increase the safety of our skies.

If you would like to improve your Aviation English, please contact us - we are here to help

29/08/2022

Mis-Communication during emergency Situation

True Story

Last week, a B737 departed London Gatwick and during initial climb out deviated from the SID. A few moments the non-native English speaking pilot declared a Mayday due to a tail strike and was routed to a holding pattern.

A runway inspection revealed no scrape damage nor indication of a tail strike and airport operations resumed.
Approximately 30 minutes later, the aircraft was ready to make an approach and the Emergency services were alerted.
Airport operations advised ATC that camera footage of the departures showed a spark coming from the Number 2 engine on rotation but no evidence of a tail strike.

After landing whilst communicating with the emergency vehicles, the Captain reported he had suffered a BIRD Strike.

Subsequent review of the ATC recordings confirmed that the pilot informed ATC that he had suffered a TAIL strike

The moral of the story - some non-native English speakers still have difficulty communicating with ATC during emergency situations. This was the main reason that ICAO introduced the mandatory English Language Proficiency Test back in 2008.

Have you got any similar stories?

If you need some help in communicating during emergency situations get in touch

03/08/2022

A summer of Flight Cancellations – The other side of the story

So… Summer has arrived and throughout Europe airports and airlines continue to struggle with staff and training. Major airports have placed limits on the number of flights and airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights.

On many occasions the press only show the frustrated passengers and love to blame the airlines/airports. Yes, it is very frustrating and upsetting for passengers to have their holiday plans changed at the last minute and in many ways the mandatory EU financial compensation for flights cancelled at short notice is no real compensation.

However.. what the media doesn’t tell you is that the cancellations are fundamentally all safety related. Pilots and Controllers for safety reasons have strict medical requirements and working hours limitations. We must not forget the Cabin Crew who are also there for passenger safety – they also have working time limitations which don’t necessarily correspond to the Flight Crew.
It takes many months of training for aircrew and controllers to become proficient and be allowed to fly/control “solo”. You cannot simply go to the job market and get a few people who play computer flight simulator games and have them trained in a couple of weeks!

CAPACITY is the number of flights that Controllers can SAFELY manage through sectors of airspace or at airports during a specific period of time. It depends on factors such as:
Staff shortages
Equipment unserviceability
Runway availability
And of course ……the weather – thunderstorms in particular at this time of year!!

DEMAND is the number of aircraft that would like to fly through a particular sector of airspace or arrive at a particular airport. Demand varies dramatically according to the time of the day, the day of the week, the season of the year….. and of course the major sporting events!!

Whenever CAPACITY is GREATER than the DEMAND, the Network Manager (the entity that provides CTOTs - commonly known as an ATC Slot) issues CTOTs to ensure that Controllers can SAFELY handle the number of aircraft in their airspace. Nobody wants a loss of separation or “Near-Miss”!.

Airlines often roster their pilots to fly 4 short-haul sectors a day. They arrive for their first flight of the day – if they are lucky there will be no CTOT and they take off on time. So far, so good. But……i they could also be delayed by anything from 10mins to 2 hours. If this continues throughout the day, it creates a domino effect, meaning that by the time the aircraft are ready to depart for their final flight they could be 3 hours late!
This presents a new problem. The crew may now be “out of crew hours” or “duty time”. Then by international laws written for SAFETY reasons they are unable to fly until they have had a period of rest.
Then there is the possibility that if they did take-off, by the time they arrive at the destination airport, it might be closed.
The result – the airline has no choice – they have to cancel the flight!.

Pilots and Controllers are struggling with fatigue - they are being asked to work maximum working hours and the cumulative effect leads to further sickness and surprise, surprise additional staff shortages.
There are simply not enough Pilots or Controllers. Mandatory training -for SAFETY reasons -takes a long time. There is no “quick fix”.

At the airports there is shortage of security staff, customs and immigration staff, baggage handlers, dispatchers etc, etc. The airports simply cannot cope. The shortage of airport staff leads to the chaotic scenes that have been seen this year at many major airports. To reduce the delays in processing passengers and avoid these distressing situations they have no short term option, they have to restrict the number of daily flights.
The airlines then have no choice – they have to cancel flights.

So,…what do YOU think?
Is this a true representation of the aviation industry at the moment?
What are YOUR experiences?
What are YOUR views?
What are YOUR answers to the problems?
In YOUR opinion, what does the future hold?

Finally, if you needed our friend “Mr Google translate” to help you understand this blog – perhaps you should book some lessons with us. Particularly if you have your FCL 0.55/ICAO ELP test soon!

02/06/2022

Is your Aviation English good enough??!!
Is your FCL0.55 or ICAO ELP due for renewal??

As more and more countries are opening up post COVID and passengers are flying again , the skies are getting busier.

Frequencies and airspace are becoming more congested and there is a shortage of pilots, controllers, ground handling agents, engineers airport workers................. but no shortage of Passengers!!

During COVID, the aviation world experienced a huge reduction in demand and many people were not practising English language.

Now during the recovery, we have witnessed at first hand that neither pilots nor controllers are quite as expeditious and there is often a mis-understanding of instructions, particularly in busy Ground Control environments.

We urge any non-native English speakers to ask themselves if their English communication skills are "up to speed" in these post COVID times - and indeed native English speakers should make sure that their communications are clear and unambiguous!!

13/04/2022

New Website; New look; New classroom - but still the Same great teachers and service!

Flying Start English is proud to present our new totally re-designed website. Features include:

• Members area with access to additional learning material and aviation articles/videos
• 100% mobile and iPad friendly,
• New class booking system
• Streamlined enrolment process
• New Virtual classroom (iPad friendly!)
• Same wonderful Teachers
Come and browse the site, sign up to receive our newsletter and talk to us about improving your Aviation English!

https://www.flyingstartenglish.com

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Poupas
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http://www.flyingstartenglish.com/

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