Which route is best?

[bobbysamd]

Oklahoma crosswinds

No doubt. Wind has one speed. Fast. And two directions. North and South.

I lived in Oklahoma City seven-and-a-half years, learned to fly there and flew there nearly six-and-a-half years. The winds were plenty strong from the southeast and northwest, and not always straight down the runway. The two crosswind runways at PWA were used plenty, especially in the spring.

You also get plenty of practice dealing with low-level turbulence and learning about convective activity. The strong low-level winds were great for really learning ground reference maneuvers, not to mention how the state is laid-out in one-mile sections with half-mile fence lines - ideal for ground ref maneuvers and for eights-on-pylons.

 

[HMR]

This May I want to be training for my CFI and CFII. I am not quite sure which route is the best now.

The best aviation advice I've ever received: "It doesn't matter where you get trained, if you give a sh!t you'll be a good CFI".

I went to the quickest, cheapest, skankiest CFI mill (Sheble's) I could find. I was flat broke. Though the training at Sheble's was a joke, I had taken careful notes throughout my own training at a local FBO and put together a really solid private, inst. and multi syllabus. My best friend did the same thing. While at Sheble's we were both offered jobs at a busy FBO. We were the two busiest instructors, sent more pilots for checkrides, and kept a 100% pass rate. Most of the other 15-20 CFI's we worked with were from Riddle. The Riddle guys and gals were great and very knowledgable. However, when it came time for the checkride, my buddy's and my students were every bit as well trained and prepared. It's up to YOU whether or not you're a good CFI, not where you got the rating.

FWIW-My buddy and I were also the first to get hired away to turboprop/jet jobs. I went back to visit the school two years later and the new CFI's were still using the multi-engine syllabus I developed.

 

[DAS at 10/250]

bobbysamd,

I never new you spent time in the Sooner state.

Bricktown is really cool now if you ever get back.

I spent my "teeth cutting" years at OUN. Grew up in ELK. Dead on with the whole state being 1 mile grids. Also made for some good beer drinking back in the HS days.

 

[dkelly]

I recently completed my CFI after being raked around by one flight school. All I can say is that make sure that the aircraft and instructor will be available for your available time slots, no matter where you decide to go. I had to switch flight schools because of scheduling problems.

 

[minitour]

You also get plenty of practice dealing with low-level turbulence and learning about convective activity. The strong low-level winds were great for really learning ground reference maneuvers, not to mention how the state is laid-out in one-mile sections with half-mile fence lines - ideal for ground ref maneuvers and for eights-on-pylons.

That's the d@mn truth...the one mile square things is kinda cool, but dang if you don't have to work your buttocks off on Ground Ref maneuvers when the convective activities get kickin.

I recall doing steep turns under the hood during the instrument stuff in September...my CFI kept us around 4,000...bouncing all around. Went for the stage check, check airman wanted 8.5...so up we went...did the smoothest steep turns I've ever done...

Get above dem clouds for performance maneuvers! For Ground ref....just work it baby!

-mini

 

[nosehair]

ATP is only there to teach you to pass the ride and nothing more.

....That's what they ALL do, all of the "Big Name" schools, and most smaller schools also. That's all they know how to do. Most pilots/instructors of today have only been taught the PTS....they don't know how or why to do anything else. And that does get you a "ticket"...but then when you go to work as an "Instructor", you won't know anything about actual "instructing". You will only know how to "monkey-see, monkey-do" teach flying.

There are SOME good instructors at big schools, but most are inexperienced time-builders and you would have to go to each school and interview the instructors.

The instructor is the key. Find one who teaches for the joy of teaching, regardless of school size and/or equipment, and you will get the most out of your training.

 

[HMR]

The PTS represents the MINIMUM performance the FAA will accept for a checkride. It's too bad that so many instructors make "the minimum" their goal. They end up training pilots to the lowest acceptable standards. It doesn't stop at the C172 level. It happens at Flight Safety/SimuFlight on type rides in jets as well.

There are SOME good instructors at big schools, but most are inexperienced time-builders and you would have to go to each school and interview the instructors.
The instructor is the key. Find one who teaches for the joy of teaching, regardless of school size and/or equipment, and you will get the most out of your training.

Interviewing instructors is very important. My flight school was near a large Delta and Continental base. I had many active/retired airline captains come in and grill me about training. As a result I got a lot of children/granchildren/friends of airline pilots as students.

I agree that you should find an instructor who enjoys teaching. However, I'm always weary of these guys/gals that have thousands of hours of dual given. I have yet to meet a high time CFI who didn't have some character flaw that kept them from getting a better gig. I know plenty of excellent CFI's who loved teaching and did a great job but used it as a time builder to get to an airline/corporate position.

 

[bobbysamd]

OKC aside

Bricktown is really cool now if you ever get back.

It was pretty industrial/crummy twenty years ago. According to this Bricktown website, the city has put through quite the urban renewal project.

I was never a real fan of South OKC. But Richard Jones' Pit Barbecue was located there.

I spent my "teeth cutting" years at OUN.

Max Westheimer is nice airport. Non-federal tower. I believe it could have been a former Navy training field.

People will disagree, but I think that OKC is a near-perfect training environment. The one-mile sections and half-mile fence lines, friendly and accomodating TRACON and the variety of IAPs aside, there is such a variety of wx during all four seasons, so the opportunities are there to really learn wx. There are plenty of low ceiling days with warm clouds, especially in the fall, so there are opportunities to fly and shoot approaches in safe actual. Many airports, with Downtown Airpark and NE Expressway being two interesting airports. Relatively inexpensive cost of living. With the Monroney Center being only a drive away, better opportunities to straighten out any medical hassles. Finally, Oklahoma has a rich aviation tradition worth learning.

Once more, for these reasons, Airman, or any other school in Oklahoma, such as Spartan, or the college flight programs such as S.E. Oklahoma State, are worth considering for flight training.

 

[TDTURBO]

WMU has an excellent flight school for a lot of the same reasons.