Choosing a flight school

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Dennis K

Filing Flight Plan
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Dennis
I’m in my 50s and caught the flying bug. Got my medical and TFP ground school. Now to choose a flight school. I’ve recently taken discovery flights at two flight schools. The first is at an uncontrolled airport 15 minutes from home, the other is controlled, an hour and fifteen minutes from home.

The school close to home has young instructors building time, the other school has young and older CFI’s. They say they specialize in matching you with the right CFI. I really like the atmosphere there but I’m worried that being just over an hour away will make it difficult to fly twice a week.

The farther away school is also a part 145 repair station so they may have better maintenance and can keep their planes flying. They have also been named a distinguished flight school by the AOPA in the past. Everything points to them being the best place to learn, just hate the hour plus commute.

Living in the area and being in real estate I know most every inch of ground I’d be flying over with the close school. Knowing where I am gives me a sense of security, but I don’t know how important that is in training and I’m sure it won’t take long to learn the other area.

Any suggestions PoA crew?
 
You want an instructor that you are comfortable with imo. Controlled airport or not (good instructors will give you the flying experience either way). I was in my mid-40s when I got my ticket. My flight instructor was a young guy headed to the airlines. He was super supportive and understanding and I got through just fine.

You might prefer an older … errr …. more seasoned instructor. Or it may not matter for you.

ps: being in real estate and knowing the land around you is irrelevant. Remember, when you get your license you may fly hundreds of miles for a lunch run just for fun.
 
A 75 minute drive might burn you out before you even take off. The AOPA trophy means nothing as does "specializing" in finding the right instructor for you. That will be your responsibility no matter where you train. Pick the closer one, and if over the course of 5 or so lessons you get the impression that they don't deserve your business, then try the other one.
 
dmspilot said:
A 75 minute drive might burn you out before you even take off. The AOPA trophy means nothing as does "specializing" in finding the right instructor for you. That will be your responsibility no matter where you train. Pick the closer one, and if over the course of 5 or so lessons you get the impression that they don't deserve your business, then try the other one.
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I second this, speaking from experience. The only 141 school I'm able to attend currently is about 2.5 hours away. Really makes it a PITA to keep 'in the zone' for a lesson, stage check, or even rolling with the weather's punches with such a bear of a commute to deal with. Then another long commute back home afterward. Barring other factors, closer is better.
 
Not sure what art of the country you're in, but weather can be a factor too. Geography plays a factor in that as well; for example on the west coast, a coastal airport may contend with a marine layer while a more inland airport is clear VFR.

To me though, the bigger issue regarding weather is being close enough to make a look-see if the weather is borderline, versus just cancelling the lesson to avoid an unnecessary 2.5 hour round trip. At the end of the day, the more you fly, the faster you finish and less money you spend on training.
 
I drove out to an airport that was 78 miles away for my flight training, but those miles were almost all "country" miles, so it was mostly easy driving. If you have to drive through crazy traffic to get to your farther away airport, you will probably find that drive even more exhausting. I didn't notice my drive much on the way there, but it was very exhausting some days to drive back!
 
Although not ideal, you can always switch instructors or schools if things aren't going the way you want... not ideal, but you're not locked in either. I drove 45 minutes to where my instructor was (I had another option that was 10 minutes door to door). He was part of a flying club so part of the reason for the choice was I wanted to join the flying club at the time. I was so excited to fly, the distance didn't matter a ton. It did create a challenge every now in then as it relates to weather as mentioned above - but nothing significant. And the days I got to the airport and the weather was different than expected, we'd just do ground school instead. So not a total loss. Finding the right instructor is #1. What's right for one might not be right for the next... so go with your gut. As mentioned above, knowing the area shouldn't have much bearing on your choice. Things look a bit different from the air and as mentioned, once you have your PPL you're going to be traversing many miles of unknown landscape so training in unfamiliar areas might actually be a hair better (again not a deciding factor though).
 
When I did my training for my PPL, I drive about 40 miles each way. But I did that because I wanted to do my training in a Grumman Tiger versus a Piper or Cessna (I had flown both).

I was able to keep motivated and got out for a lesson a week.

Only you know YOU, and whether you will be able to do the drive and be motivated. And not all young, time building instructors are marking time. Many are very involved in providing good solid training.

Take a couple of lessons at each and see which one clicks.
 
IMO definitely train at the closest airport, at least to begin with. You really need to at least schedule twice a week. Getting on the schedule 3 times a week would be better because one of those days each week will be cancelled by weather. Once a week is not enough and will cost you more hours training in most cases and will take too long at once a week.
Do you want to drive to the far away airport to find out you can't fly because of either weather, no airplane cause it's in the shop or your instructor is sick or runway is closed due to a issue with another plane on the runway at a busy delta airport?
I did learn to fly at a delta airport, double edge sword IMO. I learned more, better on the radio but probably took me more hours to get my certificate. I spent pretty many hours listening to the tower on my handheld radio sitting in my car so I could keep advancing during training.

SkyChaser said:
I drove out to an airport that was 78 miles away for my flight training, but those miles were almost all "country" miles, so it was mostly easy driving. If you have to drive through crazy traffic to get to your farther away airport, you will probably find that drive even more exhausting. I didn't notice my drive much on the way there, but it was very exhausting some days to drive back!
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It was not a easy deal for me to push through and finish my training. No way I could have done it driving over an hour+ each way. Not enough time in the day or week for me to have done it that way. I worked at a full time job and used all my vacation time to train and then some.

I forgot about that part SkyChaser, some days early on I stopped at a boat launch ramp to take a break so I had enough energy to drive the rest of the way home. I was exhausted early on after just 45 minutes of flying. My appointments were 2 hour blocks with a de brief and some ground school.
I was 35 minutes away from the airport I trained at. All city driving. I was 55 years old when I started training, DennisK you sound my same age when I started. Good luck to you!
 
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Dennis K said:
I’m in my 50s and caught the flying bug. Got my medical and TFP ground school. Now to choose a flight school. I’ve recently taken discovery flights at two flight schools. The first is at an uncontrolled airport 15 minutes from home, the other is controlled, an hour and fifteen minutes from home.

The school close to home has young instructors building time, the other school has young and older CFI’s. They say they specialize in matching you with the right CFI. I really like the atmosphere there but I’m worried that being just over an hour away will make it difficult to fly twice a week.

The farther away school is also a part 145 repair station so they may have better maintenance and can keep their planes flying. They have also been named a distinguished flight school by the AOPA in the past. Everything points to them being the best place to learn, just hate the hour plus commute.

Living in the area and being in real estate I know most every inch of ground I’d be flying over with the close school. Knowing where I am gives me a sense of security, but I don’t know how important that is in training and I’m sure it won’t take long to learn the other area.

Any suggestions PoA crew?
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Put me on the list that says start out at the close one. What airports are you talking about. There might be some folk here who know and have experience with the schools you are talking about.
 
I flew with 5 different instructors while earning my PPL. The oldest one was retired charter pilot and was my favorite CFII.
But don't let that keep you from training with a young guy, I learned plenty from them also, just they would leave the school when they got enough hours to go to ATP school or get a job flying a plane. It's the nature of the beast.
 
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I drive 45 minutes to my plane and then 45 back. And I was doing this before I brought the share, I was going to the flight school at the same field. It’s fine but for me it’s only 30km one way? Still driving is not hard or anything. Now the cost does add up though for gas. However, my major reason to go there was the field is controlled and has two runway and metar.

I don’t buy the low time CFI problem. Mine has 1k hours and is looking at the airlines eventually. He arrange schedule to fit me when I need and overall it works fine. Originally I was supposed yo go with the chief instructor but he also flies charters and such so booking could be hard.

Some are saying go closer and book lessons 3 times a week or something. Sure, but for me the agreed to time with the “real boss” is Sat or Sun mornings . So it one time a week, maybe twice when I take time off or for long weekends. And yes weather gets in the way sometimes. Still I was ready for solo at 16 hours and I have never had to do a lesson twice. So my one time a week works for me.

What I want to say after all that is things that works for me or anyone else may or may not work for you. Try and then decide everyone is different.
 
without hesitation I'd go to the closer field...right now. immediately.
and only if I got the heeby-geebees looking at their rental fleet OR the instructor..... then and only then would I consider going full in at the further field.

I say that...but as I think about it there are other things too.... if the schedule is so full you can't get in....for example....

I learned at an airport probably 15 minutes away. I'd go there evening after work and just hang out if I had time, and judge the landings of my fellow students. Often my instructor would call me if he had a last minute cancelation.

that other school is going to kill 2-1/2 hours just driving there and back....

the difference is half a Saturday morning for a short lesson vs half a day or more....just for a short lesson!
 
I echo what @1000RR @Gary Ward and @SebIp all wrote. (Caveat I just soloed last month, am still working on my PPL, and I pretty much know nothing).

It is a 45 min drive to my training airport but that is better than the 60 min drive when I started to train in another state with a different school last year. I am on my 3rd instructor. Weather is a problem for staying on top of training when you are further away as mentioned by others. But managing your schedule for weather is what ground school is for and managing for weather is in many ways what GA flying about. I definitely still get a lot of raining value at my school when weather causes a cancellation.

Lastly, my work makes flying 2-3x per 7 days a serious challenge but I am able to schedule 4-5x every 14 weeks just fine. I usually schedule 4 days in a row every 14 days and hope to get up 2-4 times in that time period. This has made my training take longer than others (based on postings here on PoA much longer). But this schedule fits my life much better than quitting my job, not being able to pay for lessons, and not purchasing an aircraft soon to finish my PPL and start my IR.

Good luck @Dennis K. IMHO as long as you are enjoying it and it fits what you can do in your life, I would say go with your gut.
 
Do what makes you comfortable . You have to decide on the instructor choice that works best for you. If your training with a lot of time building instructors ,you may get frustrated .
 
Take the close school unless their planes are flying trash cans.
 
I got my private pilot cert at 47. Don’t think you have to be taught by a 3000 hr former airline pilot. I had two instructors during my private pilot. One was an older former bush pilot from Alaska and the second was a young local fella just trying to follow in his father's footsteps and get to the majors. They were both great and knew far more than me about what they were teaching. I learned a lot from both. It matters more if they are reliable and you can mesh with the way they teach. I agree closer is better if the equipment is in good shape and you can find an instructor you like.
 
Tools said:
Wait wait wait….

Get soloed at the close one. Then FLY to your lessons. Problem solved.
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Solo?! You just point the nose down the runway, give it full throttle and put KJKA in the GPS. You can talk me through the landing, right?
 
Ya, don’t forget to set the radar altimeter so it wakes you up on final… just sayin!
 
Instructor is more important than the drive.

Do you know every inch of the local powerlines? Otherwise a field is a field, get comfortable simulating emergency landings!

Use the drives for pre/post brief. Practice your radio calls, runway #s, pattern altitude, etc. Think about your flight and how you can be better the next time.

As far as WX, foreflight's MOS worked well enough for me. You can check ceilings at close-by airports and see what the trend is based on wind direction.

Enjoy your private, if the instructor doesn't suit you, move on. You're the customer and it should feel right to you. Also, you should consider private as an interview for your instrument rating instruction as well. Hopefully you'll find a great match who you can work with for years.
 
I'll say I had two sides of this.
1) I learned at a towered Class D under a Class B shelf. So right off the bat, radio calls and altitude awareness were top of the list. I heard stories about people who learned at non-towered that were then nervous when they had to speak to ATC, but I never had those nerves.
2) Flight school only had 2-3 instructors. I had a young instructor that was awesome, but he was building time. I managed one 'Checkride Prep' lesson with him before he left for a commercial job. The other young guy left at the same time. They were both in the same intake group for the airline. That ended up costing me about 3 months of total delay while I got on the schedule of the remaining instructor, and could only fly with him about once every two weeks due to him now being insanely busy.

tl;dr : I think I'd go with the safer bet of not losing your instructor.
 
towered vs non... I learned at an uncontrolled field.
My CFI had me at a towered airport on the very first discovery flight. We didn't go every flight so in some ways I was probably a bit slower on those procedures then some but we went plenty and that's not a factor.
Just like I probably had a lot more engine out over the runway practice early on than folks starting out at larger controlled airports.
Probably got more landings per hour in on T&G days...
etc...
but honestly I don't think any of those differences matter. A good instructor will get you where you need to be....just may be a different path to get there.
Even losing an instructor away to the airlines... can be a hiccup but if there's another instructor there to pick you up you'll hardly miss a beat. happened to me about half way to my PPL checkride. Again...not a factor.
I'd still advise close is better unless the plane is trash or the instructor is slime or you just can't get on the schedule.
 
Thanks for the responses. Now as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. First week of July I had a flight with a CFI at my local airport. Great experience, young kid but think we can work together and I agree to start lessons. CFI later texts that his multi engine check ride is Monday and he would text me with availability after that. Haven’t heard from him since.

I know from our flight the plane was close to its 100 hour inspection and watching FlightAware, it hasn’t been in the air the past five weeks. The schools other 172 has been up regularly in between the Alabama summer storms but I’m sure it’s a nightmare to get current students scheduled. I know I should text him and confirm maintenance issues are the reason for the delay but can’t help but think they should let me know current status. It’s hot so don’t mind waiting to start, just being impatient! Maybe I’ll put in extra study time and knock out the written test before starting flight school…
 
The only other red flag that just hit me there was when you said “the schools other 172”. My other (admittedly minor) issue with my flight school was that they only have 3 x 172’s, and while it wasn’t much of an issue for the early days of training, it introduced delays when I got to cross-country flights as they never had free blocks of time for long enough to let me take it for a long flight.
If the school doesn’t have so many students, then possibly not a big deal, but just something to have in your head.
 
In 2015 when I started flight training the school I went to had 2- 172 and a sundowner and a couple cirus.
I had no trouble getting on the schedule pretty much any time I wanted. They had about 6 instructors that came and went.
During my PP training the school bought a used G1000 172 that I trained in also. After I got my certificate I could usually call an hour ahead and be able to get one of those 3 172s to rent.

A year later I went back to work on my instrument rating and the school had gotten more busy, much tougher to get on the schedule and less chances to rent a plane for a fun flight. Halfway through my IFR training I bought my own 172 and finished my IFR training in it. Good thing because the school had bought more planes but was way busier with more students making still tough to get on the schedule.
I finished my IFR training at another airport with a more seasoned instructor that taught me more in 3-4 lessons than I learned in months at the first school. Yes instructors are important.
I think I got lucky earning my PPL certificate when I did?
 
I went to a school an hour away (often more with traffic). My plane is now based there and I'm back at the same school for my IR. Yes, the distance is terrible, but it can work if you want it to. For my private training I would keep my whole weekend free then, on whichever day looked to have the better weather, we'd schedule two lessons: one in the morning, break for lunch, then another in the afternoon. This worked really well for me and I was ready for the checkride in about 4 months. I picked up quite a bit hanging out in the school, eating lunch, and talking with other pilots/students.
 
For XC flights, I would plan on taking days off from work and flying during the week. Easier to get open blocks of time.
 
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