BaronVnLawndart

Hey Spartan07, what's the pricing at Spartan like now???

Pilot41

If it gets you the ratings you need, and Uncle Sam pays...It's great.

BaronVnLawndart

HA! That's the route I took too...I even got PAID to get my bachelor's degree there. Employee discount was 90% off for an 'A' , got straight A's & the grants I got covered more than the remaining 10%.

Spartan07

They actually just revamped the curriculum to allow for mor ME time, so I think the grand total for two and a half years is 62k. If I somehow manage to get all my ratings without using excess time I should walk away with all my ratings and a pretty good amount of time for about $8,000 (Minus scholarships).

I don't remember all the specifics on the new program that started this semester (I should be the 2nd or 3rd class to do the new curriculum) but I do know it increased the cost a little bit to allow for more ME.

BaronVnLawndart

Spartan07 - Words of advice for ya:

1. Make FRIENDS with Christina in Financial Aid & Nancy in Admin & Records. Both are at the flight campus and they'll both save you from a lotta headaches if you're on their good side.

2. Don't be afraid to shop around for instructors. The student/Instructor relationship is super-important & when I was at Spartan there were 60+ instructors so be choosey. You're not gonna hurt anyones feelings but you do need to get the best possible instruction you can.

3. Look into both Nan & Jennifer across the parking lot at Christiansen Jet Center when it's Checkride time. They're the two absolute best DPE's you could ever find.

4. Don't buy into too many of the rumors and/or gossip ya hear. The front porch at Spartan is full of kids who love to hear themselves talk. We used to joke around and say they were giving each other Type Ratings out there. I'm sure all flight schools are like that.

5. Keep motivated (<-- I know easier said than done) You're military though (I was too) & you should know all about having/finding the means and direction to get the job done. Self-Motivation is big. If there's no doubt in your mind that you'll do whatever it takes to make it through then you'll do exactly that.

6. **Most Important** Do a lot of cross countries to Ponca City & eat enchiladas at Enrique's

7. **Most Most Important** Have FUN! That place was full of great people and good times when I was there.

Spartan07

Awesome advice man, That's the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear . Brandy is the one over at Financial Aid that I've had contact with so far. Nancy seems really cool too.

It's good to finally hear some positive feedback. It seems like the only people that are willing to put the effort into posting on forums and the like are the ones who are disgruntled at the school (Ever been to cat13.com?). How long ago were you there? Did your GI Bill really cover most of the cost like I'm anticipating?

Thanks again for the great advice

BaronVnLawndart

I was there form '01 - '05. First 2 & 1/2 years as a student & then the rest instructing, building time, & finishing my Bachelor's degree.

I was there 4 & 1/2 years spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 & left with all of my certificates and ratings, Bachelor's degree, 1500 TT & 150 ME.

Now, I did have to take out some additional 'unsubsidized' loans in order to finish more quickly because the way they set up their loan disbursements it’s easy to fly all of your money away well before there is another check in the mail. Disbursements follow your Ground-School schedule. (you have to finish X amount of classes to get another check in your account)

Also, keep in mind that while I was at Spartan we had over 200 international students there on contract to be finished in 9 months. That’s where 90% of my ME time came from. I know they have that multi in the syllabus now but I don’t know the details on how much time people are actually getting out of it.

If you don’t have your Private already, you might want to look into getting it at an FBO. This will help with a couple of things:

First off, it’ll help you decide if this really is what you want to spend a whole pile of money on & do for the rest of your life.
· If you decide not you’ve only spent X dollars and you’ve at least got your Private.
· If you decide yes then when you get to Spartan:
o You’ve saved a lot of money on the certificate that usually takes the longest there.
o The first disbursements I mentioned above can all be devoted to your Instrument & Commercial.
o The Ground-school to Flying timeline will be a bit more evened out. (most people finish ground-school before they finish their flying)

Could go either way but it’s something worth looking into. Check out http://www.riversideflightcenter.com/

They are at the exact same airport so you’d be just as far along on your terminal knowledge and familiarity. They’re great guys (mostly Spartan actually) The Private Pilot program is only 4 weeks long and costs $5,402. It’s a lot cheaper & A LOT quicker but when you get across the parking lot to SPARTAN you’ll have made a significant shortcut on your way to getting the rest of your certificates AND YOUR DEGREE (ß can’t get that at RVS Flight Center)

Holy crap I blab a lot. Anyway this is all just FYI. It’s not how I did it but looking back... well you know what they say about hindsight.

FMI

Explore all of your options before pulling the trigger.
OSU isn't very far from TUL., great school.
SOSU has a tremendous flight school in Durant, make sure to look there.
Recommend either.
Not sure if OU still has a flight school in Norman, but worth the research.
Best of luck to you.

Spartan07

Yeah, OU's flight school is still kicking. I actually think they just got a lot of new aircraft. I remember looking into those programs. I don't think I gave OSU a good hard look, maybe I need to check them out again. Being in Tulsa was the biggest plus for me (Other than the GI Bill of course, which kind of ruled out going the FBO route). As it stands right now I have been taking a lot of lessons at an FBO and getting as much flight time in as I can afford before I actually get out just to make sure I can do it.