I have a nephew living with me who is going to RAA. Needless to say, he's not happy about it. His folks signed him up for their fixed price program (whatever that is) to the tune of 60K.
He's extremely frustrated with how he's being treated and the costs to this point. He's spent ~13k sincd Jan 06 and is on the 2nd level of getting his private. He failed a flight test because his previous instructor did not teach him how to read a map fully, calculate load, takeoff, and landing distances, etc. He's flown a lot with his original instructor, but didn't seem to get taught what he needed to know.
I'm concerned about the possible conflict of intrest here with the instructor. It seems to me it would be very easy for a flight instructor to be more worried about racking up flight hours rather than making sure the student is being taught right..not saying this is happening, but it makes me wonder.

Has anybody gone through this, or something like it? I read his contract, and it appears that if he withdraws, he'll lose 50 % of the 60K he's obligated for...

He still wants to fly, just not with RAA. I'd appreciate any ideas or other viewpoints.

Hi Dutchman.... sorry to hear about your Nephew.

I went through RAA's FOS program last July. I'm not sure about their initial training, but their advanced training programs are pretty good. If it's anything like Sierra Academy (the sorry excuse of a school where I did my instrument thru commercial multi), the instructors are just in it to get the minimum hours and move on. It's pretty sad nowadays.

IMHO, he might want to do his initial training at an FBO. A lot of them are pay as you go, and he might end up spending a whole lot less than he did at RAA. Not to say RAA is a bad place or anything. Their CRJ program is pretty good (still waiting to get hired... but got an interview next week!!! keep yer fingers crossed!), gotta give them that. But have him explore the world of FBOs and flying clubs, they've got some pretty good deals out there.

In the end, airlines really don't care if you did your training at RAA or an FBO. A Seminole is a Seminole is a Seminole, but why pay $200/hr when you can pay $130/hr? The planes fly the same at both places. It's just that FBOs give your more bang for your buck.

Good luck with it all!!!

Thanks for the info...what is an FBO?
Does anyone know if there are ways to get the contract voided? He'd rather simply cut his losses and leave, but not if it means losing ~25K for withdrawing.

FBO = Fixed Base Operator. This is the business at local airports that provides fuel, tie-downs, hangers, supplies, airplane rentals, maintenance, car rentals, flight instruction, basically whatever local and transient pilots might need. Some provide flight instruction in their own planes, others simply act as a meeting hall for instructors, students, and clubs with airplanes for rent. The price is normally about 1/2 to 1/3 of the big name "glossy brochure" rip-off operations like RAA, and the quality varies. You would want to pick carefully, but the good thing is that you pay as you go and can walk away at any time. I would generally recomend a local FBO or smallish local flight school for career students.

As far as voiding the RAA contract...I'd show the contract to an attorney, and ask about the best way out. Operations like that usually dish out so much abuse that you can probably find some aspect of their performance that was unsat. A common problem would be where the big school doesn't have enough planes and/or instructors to keep all the students flying at a good pace...if your nephew is not flying pretty much every day, the school is obviously wasting his time (and money, cuz time is money) by failing to provide the contractual services...

Rickair7777 hit that nail square on the head. If your nephew is going to RAA in Mesa, he's at William-Gateway Airport. The only other school I know of out there is AllATPs. From what I hear, they're pretty decent. But tell him to definately avoid the academy route.

If he's willing to relocate, there's a whole bunch of FBOs outside of the Phoenix area that provide friendlier conditions. I remember at RAA there were days when no planes could be dispatched because the temp was way tooooo high. It's not conducive to train in an unpleasant enviroment. Might as well go somwhere where you will be able to fly daily, and not be grounded due to weather.

... and then there were the Monsoons..... I'm pretty sure you've experienced them!!

"His folks signed him up for their fixed price program (whatever that is) to the tune of 60K"

"His Folks" should have been smart enough not to commit so much money, up front, without recourse. The lessons of flight school ripoffs aren't exactly a secret. I've heard little good about RAA. If he can't get out of the contract, his best bet would be to ask for another CFI and keep his fingers crossed.

I hear you...that's exactly what I told him - not that it does any good now. I'm just now learning all the details and can't believe the poorly informed decisions they made. They're good people but in my opinion did not do nearly enough research on the academies.
I'm hoping to be able to stop the bleeding now if possible, otherwise, as you've stated, he'll just have to push on and get it done.
thanks everyone - the information is much appreciated.

Yep.... hindsight is always 20/20

Let Me Tell You I Just Closed A Law Suite With Raa For Not Doing As They Said They Would. They Are Backed Up With Lawsuites Through The Roof I Went There And Had An Issue And Got An Attorney And The Contract Did Not Hold Up In Court And Therefore I Was Award Money Them Sick Bastards Owed Me . I Can Gladly Say I ****ed Them In Court Many Others Will To. Cost Me 4k To Get The Attorny Good Enough To Do It But It Was Worth It

somebody's bitter