I've trained and instructed under both 61 and 141.

141 is too inflexible, and generally does not offer a training advantage. I would recommend 61 in most cases, and would only do 141 if it is tied to something else which you want such as VA Benefits, a university flight training program, or if it's the only school in your area.

If you're just getting your ratings on your own, 61 is usually the way to go. A possible exception might be a very young person with very poor initiative and work ethic...a 141 program might provide enough structure to force such a student to complete their training. Unfortunately, if you are that unmotivated you probably don't belong in aviation, and will be unlikely to succeed in the long run.

As far as employers go...they could totally care less how or where you got your ratings, unless your school's name starts with the words "United States".

I see it just the opposite of most folks here. I prefer the 141 approach. Given the complexity of flight training, I prefer the structure, block building approach if you will. It works for me!!!



atp

I like the benefits of freedom in 61, but in my location it would have been impractical to do it. There was a 61 school on the field, but the university had better resources, instructors, equipment and opportunities in general. I knew several guys who left the FBO to come work for us and they gave the same reasons.

If you're in a location that can give you more opportunity in 61 and you're self-motivated, go for it. 141 wasn't bad, but it is somewhat inflexible. As for the 130 commercial students, I used to teach those guys. That syllabus is really good, and provided it is used to expand and strengthen IFR cross-country skills in addition to the critcal thinking a prospective 135 pilot needs, I think it is a huge benefit for students. No 70 hours wasting time in the practice area doing manuevers because that's what the syllabus says.

The only thing that sticks out to me about 141 training is the amount of mindless paperwork I have to do. You get out of training what you put in, period.

P141 being an FAA approved syllabus right? P61 being more of the freelance (CFI decides what we are going to practice on today)?

OUCH! I like to think of myself as a pretty motivated student - even back in college. I start P61, but I finished P141. I really liked the structure of 141. It had a preflight brief, a list of items to practice on that day and a debrief. Come to find out it was much like military flight school. Maybe I'm just one of those guys that likes the structure!

[/QUOTE]
FUNNY! Well said!

USMCFLYR

Actually, that's what sticks out about AVIATION! Get used to it, dude ...
and wait until you get a job in a third world country!

Yeah, but you can bribe people in third-world countries....

"It had a preflight brief, a list of items to practice on that day and a debrief"

141 mandates that. With 61, you can have that if you want/need it. Just follow a syllabus and be willing to pay for the ground time. If the CFI doesn't like the structure, find another CFI.

I did all my training part 61. I'm now the Chief Instructor at a school I helped get 141 approved. I was pretty clueless about the whole thing. Now that it's been almost a couple of years, I really like the 141. I like the structure and I think the stage checks are good for the students. There is alot of paper work but, big deal. Do I think it produces better pilots or anything like that...no. It depends on the person. You can choose what you want to do, 61 or 141. Can you save some money? Maybe. I'm not really sure. If you keep on track with the minimum hourly requirements, I would say yes. We have been having very good passing results with our students as well.

papa t

Maybe I'm just one of those guys that likes the structure!

USMCFLYR[/QUOTE]


That's what my psychological evals for my medical revealed about me! Type A babe.....all the way!!!



atp