SCHOOLS/INSTRUCTOR - MY ADVICE

[Mickeymax]

I thought I might share my experience in choosing or not choosing the right flying training school and instructor.

 

As it turns out I ended up with an excellent school and instructor but only through good luck and not through good management.

 

After spending lots of money on my training I thought ''what a fool I am''

 

What I did.

 

1 I took the first school I came to

 

2 I took the first instructor I spoke to.

 

3 I failed to find out if I could hire the aircraft after I had obtained my certificate.

 

How silly was I?

 

In fact there where three flying schools I could have chosen from.

 

My instructor I feel was excellent and my training also, but I could have set myself up with some guy just wanting to build up his hours.

 

I failed to ask if I could hire an aircraft after I had my certificate. How would I have been if I had a certificate and nothing to fly? I doubt the other schools would have been keen to hire me their aircraft after I trained with someone else on the same aerodrome.

 

This was brought home to me when I enquired about hiring an aircraft in Nth Queensland and told I could hire the aeroplane but the instructor would have to fly with me - what fun!

 

Anyway I hope someone gets something out of this. It could have cost me lots and ended badly.

 

 

[mkennard]

I was the same though by the time I finished my certificate they had a 2nd aircraft which I could hire. I only rang one place to start learning.

 

 

[Happyflyer]

I thought I might share my experience in choosing or not choosing the right flying training school and instructor.As it turns out I ended up with an excellent school and instructor but only through good luck and not through good management.

After spending lots of money on my training I thought ''what a fool I am''

 

What I did.

 

1 I took the first school I came to

 

2 I took the first instructor I spoke to.

 

3 I failed to find out if I could hire the aircraft after I had obtained my certificate.

 

How silly was I?

 

In fact there where three flying schools I could have chosen from.

 

My instructor I feel was excellent and my training also, but I could have set myself up with some guy just wanting to build up his hours.

 

I failed to ask if I could hire an aircraft after I had my certificate. How would I have been if I had a certificate and nothing to fly? I doubt the other schools would have been keen to hire me their aircraft after I trained with someone else on the same aerodrome.

 

This was brought home to me when I enquired about hiring an aircraft in Nth Queensland and told I could hire the aeroplane but the instructor would have to fly with me - what fun!

 

Anyway I hope someone gets something out of this. It could have cost me lots and ended badly.

Good advice. Your experience about hiring is the norm. No one will hire a plane to a stranger without a check ride. The standard of pilot out there is just too variable.

 

 

[red750]

I learnt GA - before RAAus etc. I had a TIF with one school, and didn't have anything against them, but saw an advert for another school on the same airport that had a fleet of 4 or 5 two seat trainers and three slightly larger 4 seat models of the same basic design to step up to, as well as a Victa Airtourer thrown in for good measure They also had larger faster retractables which could be used for both hire and commercial charter. The point of the advert was that they had a concentrated 3 week course running six days per week (one day for rest). They also had a charter division with various size twins. Most have probably guessed the aircraft were Beech B-19 Sport, B-23 Musketeer and Bonanza. They also had a number of instructors so I never knew who I would get till I turned up. Before I finished, they changed their fleet to Piper Warriors, Arrows, Cherokee 6 and Seneca. The school of course was Civil Flying School. I have no idea how things would have been with Schutt's or Royal Vic Aero Club.

 

 

[Hargraves]

The subject touches on what i consider to be THE most important step in learning to fly, I hunted around for not only the right instructors but just as inportantly the right training aircraft, having applied common sense of wanting to start "at the start" I ran up nearly 7000 road kilometres over 8 months traveling to and fro from my selected instructors because I also believe training that is not compacted is better learnt and that their is no better intro trainer than the J3 piper cub, that is my opinion and won,t change anytime soon, cheers Hargraves

 

 

[rankamateur]

The subject touches on what i consider to be THE most important step in learning to fly, I hunted around for not only the right instructors but just as inportantly the right training aircraft, having applied common sense of wanting to start "at the start" I ran up nearly 7000 road kilometres over 8 months traveling to and fro from my selected instructors because I also believe training that is not compacted is better learnt and that their is no better intro trainer than the J3 piper cub, that is my opinion and won,t change anytime soon, cheers Hargraves

I didn't want to spend two thirds of my training time driving, I am a busy man! I searched around for a training school using the model of aircraft that I wanted to learn in, who would train me on my own airstrip, so I could sleep in my own be and spend nearly no time driving to my lessons. I trained to pilot certificate, passenger and cross country in twelve days. Only one thing that I didn't take account of was how long I would take to get my plane built so I could stay current. I agree that a compacted course has limitations in the area of retention but I don't think that would have been any issue if I was ready to step out of the school plane and go on flying. As things are now I will need a fairly extensive refresher to get back up to speed.

 

 

[Hargraves]

I certainly would have preffered it if the instructors and aircraft I wanted were around the corner from home, the point is their are instructors and then their are instructors and thats why I bit the bullet and traveled like I did coupled with working week on week off it was definately the way to go.

 

 

[Yenn]

I only had the school that was near my home and was lucky. Northern Air Service in Mackay and then Schutts at Grovedale. Schutts was a really first class class outfit. Two instructors and Aub Coote was CFI. I couldn’t have done better anywhere else. Latrobe Valley was not quite as good, but still above average.

 

Years later When I was getting back into GA, I went to Phoenix Aviation in Gladstone and the employee instructor tried to use me as his retirement plan until I told the company’s owner that I was giving up. She was horrified and I got a phone call a couple of days later to give it another go. One hour flying later I had my review and was good to go.

 

It is hard for a student to assess an instructor and there are a few shonky ones about. Luckily for me, the bad one I met came unstuck.