I have been following these discussions in the past so please forgive me for the repeat post.

I'm looking for some updated information regarding where to start flight training. I plan on following it through to my multi and instrument ratings and I'd like to stay with one school.

I work downtown Toronto and would like to start at the island airport. I know there are two schools, Canadian Flyers and Island Air. Any RECENT advice on which one would be best suited for someone set on a career as a pilot? I have heard some good instructors left island air recently, is there anyone left at either school for the long term?

Also does it matter what kind of airplane i do my multi and instrument ratings on? The two schools have different planes and I wonder if it makes a difference down the road.

Any advice would be a great help, Im finally in a financial position to start this training and i'd like to jump in as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Why don't you go to Toronto Airways at YKZ?

I work/live downtown the island is too easy to go somewhere else.

Does anyone really like the don valley at 430pm anyways

In that case, you have to go to YTZ. I have been to both schools and they are about the same. The maintenance at Island Air (when I was there) was really good, not sure how things are now. As for Canadian Flyers, I used to rent out of Markham, so I don't know what's the situation like down at the island base, go check them out.

Either way, not a lot to choose from. So, your best bet is to find yourself a great instructor, do your homework and the rest will take care of itself. At the end, no matter where you end up, you will come out with a licence to learn. DON'T FORGET THAT.

Good luck

T01

I did my PPL training out of CYTZ and enjoyed the experience. Like you I lived and worked right downtown so it made sense to fly out of the island. There's enough traffic to make it interesting for student pilots and even though the practice area (IIRC about 10-15 minutes out and back on average) is not the most convenient you can do some exercises during the transition.

As for flight schools, I've used Island Air and what used to be known as ATI before it went bust (now the site of Canadian Flyers). As Tango1 pointed out the maintenance at Island Air is pretty good (which counts for a lot as far as I'm concerned). I too rented from Canadian Flyers at Markham and I thought they were okay at the time.

The only downside of YTZ is the expense. Flying out of the island is probably one of the the more expensive training venues in the country, but if you can take public transport you at least save yourself from the hassle and expense of driving (I'm told that the ferry is now free which used to be another annoying cost).

Visit each school and find an instructor you're comfortable with (that's the most important thing), and keep in mind that there are fuel surcharges at Island Air which bumps up the hourly cost (or they used to).

Have fun, cheers

flttrgadvice wrote: Also does it matter what kind of airplane i do my multi and instrument ratings on? The two schools have different planes and I wonder if it makes a difference down the road.

Any advice would be a great help, Im finally in a financial position to start this training and i'd like to jump in as soon as possible.

Thanks!

I know very little about either school, other than i've been offered a job at Island Air and am checking it out tomorrow. As to your question about the twins, the seminole is a very popular multi trainer but that tends to be the only place you will see one, where as an aztec or a Seneca might be your first job. Now technically it doesn't matter what you do your ride on, but the Aztec and Seneca are heavier planes and handle as such, and in my opinion are a better plane the seminole is still fairly light and handles like a light aircraft, and as stated you wont find a job on a seminole (unless you instruct) where as an aztec or a seneca are fairly popular charter craft. My 2 cents.

Any "advantage" by training on the Aztec is only in your head, or that of the person selling it to you. If you really believe that, then why not do your PPL on a 185 or a 206? The reason is that they're "close enough" that there's really no appreciable difference except to your bank account.

It's like the ad I saw for Skydive Toronto at CYQA... "We use the 182*, which is the 'heavy aircraft' future employees are looking for!"

* - It may have been a 185, I'm not sure, but my point still stands.

I can't really speak to the quality of the schools though, as I only worked at the Island and never trained at either school.

Go to Island Air.