Advice on professional flight training. - Page 2

kingsnake2 · 07-31-2012, 08:50 PM

Another big one you can look at is US Aviation.

They are another big 141 academy with a lot of foreign students. Some of the downsides are a more business-like, rigid, impersonal structures.

The upsides are (usually) cost, time required, and (sometimes) experience.

rotorhead1026 · 08-02-2012, 05:43 AM

Alfonso, +1 on the comment about having a better career as an engineer. That said, though, if you insist ...

You're going to have to come over here and take a look. There are just too many variables and subtleties to judge from afar. I'd be happy at a smaller school - and it'd likely be cheaper. That's just me, though.

The best advice I can give, though, is to not pay for your training in advance!!!!!! No matter how big the discount or how tempting the terms, don't do it. A ten hour block of time is okay, but people are dropping huge sums for, say, a "zero to ATP" program - only to have the proprietor go bankrupt and/or abscond with the funds. Indeed, be careful about any firms that even offer big discounts for this.

Keep your finger in engineering if you can, until you're sure that aviation is the right path. And good luck!

alfonsogd · 08-03-2012, 01:09 PM

Thanks to all for your comments, they’ve been really helpful. I hope I can be looking at the clouds from above soon!

alfonsogd · 08-03-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777

Normally I would recommend carefully selecting a small school with good rates, good managers, good instructors, good Mx, and a good training philosophy. But this takes some leg-work that might be hard to accomplish from abroad.

Here are two small schools which some of the members of this forum often recommend:
Prairie Air Service (Kansas)
Scandinavian (California)

Otherwise I would probably recommend a bog academy because you can learn a lot about them on the internet and can probably avoid serious pitfalls.

If money is no object I would go with Flight Safety or Aerosim...they are owned by companies who are involved in professional (large, turbine) aircraft training and they are not going to risk their reputation in the industry by running a fly-by-night ab initio flight school with their name it. Their need to maintain their industry reputation is a pretty good guarantee of quality (but not economy).

If money is an issue look at ATP's etc. But when considering large schools with multiple locations, ask about the location you plan on attending...different location can have different managers.

rickair7777, I have searched for Prairie since your post and it has very good comments. Also, I checked it's web page and their prices (which aren't updated) are very competitive; it semms a good option. I emailed them and I hope to have good news. Thanks!

alfonsogd · 08-03-2012, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cubdriver

I put in a season teaching at Prairie Air Service in Benton (Wichita) KS, and I recommend them for foreign students in particular. They only have two or three instructors at a time so you have to plan ahead to get worked in, but among small flight schools it's tops.

Cubdriver, did you go to Praire?

Systemized · 08-10-2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777

Here are two small schools which some of the members of this forum often recommend:
Prairie Air Service (Kansas)
Scandinavian (California)

I've heard rumors that Scandinavian (SAA) might be closing the doors. They lease all their planes and the owner wants out of the business.

Systemized · 08-10-2012, 10:02 AM

50K for 250 total flight hours (including around 30 multi) seems to be the average cost if you can do it all in twelve months or less.

dl773 · 08-22-2012, 02:47 PM

I recently visited FlightSafety and Aerosim. I did an intro flight with each. Both schools are FANTASTIC and appear to be equal in terms of quality.

However, if you are not going to have a car and you desire to live in campus (no need to sign a lease), I recommend FlightSafety. I was warned by two people against living in campus at Aerosim, a former student and a person who works at the academy (dorms do not smell very good). As far as the car, at FlightSafety I think all you will need is a bike. In Sanford there isn't anything biking distance.

With that said, I have not attended either of these schools yet. So I only know so much.

PS: I decided to avoid ATP. Too many red flags for the kind of money I will be spending.

dl773 · 08-22-2012, 03:42 PM

Please note that both schools are right at the airport, so a car would only be good for going somewhere during the weekend or shopping. Vero Beach is small enough that I think a bike is all you need; google maps says it's 30 minutes biking from FSA to the beach, 10 minutes or so to Wal Mart. . .

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