Flight Safety

[larry]

My wife went to the University Job fair (they have one for graduates every semester) Friday last week and Flight Safety was there. She was looking for a computer job, but stopped by and talked to them because she's married to a pilot. The flight safety guy told her pilots were in demand, the airlines are hiring, and the big cycle is just about to start. If you get hired now you'll never be laid off. How about that?

That said, any info on the FLight Safety to ASA program?

 

[bobbysamd]

FSI

I was an instructor at FlightSafety Academy ten years ago. I doubt that much has changed about the program. The place offers excellent training. All students earn their initial Commercial certificates in multi engine airplanes and finish with about forty hours of multi PIC. Good facilities and good equipment. The program is expensive but I think you get what you pay for in terms of good training and name recognition within the industry.

I've heard a couple of stories about the bridge program. I heard that after you pass your interview you must instruct at FSI for 800 hours before you can get on with the airline. I've also heard that you must fork up a huge deposit in advance of your training, very much like you-know-what, but not as insidious.

One other thing that FSI does well is promote its product. Your wife received a sales pitch. There is no pilot shortage and few airlines are hiring. In fact, I have read that the number of airline pilots on furlough are in the thousands. I would agree that a good time to prepare for the career is during a downturn so you can build hours and position yourself for when hiring resumes.

Best thing you can do is visit the place and see for yourself. And visit plenty of schools before you write the check.

Hope that helps.

 

[ms6073]

Mr. Sands offers some good advice grounded in reality. With the state of the airline industry as well as the number of highly experienced professional pilots who are currently out of work/on furlough, I would find it very hard to believe that anyone could consider that there is or ever will be a shortage of pilots. That said, I will also add that I am sort of a Flight Safety alumnus having done fixed wing transition and CFI at Vero Beach before I left the service.

Flight Safety is possibly the best that the industry has to offer in terms of high quality, structured, professional flight training (both entry level and advanced). But unless you are in a situation in which your professional obligations impose serious time contraints to which a highly structured environment like the one offered at Flight Safety is required, in my opinion, there are equally good venues available at a fraction of the cost. Unless you absolutely can not stand not having your picture hanging on the wall in the front hall of the administration building (it also housed classrooms when I was there), your bank account/retirement savings will be better served by looking for lower cost alternatives.

 

[ScRaMJeT]

Flight Safety the best yea right

You guys seem to talk big about the Flight Safety Academy but isn't that where The Kennedy guy was trained, and to add insult to injury by one of their 4 striper ("best") flight instructors.

Maintenance: huh you obviously didn't here about the slew of engine failures they had a few years ago. One in which a rich lawyer (Vip student) and an examiner almost died.

 

[Dep676]

Like Flight Safety made Kennedy go out and spiral in the ground. That like saying the tobbaco companies are the cause of someones lung cancer.

 

[ms6073]

Re: Flight Safety the best yea right

Maintenance: huh you obviously didn't here about the slew of engine failures they had a few years ago. One in which a rich lawyer (Vip student) and an examiner almost died.

Yikes!

I simply commented that at least in my case, I found my attendance at the academy to be a good, albeit pricey, decision. Although few, the only flight delays I had to endure were those resulting from Southern Florida's occasionally volatile weather that often results during the more temperate months.

I am not privy (nor are you) to the precise details or training regimen that the late Mr. Kenedy subscribed to while enrolled at Flight Safety. Mr. Kenedy, for reasons known only to himself and those who were with him, chose to embark on a flight that resulted in tragedy and loss of life. lets not drag his name through the mud in an attempt to case Flight Safety in a bad light. Despite all of this, I am very confident that he met exactly the same high standards while in attendance as everyone else.

 

[pireps]

...or blaming McD's for being overweight...

JFK jr. never actually got an instrument rating and it's unfortunate that he decided to venture into the conditions that he did. No flight school or senior instructor could've prevented him from making the decisions that he did that day. That would be like saying that every CFI is responsible for everything a former student does or will ever do.

FSI is a great place to train if you have the cash to do it. I trained and instructed there and while certainly there are downsides (re: high cost) I will attest to the quality of the whole package. Visit the place, check out ALL the competition, talk to the students, and then decide for yourself.

When I was there (I left in 2001) the ASA program was either pay-a-ton and then maybe have a job, or stay and instruct for at least 800 hours, FSI pays for CFII and MEI and ASA prep training. So not really PFT. Pretty good deal actually. But that's probably changed by now...

BTW if their maintenance is supposedly so bad then why did the FAA award FSI's Director of Maintenance with "2001 Aviation Technician of the Year"? Check it out for yourself. For the amount of flying they do their safety statistic is actually pretty good.

Good luck

 

[Chunk]

Say there Scramjet,

What's your source? Oh wait...don't have one?

FSI (disclaimer:I'm an FSI product) has incredible maintenance. Take a look at their Mx facilities sometime in person (they'll show them to anyone interested unlike other schools who hide their hangars).

Yes, it's expensive, but a great program.

Chunk

 

[bobbysamd]

FSI maintenance

FSI has incredible maintenance. Take a look at their Mx facilities sometime in person (they'll show them to anyone interested unlike other schools who hide their hangars).

I found plenty to dislike about the place while I was an FSI employee, including the Director of Maintenance, but he kept his airplanes pristine. I do not every recall being denied a flight because an airplane(s) was down.

Really, Scramjet, the maintenance is good at "the Academy."

 

[Chunk]

D.D.? I've never heard anything but positive things about him. He was great when he showed us what to look for in a proper preflight.

Chunk

 

[B190Captain]

Re: Flight Safety the best yea right

You guys seem to talk big about the Flight Safety Academy but isn't that where The Kennedy guy was trained, and to add insult to injury by one of their 4 striper ("best") flight instructors.

Maintenance: huh you obviously didn't here about the slew of engine failures they had a few years ago. One in which a rich lawyer (Vip student) and an examiner almost died.

I attended FSI Academy in 1993 and It was by far worth every penny. The knowledge and discipline that you get from there is second to none. They empahsize the importance of weather and planning so you can develop your judgement as a pilot. My God, every day I had to plot my weather from an area forecast on a map of Florida to get an idea were the weather was and where it was going. They are airline oriented and I had a great time there. I have no complaints. The aircraft were immaculate with a few aging piper seminoles. There was always an aircraft available for training and never had a cancellation due to maintenance.

The only time I was sort of irked was when I visited there a few years ago after I graduated and one of the "four striper" instructors gave me an attitude like his sh*t did not stink. I put him in his place though when he found out I was a Check Airman on the 1900 and the largest aircraft he ever flew was a Seneca. That felt good!!!

In JFK jr.'s case, it was like a 16 year old who gets a ferrari for his first car. He exercised poor judgement by flying into deteriorating conditions and was not instrument rated. The Saratoga was too much airplane for a novice aviator like JFK jr. So do not blame the fact that he was trained in FSI was the reason for his demise.

That was a pretty cheap thing to say.

Fly Safe!!

 

[mackinhoes]

B190 Captain (Check airman - excuse me)

You really showed him!!! Wow, can I carry your flight bag one day? Will you tell me some flying stories? GEEEEE we are impressed.

To change the subject, my beef with the JFK - FSI thing is this: I wonder if he was really a marginal pilot whose flight instructor never could give him the bad news. It is hard enough sometimes for flight instructors to tell someone to give it up, or that they should only be a daytime VFR pilot. It is probably alot harder to tell someone if they have a certain last name. This was my gut feeling from the time when I heard about his flight training. I can't recall the specifics, but JFK had a LOT of dual for not being close to finishing his instrument.

BTW, B190 Captain, check airman, check out my CV.

 

[bobbysamd]

FSI

D.D.? I've never heard anything but positive things about him. He was great when he showed us what to look for in a proper preflight.

Chunk

I thought he was abrupt, but so were a few other FSI management types while I was there. But the aircraft were first class!

Maybe I caught him at the wrong time(s).

One other thing worth mentioning about FSI's course is its unusual attitudes training. I hesitate to make categorical declarations (moi? ), but I don't know of any other major flight school that offers some hours in spins and beginning acro. When I was there FSI used Decathlons and 152 Aerobats. Now, it uses the Zlins. What a confidence builder! I wish I had that training when I was learning to fly.

 

[Chunk]

Zlin

They're a lot of fun...fairly abrupt spin entry. Caught me by suprise the first time.

It was good training. I'll feel more confident about letting my students do *actual* MCA once I start instructing.

Chunk

 

[B190Captain]

B190 Captain (Check airman - excuse me)

You really showed him!!! Wow, can I carry your flight bag one day? Will you tell me some flying stories? GEEEEE we are impressed.

To change the subject, my beef with the JFK - FSI thing is this: I wonder if he was really a marginal pilot whose flight instructor never could give him the bad news. It is hard enough sometimes for flight instructors to tell someone to give it up, or that they should only be a daytime VFR pilot. It is probably alot harder to tell someone if they have a certain last name. This was my gut feeling from the time when I heard about his flight training. I can't recall the specifics, but JFK had a LOT of dual for not being close to finishing his instrument.

BTW, B190 Captain, check airman, check out my CV.

I guess it was you huh? LOL JK

BTW SR-71 On top, whats a cv?

 

[ms6073]

Curriculum (curricula?) Vitae

A latin term for qualifications (resume) presneted in a specific format (I think). Most companies outside of the US (ICAO and JAA) will refer to forwarding a CV to be considered for a position.

 

[Lucky]

Re: Zlin

They're a lot of fun...fairly abrupt spin entry. Caught me by suprise the first time.

It was good training. I'll feel more confident about letting my students do *actual* MCA once I start instructing.

Chunk

Chunk... you mention "once you start instructing." What is the current wait there for a position as a Flight Instructor. I've heard anywhere from 6 months to two years. Are you still training, or waiting for a position?

 

[Timebuilder]

In the spring of 2001 I was looking into FSI, and the ASA program. A friend talked me out of it, saying that I had a very bright future at the school where he had taught, and where I was currently teaching. Who knows what might have happened in my life if I had taken the position that was ofered by FSI back then.

I CAN tell you that I was told that I could apply for the ASA program after having instructed for 500 hours at FSI, and by 800 hours I would become eligible for the interview. The costs were high. The pay was less than I was making. There was a risk in that I did not know if the ASA program would come to an end while I was working toward that interview. Would I fit in with the management style of the chief flight instructor? There were a host of unanswered questions.

On the bright side, I never had a question about the quality of the school. I knew that I was getting a sales pitch regarding the ASA program. I knew that there had been manufacturing issues with the R model Skyhawks, and that the problem had been dealt with. I knew that FSI on the resume would be a "plus". How much of a plus it might be was up for interpretation.

I knew that JFK junior had been just one student, and that he took more than one attempt to pass his bar exam, and was perhaps not cut out to be a pilot. While he may not have been treated any differently as a student pilot, he came from a family where self confidence often exceeded common sense. It is likely this overconfidence that was his undoing, not his FSI training. His loss is a sad one both for his family and friends, and for the addtional damage his loss brought to aviation.

For a young person, with time on his side and money at the ready, schools like FSI and ERAU are fine choices. For the man short on time and money, I would say they are not.

Come to think of it, it may have been ERAU with the piston pin problem on the Skyhawks.

 

[Chunk]

FlightSafety Academy is located on VRB, the home of Piper. Wouldn't do to have any high wing products on the ramp, now would it?!?!?

I am in the middle of my CFI training. There is a pool of folks waiting to instruct....about 70 deep. How long that'll be, who knows. I'm looking for work elsewhere in the meanwhile, but Florida is saturated w/CFI's and my wife is paying the bills, so I can't just pick up the tent and move.

Anyone need a CFI in the Vero Beach/Ft Pierce/Melbourne area?

As far as FSI goes, I flew as a SENSO (backseat) in the Navy for 7 years and my standards for training is high. FSI has met all of my expectations.

Chunk

 

[SennaP1]

Flight Safety Situation

I was listening today over my school's air to air and overheard some CFI talking about the situation at FSI. He saidthere are 220 students and 100 or so CFIs. It this true that kinda sucks for the CFIs (2:1 ratio) I guess its good for the students. He also said they have like 100 Seminoles sitting on the ground. Is this true? Also he mentioned there is a waiting list 9 months long for a new student (to get one, or for the student ??). Also mentioned pay at $150 every two weeks, and something about not being able to get out of a contract he signed. Any truth to this. Just wonderin' Hard to believe....