Tailwinds Etc - opinions for PPL?

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topdog91

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Tailwheels Etc, Lakeland, FL - opinions for PPL?

As you'll see in my first thread USA PPL costs - looking for a no-frills school, I've been round the houses looking for the right school.

Eventually Jim at Arizona Aero-Tech (great guy, but they don't issue I-20s) recommended me to Tailwinds Etc. I've just had a great conversation with them, reassuring considering their "accelerated" marketing. I asked if it would be a problem for me to do the PPL over 21 or 28 days rather than the 14-16 they advertise, and they said it's fine, no financial impact either way. They're Part 141, which I understand to be a good thing. They have Cessna 150s and 152s. They do ask for $1000 non-refundable, then half the $9,995 on starting, and the balance at the end. Everyone on these forums always says NEVER DO THAT, but a lot of people also seem to be content with their offering so I'm confused.

Reviews online are mixed - does anyone have first-hand experience of the place, and would like to share?
 
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You mean Tailwheels Ect. in Lakeland?

I did my PPL there. I did a bunch of research ahead of time and they seemed to have the system down pat. I even went to visit them before I committed to check them out. I now refer folks to them all the time and would not only recommend them, but if I had to do it over again would go with Tailwheels again in a heartbeat.

They are a very well established school and while any outfit could be on the verge of shutting down, I would not hesitate with them on the pre payment. I had zero issues. Everyone had a great vibe at the place.

I have zero affiliation with them other than a customer that flew across country to train there and was happy.

KLAL was a great airport to train at. Huge class D field and ATC staff in the tower was just as much a part of the training for the students as the CFI's. They were there to help you learn.

They have had a turnover of CFI's, but they have the accelerated program down.

Other perk of KLAL is that PilotMall.com is based at there and has a retail store. Anything you could need or want for pilot supplies was available right there!
 
I do indeed mean Tailwheels (OP title edited). :)
 
A guy I know was struggling a lot getting his PPL finished. He went to Tailwheels and banged it out within a week.
 
I lost a few k with a school that had been operating for a long time. No matter what it is, do not pay in advance.
A deposit is fine, full balance isnt.
 
I know the owners personally. We are members of central florida Pilots assoc. they get it done. I trust them and they have lot of experience. They have done hundreds of people just like you in the last year. For what you want to do they will make it happen.
 
First question -- they use 152s.

Can you FIT in a 152?

How light does your instructor need to be to take off with two hours of fuel and not be overweight?

I can only fly a 152 solo or with a kid.
 
They have other planes also. C172' piper, twins, even a stearman. 152 is just the cheapest as it is everywhere. They have a first class operation with a few mechanics, nice shop and offices. I have roamed around the facilities several times. Motels close with reasonable rates. I think all this is pretty much on website. I enjoy visiting with them. They are good people.
 
MAKG, actually at the start of my "journey" I wanted to learn in a 172 because I thought it would be more comfortable, but from what I've read since, the 152 is even preferable to learn on. I'm pretty scrawny, no worries on that side... :)
 
topperdoggle said:
MAKG, actually at the start of my "journey" I wanted to learn in a 172 because I thought it would be more comfortable, but from what I've read since, the 152 is even preferable to learn on. I'm pretty scrawny, no worries on that side... :)
Click to expand...

You can learn to fly in anything that has a single piston engine.. but what you've read was probably people picking the 152 because of the rental cost. If a 152 costs $99 hr and the SR22 costs $250... people generally will pick the 152. I only have a handful of hours in one, did spin training and some solo work in an old 80's model 152. Wasn't a bad plane, but wanted to train on something similar to what I was going to fly post cert.
 
topperdoggle said:
I was fairly encouraged by this and this
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Just the same kind of opinions that you will get on this board. The ones who picked the 152 did so mainly on the cost factor. One guy mentioned less instruments, but not sure what he was referring to... I guess maybe a single vs dual Nav/Com setup. The ones who picked the 172 had their own reasons as well.

You're not going to be a better pilot if you learn in a 152 vs a 172.
 
topperdoggle said:
MAKG, actually at the start of my "journey" I wanted to learn in a 172 because I thought it would be more comfortable, but from what I've read since, the 152 is even preferable to learn on. I'm pretty scrawny, no worries on that side... :)
Click to expand...

I don't know about preferable.

You should sit in one before you make that decision. They are very small.

I think every student pilot goes through this. I tried to learn in a 152 as well, and even made it through 8 hours before I learned about weight and balance and figured out it was a bad idea (my instructor really should have figured it out earlier).

Even for a small guy, it will restrict your choice of instructors. Much less so than if you're a big guy.

If you have any distance to go to the practice area, some of the cost savings is going to go away. 152s are S L O W. Per mile flat out, they cost about the same as a comparable-age 172. Maneuvers are generally done at slower speeds, so there will be a difference if the practice area is very close by. Not if there are mountains around (like LA), though.
 
I was 5'11" and ~175lbs when I learned to fly in '94 in a 150/152 almost exclusively. If your instructor is a regular FAA weight person you can do it. They fly fine and are cheap. From a 150 to a 172 its not much of a change. A little faster everywhere and you sit up a bit more. that's about it.

Either will be fine as a base to learn on for future flying.
 
OkieAviator said:
The ones who picked the 152 did so mainly on the cost factor. One guy mentioned less instruments, but not sure what he was referring to... I guess maybe a single vs dual Nav/Com setup.
Click to expand...

I did my instrument training and checkride in N4655X, which is TWE's C150 (yes, I was being cheap. It had a single G430, which was fun for identifying fixes at intersections, but it is what it is! Besides a couple minor gripes, I had no problems with the school and would have no problems going back.

That being said, don't let your instructor do stupid things. I had to dodge one of their aircraft when one of their instructors wasn't paying attention and almost hit us while we were entering a hold (and speaking to ATC) during VMC practice approaches.
 
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