Jakob

Hello everybody!

I am planning my trip to the States next summer right now. I will be flying over for about 5-6 weeks during my summer vacation. (Remember, I live in Germany right now)

In that time, I would like to visit UND. I'd ask you, not to turn this into an "aviation university - yes or no" thread. My decision is not final but after reading A LOT, mostly here, but other places as well, I believe UND would be the best option for me.

So my qustion would be: What would you recommend? Whats the best way to visit UND and how long would it take? Would I have any chance to speak to people in order to get to know what the requirements are for me being accepted there? As I mentioned above, I live in Germany right now so it might be different... I heard of a program called "Aerocamp" - is that recommendable? I believe I recall it being 1000$ - is that worth it? I have contact to a couple of students attending UND and they have been a great help, but I just wanted to post my questions out to the message board. I might get even more info!?

And for the second part: I would like to do my FAA PPL while I'm in the States. It is A LOT cheaper than in Europe and I would really like to make it in 3-4 weeks. Is that possible? I do fly gliders here so I might be able to learn quicker!? Of course I would study beforehand... Right now I have contact to a very small flight school in McKinney, TX (near DFW). It is just one guy who owns it and I believe I would be able to finish my PPL in the limited amount of time and in a fairly cheap way. The only problem (well, not really a problem, just something to think about) would be, that I would have to fly from Grand Forks to Dallas and then, after finishing up my PPL, I'd have to fly from Dallas to SFO from where I will fly back. I want to go to SFO 'cause that's where I originally come from and I'd like to visit old friends.

Now, it might be cheaper for me to go to a flight school in the Bay Area. That way I might be able to fly to SFO from GFK without going to TX in between. I would prefer a really small flight school though... And the price the dude in TX offers might be worth the 400$ I'd spend for the flights. So as you see, I have not decided yet and I would still have to wait for an offer from the guy in McKinney. But if anyone of you could recommend a flight school in the Bay Area (maybe with a phone number or e-mail or website so that I could contact them) I would be really happy about that.

Sorry for the long text and I am looking forward to your answers!

I really appreceate your effort - thanks a lot in advance!

Blue skies
-Jakob

exxcalibur11

P.M. me.
I can give you a short list of people you may want to set up appointments to meet with. These people will be able to answer all of your admissions questions, and set you up on tours of the university, aviation facilities, and airport. Most of these tours are given by aviation students, so they have a good idea of what to show you and what you will want to see.

Exx

FlyerJosh

Call UND Aerospace Student Services and tell them that you want to visit. I'd suggest at least a full day for the whole campus tour (including main campus, the aerospace college and the airport).

I was an aerospace tour guide back when I was a student- the aerospace tour starts with about an hour long conference with one of the student services folks, then about 1.5 hrs walking around the aerospace facilities before a tour out at the airport (another hour or so).

Here's the info:

www.aero.und.edu
701-777-2791 or 800-258-1525

Jakob

Hi Josh!

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a call! Do you think one day is enough? I was thinking at least two or three, if not longer!?

Thanks again
-Jakob

P.S. exxcalibur11, pm is sent!

TheGeneralMcC

1 day should be fine to tour the campus and the aerospace department/airport. Don't waste your time and money on the aerocamp, it's not worth it. Make sure to check out the Ralph and maybe try to go on an incentive ride in one of the planes.

Jakob

Hey! Thanks for the info! Please excuse my ignorance, but who/what is Ralph? And how would I be able to arrange a ride in one of the planes? By calling the number Josh posted before?

Thanks again!

Keep the blue side up!
-Jakob

FlyerJosh

"The Ralph" is the "Ralph Englestad Arena", or UND's hockey arena. Quite a building, it was built in 2000/01 and is a 100 million dollar plus facility.

Don't know about "incentive rides"- At least when I was a student, there was pretty much only one opportunity for non-aviation folks to fly on university aircraft, and that was Parents Weekend. The reason is for liability purposes. You might be able to talk them into a few minutes in a simulator though.

I concur that one day to see the campus is fine, but you might want to spend an extra night and look around the city to decide if Grand Forks is right for you... I enjoyed it, but was ready to head back east after 4 years living there. I do enjoy going back and visiting from time to time though.

FlyerJosh

Oh- one other note about attending a university program with your private certificate already completed. UND and many other schools will require students entering with a private pilot certificate to attend a "test" course that teaches flying to university standards and procedures. This usually is about 10-15 hours of flying, and is something that cannot be waived. While that time counts towards your total time, it can be costly to essentially repeat efforts that you made during your PPL training. You might consider holding off on your effort until you decide whether or not you are going to attend (and then if so, just do your PPL at UND).

Slice

You should also visit between December and February and see what you think!

FlyerJosh

Downside: Bring a parka (and long johns!)
Upside: A piper warrior can climb like a bat outta hell (relatively speaking) when it's -20 OAT.