Starting new info site need info from the pros

[MRQB]

Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of questions
here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.

It will take time for me to complete the site http://www.columbusnd.com/p/
is its tempemporary home ( not functioning yet ).

i need advice to see if i am missing anything or if i should add or remove
anything

If its a bad idea and you think i should just forget about building the page
let me know. Thanks a bunch.

Flamers will not be responded to.

[David H]

MRQB wrote:

> Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of questions
> here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.
>
> It will take time for me to complete the site http://www.columbusnd.com/p/
> is its tempemporary home ( not functioning yet ).
>
> i need advice to see if i am missing anything or if i should add or remove
> anything
>
> If its a bad idea and you think i should just forget about building the page
> let me know. Thanks a bunch.

I don't necessarily think this is a bad idea, but I think your emphasis is in
the wrong place.

The time-to-solo and time-to-private numbers and costs are pretty meaningless
at best. Is that really what's important to you? If it is, I think some
introspection might be called for.

Here's the problem: you can't easily quantify what *is* important: the QUALITY
of instruction. It may be hard to believe right now, especially for students,
but after you've got your ticket you really are not going to care one bit if
you soloed after 10 hours or 100. After a few years of flying you won't have
much recollection of how much it cost you (because it won't matter to you).

I would suggest that you allow visitors to rate the quality of instruction (and
other servicves, for that matter: mechanics, rental,, etc.) - the way you have
(with a "grade", or a simple one-to-five stars or airplanes or whatever symbols
you like), and provide a place for brief comments. I think you also need to
provide a way/place for those who have been "rated" to respond (defending
themselves against unfair charges or thanking someone for nice comments).

Of course, somebody's going to warn against getting sued, but I don't think
there's any basis for that (but hey, I ain't no lawyer!) since the website is
merely allowing others to post their opinions and you can't be held responsible
for that.

Good luck. Hope that helps,

David H
Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying forum:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying

[Rick Glasser]

I also agree with David regarding the emphasis on time and cost. Too
many factors influence the time-to-solo or time-to-ticket -- weather,
amount of time commitment from the student, age of student, learning
ability, etc. Cost can be influenced by choice of aircraft, local costs
for fuel, insurance, airport fees, etc.

It gets to be kind of a ****ing contest to see who can get their ticket
faster, get the most hours, fly the biggest plane. I always told my
instructors that I wanted to get the ticket, but I also wanted to enjoy
flying. I took longer than average to solo, about average to PPL, and
shorter than most to Instrument -- doesn't mean anything to anyone but me.

I would rate schools on the quality of the instructors, facilities,
curriculum, fleet, ease of scheduling and general impression of school.

David H wrote:

> MRQB wrote:
>
>
>>Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of questions
>>here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.
>>
>>It will take time for me to complete the site http://www.columbusnd.com/p/
>>is its tempemporary home ( not functioning yet ).
>>
>>i need advice to see if i am missing anything or if i should add or remove
>>anything
>>
>>If its a bad idea and you think i should just forget about building the page
>>let me know. Thanks a bunch.
>>
>
> I don't necessarily think this is a bad idea, but I think your emphasis is in
> the wrong place.
>
> The time-to-solo and time-to-private numbers and costs are pretty meaningless
> at best. Is that really what's important to you? If it is, I think some
> introspection might be called for.
>
> Here's the problem: you can't easily quantify what *is* important: the QUALITY
> of instruction. It may be hard to believe right now, especially for students,
> but after you've got your ticket you really are not going to care one bit if
> you soloed after 10 hours or 100. After a few years of flying you won't have
> much recollection of how much it cost you (because it won't matter to you).
>
> I would suggest that you allow visitors to rate the quality of instruction (and
> other servicves, for that matter: mechanics, rental,, etc.) - the way you have
> (with a "grade", or a simple one-to-five stars or airplanes or whatever symbols
> you like), and provide a place for brief comments. I think you also need to
> provide a way/place for those who have been "rated" to respond (defending
> themselves against unfair charges or thanking someone for nice comments).
>
> Of course, somebody's going to warn against getting sued, but I don't think
> there's any basis for that (but hey, I ain't no lawyer!) since the website is
> merely allowing others to post their opinions and you can't be held responsible
> for that.
>
> Good luck. Hope that helps,
>
> David H
> Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying forum:
> http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying
>
>


--
Rick Glasser
Leesburg, VA (KJYO)
PPL-ASEL-IA

[tony roberts]

> Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of questions
> here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.

I agree with the opinions expressed by David and Rick.
David has a site which is very good. You will find several people from
the rec groups frequent it and it may be that you can achieve what you
want to achieve as a member there.
The address is:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying

Also, if you are looking for your own site, you can start one free on
Smartgroups.

HTH
--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Almost Instrument :)
Cessna 172H C-GICE

[MRQB]

I have plenty of domain names to start a site i am just getting input on
what type of data i should be collecting. I kinda want it so that someone
can put their flight conditions and the data base will display an average in
their area + be able to check on instructor and flight school ratings. I may
ditch the entire idea but it may work to give a generality of what's out
there. i may just do instructor and flight school ratings + time to solo
only not 100% sure.


"tony roberts" > wrote in message
news:nospam-6DBDD0.20554303012004@shawnews...
> > Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of
questions
> > here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.
>
> I agree with the opinions expressed by David and Rick.
> David has a site which is very good. You will find several people from
> the rec groups frequent it and it may be that you can achieve what you
> want to achieve as a member there.
> The address is:
> http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying
>
> Also, if you are looking for your own site, you can start one free on
> Smartgroups.
>
> HTH
> --
>
> Tony Roberts
> PP-ASEL
> VFR OTT
> Night
> Almost Instrument :)
> Cessna 172H C-GICE

[MRQB]

Thanks Rick & David

"Rick Glasser" > wrote in message
...
> I also agree with David regarding the emphasis on time and cost. Too
> many factors influence the time-to-solo or time-to-ticket -- weather,
> amount of time commitment from the student, age of student, learning
> ability, etc. Cost can be influenced by choice of aircraft, local costs
> for fuel, insurance, airport fees, etc.
>
> It gets to be kind of a ****ing contest to see who can get their ticket
> faster, get the most hours, fly the biggest plane. I always told my
> instructors that I wanted to get the ticket, but I also wanted to enjoy
> flying. I took longer than average to solo, about average to PPL, and
> shorter than most to Instrument -- doesn't mean anything to anyone but me.
>
> I would rate schools on the quality of the instructors, facilities,
> curriculum, fleet, ease of scheduling and general impression of school.
>
> David H wrote:
>
> > MRQB wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of
questions
> >>here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.
> >>
> >>It will take time for me to complete the site
http://www.columbusnd.com/p/
> >>is its tempemporary home ( not functioning yet ).
> >>
> >>i need advice to see if i am missing anything or if i should add or
remove
> >>anything
> >>
> >>If its a bad idea and you think i should just forget about building the
page
> >>let me know. Thanks a bunch.
> >>
> >
> > I don't necessarily think this is a bad idea, but I think your emphasis
is in
> > the wrong place.
> >
> > The time-to-solo and time-to-private numbers and costs are pretty
meaningless
> > at best. Is that really what's important to you? If it is, I think
some
> > introspection might be called for.
> >
> > Here's the problem: you can't easily quantify what *is* important: the
QUALITY
> > of instruction. It may be hard to believe right now, especially for
students,
> > but after you've got your ticket you really are not going to care one
bit if
> > you soloed after 10 hours or 100. After a few years of flying you won't
have
> > much recollection of how much it cost you (because it won't matter to
you).
> >
> > I would suggest that you allow visitors to rate the quality of
instruction (and
> > other servicves, for that matter: mechanics, rental,, etc.) - the way
you have
> > (with a "grade", or a simple one-to-five stars or airplanes or whatever
symbols
> > you like), and provide a place for brief comments. I think you also
need to
> > provide a way/place for those who have been "rated" to respond
(defending
> > themselves against unfair charges or thanking someone for nice
comments).
> >
> > Of course, somebody's going to warn against getting sued, but I don't
think
> > there's any basis for that (but hey, I ain't no lawyer!) since the
website is
> > merely allowing others to post their opinions and you can't be held
responsible
> > for that.
> >
> > Good luck. Hope that helps,
> >
> > David H
> > Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
> > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> > Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying forum:
> > http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Rick Glasser
> Leesburg, VA (KJYO)
> PPL-ASEL-IA
>

[David H]

I think the general idea has merit - i.e. a site that collects opinions,
experiences and "customer ratings" on flight instruction and other services.
In fact, I'd love to see something like this for aviation services (to some
extent, this sort of thing exists in a very limited way on airnav.com, hundred
dollar hamburger.com, etc). Of course, it would need to be used with plenty of
caveats: the internet being what it is, the quality of the information will
vary tremendously, but I think it still could work - initially it would be of
little use, but if it kept going long enough, eventually a critical mass of
information could be built up. And I'd like to see it used for more than just
for CFIs: how about mechanics, FBOs, etc. For inspiration, look at the Hundred
Dollar Hamburger website, look at Amazon.com, things like e-pinions.com - all
places where uses have the ability to give their opinion on something. It
would be an ambitious project, but you could start small with just flight
training, then add other things (the voice of experience here suggest you make
your initial version expandable with an eye towards the future).

My point is that the emphasis should not be on how fast and cheaply you reach
various milestones (trust me, you really won't care about that in a little
while - especially when you start sweating in some situation!); the emphasis
should be on *quality*, which although more difficult to quantify in raw
numbers, it *is* possible to gather and present this kind of info.

Good luck with the project and keep us posted on your progress.

(And thanks for the plug Tony!)

David H
Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying forum:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying

MRQB wrote:

> I have plenty of domain names to start a site i am just getting input on
> what type of data i should be collecting. I kinda want it so that someone
> can put their flight conditions and the data base will display an average in
> their area + be able to check on instructor and flight school ratings. I may
> ditch the entire idea but it may work to give a generality of what's out
> there. i may just do instructor and flight school ratings + time to solo
> only not 100% sure.
>
> "tony roberts" > wrote in message
> news:nospam-6DBDD0.20554303012004@shawnews...
> > > Hello, i am starting a new info site that may help with a lot of
> questions
> > > here and may help in people chousing a flight instructor.
> >
> > I agree with the opinions expressed by David and Rick.
> > David has a site which is very good. You will find several people from
> > the rec groups frequent it and it may be that you can achieve what you
> > want to achieve as a member there.
> > The address is:
> > http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying
> >
> > Also, if you are looking for your own site, you can start one free on
> > Smartgroups.
> >
> > HTH
> > --
> >
> > Tony Roberts
> > PP-ASEL
> > VFR OTT
> > Night
> > Almost Instrument :)
> > Cessna 172H C-GICE

[C J Campbell]

I would not only drop the time to solo block, but also the trainer N-number.
Students often fly several different aircraft or even types of aircraft
before they get their ticket. Now, what you might do, is if you made it a
kind of electronic log book where students could enter each flight, or
perhaps a group of flights, then they could enter what plane they flew in
for each flight.

If you did that, you would be able to show time to completion automatically,
perhaps as a graph. Other useful information would be number of canceled
flights due to maintenance, weather, or the instructor cancelling. The
amount of night and actual and simulated IFR would be interesting, too,
along with cross country and time as PIC, score on the written test, and
whether you passed the check ride each time.

I would also like to see what syllabus is used -- Jeppesen, Sporty's,
Cessna, King, ASA, or whatever, and whether the same syllabus was used for
both ground and flight training. Another thing, is this a part 61 or part
141 school, and what did the student do there? I believe the age of the
student and of the instructor also have a bearing.

And if you end up keeping the aircraft information, maybe something on the
age of the aircraft, whether it had an ADF, DME or GPS, etc. As long as I am
asking for all this stuff, how about information on the student's prior
flight experience, whether he has other family members that fly, and whether
he owns the airplane he learned in, as well as the student's aviation goals.

Since a lot of students end up having more than one instructor, how about
information on time flown with each instructor? How much of the time was
spent on stage/progress checks? Did the student attend more than one flight
school? Did he spend 100 hours making no progress, finally switch to a good
instructor, and then will he tag the good instructor on your database with
70 hours to solo, 110 hours to completion?

Now, you did ask for training airspace, which I assume to mean the airspace
of the home airport, but a lot of airports are very constricted and you
might have to transit more restrictive airspace on every flight. OTOH, you
might fly out of some class C airport, but do little or no work there -- all
of your training is actually done at a nearby class G field. Elevation of
the training airport would be interesting, too. Actually, I would like to
see the name of the training airport.

Also, it is one thing to write your instructor certificate number in
somebody's logbook, where not many people will bother to look at it. It is
quite another to post somebody's SSN your web site. Yes, I know that you can
get a different number, but a lot of instructors have not done that or else
they have older students who have the old number.

Anyway, that is a start of what I can think of for now. If I come up with
any other comments I will let you know.