I am looking at flight schools to attend right now and FSA and DCA were the two main ones I was considering but after reading about DCA I am not considering that place now.
Does anyone have any knowledge about Flight Safety Academy or any other schools to recommend that accept the GI Bill? After reading some of the post's on here I am starting to believe that I should just attend a smaller school than Flight Safety.
I have looked into CAPT program and it seems like a good program to me, anyone have any advide on that?

 

DCA, FSA, CAPT and other "Glossy Brochure" flight schools are generally regarded poorly by flying professionals...mainly because they charge WAY too much for what they provide. The bigger the magazine ads...the bigger the lies.

The only good thing about them is that they provide a "package deal" that may include employment as a CFI and airline interviews. This appeals to the parents of teenagers and (often) to ex-military folks who are used to having everything cut-and-dried, and laid out for them in an organized fashion. Unfortunately the cost is far too high for what you get.

Students often realize that they are getting ripped off early on...but many are coerced into staying anyway. It is almost a universal practice with the big schools which have airline "affiliations" that they will threaten students who try to drop out with a bad recomendation to the airlines. This usually intimidates newbies.

The best way to do flight training for most folks is to find a smaller school at an airport in your hometown. This will afford better prices and more flexibility with your training program, but will require a little more initiative.

Unfortunately, the flight training industry is full of unethical players and con-artists so you have to do your research carefully (and never, ever deposit a large chunk of your training funds on account...pay them weekly, maybe $1000 at a time). Any school (big or small) can close it's doors overnight and head off to islands with YOUR money.

Also, do you have a 4-year degree yet? If not, use your GI bill for college...it will provide far more benefits that way. Don't kid yourself for a second...this career is a dead-end without a degree. The 141 flight schools that are VA certified usually raise their prices for MGIB students so you won't save that much money (but the school will get all of your VA benefits)

 

I kinda figured that the better the advertising the more they would charge. There aren't any local airports around here that accept the Gi Bill.
So no matter where I get my ratings, the airlines look at them the same as if I were to get them at DCA?
After reading alot of post's on here it seems like this is just a dead end job that people put alot into and never get anything back out of other just being able to fly. Is it really this much of a head ache?
I am 30, I own an independant trucking company(which is miserable) and I am married with a 5 week old son. I got into the trucking business after I got out of the Navy because it seemed like easy money..which it is, but this may sound dumb of me but I am tired of a job where I do nothing and get paid, it was nice at first but I am more of a hands on type of person.
I have wanted to be a pilot since the first time I flew when I was 12 and now I have the means to do it and I am not planning on staying in a job that I hate. I just need some info and helpful advice from you guys that have been in these shoes.
Thanks for any info!

 

When I was first looking at where and how I wanted to learn how to fly I evaluated my personal needs and then found a place that suited them. I made it pretty easy on myself and decided that there was only one city that I wanted to train in (Four years active duty Marine Corps, I wanted to go home).

Once I had that settled, I started looking at the flight schools in that particular area. I had quite a few choices ranging from very well known universities with a flight program, to the local FBO outfits, and quite a few in between the two extremes.

I then decided that for -ME- and -MY PERSONAL- learning style and needs I wanted to attend a 141 school. That narrowed the field a bit. I then looked at the small list that I had come up with and talked to eveyone I could about the respective schools (Including the schools themselves) and found the one that fit like a glove.

Point being - don't pay attention to the advertisements, or for that matter, all the naysayers on this forum and elsewhere (Don't ignore them though, just take what they say with a grain of salt). Find out what -YOU- need, find out what will give -YOU- the best learning environment possible, and then find a school that fits you and your personality.

P.S - I don't know where you are located or where you want to train, but if you are looking into the Tulsa area drop me a PM. I would be more than happy to discuss the schools around here (Despite the avatar and name I'm unbiased, promise)

 

Yes, the airlines ONLY care about ratings and flight experience, not where you went to school (unless your school's name starts with "United States").

There are a few bridge programs where you can get an interview with slightly less flight time, but that is by no means a guaranteed job. In the past many of these bridge programs were essentially scams...every student got an "interview" but only a tiny fraction ever got hired (usually folks with something else going for them like previous flight time or affirmative action tickets). If you do a bridge program and don't get hired for some reason, you're screwed...instead, spend the money on ratings and flight time which will make you attractive to any airline.

Today there is a significant shortage of qualified entry-level pilots so you just need the flight time...

250-300 hours: This will get you a job at a real bottom-feeder company where you will be treated like a death-camp inmate. If the company requires a 1-2 year training contract it is because they know that you would quit in 4 months without one.

500-700 hours: This will get you a job where you will be treated like an indentured servant.

1000-1500 hours: This can get you a regional job where your work experience may be similar to that of a professional at a big company.


The reason there is a pilot shortage is because the good jobs (majors) have become not-so good, and they are a lot harder to get nowdays. Fewer people want to put in the time and money only to wind up as a career regional pilot.

I was in a very similar situation myself, ex-navy, career changer...except it was pre- 9/11 when the lifestyle and financial opportunities at the major airlines were near-fantastic. I like flying and I have a comfortable regional job with 12-15 days off/month so I'm not going to quit now. But I doubt I would have switched careers in today's environment (my previous civilian job was pretty interesting).

 

Thank you RickAir.

You just saved me 30 minutes of typing.

Listen to this guy.

 

unfortunately there are hardly any airlines any more that even come close to the 1000 hour mark. I had that same thought about getting hours and now that I am over 1000 it seems like they all have their issues. I do see what you mean though that I do NOT have to settle for the select few of the prison camp variety where high time means that you actualy have your commerical cert and not the temp

 

I spoke with a lady from ERAU about the CAPT program and it all sounded fine and dandy till she said you graduate with 225 hours...huh? How could I even get a job flying an ultralight with 225 hours?
There seems to be so much more to flying than I ever expected.

 

Most of your hours will not come from your training. There are a lot of ways to actually build up the time to be competitive. A lot of people that graduate from 141 schools turn around and instruct at their school to build hours. But you can also fly traffic watch, dump skydivers, pipeline patrol, and other various entry level jobs to build your time.

There is a wealth of information contained on this site about what your getting yourself in to. It would probably be a really good idea to read the sticky's that HSLD puts up, and also do a search for any of the questions you might have.

 

I am still learning about all of this so forgive me for sounding stupid but it says "no CFI required" is that a bad thing?
Spartan I am actually located in Nashville and there is no school around here that I can use my Gi Bill so my wife and I are moving back to Jax since there seem to be so many schools around that area. Did you go to Spartan School of Aeronautics?

http://www.captprogram.org/