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mar said:
The VNFC was more spendy than the rest but the owner had a reason for it.

Flash back to the recession of the early '90s. Nobody was learning to fly because it had finally become too expensive. But this place was doing ok because it really catered to the higher end of the market.

We had the occasional "professional student" in there but mostly it was a bunch of doctors and lawyers with loads to blow on nice airplanes. They didn't want to rent some beat up Cessna. They had the money to rent turbocharged Saratogas, Trinidads and Senecas.

The check outs were very thorough. The CFIs wore a uniform shirt and slacks. And the saleman would try to pitch a shiney new Trinidad to these guys.

Anyway, things change, and I don't know what it's like now but there could be better options for you out there.

At the top of my list I would put Sunrise Aviation in Orange County (John Wayne).

Reasonable prices, a very strict and dedicated owner who is fixated (?) on quality control and a nice diverse fleet.

I realize that's a bit of a drive for you from west LA.

Santa Monica and Long Beach also have some good schools. If you have some friends that are learning to fly you should get some recommendations from them. In lieu of that, you may need to shop around a little and go through a few instructors until you really find one that you enjoy working with.

I might recommend just going for a few "introductory flights" to see who you like rather than walking in a putting down a huge deposit somewhere.

Good luck, if you can filter out the bickering this website is a good resource.

Awesome, thank you very much for the insight! I'll let you know what vibe I get from these places :)
 
mar said:
I learned to fly at Fullerton, CA. Soloed at Compton. First job at Van Nuys Flite Center.

Have fun. Good luck. And for God's sake, if you're in the practice area west of VNY please watch out for the jet traffic going into Burbank!


Did you have a bullet-proof vest on when you soloed at Compton????
 
Walk on by

as214 said:
Did you have a bullet-proof vest on when you soloed at Compton????

No sir. I just practiced my Vx climbs! :cool:
 
Whatever you do, don't quit your day job untill the economy is better...
 
Absolutely the most important factor in learning to fly is picking the right instructor!

The right instructor is a guy or gal who is dedicated to completing the instructional task in a quality, real life manner. While nearly all CFIs are teaching in order to build time to move on to another flying job, your job is to find one who is gonna be a CFI long enough to get you through your rating/program.
If I were you (knowing what I do know) I would take a "few" introductory flight lessons at a couple of different schools and get to know a few of the available instructors. From there, I'd select my CFI/school.

TransMach

P.S. I'll be going over to my instructor's house on Saturday for a cold brew, and he, his older son, me, my older son are going fishing 16, 17 and 18 Sept. We've known each other for more than 30 years now. I picked the right guy.
 
Remember, no matter what anyone tells you you do not need a college degree to have a successful career as a professional pilot. You need flight time.
 
FN FAL said:
Whatever you do, don't quit your day job untill the economy is better...

i lend my heart out to the people effected by Katrina and other circumstances out of their control, but i gotta tell you living in L.A. has the biggest dissadvantage for cheap cost of living (factor in how you can't get around without a car, gas prices, and the mass transit system here). i'm 25 and still living at home while i make 35-40k a year and it's still rough if you want to move out on your own. i commend people that have the financial ability to do that. so by all means, getting my PPL with a part 61 is my goal while i hold down my current job in the publication industry.
 
pilotyip said:
Remember, no matter what anyone tells you you do not need a college degree to have a successful career as a professional pilot. You need flight time.

really? i've read that a degree (in aviation, not nessecarily in some cases) is reccommended for the majors after about 1500hrs. my plan after a PPL and CFI certificate is to attend ATP in LGB and transfer credits to UVSC to take courses online and get an associates in aviation. i suppose it will have to depend on my financial situation at that time though.

do you think that's a reasonable plan? or is it more of a "who you know" type thing?
 

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