Road to FI - Summary

Now that I’m finally done, and the only two things remaining are getting the night instruction endorsement and become unrestricted (probably going to take a while), it’s time to share the summary of what I’ve done and how much it cost.

All in all, the grand total for everything is NOK 178 104,65, divided into NOK 110 235,56 for the FI(A) itself, and NOK 67 869,09 for the CPL theory, examination and removal of the limitation. I’ll break it further down below.

I’ve spent a couple years in total doing this, and due to the recent inflation (and devaluation of the Norwegian krone) prices might be considerable higher now. The plan was to do it a lot quicker, but things don’t always go as planned.

Key takeaways for the training

I did my training through Flygerskolen/Best Fly in Hungary, I’ve written a lot about the practical training here: Road to FI - Training in Hungary.

Some important takeaways:

• Be prepared, document how you fulfilled all the prerequisites
• Read reviews on the school you think about using
• Remember to budget for travel, food and lodging
• Have fun!

Key takeaways for the CPL-theory

Since I only did the theory to remove the “LAPL only” restriction, I did it as an individual without any official theory course (“CPL for FI(A)” is exempt from the theory course requirement). This means that I purchased a lot of things I ended up needing, and I probably didn’t save any money (or time) in the end.

I highly recommend Bristol Groundschool’s BGS Video Library and Aviationexam!

You should also learn from my biggest mistake, and just buy a theory course with access to everything. If I had started now, I would have done the Bristol Ground School CPL(A) Theory Course.

A lot of the questions are insane, so you will have to spend a considerable amount of time in the questions banks. Aviationexam has by far the best app, which you can also use offline. Most of the question banks are ATPL, but Aviationexam and Bristol Ground School have CPL-specific banks.

The CRP-5 with the wind arm is useless during the exams, get one without instead. If buying used books and equipment, remember that old material is useless! The Jeppesen GSPRM was changed a couple years ago, and there are a lot of the old useless version for sale online. Also remember that you are not allowed to write anything in the Jeppesen manual, if you are going to use it during the exams!

Summary of key takeaways from the CPL theory posts

• Get a mentor and some study buddies
• Use the entire sitting (don’t do all exams in one day)
• Don’t do too much in one day - really!
• Give yourself enough time - doing all the exams in as few days as possible, over as few weeks as possible, is not the best way to do this
• Stay off your phone on the day of the exam!
• Be at the exam center early
• Use all available tools
• Learn to use the DMS button on the calculator
• Use the dictionary in the Jeppesen GPSRM
• Use the ATC and other text pages in the Jeppesen GPSRM
• Use the conversion formulas available in the various CAPs
• Use the English-English dictionary, especially for Human Performance and Limitations
• RTFQ! (Read the full question)
• RFTA! (Read the four answers)
• Ask for multiple transparent sheets during the examination, if needed
• Doing time consuming exams in stages based on complexity can help you get as much as possible done in the time you have
• Use all available time!

Cost breakdown

FI(A)

Since I did this through Flygerskolen, I paid the first part to them in NOK. I then paid the rest directly to Best Fly, partially in cash and partially using wire transfer. The examiner wanted cash, which I paid in Hungarian Forints (they also accept Euros).

Item	Local currency	Cost in NOK	Comments
Training fee to Flygerskolen		9 000,-	For access to theory course
Travel to Hungary		4 775,79	Includes hotel at Gardermoen
ASA Pilot Backpack and Hungary VFR chart		2 214,-
FI(A) Course training fee to Best Fly	EUR 5 180	60 398.58
Dual instrument fee to Best Fly	EUR 824,40	9 562,54
Examiner fee	HUF 60 000	1 900,98	Alternatively EUR 150
Multi engine rental Best Fly	EUR 250	2 880,95
Apartment rental Best Fly	EUR 260	2 996,20
Travel from Hungary		8 119,49	Includes hotel in Budapest
Food and groceries in Hungary		4 143,70	Including tip
Bus and Bolt entire trip		893,33	Including tip
Certificate fee to Norwegian CAA		3 440,-
		NOK 110 235,56

My costs include the extra 4:35 instrument and 0:35 multi engine, so without those the total cost would be NOK 97 792,07. Without the optional equipment (which you may already have, or don’t need) the total cost would be just north of NOK 95 000,-. This will however change depending on the exchange rate, and the cost of the travel to/from Hungary.

Just the course itself, examiner fee, bus/Bolt, and accommodation and food in Kalocsa is around NOK 80 000,-.

CPL-theory

Item	Local currency	Cost in NOK	Comments
Theory course Evionica		7 160,55
BGS Webinar Library		5 366,95
Aviationexam		4 525,49	I’ve had access to Aviationexam for a total of almost three years
Other questions banks		1 411,59
Various other theory related expenses		5 057,61
Exam fees		16 350,-
Travel cost exam		14 646,49
Lodging cost exam		12 512,14
Fee to Swedish CAA for removal of LAPL only	SEK 600	838.27
		NOK 67 869,09

Living closer to the exam center can drastically reduce the cost for the theory. Doing a proper course, instead of just buying all sorts of things you don’t need, will also reduce the cost. So if you live closer to the exam center, you should be able to do this for around 50% of what I did.

• PPL
• CPL-Theory