Bad Discovery Flight! Recent info ATL schools
#1
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 8
Bad Discovery Flight! Recent info ATL schools
Hey all. I am a mid-30's professional who wants to earn a ppl. I have done a lot of research on the topic, aviation in general, etc.
I settled on doing a discovery flight with a school in Atlanta, hoping to continue with that company for instruction towards my PPL. The experience was not good. Walked in, was handed a head set and taken immediately to the plane. Instructor started plane, checked with tower on weather and pre-flight info, etc. I asked all the questions. Nothing was explained at all. It fact, it wasn't until we were in the air that I was told "this is the yoke...you can use the rudder..."...essentially I was flying the plane having no clue how those two work in tandem to fly the plane!
I am as novice as it gets. No pilots in the family...just a long-time interest in aviation. My career/degree has absolutely nothing to do with aviation. My interest in actually doing this finally is recent due to the fact I have money in the bank, and a little time on my hands to get a license.
My hope was to get a clear idea of how the plane works--how it flies...the controls in charge of that, etc. Unless I pushed or asked questions, it was essentially a flight for the instructor to get an extra hour in the logbook, with me paying for the gas. This person was very young, and admitted to instructing to get hours (I know that's the best way to get those hours--nothing wrong with that at all). Also, just trying to pay for the flight afterwards was a disorganized mess.
If I wanted to just go up in an airplane to sight-see, maybe this would have been fine. But am I wrong for assuming these "discovery flights" are meant to sort of influence people in a positive way to want to learn to fly? I walked in believing I would use this school to get my license (the price is decent and the airport near my home). I left there thinking no way in hell am I paying thousands of dollars for that experience every time I have a lesson. Basically, to have someone go through the bare-minimum motions to do the task they were hired to do just to get the hours.
Anyway, that's the backstory...the question is this:
There are a few threads on here about aviation schools in Atlanta. They are all very old (like 2008...one back in 2014). Some of these schools don't exist anymore. I am trying to get some updated, recent information on schools that actually give a crap about what they are doing, love to teach, and are not just using my time with them for their own sake of logging hours (there's got to be a happy medium, right??). Can anyone recommend a GOOD flight school where I can really LEARN the plane functions inside and out? I want to be educated. I don't care about selfies and doing this for show. I want to be a good, safe, disciplined pilot with knowledge of the plane inside and out.
And finally, after my experience (and as it has been pointed out on several threads here on how to earn your hours) for the love of god, DON'T BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR IF YOU FEEL PUT OUT BY THE ACTUAL "TEACHING" PART OF YOUR JOB. I really don't feel this is too much to ask for.
Because of this first impression, this school just lost my business.
Thank you in advance for your replies and reviews on schools in and around my area.
I settled on doing a discovery flight with a school in Atlanta, hoping to continue with that company for instruction towards my PPL. The experience was not good. Walked in, was handed a head set and taken immediately to the plane. Instructor started plane, checked with tower on weather and pre-flight info, etc. I asked all the questions. Nothing was explained at all. It fact, it wasn't until we were in the air that I was told "this is the yoke...you can use the rudder..."...essentially I was flying the plane having no clue how those two work in tandem to fly the plane!
I am as novice as it gets. No pilots in the family...just a long-time interest in aviation. My career/degree has absolutely nothing to do with aviation. My interest in actually doing this finally is recent due to the fact I have money in the bank, and a little time on my hands to get a license.
My hope was to get a clear idea of how the plane works--how it flies...the controls in charge of that, etc. Unless I pushed or asked questions, it was essentially a flight for the instructor to get an extra hour in the logbook, with me paying for the gas. This person was very young, and admitted to instructing to get hours (I know that's the best way to get those hours--nothing wrong with that at all). Also, just trying to pay for the flight afterwards was a disorganized mess.
If I wanted to just go up in an airplane to sight-see, maybe this would have been fine. But am I wrong for assuming these "discovery flights" are meant to sort of influence people in a positive way to want to learn to fly? I walked in believing I would use this school to get my license (the price is decent and the airport near my home). I left there thinking no way in hell am I paying thousands of dollars for that experience every time I have a lesson. Basically, to have someone go through the bare-minimum motions to do the task they were hired to do just to get the hours.
Anyway, that's the backstory...the question is this:
There are a few threads on here about aviation schools in Atlanta. They are all very old (like 2008...one back in 2014). Some of these schools don't exist anymore. I am trying to get some updated, recent information on schools that actually give a crap about what they are doing, love to teach, and are not just using my time with them for their own sake of logging hours (there's got to be a happy medium, right??). Can anyone recommend a GOOD flight school where I can really LEARN the plane functions inside and out? I want to be educated. I don't care about selfies and doing this for show. I want to be a good, safe, disciplined pilot with knowledge of the plane inside and out.
And finally, after my experience (and as it has been pointed out on several threads here on how to earn your hours) for the love of god, DON'T BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR IF YOU FEEL PUT OUT BY THE ACTUAL "TEACHING" PART OF YOUR JOB. I really don't feel this is too much to ask for.
Because of this first impression, this school just lost my business.
Thank you in advance for your replies and reviews on schools in and around my area.
#3
Line Holder
Joined APC: Oct 2012
Posts: 35
Sometimes instructors won't "instruct" as much on the first flight as they try to make it a more relaxed experience. It's very easy to knock people out of the box on the first flight by teaching too much. The odds of people coming back after a discovery flight are already slim no matter how well it went. Maybe this person went too far the other way?
Either way, it's less about finding a good school and more about finding a good instructor. If you find one- pay them in gold. They are a rare commodity these days!
Either way, it's less about finding a good school and more about finding a good instructor. If you find one- pay them in gold. They are a rare commodity these days!
#4
That sounds like a fairly typical discovery flight, many folks don't want to get bogged down in technical deets which they won't really have time to digest on the first flight.
If all else about the school seems good for you, might give them another chance. Explain that you'd like a technically astute primary instructor though.
If all else about the school seems good for you, might give them another chance. Explain that you'd like a technically astute primary instructor though.
#5
Sorry rollout - I think you may have misconstrued the purpose of a discovery flight in the most general of terms. It is suly a relaxing, no pressure, little rush, present experience designed to encourage the fascination of fight in a person - not FAM-101 with instruction (Did you pay for an hour of instruction? A discovery flight usually costs less)
If you decide to train there, have a sit down with management (and certainly your assigned CFI) and explain your expectations during training. Hopefully they will be able to match you with an appropriate stylistic CFI. If the school has a good pass rate then they know what they are doing.
Good luck and enjoy the ride if you decide to take the plunge.
If you decide to train there, have a sit down with management (and certainly your assigned CFI) and explain your expectations during training. Hopefully they will be able to match you with an appropriate stylistic CFI. If the school has a good pass rate then they know what they are doing.
Good luck and enjoy the ride if you decide to take the plunge.
#6
On Reserve
Joined APC: Sep 2016
Position: BE40 Left
Posts: 10
Rollout, for what it's worth, both Rickair and USMC Flyer know their stuff. I hope you have continued your pursuit of aviation.
There are some books you can begin to delve into on your own, they will likely need a good CFI to help make them clear, but it could get your curiosity satisfied about what the control surfaces do and how they work together.
The Airplane Flying Handbook is only $10 on Google Play and could likely help you wade into the knowledge pool. Good luck and get flying!
There are some books you can begin to delve into on your own, they will likely need a good CFI to help make them clear, but it could get your curiosity satisfied about what the control surfaces do and how they work together.
The Airplane Flying Handbook is only $10 on Google Play and could likely help you wade into the knowledge pool. Good luck and get flying!
#7
#8
I went to falcon aviation and had a good experience through their 141 program. Went to both their CCO and FFC locations.
As far as a discovery flight it's not an in-depth flight, more to let you get out and touch an airplanes flight controls and see if you'd like it. Like a test drive at a dealer. If you don't like the instructor there's always more to chose from. Enjoy!
As far as a discovery flight it's not an in-depth flight, more to let you get out and touch an airplanes flight controls and see if you'd like it. Like a test drive at a dealer. If you don't like the instructor there's always more to chose from. Enjoy!
#9
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 5,926
The experience was not good. Walked in, was handed a head set and taken immediately to the plane. Instructor started plane, checked with tower on weather and pre-flight info, etc. I asked all the questions. Nothing was explained at all. It fact, it wasn't until we were in the air that I was told "this is the yoke...you can use the rudder..."...essentially I was flying the plane having no clue how those two work in tandem to fly the plane!
#10
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 8
Thanks guys. I think the overwhelming feeling I left with was a total feeling of disinterest by the instructor. Constantly checking their phone for texts didn't help much either. I was excited...just would have enjoyed sharing that excitement with someone more willing to answer my questions. I appreciate all the replies. I checked out another school, had a much better experience , and will start there at the end of the month!
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