I've made a couple topics here trying to decided what I plan to do. Basically, I'm a freshman at the University of Minnesota. I was considering transferring to UND for flight school, but as I have read it seems to me that any good FBO can provide the same flight training for less money and allows me to more easily major in a non-aviation degree. Which also means I won't have to transfer to a small town in the middle of nowhere and abandon the friends I have made here.

I am looking at a part 141 FBO in Minneapolis, Minnesota: http://www.thunderbirdaviation.com/flight/index.asp

The question I have is will the opportunities for internships/future instructing jobs/and networking with like-minded individuals be less available than going to a large flight school such as UND?

First off you will not be getting the same quality of instruction from a local FBO. The flying you do at UND is only a part of the total curriculum of ground schools, classes, seminars, etc. All the training done there is specifically geared towards airline flying (i.e. checklist usage, flows, standardization) and gives you a more rounded flight education. As a trade-off many companies come to UND for job offers and career fairs.

As for leaving friends, you'll be moving around plenty as a pilot throughout your career so you might want to make the plunge. I have made the best friends of my life in North Dakota and wouldn't trade it for anything else.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who disagrees with Shanks. Flying at UND will not give you any skill advantage in becoming an airline pilot.

You are making the right decision to go with an FBO and to major outside aviation. You can save a lot of money by going that route and you will have more options later. Your job options as an instructor will be equally good either way.

As far as networking you might miss opportunities, but you might make more connections at an FBO also. Networking is all up to you.

I have to agree with Shank. Flying at local a FBO is a hit and miss. Sometimes you get bad instructor that just doesn't care much. I've had two not so good instructors during my sting at the FBO. One guy was always show up late and the other guy who doesn't believe in checklist. I suggest that you go to UND for a structured environment. It will be a good thing because you will have a solid foundation of flying. Although if you shop around, you can find a good FBO that can cater to your airline career.

Living in 50 below zero sucks though. I went there, good school, but grand forks is just WAY TOO COLD!!!

I always say to look for a cost vs quality ratio when you look at flight training. UND training may be marginally better but at what cost? I went to Riddle for just the CFII, and the training was maybe better than the FBO is some ways, but the cost of Riddle far outweighed the benefit. The FBO won out in the end when you put cost and quality together.

I'd worry more about your loan payment than internships. Get your CFI and work to build your time and experience. Then you won't need to count on internships. Networking can be had whether you go to UND or an FBO. Heck, I got a UND guy that keeps emailing me to keep in touch. And I'm just an FBO guy...

For some perspective on your specific dillemma: A very good friend of mine and fellow UND alum taught at Thunderbird. He has good things to say about the operation.

I was recently advised that... and this may sound brutal but.... if you really really need to have someone read a book to you that you can read on your own then you may want to go to truck driving school because ground school is well.....a waste of money. What is meant by this is - if it is a 141 approved school then the syllabus will be the same as used at a "large" school AND its not up to the instructor to teach you how to fly its up to YOU to teach yourself how to fly and the instructor is there to make sure you don't kill yourself. Sooooo.... buy the books and read them, interview several CFI's and find one to your liking and any questions you have will be answered during the course of your "training". Long story short I vote for FBO

This is the exact reason I hated UND. They all believe that UND is the only good place to learn to fly. The Ground classes i.e. Aerodynamics, weather, turbine systems etc. are amazing and give you a slightly better understanding of the airline industry. But getting an aviation degree is a waste of time and money. Go to UofM and get a degree and fly at the FBO. In my personal opinion people who do their entire flying at UND make great pilots when they are putt-ing around in the Grand Forks bubble. But the have a "Aviation Culture Shock" When they move on and fly outside of it. For example we had 2 instructors at my school that did all their training in UND. Both got lost and both busted Class B within 2 weeks.

P.S. I am a UND grad and I disliked it so much I quit flying after college and thought I would never touch an airplane again.

Here's my $.02 for what it's worth. I'm just finishing @ UND and if I have anything to say about it, it would be that the network alone is worth a bunch. There is a large contingency of UND pilots in the industry and most are willing to lend advice if you in need. The best place to learn how to fly? Maybe or maybe not. I actually didn't finish the commercial aviation program. I would have needed to complete CFI and CFII for that. Money became scarce and extenuating life circumstance just made it the right decision to stop after multi-commercial instrument. I would definitely recommend a double major if you do decide to come here, either Aviation Management, ATC, or something non-aviation related altogether. I will end up with a Bachelor of General Studies and a minor in Professional Flight. Is it as fun to fly @ UND as at your local FBO? Probably not. The program is very structured, as you will find the airlines (or so I am told). Sometimes the micromanaging can get to you if you let it, they are heavily internally regulated. The thing to remember is that, like anything you go to school for, some days it will get old. The chief complaint? It is da%? expensive. Like I said though, if you believe in networking (and you better in this industry) UND offers a great one. Also a major plus is that the school has reduced minimums for many airlines, and those airlines will come here to conduct interviews. I'm not so pompous to claim that UND is better than anywhere else, but I can tell you one thing people sure as he&# don't come here for the weather.