I graduated from NFC in 2025 on the integrated ATPL Training Course, after 21 months. My advise to students is stay focussed, keep the head down, you have to give up a lot in the first 9 months to pass the exams, in the end it is worth it. I really enjoyed my time at NFC, the support and commitment from the staff and instructors really impressed me.
Alex Marrinan - NFC Graduate, FO, A320, Aer Lingus
I am a past student from NFC who graduated in 2021 after covid, during those tough times they have helped me proceed with my studies to get me where I am today thanks to their well experienced instructors and staff preparing the day ahead for me. Weston Airport is perfect and dealing with Dublin and Military airspace on a daily basis helped me develop my situational awareness, a core competency airlines look for and communication skills nicely to be a professional pilot. Fast forward to now, I am a First Officer with Ryanair on the
B737-800/8200 in Dublin base.
Kind regards,
Miguel Angel
I graduated from NFC in early 2022. I was successful with my
application to Ryanair and was based initially in Edinburgh and
thenI was based in Edinburgh, followed by Birmingham and in
2024 I was pleased to be based in Dublin (my hometown). I Still love the flying, and I am getting a lot of experience across the whole Ryanair network, I am going to be starting my command upgrade in the next couple years.I hope all the NFC and Weston staff are doing well. Delighted to be in touch again.
Kindest regards,
Aaron Henderson
Hi Adomas here, my story so far is, I am flying with Ryanair a little over 3 years, have racked up about 2400 hours on the
Boeing 737. I have been mostly a line First Officer, having also
worked as an SFI for a number of months in the summer/autumn of 2024.
Best regards,
Adomas Guobys
I graduated from NFC in 2023 on the integrated ATPL Training Course.Before completing the course, I was offered a position with Aer Lingus.The support and advice from the NFC staff and instructors was excellent.
Georgia Brady - NFC Graduate, FO, A320, Aer Lingus
After graduating from NFC I was with Swissport for a short time
before getting a job with Lauda Europe. Basically Ryanair but
the Airbus. I was based in Vienna for 6 months during the initial training and I am now based in Zagreb, Croatia. Its interesting living in a place similar but different and then trying to do the Ryanair way with the Airbus. Once again, I hope your all well.
Dillon Byrne
After graduating from NFC I was with Ryanair for two years and currently I am with Aer Lingus, with them just over a year. I hope you’re keeping well, I must drop in soon and say hello.
Kind Regards,
Glen Heffernan
After completing the Integrated ATPL course at National Flight
Centre in November 2022, I applied to Ryanair in January 2023
as a cadet. Successfully passing the interview and simulator assessment, I commenced my Boeing 737 NG/MAX type rating with Ryanair in the UK. Additionally I also obtained my Flight Instructors Rating to teachstudents to obtain their Private Pilot Licence. I completed my Line Training at Dublin Airport with Ryanair and am based there since January 2024.I love flying as a General Aviation pilot and being a Commercial Airline pilot. I fly to amazing locations from the Azores to Lapland and work with the most incredible people and teams. Flying isn’t just a passion, it’s a way of life. From my first hour in a Cessna 152 at National Flight Centre to my 1,000th hour in a Boeing 737 MAX, it’s been a rewarding career and highly recommended.
I am Richard, from South Africa and I am a past student of NFC. I chose to do my ICAO to EASA conversion at NFC in May 2022, I learnt a lot from the school as I did my EASA Commercial Pilots License as well as my Upset Recovery course. A month and a half later, in July 2022, I started my first jet job on the ERJ135/140 at Airlink, an airline in South Africa. I enjoyed the varied domestic and regional flights that took anywhere from
30 minutes a leg, to 3 hours a leg.Just over a year later, in October 2023, I passed my command interview on the ERJ fleet and was ready for this new chapter in my life however shortly after passing, I got notified of my successful application into AirJapan. Fast forward 2 years from leaving NFC - I started my next job, in May 2024, I started my training as a first officer on the Boeing 787 with my training lasting 7 months and comprising of license conversions, training at the Boeing facility in Singapore and more training in Japan to get my Japanese ATPL license before finishing the line training. I have been here for just over a year now and currently do routes that are now anywhere between 2.5 hours and 7 hours long - As I write this I am on a layover in Singapore! I really enjoy my career as a pilot and the path I have taken to get here, I really have learnt a lot
in each chapter and have realised that each chapter holds a puzzle piece that fits into a greater picture - and NFC really was a big puzzle piece in my career.”
Kind Regards,
Richard Niyaki
