IFR Training in Edmonton

[llhots]

Hi everyone,

Although I am new to posting, I've been lurking in these forums for several years now.
I am a private pilot with just under 200 hours and am interested in doing my IFR training. I am doing this out of personal interest and to become a better and more informed pilot. I did my PPL two years ago in Montreal at a great school and I want to make sure I can once again select a school that is good for me.

I now have moved to Edmonton for a year assignment and would like to some insight into schools offering IFR in Edmonton.

I know in Montreal many of the IFR instructors also have their multi-rating and are building time towards their becoming commercial pilots and therefore it is rare to find IFR instructors who have experience flying IMC in a non-training environment. I also know that some schools in Montreal have some significant limits on what kind of training they can do IMC.

My personal goal is to become proficient in the IFR system, but also benefit from pilots who have experience in IMC, flying weather etc...

What are the best schools for an IFR ticket here in Edmonton?
Do any of you have any insight to share about limits to instruction or training regimes?
What about airports (City center vs Cooking lake)?

I have searched the forums and found a few good threads on Edmonton schools, but little on IFR here, so any info would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

[shamrock104]

I hope those IFR Instructors in Montreal are Commercial Pilots. How about the Edmonton flying Club?

[KnownIce]

Would be interested in hearing some suggestions as well either on the forum or by PM. I'm in roughly the same position as the OP, new to Edmonton, and thinking of doing some IFR training this summer, either renting or perhaps after buying (if I can find a hangar) / entering a partnership (if I can find a partner).

Though I have to say I'm not really sure how much I'd directly utilize the rating out here. Quite unexpectedly, this has been the nicest year of my life weather wise (from SW Ontario).

[5x5]

As with any flight training, it's best to talk with each potential school to get a feel for how it fits for you.

At City Centre there's the EFC mentioned above and also Centennial Flight Centre. Centennial's CFI has been around for along time and has established a solid IFR program. When you drop by there ask to speak with Joe and I'm sure he'll answer all your questions.

[loopa]

There are pro's and con's with both school's when it comes to the IFR training.

EFC is training you on a G1000, where even that being the future of aviation will certainly not reflect the type of machine I think you would be flying around if you are going to fly IFR anyway? Unless you have enough money to afford a plane equipped with the G1000.

At Centennial you train on a very early serial number Seneca 1 that from my knowledge has out of the last 10 months been online for only 3 of it. They were going through some maintenance, but that plane is so old that the last thing you would need is the plane being snagged for something the week before your ride and then you are poached. This happened to one of their students and that person had to go elsewhere to finish their multi ifr

Both schools do have more senior staff than their primary ifr instructor that can teach IFR, but considering they bonded the last instructor to stick around for a year teaching Multi-IFR at one of the schools you might be limited on who you chose to fly with *you can pm me for details on this subject*

Centennial however offers a killer ground school where you learn the operational side and decision making in the IFR flying. This ground school is going to take about 4 months though, so you might want to check in to see if they have already started it.

Personally, I would go to a school where they teach on steam gauges and offer GPS training (no need for G1000 break down) as well as a school that doesn't have a multi that at least in the last year has been renowned to being unreliable to train on because of the down times it has.

[Colonel Sanders]

they bonded the last instructor to stick around for a year teaching Multi-IFR at one of the schools

WTF?!

[loopa]

they bonded the last instructor to stick around for a year teaching Multi-IFR at one of the schools

WTF?!

It is true

[llhots]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Yes, all of the instructors who teach IFR in Montreal (and all instructors generally) all have their commercial license.
I'll check out Centennial and EFC. They both seem worth taking a look at.

It seems to me that for the IFR you need both a good instructor, as well as a good ground school. I'd also like to fly out of a school that actually spends some time teaching students in IMC.

That said, I agree about the G1000. I have mixed feelings training with a G1000 simply because I won't fly a plane that has one afterwards. Don't get me wrong, they are fantastic tools, but I'd rather learn on steam gauges with a good 430 or 530.

Still haven't heard anything about Cooking Lake. Would be curious to get a better idea.
Thanks!

[Tailwind W10]

I've done my PPL and night rating with Cooking Lake. They've got both G-1000 and steam C172s, all in good repair. They've also got a Piper Arrow and 2 Senecas. The twins appear to be swapping positions in maintenance and on-line, I suspect that's more administrative than any reflection on the condition of the airplanes.

I'm very happy with both ground and flight instruction, the guys are a pretty good group. Head instructor is Orville Hewitt, I think he's been instructing since the other Orville got it all started. Somewhat of a legend around here. They're not the least expensive FTU in the Edmonton area but I think they provide pretty good value, I'd recommend them to anyone.

Gerry

[Trematode]

For what it's worth, at EFC a large chunk of the IFR program would be undertaken in their simulator, which emulates a seminole for mifr, or a 172 with hsi for the single engine stuff -- both with "simulated" steam gauges and a garmin 430 for rnav. So you end up with plenty of time with standard gauges and then the glass/g1000 in the aircraft.