Expectations for Instructors and Schedules

denverpilot said:
I have no idea who that is.
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Ah...when you said real estate agent to do spins......my assumption was Spencer is CFII at Aspen, co-owns the biplane with Drew, teaches acro. For fun, call Dagmar and do spins in her Pitts.
 
murphey said:
Ah...when you said real estate agent to do spins......my assumption was Spencer is CFII at Aspen, co-owns the biplane with Drew, teaches acro. For fun, call Dagmar and do spins in her Pitts.
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Ahhh I see. It was Spencer but not in his aircraft, which is what threw me. I need to give him a ring and finish off the tailwheel endorsement when everything else settles down, too. We had a blast that morning. Heh.

He's also technically an independent and not really an Aspen employee. (^^ That whole discussion about not being "fed" students by the front desk applies. But obviously my CFI knew who to call to get stuff done... which is how I met him. ;) )

Haven't called him because I don't want to derail the rest of it. The Citabria could easily keep me from flying 79M enough... heh heh. And I'm truly scared of what the Decathlon Xtreme might demand of my wallet and time. Hehehe. I could quite easily become an "addict". :)
 
Problem solved.

The first step I did was that I contacted the other flight school. At first I was a bit doubtful, as I am currently in the Cessna Pilot Kit program, and this flight school is not part of that program. I thought about that for maybe 30 sends and decided "Who cares. Millions of people have become pilots without that Cessna program, and I've had enough of King's videos anyway." So I sent the school a note, explained my situation, and my schedule. I was careful not to bash the other flight school. No problem with the instructors, very knowledgeable, very nice people, everyone is great...when I get can them. I have even stretched my schedule out and moved things to try and schedule them at more "working" style hours, but to no avail. I received a response in less than an hour. "Thanks for contacting us, no problem. I will call you in an hour." He kept his word, called me, and got me on the schedule immediately. No deposit required, and the instructor he gave me was actually better paired for me than any of the others I've had at the other school.

Second step...I sent a note to the first flight school. Explained my situation VERY carefully. I was very choosy with my words, as I did not want anything negative whatsoever to reflect on the instructors. I explained in detail that this is NOT a problem with them, it is ONLY with scheduling, and that I had asked the Chief Flight Instructor multiple times to get on the schedule, but to no avail. I told them that I had contacted the neighboring flight school and gotten on the schedule immediately, and that going forward, I wasn't quitting them, but I would be using both flight schools depending on scheduling and where I could get in. Then, in closing, I asked about refunding my deposit until I was actually able to get on the schedule. Wow, did that do the trick. Again, within an hour, I got a response from the owner(s), and I've got flights on Saturday and Sunday 0600-0900, as well as some evening flights this week.

Looks like everything is on track.
 
TheTraveler said:
Problem solved.

The first step I did was that I contacted the other flight school. At first I was a bit doubtful, as I am currently in the Cessna Pilot Kit program, and this flight school is not part of that program. I thought about that for maybe 30 sends and decided "Who cares. Millions of people have become pilots without that Cessna program, and I've had enough of King's videos anyway." So I sent the school a note, explained my situation, and my schedule. I was careful not to bash the other flight school. No problem with the instructors, very knowledgeable, very nice people, everyone is great...when I get can them. I have even stretched my schedule out and moved things to try and schedule them at more "working" style hours, but to no avail. I received a response in less than an hour. "Thanks for contacting us, no problem. I will call you in an hour." He kept his word, called me, and got me on the schedule immediately. No deposit required, and the instructor he gave me was actually better paired for me than any of the others I've had at the other school.

Second step...I sent a note to the first flight school. Explained my situation VERY carefully. I was very choosy with my words, as I did not want anything negative whatsoever to reflect on the instructors. I explained in detail that this is NOT a problem with them, it is ONLY with scheduling, and that I had asked the Chief Flight Instructor multiple times to get on the schedule, but to no avail. I told them that I had contacted the neighboring flight school and gotten on the schedule immediately, and that going forward, I wasn't quitting them, but I would be using both flight schools depending on scheduling and where I could get in. Then, in closing, I asked about refunding my deposit until I was actually able to get on the schedule. Wow, did that do the trick. Again, within an hour, I got a response from the owner(s), and I've got flights on Saturday and Sunday 0600-0900, as well as some evening flights this week.

Looks like everything is on track.
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While it's good you got the schedule issue sorted out, training across 2 different schools is, quite frankly, a terrible idea. As a student, you need consistency in instruction. You can't fly on Monday with Bob, who tells you to do things this way, and then fly on Wednesday with Jim who tells you to do it another way. Sure, it's good to get a second look from another CFI from time to time, but your normal training really should be with a single instructor in the same plane whenever possible. I'd seriously reconsider this strategy.
 
bradg33 said:
While it's good you got the schedule issue sorted out, training across 2 different schools is, quite frankly, a terrible idea. As a student, you need consistency in instruction. You can't fly on Monday with Bob, who tells you to do things this way, and then fly on Wednesday with Jim who tells you to do it another way. Sure, it's good to get a second look from another CFI from time to time, but your normal training really should be with a single instructor in the same plane whenever possible. I'd seriously reconsider this strategy.
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I have heard from a lot of others before pursuing this course of action that it completely depends on the student. Would you not agree?

Anyway, my plan is not to really continue like this for both. I need to use up the credit at the flight school I have the large deposit with, and then I'll see where I am and pick a primary. For now though, it's a mix of using up as much of that deposit as I can, getting as much flying in as I can, and learning as much as I can in the process.
 
TheTraveler said:
I have heard from a lot of others before pursuing this course of action that it completely depends on the student. Would you not agree?

Anyway, my plan is not to really continue like this for both. I need to use up the credit at the flight school I have the large deposit with, and then I'll see where I am and pick a primary. For now though, it's a mix of using up as much of that deposit as I can, getting as much flying in as I can, and learning as much as I can in the process.
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I think it does depend on the student a little bit, but also think about the instructor. They are investing time into you as their student. SOMEONE has to sign you off for solo, xc, and a checkride, who will you pick? What if they both refuse to sign you off because you haven't done enough work with them?
It's one thing switching instructors in the middle of training, getting a second look on things, or using different instructors within the same school who has standard procedures.
Completely different if you're cross shopping with a competitor.

That's just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it.
 
farmerbrake said:
I think it does depend on the student a little bit, but also think about the instructor. They are investing time into you as their student. SOMEONE has to sign you off for solo, xc, and a checkride, who will you pick? What if they both refuse to sign you off because you haven't done enough work with them?
It's one thing switching instructors in the middle of training, getting a second look on things, or using different instructors within the same school who has standard procedures.
Completely different if you're cross shopping with a competitor.

That's just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it.
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Thanks, great input, and certainly valid. I believe my first mistake was giving a flight school a hefty deposit to save a few bucks per hour. Had I inquired here first before I did that, I'm quite sure the response would have been "Try them out before you give them a deposit."

Lesson learned.
 
TheTraveler said:
I have heard from a lot of others before pursuing this course of action that it completely depends on the student. Would you not agree?

Anyway, my plan is not to really continue like this for both. I need to use up the credit at the flight school I have the large deposit with, and then I'll see where I am and pick a primary. For now though, it's a mix of using up as much of that deposit as I can, getting as much flying in as I can, and learning as much as I can in the process.
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Just tell them to refund your deposit and be done with it. Even if they push back initially, make a bunch of noise and they'll eventually refund it.

As a CFI, I can tell you that I wouldn't instruct under this arrangement.
 
TheTraveler said:
Thanks, great input, and certainly valid. I believe my first mistake was giving a flight school a hefty deposit to save a few bucks per hour. Had I inquired here first before I did that, I'm quite sure the response would have been "Try them out before you give them a deposit."

Lesson learned.
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It happens. I had the option of putting a deposit down when I first started my private pilot training which would've saved money on the plane hourly rate. Not sure why I didn't do it, but I actually wished I would've since I stayed at the same flight school for all of my PPL, liked my instructor, and had the money that I could've put a lump sum down.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
It'll all work out in the end though.

Get the license and enjoy all there is to learn!
 
TheTraveler said:
Thanks, great input, and certainly valid. I believe my first mistake was giving a flight school a hefty deposit to save a few bucks per hour. Had I inquired here first before I did that, I'm quite sure the response would have been "Try them out before you give them a deposit."

Lesson learned.
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Definitely lesson learned. Places that need deposits have bookkeeping and budget planning problems, in my experience.

And like anything in life, once someone else has your money, they're not very motivated to work hard to EARN your money.

Think about it this way. If giving them cash up front can't possibly lower their costs as much as they lowered the hourly rate. They have a cash flow problem.

And agreed, flying with two schools and two instructors unless those instructors are working with each other and singing from the same song sheet, is going to be a problem. Pick a school and use it.
 
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