Flight School Checklist

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axlegang21

Filing Flight Plan
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Oct 5, 2013
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axlegang21
What are some specific things I should be looking for in a flight school? Thanks
 
Are they open about their accidents/incidents? Are the mx logs readily available? Do they have several,imstructors of varying experience? How much time have the instructors spent actually flying, not instructing?
 
What is their billing structure like? Do they only bill flight time? Actual flight and ground time door-to-door? "Block" time- ie, you must have and pay for all 2 hours of instructor even if you are only there 1.5 hours?

What is their briefing/debriefing procedure? Do they have a syllabus? Do they ever make changes to the syllabus?

What is their instructor's goals?
 
Beside what has already been mentioned I'd add, how flexible are they with scheduling? Do they have multiple airplanes in case one is in for Maintanance? Do they have any connection with any local pilot examiners? Can you take the FAA written tests on site or do you have to go elsewhere?

I'd also ask about the airport. Is it crowded? Do they do there pattern work at the airport or do you have to fly to a less crowded airport to practice? If you have to fly to the less crowded airport to practice landings( a hefty portion of training) you'll be paying for that time. Might as well train at the less crowded airport.
 
Does the school provide a syllabus? Do they do stage checks with a different instructor,to monitor your progress? Look at their billing practices to see if they pad the bill . Also check out the airplanes they use,and the availability of aircraft for your solo work. Good luck
 
How many instructors are they going through per week ?
Are they trying to talk you out of all of your money up front ?
Is the owner a felon wanted in the last 3 states he set up businesses in ?
 
Can you schedule sessions on line, or by phone? Look at their schedule for the next 2-3 weeks. See if there are airplanes and an instructor available during the time(s) that you would be wanting to fly. Sucks to have the time and money to fly, but not be able to schedule a plane or an instructor.
 
How much experience do their instructors have outside of the training environment? I would pick someone who had some charter experience over someone who had 2000 hours of giving primary training.

Bob Gardner
 
When it comes time to teach the nuances of soft field, do they actually take the student to an unimproved strip?

Many schools don't for various reasons. The differences between hard surface and unimproved are distinct enough that, IMO, the student who does some ops on an unimproved strip will be a more confident in that environment than one whose first time is after receiving the DPE's blessing.
 
My primary concern was safety....

I took demo flights at 5 different schools and went with the one that was most direct and to the point with the questions I asked.

For instance I don't even remember how or why I came up with this question but after each demo flight I asked the instructor " how long do you think before I could solo ?'

I got various answers from " all our students solo with in 10 hours" to "you're a natural, less than 10hrs" and finally "when you are ready and a safe student" Guess which one I went with !

The cost was not an issue for me, and not because I am independently wealthy but because my safety cannot be valued to my wife and kids...I probably spend 4 times what I needed to get my ticket ( my choice not the school forcing me to fly), but I knew every time I was in the air I was with a highly trained and knowledgeable instructor in an aircraft that was well serviced.

Being mechanical by nature and trade, when I questioned one school about the chords showing on a tyre from a flat spot, I was told "the annual is due in a few weeks, it should last till then" ( I didn't even take that flight) , to questioning condition of oil, air filters and general aircraft condition, I got a good sense of how they looked after the planes and to me that speaks volumes of how the school is run.......

Add to all that, personality of the instructors, aircraft availability, etc etc and we could go on and on

Safety first....
 
Where do you live? Perhaps one of us can recommend a flight school they've used, for private pilot lessons, advanced ratings, or continuing education/refreshers on specific topics. Also, what are your long term goals? Are you looking to fly for the airlines, or taking your family/friends for local sightseeing tours on clear/no wind days? Personally I love flying VFR (good/fair weather) and don't see myself pursuing those advanced ratings. I'm perfectly content becoming the most proficient VFR pilot that I can be.

All other things being equal, location matters. I started my lessons at airport that I could see from my office. It was super easy to leave work a couple minutes early for a mid-week lesson and arrive at the flight school in 5 minutes! Also, it didn't hurt that the runway is 5400 x 100 ft. This provided an extra safety margin and additional confidence during those first few solo flights.
 
ferrari-tech said:
For instance I don't even remember how or why I came up with this question but after each demo flight I asked the instructor " how long do you think before I could solo ?'

I got various answers from " all our students solo with in 10 hours" to "you're a natural, less than 10hrs" and finally "when you are ready and a safe student" Guess which one I went with !
...

Safety first....
Click to expand...

Smart call. I've had students solo in 6 (a rarity) and some close to 30 (also pretty rare.) I'd be hesitant to offer a prediction for any given student based on a demo flight.
 
I took 23 hours before I soloed an airplane. It was about the same to solo a helicopter. I know one person who was over 70 hours. In her case, it was later determined (by both of us) to be an issue with her instructors. She switched schools and took and passed her checkride.
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To the OP: Check what type of instruction is being offered. 141 schools are far more structured and may result in the latter issue noted above. A 61 is loose enough that if you get stuck on one phase, the instructor can move onto the next.
Sometimes, you have a mental block about some process. Would they allow you to fly with a different instructor. Are there phase checks? Do you have to take ground instruction with them?
 
PBristolJr said:
DO THEY HAVE FREE COFFEE?
Click to expand...


I'm interested in learning to fly and this is at the top of my list. Also, it has to be fresh....not the stuff that's been sitting in a perculator for a week or so.

-Chuck
 
AggieMike88 said:
When it comes time to teach the nuances of soft field, do they actually take the student to an unimproved strip?

Many schools don't for various reasons. The differences between hard surface and unimproved are distinct enough that, IMO, the student who does some ops on an unimproved strip will be a more confident in that environment than one whose first time is after receiving the DPE's blessing.
Click to expand...

I can definitely agree with this and I would like to add that grass strips are a LOT of fun!

Lots of other good suggestions as well.
 
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