Choosing a Flight School

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Big Pistons Forever
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Choosing a Flight School

Post by Big Pistons Forever »

I was browsing the AOPA site and came across what I think is a good article on picking a flight school. Of note I have lightly edited it to remove some references that are only specific to flight training conducted in the USA.

I would also like to point out that the AOPA web site has excellent free to all content in their flight safety section.

Article is below:



Take a Firsthand Look—It's Your Money
If you do nothing else in your flight school search—visit the school!

Your first contact will likely be an admissions officer or the chief flight instructor. Listen closely and ask questions about everything. Don't be shy. If you don't understand something, ask! During your tour, ensure that no area is left unvisited, from administrative offices to the maintenance area.

Interview the school's chief flight instructor or his or her assistant.

Some questions to ask:

Are progressive flight-checks given? (These checks evaluate your progress during the pilot training program.)
What's the instructor-to-student ratio? (Generally speaking, an instructor can adequately educate four of five full-time students, or 10 or more part-timers, depending on their schedules.)
Who schedules flying lessons, and how is it done?
What are the insurance requirements of the school, and how do its liability and collision policies work? Will you be responsible for a deductible, and how much is that deductible in the event of a loss? What is your coverage as a student pilot?
Who keeps your records? (This is important because poor documentation can cause you to repeat training.)
What happens when weather or maintenance problems cancel a flying lesson? Who's responsible for rescheduling lessons and reporting maintenance problems?
After the official tour, get away by yourself and talk to other students in flight training. Ask them to rate the training's quality and explain what problems they've had, if any, and how they were dealt with.


Don't Overlook Aviation Ground School
Learning to fly requires that you obtain the ability to manipulate the controls of the airplane and make it perform certain maneuvers. However, there is another aspect of learning to fly, and that is the academic knowledge required to understand how, where, and when to fly safely. This is accomplished in aviation ground school.

Ground school takes two basic forms: an instructor teaching a scheduled class or a self-paced, home-study program using video or audio tapes and/or a computer-based program.

Which is better depends on you. If you're a self-disciplined self-starter, the self-paced video programs can't be beat. You can "attend" ground school on your schedule and review the tapes as needed. If you need the discipline of the classroom, well, the choice is obvious. Perhaps the best option is a combination of the two. Many flight schools have a traditional classroom ground school and a resource room that contains self-paced materials for additional study.

Many local community colleges or independent ground schools are also an option. Although technically not part of ground school, instrument ground trainers (or flight simulators) are being used by a number of schools in primary training, and they are a real benefit in instrument training.



The Training Airplane
The training airplane is where you practice in the air what you've learned on the ground. High wing or low, it doesn't make much difference. What's important is how well the airplane is equipped and maintained. It's also important that the school's trainers are dedicated to pilot training and not to airplane rental.

How many training airplanes a school has depends on the number of active students. Generally speaking, one trainer serves four or five full-time students. This ratio may be higher with part-time students. Another consideration is the training fleet's mix of primary, advanced, and multiengine airplanes.

Because trainers are flown often and sometimes hard, how a flight school maintains its training fleet is important for both safety and scheduling. Asking questions about maintenance policies and procedures should be part of every school interview.

Flight School Instructors
A good flight instructor is important because your life will depend on what he or she teaches you. Don't hesitate to ask questions about the training and experience of the flight instructors. You might ask what the average flight time is and what the pass/fail rate is among the instructors. (A pass rate of 100 percent doesn't indicate good instruction.) You might also talk to some of the other students at the school to ask about their flight instructors.


A good way to get acquainted with your flight instructor is to take an introductory flying lesson (not just a demonstration ride). During your lesson, assess your instructor's attitude. Only you can determine what personality best fits yours, but you want an instructor who expects perfection, who will work with you until it's achieved, and who cares about you as a person as well as a student.

Cost
Compared with most of your current activities, learning to fly and earning your pilot license may be expensive. But remember, you're investing in your education, in skills that will open new worlds and opportunities. Flying is an activity of purpose, productivity, and pleasure. It's also a never-ending learning process and as with all education, your initial pilot training provides the foundation for all that will follow.

Looking at the bottom line, you'll notice that, adjusting for location and differences in training programs, flight schools more or less charge about the same. Only you can determine if what you get for your money is fair. As with any other major purchase, if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.

When comparing costs, make sure you're comparing "apples with apples." Some flight schools base their prices on the regulatory minimum-time requirements for each license or rating. Others base their prices on a more realistic figure that's the average of what their students accomplish. Some include books and supplies, aviation ground school, flight testing, and written examination fees. Others don't. In other words, read the fine print, and ensure you're making a comparison of equals!

Some schools guarantee their training — that you'll earn your certificate for a fixed price no matter how long it takes. Read the fine print carefully, because many of these guarantees expire after so many flight hours. If you haven't achieved your goal in this time, the school will still train you, but you'll have to pay for the flight training that takes place above the guarantee's ceiling.

Also inquire about refunds. Some flight schools require that you pay for part or all of your pilot training in advance, which prevents you from training and running before the bills are paid. But if you must stop training for some reason, you should know if and how much of your money will be refunded.

Unless your flight instructor's fees are part of a "package price" program, know how you are charged for his or her educational services, and how much you're charged for aircraft rental. Aircraft rental and the instructor time are usually charged by the Hobbs meter, which is a timing device activated by oil pressure. If the engine is running, so is the meter. Even if you're sitting on the ground, you're still charged for it.

Also learn if the instructor is paid for pre- and post-flight briefings in addition to flight time. These are crucial parts of every flying lesson, and if the instructor is not paid for them, you may get abbreviated briefings before you start the engine, and then get the rest of the briefing while the airplane engine and the meter are running.

There's an old saying that says, "Time is money." In your research, make sure that you're getting the best quality training for your dollar.

The Final Flight Training Decision
What flight school you ultimately choose depends on the quality flight training you desire in a method convenient to your schedule. In earning your private pilot's license you will have achieved a "license" to learn. Aviation is an ever-changing activity, and good pilots are always learning.

Perhaps the final deciding factor between several schools that are running in a dead heat is personality. Like people, flight schools have personalities. Some are deadly serious, while others are more familial in nature. Only you can select the one that matches your personality.

A Checklist for Choosing a Good Flight School

Determine your aviation goals. Are you learning to fly for fun or do you plan to pursue a career?
Compile a list of schools to examine, and request literature from each. Review material from each school and answer the questions outlined earlier here.
Once you've done your "homework," visit the final two or three schools that pass the test. Ask questions and get a feel for the personalities of the schools. Ask specific questions and insist on specific answers. Talk to other students and flight instructors.
Once you've decided on a school, be sure a written agreement outlines the payment procedures.
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