Originally Posted by kbalch

Hey Guys,

I went down there last week and did my five hour checkout. Had a good time with the instructor, but there were a few things I didn't like about the place and will be doing some flying around here (Orlando area) instead over the next couple of weeks.

One thing they didn't tell me on the phone was that their professional pilot program students (the ones who forked over ~$40K) get scheduling priority, so time builders mostly fly at night. All night. When I got back from my checkout around 11PM, there were guys just going out. I don't know about you, but that schedule would be unsustainable for me, even for a week or two.

Also, the couple of planes I examined closely were barely airworthy (and that's being generous). I've been flying since 1990 and have been around a lot of flight school planes that were in, shall we say, well-used condition and these planes were thrashed to within an inch of their lives. The idea of flying night IFR in those planes didn't fill me with warm feelings.

All of that said, the people were nice enough and, if the middle of the night hours and questionable airworthiness don't bother you, have at it. For myself, I'll be doing some local flying (and paying a bit more for it) to get the time I need.

Ken