rickair7777

I advised a cousin (older career changer) to consider an independent CFI instead of a puppy mill. The CFI then flaked out on him and he lost his enthusiasm for aviation.

With an independent, you need to evaluate their stability and reliability... how long have they been teaching at this location, how many students do they train each year, how old are they, and do they have other career aspirations beyond CFI?

Too many students could mean you'll have trouble scheduling when you need to. If you're training full time and can fly whenever that will maximize your scheduling opportunities. Too few students might mean they have other jobs or businesses which might be a priority to them.

Young, airline-oriented CFI's will not stick around for long at all. If you work with one, need to know how close they are to ATP/R-ATP mins, because they'll be gone the next day when they hit that threshold. They might have R-ATP eligibility at 1000 or 1250 hours based on where they went to college.

That also applies to a small school where Mom & Pop are instructors... they might lose their young CFI's to the airlines, but does it appear that the owners will stick around?

TiredSoul

Be cautious of a C150.

Over years the weight may vary considerably from “new”.
That’s two 150lbs individuals with two flight bags.
I’ve worked at a school where the difference in empty weight between two C152’s was a staggering 80lbs (!) which meant I could fly one plane with a particular student and not another.
This was unfortunately frequently ignored by the school in question.

In short you may be fuel limited in that C150 which means you’ll be limited to lesson duration which may make it essentially useless.

Also it would be beneficial to do your instrument rating in the same make and model as your Private. This will save you 5-6 hrs of getting used to the airplane.
I doubt that C150 is adequately equipped.

As far as the 141 school, we averaged 44 hrs for a Private so they may very well be on par with that number.
Plan for 20-25% higher budget.

In general I would recommend against a self employed independent CFI as they’re unsupervised and are not held responsible for the students progress or lack thereof.

rickair7777

Totally variable depending on the individual. Do your homework, and ask around the airport (and GA community if you know anyone).

TipTanks

You only get the R-ATP if the 141 program you train under is approved, and in conjunction with, your community college or university.

Training at a 141 school and separately doing some sort of aviation degree at an unrelated college/university does not make you eligible for R-ATP.

tsimmns927

The schools I have looked at use FTA affiliates for their training it appears. Liberty uses US Aviation in the Denton TX area and would net the 1000 hr RATP. Tarrant County Community college also uses US Aviation Academy but at Allliance airport in the DFW area and would offer the 1200 hr RATP since it would be a 2 year degree. Neither have an actual flight school , but just I guess contract for the students to fly at US Aviation Academy.

tsimmns927

Thanks for this, gives a lot of insight. If I could get my private between 44-55 hrs I’d be ok. However, I’ve read it takes most people 60+ hrs and I’ve like to consider the high side of what I’d be spending before I went the route with them.

tsimmns927

I don’t think at either place I would have to worry about the CFI leaving. The independent instructor has over 2k hrs and does pipeline patrol 3 days a week in the town I live in. She has made it clear she be willing to fly whenever I’m available. Also, the 141 school has mostly retired military guys giving instruction, but then again the instruction would be in a Grumman Cheetah and I’d definitely not be doing an instrument rating in that. But then again, the 150 the independent CFI has I wouldn’t be using for instrument rating either. So much to consider, but you guys have gave me a lot to ponder.

TipTanks

Yep. Familiar with both of those, and both are legitimate programs.

I think I said this in another thread somewhere, but also don't overvalue the R-ATP....the difference between instructing to 1000 hours and 1500 hours is a matter of 4-6 months if you're busting it instructing full time. IIRC you're using GI Bill so you will have to end up in a 141 program, but unless the degree portion is free you have to weigh that cost into the decision, and I wouldn't value it very highly.

At this current point in history, degrees aren't required to be an airline pilot. I'm still in favor of people getting a degree, but I think of it more in terms of workforce competitiveness should the airline industry have its next once-in-a-lifetime meltdown. And in that doomsday scenario, a degree in aviation science or whatever is less marketable than a business degree you could get for the same money.

crbnftprnt

If you fly a lot (3 times a week, say, which means, with weather and other contingencies scheduling 4-5 times a week) you should be able to get it done in 50 or less. The 65-hour average is accurate, and comes from students dragging the process out much too long.

tsimmns927

How Much would you value the difference is 250 hrs in the RATP. That would be the difference between Liberty being a 4 year degree vs Tarrant being a 2 year program.