Cochise College

[Unchilled]

I'm seriously considering these guys because I live in Arizona and they "seem" to have a solid, affordable program. I was curious to see if anyone could lend me some insight. All comments appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Pondscum]

Unchilled:
From one Arizonan to another, I can't give any personal experience about Cochise, but a very good buddy of mine went there many moons ago and was very happy with the training he received.
He earned his A&P and most of his ratings down there. Then, I believe, he worked in there shop for a while. Now he has his IA (inspector authorization) and is working for the Border Patrol (as a mech that will hopefully lead to a pilot position) down in Sierra Vista.
I appologize that this isn't much help, just opinions. If you would like, I can ask him some specific questions if you have them. Good luck.

 

[Unchilled]

Yeah thanks, I appreciate all the info I can get.

Some specific things I would like to know:

-- Time Frame, how long for the Pilot Tech degree all the way up to CFII/ME assuming I come in with a couple ratings under my belt. The general ed. requirements seem not too bad, is the curriculum pretty self paced? 18 months to 24 months?

-- Housing, I assume the cost of living in Douglas isn't too expensive. Did he live on or off campus?

I appreciate your help!

 

[bobbysamd]

For what it's worth, I've heard, too, that Cochise has a great program. We had a sim instructor at Riddle, older gentleman, who instructed there.

Douglas, Arizona, gets pretty hot in the summertime, though.

 

[Beechnut]

I'm SOOOOOOOOOO glad someone has asked about Cochise on this board! I was there from the summer of 1994 until January of 1997. I was a student through most of that, but also taught there for a year. A normal pace that most zero time students use is to have your MEI and a Associates degree in two years. There are others down there that have done their MEI and tail dragger endorsements in that two years as well. The general ed stuff is pretty standard first and second year college courses. The classes are about 30 or so, and the instructors tend to be aware of the pilot students in their class.
The Chief Instructor down there is pretty good about trying to get new instructors students to help build their first hours. Once an instructor you are considered College faculty and are able to take 3 regular classes a semester for free.

Living in Douglas is okay. There are nicer parts, further out east in the foothills, but the rest of town is defiantly a boarder area. The housing is pretty inexpensive and some kids even rent trailers together out in the desert. (Those are some of the greatest parties I've ever been to.) Many other students live up the road in Bisbee. Bisbee is a neat little artist colony tucked away in the Mule mountains. It's clean, has a neat "old west" history, cooler temperature wise, and more english speaking folks than in Douglas. The catch is Douglas is a 8 mile drive to Cochise and Bisbee is about 11 miles. The dorms are okay, but don't get your hopes up that their something like you find at larger four year schools. The are relatively inexpensive (as I recall) and you can get a meal plan for the school that is pretty flexible about where and when you eat. The school IS literally out in the middle of the desert, 8 miles to the closest town. Sometimes it's tough to "run into town" just to get a bite to eat. ...and on a side note, I stayed down there for two and a half years with no car and did fine. After a semester of living in the dorms you are eligible to apply to be a Resident Assistant. It's not too much of a job, but it pays for your room and board at the school. I spent the last two semesters there as an instructor with no rent, no food bills, and no charge for college courses. I was a pretty good deal.

There is another person on this board that goes by Goffer. He is currently a student down there and could give you more up to date information about what's happening down there.

http://www.cochise.org/aviation/index_ie.htm

I am VERY pleased with the quality of education I received down there and strongly recommend their program.

Anything more I can try to answer?

S.

 

[skydiverdriver]

Bobby,
It is NOT hot in Douglas in the Summer. Have you ever been there? It's about 3000' elevation, and not too bad year around. Now Phoenix is hot, but that's another story.

I went to Cochise a long time ago, and thought it was a great deal. It's a community college, so prices are pretty reasonable, and having it's own airport and aircraft makes it pretty unique. I didn't stay there long enough to be an instructor, but most of mine left for pretty good corporate jobs. Of course, this was in the 80's and things will change depending on the market for pilots.

It is in the middle of nowhere, which is perfect for a flight school. It does have other students there though, as I recall they had a good baseball program, and many foreign students learning English. They had a pool and a Gym with basketball for those slow days. The dorms aren't great, but they're cheap and you will have lots of people to help you study. It's also a good place to get your A&P, which I would highly recommend.

I would encourage you to go and visit them, and I think you will like what you see. Good luck and fly safe.

 

[skydiverdriver]

PS,
Arizona has some of the best flying weather in the world. I flew down there for over 20 years, and never, not once cancelled a training flight for weather. The hard part is finding some actual, but there is always the California coast in the morning. Good luck.

 

[AZaviator]

I've ran into a few people who have gone to Cochise College and the majority seem to have good things to say about it. Seems to be reasonably priced compared to the large aviation schools, and perfect flying weather as previously mentioned.

As Skydiverdriver said, the elevation of Douglas is much higher than Phoenix, somewhere around the area of 4,100ft. Highs get in the low to mid 90s at most in mid summer. It does rain down there a lot more than in Phoenix. Afternoon thunderstorms during the summertime.

 

[Unchilled]

Thanks for all the info.

I've lived up here in Lake Havasu for thre years now and I'm used to the nasty Arizona heat. Also, I enjoy the monsoon storms so I'm not too worried about the weather.

I'm getting a really good feeling about this school and I think I will arrange a visit. Thanks again for all your help. Anyone else have some info to add?

 

[skydiverdriver]

You think heat is nasty? I have lived in the east for a few years now, and I would take the desert over humidity and cold anyday. Out here, it is freezing cold, and then the next day it's humid and you need AC. In Arizona, even in Phoenix, you have months of nice weather where you don't need a jacket or the AC, and you can leave the windows open. I'll take AZ weather over anywhere else.

 

[bobbysamd]

Douglas heat

I lived in Prescott for two and a half years. From watching TV news, I understood the place was hot. But, I agree with Skydiverdriver insofar as Arizona heat is better (?) than East Coast/Florida heat. Still, we had plenty of 100-degree days in Prescott, with a 5000-foot elevation, though.

It's true about not finding actual near Arizona, but the L.A. Basin and the attractions of its actual are only a relatively short flight away. We took our Riddle students to the L.A. Basin all the time. You don't necessarily have to fly to the Basin in the morning. In the fall, we found it in the last afternoon and evening as well.

I also heard good things about the Cochise baseball team.

One other thing worth mentioning: Cocbise is an ACCREDITED college, meaning you should be able to transfer most, if not all, of your credits to a four-year school when the time comes.

 

[Unchilled]

You think heat is nasty? I have lived in the east for a few years now, and I would take the desert over humidity and cold anyday. Out here, it is freezing cold, and then the next day it's humid and you need AC. In Arizona, even in Phoenix, you have months of nice weather where you don't need a jacket or the AC, and you can leave the windows open. I'll take AZ weather over anywhere else.

Hey, I ain't complaining. Why do you think I live here?!! I've been in New Orleans in the Summer and it's absolutely miserable.

Bobby, thanks for the additional info, I knew it was accrtedited, but I'm not sure by whom. I'll want to transfer to a 4-year at some point, but I'll worry about that after I get my AS.

 

[bobbysamd]

College accreditation

Colleges are very proud of (read that to mean make a big deal of) their accreditation. Chances are, you'll find it near the front of the catalogue. There are something like six major accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, e.g. the North Central Association, New England Association and Southern Association.

I took a student to Lake Havasu once in March. We had 100-degree heat that day, but it was dry and breezy and wasn't too bad, actually.

Good luck at Cochise.