Flight Training in Saskatoon through Mitchinson or Millennium?

[oneplus]

I see that there are 2 flight schools in Saskatoon.
1) Mitchinson Flight Centre
2) Millennium Aviation

I have done some research already but I want to get opinions from people who have been through them recently as brochures are just marketing. The previous posts on these are from many years ago.

My goal is to get a PPL with some ratings if needed. At this point in time, I am not looking to become a commercial pilot. It is just for pleasure. I have a full-time job so I am thinking I will be able to take 2 classes per week after 3 or 4 PM. The availability of the instructor so that I can complete the course as soon as possible is important. Additionally which place has newer/well-maintained airplanes. Should I even consider that?

Mitchinson
10k Cost estimate as per brochure
Ground school physical or online
Have to write Pstar exam before the flight
simulator available although I don't know if I need it
online booking of flights available
c152
felt more like a structured program with lots of students.

Millennium
8-15K Cost estimate as per brochure
ground school session is not structured. I can start whenever the next class is from whatever topic is running.
C150 and piper
Seemed laid back. Cecil seemed to be aligned with me in getting me through everything as fast as I am comfortable with provided instructors are available

what would you recommend?

Edit: Both places don't have the ground school open so, for now, I will just do online training through Harv and then decide on the school.
Does it matter how old the planes used for training are in deciding the school?

[Tips Up]

either school will get you where you need to be for the ppl and a few extra ratings. Mitchenson tends to be the busier but has options such as the sim- really not necessary for you at this point. Good pilots. Probably slightly more expensive.
Cecil one of the highest time instructor pilots anymore. over 50,000 flight hrs logged. Tons of stories and experience flying with the armed forces. But he is slowing down. Less busy school. For a basic ppl probably less expensive and a reasonable place to start off.
Visit both places and see what feel you get. Either is fine.

[oneplus]

either school will get you where you need to be for the ppl and a few extra ratings. Mitchenson tends to be the busier but has options such as the sim- really not necessary for you at this point. Good pilots. Probably slightly more expensive.
Cecil one of the highest time instructor pilots anymore. over 50,000 flight hrs logged. Tons of stories and experience flying with the armed forces. But he is slowing down. Less busy school. For a basic ppl probably less expensive and a reasonable place to start off.
Visit both places and see what feel you get. Either is fine.

I don't know if Cecil actually does training directly now especially for ppl. I thought they just have other instructors.

[NorthSask]

I didn’t train at either place, but have flown 172s at Mitchinson and in the Cherokee at Millennium. One thing to know- Millennium’s prices on their website are out of date. The last time I did a currency flight at Millennium was in April and they were charging $190/Hr for the Cherokee 140. That is more than Mitchinson charges for the 172. Millennium was also $5/hr more for instruction (or in some cases an almost-instructor) than MFC charges, or at least it was in April. I can’t speak to either’s 150/152 prices. But, don’t expect Millennium to cost less. The nice thing about MFC, IMO is the online booking and resources that are available. I like getting an email confirming that my flights are booked, it’s just what I became used to during my initial training and mistakes can happen. At least when you get an email, you can catch any discrepancies. Being able to download and study various documents before your flight is also very helpful and helps you get a lot more for your flying money, I believe. If I was training, those resources alone would probably make my decision very easy. Millennium is much slower, student wise, yet we’ve always gotten out way after my booked flight time, despite the fact that I have always shown up well before my booking time (last time we finally got going 40 mins after my booking time. I was the first flight of the day, but the plane wasn’t fuelled and the guy I was flying with, who wasn’t an instructor yet, didn’t show up until the time we should’ve been climbing in the plane). But even beyond that, everything just seems to happen very slowly around there, which probably shouldn’t be surprising at this point, I suppose. On the plus side, flying with Cecil to get checked out on the PA-28 was pretty cool, as was getting a chance to converse with him. But, all in all, I appreciated the professionalism and motivation at MFC. It is really busy, especially as people are going in and out between flights, which is not usually my style, but the fact that there are some young people with energy and who are motivated to keep on schedule really helps when you don’t have time to wait around for your plane and/or instructor to be ready.

[oneplus]

I didn’t train at either place, but have flown 172s at Mitchinson and in the Cherokee at Millennium. One thing to know- Millennium’s prices on their website are out of date. The last time I did a currency flight at Millennium was in April and they were charging $190/Hr for the Cherokee 140. That is more than Mitchinson charges for the 172. Millennium was also $5/hr more for instruction (or in some cases an almost-instructor) than MFC charges, or at least it was in April. I can’t speak to either’s 150/152 prices. But, don’t expect Millennium to cost less. The nice thing about MFC, IMO is the online booking and resources that are available. I like getting an email confirming that my flights are booked, it’s just what I became used to during my initial training and mistakes can happen. At least when you get an email, you can catch any discrepancies. Being able to download and study various documents before your flight is also very helpful and helps you get a lot more for your flying money, I believe. If I was training, those resources alone would probably make my decision very easy. Millennium is much slower, student wise, yet we’ve always gotten out way after my booked flight time, despite the fact that I have always shown up well before my booking time (last time we finally got going 40 mins after my booking time. I was the first flight of the day, but the plane wasn’t fuelled and the guy I was flying with, who wasn’t an instructor yet, didn’t show up until the time we should’ve been climbing in the plane). But even beyond that, everything just seems to happen very slowly around there, which probably shouldn’t be surprising at this point, I suppose. On the plus side, flying with Cecil to get checked out on the PA-28 was pretty cool, as was getting a chance to converse with him. But, all in all, I appreciated the professionalism and motivation at MFC. It is really busy, especially as people are going in and out between flights, which is not usually my style, but the fact that there are some young people with energy and who are motivated to keep on schedule really helps when you don’t have time to wait around for your plane and/or instructor to be ready.

Glad to know the insight on rates. One of the main attraction towards Millenium was the lower costs. I will verify before I decide.

The resources and customer service from MFC are attractive.

[trey kule]

50,000 flight hrs

Do the math!

The “revolving” enter when you want ground schools, are, in my opinion a waste. They are not optimized for learning.. Another “on demand” accommodation,

Ground school is often overlooked as unimportant, but in the greater scheme of your flying career it is ver very important. Convenience is good, but a well-laid out and presented course is best.

[jamesel]

trey kule said:
“50,000 flight hrs“
Do the math!

I think he might be a little high, likely only 45,000 or so.

The math is easy - 50,000 hours over 70 years = 714 hrs/year. Less than 2 hours a day.

The guy is 86 years old, soloed at 16, mostly charter & flight instruction after a short term commission in the RCAF. He never ever retired - no pension plan. He STARTED Millennium at the age of 66. When all you‘re making is roughly $30/ flight hour, you gotta make it up in volume.

There is some guy in the states who did pipeline patrol daily up into his 80‘s. Over 60,000 hours, mainly in Super Cubs.

We all have different paths, sometimes it‘s hard to make sense of how others got to where they are.

Most non-corporate pilots should be able to beat 50,000... just keep flying full time after 65 - it will happen eventually.
Personally, I’ve averaged 720+ Hours/year myself over the last couple decades, but I don‘t see myself maintaining that post-65.

[oneplus]

50,000 flight hrs

Do the math!

The “revolving” enter when you want ground schools, are, in my opinion a waste. They are not optimized for learning.. Another “on demand” accommodation,

Ground school is often overlooked as unimportant, but in the greater scheme of your flying career it is ver very important. Convenience is good, but a well-laid out and presented course is best.

without derailing the purpose of the thread, I guess you are saying Millennium revolving ground school is waste? What about online? https://www.pilottraining.ca/