Miami, FL
 

Hey guys, I know Miami is somewhat of a hotspot for aviation training. Does anyone know any good schools that accept the GI Bill for fixed-wing training?

Thanks!

I'm here in Miami, though I'm not sure that I would call it a hot spot. There are a few flight schools at TMB and a couple at OPF. I only have experiences with two flight schools at TMB (Dean International and ADF Airways) and I was not impressed with either. Dean was a scene of complete chaos... very disorganized. When I checked it out, it seemed that their focus was on contract students from India. Their planes are incredibly old and their safety record is spotty, at best. I took lessons at ADF Airways and it seemed a little better, but not by much. I had a very negative first impression, as they have an incredibly rude dispatcher at the front desk. Their organization was suspect as well (they kept losing paperwork of mine).

What time of rating/cert are you trying to get?

The best deal around is to enroll at a college and get housing allowance, plus all the ratings upto MEI paid for by the VA as long as you have 100% benefits. I fly out of FXE, but we dont work with VA, lots of paperwork for a few students a year, not worth the hassle. Palm Beach State College is the best deal around or Broward County College.

I agree that enrolling in a collegiate aviation program is the best way to maximize benefits. You lose out on a lot of money by using the GI Bill only for flight training. If you are starting out with few or no ratings, 3 years at $10,000 per year will not take you very far in comparison to what the college option will do.

For example...
I am enrolling at UND, since they give veterans in-state tuition. That means all my classes and flight training will be 100% covered, from Private to MEI. That's on top of the monthly housing allowance. I think it's a much better deal.