Try a intro lesson at each school you like, see what they do and how they
treat you. Do they talk over your head or down to you? Do you understand
what they are saying?

Is the private pilot your only goal, to fly for personal fun and perhaps
business transportation? Do you want to do aerobatics or learn to fly a
seaplane? Do you want to become an airline pilot and earn the "big bucks?"
[It isn't easy and the pay isn't great until you have a lot of experience.]

If you plan to get a commercial and go on to a career, pick Galvin, if you
just want to fly on nice days and take short trips, try AccuWings.

Find out how the instructors are paid, by the airplane hour, or by the
student hour? The airplane hour might sound cheaper since you only pay with
the engine running. But instructors have to eat and some have to feed a
family, so the engine will start before they start to teach, and that gets
expensive real fast and it isn't a good way to learn.

The kind of airplane, as long as it is well maintained, is not important,
the teaching ability and communications skills of the instructor and their
enthusiasm [which can make or break your enthusiasm] is most important.

Don't know your area, what I said is based on general principles and what
you and Bob said.


"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
|I instructed out of Boeing Field for 20 years and spent a lot of time at
| Renton, so maybe I can help. No one can say which school is "best,"
because
| the bottom line is the instructor-student relationship. It would be useful
| to know whether you plan to go Part 141 (more structured) or Part 61 (more
| free-form). Part 141 requires ground school; Part 61 could be resident
| ground school, home study, whatever...no specific requirement. The end
| result is the same. ..the certificate still says "Airplane - Single Engine
| Land."
|
| I don't know where you live, but of those listed, I would lean toward
| Pro-Flight IF you find an instructor you click with. Proximity of Sea-Tac
is
| irrelevant...the Sea-Tac airspace will have an impact on your training
| wherever you go. Becoming familiar with operations in and near Class B
| airspace will give you a huge advantage over someone whose instructor
shies
| away from congested airspace.
| Acuwings is new to me, but they have an impressive fleet according to
their
| website. If you can swing the finances, go there and train in the Cirrus.
|
| Galvin's is the 800-pound gorilla. Probably the best of the bunch insofar
as
| quality is concerned. They have been in the flight training business since
| before I got my private in 1962, and you don't survive in this business
| unless you provide a superior product. Don't be put off by taxi
| distances...that's a poor argument, and it would apply to Wings Aloft as
| well.
|
| Wings is a club, as you note, and that's a good thing. They have a lot of
| club-type activities...fly-outs, seminars, dances, parties, etc for those
| who are interested. Their planes are well-maintained and the whole
operation
| is polished. It's not Galvins, but then again Galvins is not a club.
|
| You quote someone at Pro-Flight as saying a two-weekend ground school is
| tough...try one weekend! Don't be fooled...the sole purpose of these
"ground
| schools" is to prepare you for the written exam, nothing more. Aviation
| Seminars, a traveling road show, simply goes through the questions on the
| exam (they are available to the public) and tells you why what they say is
| the correct answer is correct...very little depth...and they do it in one
| weekend. There are question-answer-explanation books that do the same
thing
| at your leisure. If you want to get more insight than that...and you
| should...both ASA, Gleim, and the Kings have DVD courses. Maybe Pro-Flight
| uses one of them. Go to The Aviator's Store on Boeing Field and look at
what
| is for sale.
|
| PremAir is not for you...it is aircrew training.
|
| The best advice that you got was from Acuwings....you have to have an
| instructor with whom you can communicate. Everything else is secondary.
|
| Bob Gardner
| "Chris L" wrote in message
| ...
| Hello, I know virtually nothing about flying, but am planning on
| getting a private flying license. I have already talked to a few of
| the schools in and around the Tukwila/Renton Washington area, and want
| to know which is the best all around school.
|
| (1) Pro-Flight Aviation Inc uses a relatively quiet airport (Renton),
| but it's still close to Sea-Tac International airport. It seems to be
| the most cost effective, has only 3 teachers, uses a DVD interactive
| course as the ground school, and one person has told me they are not
| very customer friendly. A person there said it's very very hard to
| learn ground school material in a cram 2 weekend course.
|
| I bought for $109.99 the "Virtual Test Prep an Aviation Ground School,
| Private 08 Pilot" to study and prepare for the airplane private pilot
| FAA Knowledge Exam by ASA. I also bought the book Guided Flight
| Discovery Private Pilot by Jeppesen, because the owner of the company
| said I would, basically, have to read certain sections.
|
| (2) Galvin Flying Service is expensive, has 25 trainers, but uses the
| busy (taxing time etc) Boeing airfield.
|
| (3) Acuwings is also uses the quiet Renton airport, says they're more
| customer friendly, will be "starting" a new/free ground training class
| in Jan, use old aircraft (80's), will teach me on a Tomahawk. A person
| there told me to learn from an instructor who I like.
|
| (4) Wings Aloft has 15 to 20 instructors, requires a membership, and I
| will call them back to talk to the right person.
|
| (5) PremAir is open Monday through Friday, but I have to call them
| back to see what they offer.
|
| (6) Northway Aviation is about an hour away, so it's too far to drive.
|
| It appears that I can get the license in about 6 months if I take
| lessons two to three times a week (Saturday, Sunday, Monday) for about
| an hour each time.
|
| So what should I do,
| Christopher Lusardi
|
| P.S.: It's all for fun and remotely work related. But, I can be able
| to pretend that I will to become an astronaut some day. [[:-))
|