What is the best flight school????

[100LL... Again!]

There is no 'best' school.

The elements of success (in order of importance) are as follows:


Your attitude
Your natural abillities
Your motivation

Your instructor and the unwritten 'corporate culture' at the school

An organized approach to learning nad appropriate syllabus

A safe aircraft with properly functioning equipment and avionics

Reasonable weather

The school itself comes in pretty much last.
The school is a vaporous concept, and the excellence or lack of same in any of the above elements will more than eliminate any advantage of a so-called 'good' school.

Lots of folks from excellent schools have crashed airplanes, washed out at airlines, etc. Lots of pilots from tiny schools have done well.

There is no magic formula. You must make it happen.

 

[FlamingFUPA]

The problem is that with the rising costs at ERAU more and more little rich kids wind up going there. Their sense of entitlement is astounding. I enjoyed my time there an worked hard as a student. If it weren't for the rising costs, declining quality of incoming students and a shift in program I would have taught there for another year or so. The climate became so bad there that it cause a mass exodus of their most experienced instructors.

My advice to anybody looking for a flight school, look for a good IP first. One that does it because they love it. All CFIs complain about their jobs, but i can say that I am a better person for teaching for as long as I did. I loved the experience of enriching a person's life mixed in with a few threats of physical violence

 

[FlamingFUPA]

There is no magic formula. You must make it happen.

Amen, you are not entitled to your ratings, you and only you must earn them.

 

[RP170]

I recommend the Air Force Academy. There is no tuition but of course there is now a 12-14 year commitment I believe. It was a 10 year commitment when I was a cadet there.

 

[Aero44]

Go to Gulfstream Intl.

 

[jarhead]

UND all the way baby! Cheap as compared to others and great training. Only bad side is that it's in ND

Actually, the location of UND up in the frozen tundra is a bonus for ya. It's a winter survival school as well as a flight school. I love it up there! Great state with great hunting and hardly any people.

 

[UnAnswerd]

Out of curiosity, do CFI's make better money at the big name schools than they would at the local airport???

 

[jarhead]

Out of curiosity, do CFI's make better money at the big name schools than they would at the local airport???

I don't know one way or the other about the comparison of $$$ per hour between various FBO’s and 141 schools, but your large 141 schools have a ready made clientele.....the students in the school are captive customers for those CFI. The CFI employees of those schools are earning money from students enrolled at the school. Back in 1994, UND hired 35 new CFI's to replace those who had moved on to other employment having made the hours required for an interview just before the fall semester started. I believe there were around 100 total CFI, CFII and MEI employed that fall. The schools hire an amount of flight instructors commensurate with their known student load. In 1994 if memory serves me, UND had 110 aircraft in their livery ranging from Piper Cadets, Arrows, Seminoles and two Citation jets. Also some helicopters float planes, tail draggers, and aerobatic aircraft.

 

[FlamingFUPA]

IPs at ERAU can make anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000/yr Best i did was about 35k

 

[psysicx]

What about buying your own plane?

 

[jws717]

OK here is what i did and it worked, just interviewed with comair

Went to a delta connection academy college program, there are 4 of them all over the country. The college programs are usualy cheaper than the main facility in orlando if it is a public school. If you are motivated, have a good attitude and can learn, you will be able to teach at the academy. Then apply to the airlines at 1000/100.

Here is the catch and alot of people do not understand this, the academy is not a gaurantee to go to the airlines. The people who make it live airplanes daily for 2 years. It is hard work, and if you think you walk in and will be at an airline in 2 years because you paid that will not get you anywhere.

I spent 40,000 Instrument to MEI

run from any private college riddle or jacksonville. $$$$

 

[jws717]

i almost forgot DO NOT BUY YOUR OWN AIRCRAFT!!! unless you are a mechanic.
MX will kill you i have experience managing a fleet of 20 cessnas, MX bills were astronomical.

a 152 will run about 30-40 dollars per hour just to cover MX then add fuel, CFI, parking and insurance and you are not gona beat the 75 an hour to rent. plus you have all the liabilty.

Worse to get all your ratings you need an instrument platform. thats ok like a 172.

Commercial needs a complex aircraft what about multi, it sux

 

[KO King]

Actually, the location of UND up in the frozen tundra is a bonus for ya. It's a winter survival school as well as a flight school. I love it up there! Great state with great hunting and hardly any people.

LOL....you know what Jarhead.......I have to agree with you! I hated ND when I was there (the state and the cold, not the school) but now that I have been gone for a couple of years I really miss it! I'm from the west coast and never thought I would ever want to go back but I find myself wanting to go back for a visit. I instructed up there for a year while I was still in school and it was one of the best learning experiences. UND is a really good school!

 

[NoJoy]

Mesa Airlines has a flight school called the San Juan program. The students learn to fly in A-36 Bonanzas and B-58 Barons. The flight school is a tough program but those who make it through get a guaranteed interview; and most former students get hired into a DHC-8 or CRJ at around 300 hrs. This is a two year program. There is also a flight program associated with ASU, flying the same equipment. It depends if you want a 4 year or 2 year degree. If you already have a degree, then the San Juan program (in Farmington New Mexico) would be a better choice. Not to many flight schools can put you in the right seat with a degree in under three years. Go to mesa-air.com
for more info. You can also pm me.

 

[EMB170Pilot]

This is why people have to drag the fact that I went ro riddle out of me. A ton of douche bags come out of that place. I went there and taught there for 4 years. If you guys ever fly with one of my former students, you'll be glad to know that they won't have that attitude. That was one thing that wasn't allowed. I only wish other IPs there did the same.

Remember the IP who killed himself at Riddle with the seminole? He was my instructor at the time.