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