Experience with Redbird Skyport Flight School in Texas

S

skynewbie

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
371
Location
San Jose
Display Name
Display name:
checkmysix
I am considering an intense training for my instrument rating at Redbird Skyport in Texas for vacation after passing my written exam and wanted to gather experiences from those who are familiar with the flight center there.
 
No experience with them. I did a finish up course with PIC. My only advice is talk to the instructors before you get there and make sure you guys click.

I was trying to do my finish up with Ron - but couldn't work out the schedule. Ended up going with another guy- I passed, but very displeased with how it all went... but whatever.

Good luck in whatever your decision is..
 
Got my CMEL there, good folks, excellent training, and all in a timely fashion. I would definitely reccomend them.
 
They have some great sims... the x-wind simulator is really cool. Full motion and the instructor just throws stuff at you while you do multiple finals without all the laps through the pattern.
 
If their fixed price offering is real then that's a powerful advantage.
 
Cool I have some time so might be able to get both IR and commercial ratings done at same time.
 
Ben, based on your experience in primary training, I'm concerned about you taking on accelerated training at all, let alone accelerated training for two certificates. I think you're going to have an exceedingly frustrating time.

Have you experienced any actual?

I have, with an instructor and a really nice plane (2012 G1000 182T), and there is NO WAY I would consider flying in actual after only having 40 hours of training crammed into my head in a week or two. Even if it's just nice, smooth marine layer. Most of that goes in one ear and out the other.

You're a DB guy. Could you learn Oracle from scratch in a similar timescale, and then go make a large scale commercial website DB on a tight schedule without making any major errors? That's basically what you're proposing to do here. Unless the IR is window dressing (in which case, why bother?).

The thing to do after you finish your IR (which, based on your previous experience, is going to take longer than you're planning for) is practice it and get truly proficient, not go on to something completely different.

I'll probably be starting my own IR in a month or so, and while I'll consider Part 141 (not at Nice Air, though -- I like to speak English), I won't consider accelerated training.
 
Last edited:
MAKG, I got my instrument in minimum time, and then did launch into actual shortly after getting the ticket...however, I got the IR over a period of about 12 months. I had _days_ to debrief after every flight, which was exactly what I did...debrief several times over a period of days before even thinking about going on another flight.

Between that, and lots of sim practice with an online ATC system, I felt truly ready once I got my ticket.

5 years and 500 hours later (about 80% of it on IFR flight plans), I can look back and say that I really was ready at the time of that check ride.

This is the reason that I haven't pursued any accelerated programs...I need time to process a flight when I'm training. I also like repeated exposure to scenarios, not just doing it once and moving on.

If Skyport offers unlimited use of the sims at fixed price (I believe that's the case), that is pure gold right there.
 
Well, yes. That's my point.

Part of the learning process is absorbing the results of the last lesson. Skip that, and you miss a lot.

40 hours over 12 months doesn't scare me anywhere near as much as 40 hours over a week or two. I've done the accelerated thing in engineering fields, and I find them useful for convincing a manager you can do something, and next to nothing else. If you really want proficiency, 8 hours a day of Matlab training is going to fry your brain.
 
MAKG don't worry I will take a long instrument lesson before committing to a boot camp to see if I can handle it.
 
I think accelerated training is great if your brain can handle it and you can keep practicing often what you learned right after.
 
Wonder how many instructors can be blamed in a 10 day period?
 
Ben, did you ever buy a plane?
 
MAKG1 said:
Are you sure intensive training is right for you?
Click to expand...

As I read it, answering that question is the purpose of his post.

MAKG1 said:
Ben, based on your experience in primary training, I'm concerned about you taking on accelerated training at all, let alone accelerated training for two certificates. I think you're going to have an exceedingly frustrating time.

Have you experienced any actual?

I have, with an instructor and a really nice plane (2012 G1000 182T), and there is NO WAY I would consider flying in actual after only having 40 hours of training crammed into my head in a week or two. Even if it's just nice, smooth marine layer. Most of that goes in one ear and out the other.

You're a DB guy. Could you learn Oracle from scratch in a similar timescale, and then go make a large scale commercial website DB on a tight schedule without making any major errors? That's basically what you're proposing to do here. Unless the IR is window dressing (in which case, why bother?).

The thing to do after you finish your IR (which, based on your previous experience, is going to take longer than you're planning for) is practice it and get truly proficient, not go on to something completely different.

I'll probably be starting my own IR in a month or so, and while I'll consider Part 141 (not at Nice Air, though -- I like to speak English), I won't consider accelerated training.
Click to expand...

The IR is not the same as Oracle DBA (I've taken a few Ora DBA classes - sweet sweet Jebus). Not by far. It's even easier than SQL Server DBA. :D

The question about actual is moot. He's talking about passing the IR ride and time in actual is not required for that. Hell, most people out west end up with dry IR tickets. But it's still a ticket. And you then get with an instructor and go bust some clouds. Not a big deal.

coma24 said:
MAKG, I got my instrument in minimum time, and then did launch into actual shortly after getting the ticket...however, I got the IR over a period of about 12 months. I had _days_ to debrief after every flight, which was exactly what I did...debrief several times over a period of days before even thinking about going on another flight.

Between that, and lots of sim practice with an online ATC system, I felt truly ready once I got my ticket.

5 years and 500 hours later (about 80% of it on IFR flight plans), I can look back and say that I really was ready at the time of that check ride.

This is the reason that I haven't pursued any accelerated programs...I need time to process a flight when I'm training. I also like repeated exposure to scenarios, not just doing it once and moving on.

If Skyport offers unlimited use of the sims at fixed price (I believe that's the case), that is pure gold right there.
Click to expand...

How long does it take to absorb this stuff? It isn't rocket surgery. :D

Instrument skills are perishable. So waiting extended periods between lessons is not helpful. Nor is having no time to review and prepare.

I did mine in a brisk 2 months while working full time. It worked fine for me and I aced my ride.

By the same token, PIC makes a living of getting people their ticket in a couple weeks. Happens all the time and there's nothing wrong with doing it that way.

Another somewhat large organization that does rapid training is the US military.

To each his own.
 
RichNY said:
Ben, did you ever buy a plane?
Click to expand...

This is a consideration. If you are planning on a plane purchase soon, I'd suggest waiting to do the training in the plane -- especially if it is a step up from what you did your private in. My experience is that the IR ticket will take a little longer but you'll be far more proficient in YOUR plane.
 
Sam D said:
This is a consideration. If you are planning on a plane purchase soon, I'd suggest waiting to do the training in the plane -- especially if it is a step up from what you did your private in. My experience is that the IR ticket will take a little longer but you'll be far more proficient in YOUR plane.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I started and finished my IFR training in my own plane.
 
petrolero said:
The question about actual is moot. He's talking about passing the IR ride and time in actual is not required for that. Hell, most people out west end up with dry IR tickets. But it's still a ticket. And you then get with an instructor and go bust some clouds. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that I know the OP and the airspace he flies in.

Actual is very common in summer. Every FN morning. It's also been nearly daily here for the last two weeks or so, on and off. This is not Colorado. It's a coastal environment.

It's the OP's choice, of course, but this is setting off alarm bells for me. I don't want to be searching for his ELT. The last one -- which ended up being a low-alt flyer out of Hollister who snagged a power line -- was unpleasant enough.

And if you read his posts, you'll find he intended to crank out a commercial while he was at it. Not at all a good idea IMO. Get good at the IFR thing first, which he won't be after a two week cram session.
 
petrolero, if you equate acing your ride to being ready to fly in the system in a wide range of conditions, that's fine, but I've met enough newly minted pilots to know that isn't always the case.
 
The military puts new pilots into IMC pretty quickly, flying jets no less.

I don't see why this couldn't work for civilians also. PIC has been doing accelerated training for years and they seem to produce competent pilots.

In the case of Skyport, I guess a lot would depend on how much value you put on simulators, since Skyport is all about sims.

I have done some IMF recurrency training at Skyport and been pretty happy with it. I think most of their CFIs are actually on salary, which I consider to have some advantages.
 
MAKG1 said:
Keep in mind that I know the OP and the airspace he flies in.

Actual is very common in summer. Every FN morning. It's also been nearly daily here for the last two weeks or so, on and off. This is not Colorado. It's a coastal environment.

It's the OP's choice, of course, but this is setting off alarm bells for me. I don't want to be searching for his ELT. The last one -- which ended up being a low-alt flyer out of Hollister who snagged a power line -- was unpleasant enough.

And if you read his posts, you'll find he intended to crank out a commercial while he was at it. Not at all a good idea IMO. Get good at the IFR thing first, which he won't be after a two week cram session.
Click to expand...

Getting good at the IFR thing is one of the goals of hitting SkyPort. Not sure why you think the elapsed time between lesson one and check ride is the factor that will put him into the wires.

One still has to convince the instructor he's ready for the ride and then perform all the PTS stuff for the examiner.

You can do this in a year or two weeks but you still have to do it.

Is there something special about the OP that just makes you worry about him in general? Is he the type to rush things? That is a different problem.

Anyway, that gets you your ticket...

coma24 said:
petrolero, if you equate acing your ride to being ready to fly in the system in a wide range of conditions, that's fine, but I've met enough newly minted pilots to know that isn't always the case.
Click to expand...

...but it can't prepare you for every situation. Nothing can. Getting your ticket is one thing. Being confident in a "wide range of conditions" requires experience.

But again, experience in a "wide range of conditions" is not a prereq for the IR. Anyone who gets the IR and thinks he is suddenly invincible is a fool. But he's a fool whether he got it in 2 weeks or 2 years.

I would recommend to the OP (or anyone) that after they get their ticket they go fly some local IMC with a local instructor. That's what I did.

But that doesn't mean you can't go get your ticket at SkyPort. Like everything else it's just a ticket, not a certificate of complete aviation mastery.
 
petrolero said:
Getting good at the IFR thing is one of the goals of hitting SkyPort. Not sure why you think the elapsed time between lesson one and check ride is the factor that will put him into the wires.
Click to expand...

Because of the difference between short and long term memory.

You can cram stuff into the former -- and pass a check ride or some other test immediately after -- and have it gone a week later.

There has to be enough time between lessons to review and absorb what was learned thoroughly. Flying 35-60 hours (part 141 minimum is 35 hours) in two weeks will not allow that. Exhaustion interferes.
 
petrolero said:
The question about actual is moot. He's talking about passing the IR ride and time in actual is not required for that. Hell, most people out west end up with dry IR tickets. But it's still a ticket. And you then get with an instructor and go bust some clouds. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...
Or he can do what many do and the first time they're in the soup for real they're by themselves (or at least without another instructor or pilot). I had a tiny amount of actual prior to my ride but I wouldn't say it was particularly extensive. My instructor and I had a nice discussion about setting personal minimums as I phased into real instrument flying rather than training.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top