Advice Requested

It's time to stop talking and start doing so I would appreciate any advice
on how to assess a flight school, instructor, pricing and any other
suggestions.

No advice too basic, trust me Including what I should have included in
this post or requested in the first place

TIA

Location: SW Florida/Bonita Springs
Objective: Flight for business (SE USA), travel between two homes
(Caribbean) and simple pleasure
My Age: mid 50s

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WJRFlyBoy wrote:
It's time to stop talking and start doing so I would appreciate any advice
on how to assess a flight school, instructor, pricing and any other
suggestions.

No advice too basic, trust me Including what I should have included in
this post or requested in the first place

TIA

Location: SW Florida/Bonita Springs
Objective: Flight for business (SE USA), travel between two homes
(Caribbean) and simple pleasure
My Age: mid 50s

The first thing you do is forget the posts that tell you "you are the
boss and the CFI is the employee". It doesn't work this way.
You are certainly entitled to a good flight instructor however, and
picking one out of the assortment available can be a daunting task.

The trick is to get the right one for YOU. This means a CFI who fits
well with your temperament and goals. Pick the right CFI and you will
enjoy every moment you spend learning to fly. Pick the wrong one and you
will be wasting time and money.

I always suggest doing some foot work before signing up at a flight
school. There are two things to consider; the operation itself, then the
individual CFI assigned to you within that organization. BOTH have to
meet your standards. If there is a weak link in this process, it can as
I say become quite time consuming and be an unenjoyable experience.

I suggest an informal visit to each operation you are considering. Just
show up, sit around, have a coffee and talk to people. See what
develops. Usually by doing this, you will end up getting a pretty fair
picture of who's who and what's what at that operation.

Some people like the organization of a full operation. Some like the
relaxed atmosphere of the small FBO. You have to decide which is best
for you individually.

As for the CFI; sit down and talk with each one you are considering.
It's always been my advice that if you don't feel an initial bonding and
camaraderie with a CFI on the first meeting it usually doesn't develop
later on. This again is your call.

ANY pressure....any at all, by a school or a CFI to sign up NOW should
be a red flag. Not all these situations are negative but enough are that
serious consideration should be the watchword.

The main thing is to do your own research on this issue. What you learn
from us on the forums will for the most part be from our own experience
and this may or may not apply to you and your specific situation.

Best of luck
DH

--
Dudley Henriques

Thanks, Dudley, especially the "talk and interview" approach, this makes
particular sense for me. I have until 1Q 2008 so time is on my side.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:53:52 -0500, Dudley Henriques wrote:

The first thing you do is forget the posts that tell you "you are the
boss and the CFI is the employee". It doesn't work this way.
You are certainly entitled to a good flight instructor however, and
picking one out of the assortment available can be a daunting task.

The trick is to get the right one for YOU. This means a CFI who fits
well with your temperament and goals. Pick the right CFI and you will
enjoy every moment you spend learning to fly. Pick the wrong one and you
will be wasting time and money.

I always suggest doing some foot work before signing up at a flight
school. There are two things to consider; the operation itself, then the
individual CFI assigned to you within that organization. BOTH have to
meet your standards. If there is a weak link in this process, it can as
I say become quite time consuming and be an unenjoyable experience.

I suggest an informal visit to each operation you are considering. Just
show up, sit around, have a coffee and talk to people. See what
develops. Usually by doing this, you will end up getting a pretty fair
picture of who's who and what's what at that operation.

Some people like the organization of a full operation. Some like the
relaxed atmosphere of the small FBO. You have to decide which is best
for you individually.

As for the CFI; sit down and talk with each one you are considering.
It's always been my advice that if you don't feel an initial bonding and
camaraderie with a CFI on the first meeting it usually doesn't develop
later on. This again is your call.

ANY pressure....any at all, by a school or a CFI to sign up NOW should
be a red flag. Not all these situations are negative but enough are that
serious consideration should be the watchword.

The main thing is to do your own research on this issue. What you learn
from us on the forums will for the most part be from our own experience
and this may or may not apply to you and your specific situation.

Best of luck
DH


--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

snipped excellent advice

Prior to getting off the ground, can you suggest an educational approach
(websites, written materials, etc) so to get ahead of the academic learning
curve?
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
snipped excellent advice

Prior to getting off the ground, can you suggest an educational approach
(websites, written materials, etc) so to get ahead of the academic learning
curve?

Consider taking a ground school now if one is available in your area. They
may be available at local flight schools and/or your local community college.
For a modest investment in money and time, you will not only learn valuable
information that will speed your later cockpit learning, you will also get a
chance to talk to many other students who will have already had experiences with
local flight schools and CFIs. It will also get you a signoff so you can go
ahead and get your written exam out of the way.

Vaughn

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:46:39 GMT, Vaughn Simon wrote:

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
snipped excellent advice

Prior to getting off the ground, can you suggest an educational approach
(websites, written materials, etc) so to get ahead of the academic learning
curve?

Consider taking a ground school now if one is available in your area. They
may be available at local flight schools and/or your local community college.
For a modest investment in money and time, you will not only learn valuable
information that will speed your later cockpit learning, you will also get a
chance to talk to many other students who will have already had experiences with
local flight schools and CFIs. It will also get you a signoff so you can go
ahead and get your written exam out of the way.

Vaughn

Yeah, ground school, good place to start before I crash and burn

Thanks, found a couple nearby.

http://tinyurl.com/3xtp48

http://www.beaveraviation.com/fl/flindex.htm

Vaughn, shows what good advice can lead to

http://0-atpl.blogspot.com/2006/01/hidden-costs.html

http://0-atpl.blogspot.com/2006/01/n...-to-leave.html

Don't know if that is the case with NaplesAC today but Caveat Emptor
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

WJRFlyBoy writes:
It's time to stop talking and start doing so I would appreciate any advice
on how to assess a flight school, instructor, pricing and any other
suggestions.

Things which helped me, and things which I wish I did:

- once you find an instructor or three which you like chatting with on
the ground, go for a demo flight with them. See if you like their
teaching style in the air. It is much easier to say to someone "I
decided to go with someone else" if they know you are just trying them
out and you have not yet committed to a single instructor.

- before starting your training, figure out your money. It really
sucks to reach solo, then have to stop flying for a while while you
save up for some more flight time, then have to redo a bunch of the
pre-solo work because your skills have become rusty and you have moved
to a new town. You are better off if you set aside $10-$15k up front
before starting your training. (If you are lucky, you won't have to
spend it all -- but may as well be prepared.)

- exceptional instructors are hard to come by (that's why they are
exceptions). Once you find one, you may find that their schedule is
really packed, so it is hard to get lessons scheduled with them. If
you tend to be busy too, make sure you choose an instructor who's
schedule is compatible with yours.

- if you can, try to fly twice a week (at least). Less than that and
you may start to get rusty between lessons, and it will take longer to
learn.

- try to find "mentors". If you can find someone in your area who
just got their certificate, they should be able to give you hints
about training in your area. It is good to know how often you should
expect lessons to be cancelled due to weather, how reliable certain
schools or instructors are, etc. You are most likely to get accurate
answers to your questions from someone who is not about to ask you for
lots of money. Also, someone who finished recently (or is still in
training) may have more immediately relevant information about schools
and instructors than someone who got their licence many years ago.

Chris

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:57:47 -0500, Christopher Brian Colohan wrote:

- if you can, try to fly twice a week (at least). Less than that and
you may start to get rusty between lessons, and it will take longer to
learn.

Is there such a thing as too often?

- try to find "mentors". If you can find someone in your area who
just got their certificate, they should be able to give you hints
about training in your area. It is good to know how often you should
expect lessons to be cancelled due to weather, how reliable certain
schools or instructors are, etc. You are most likely to get accurate
answers to your questions from someone who is not about to ask you for
lots of money. Also, someone who finished recently (or is still in
training) may have more immediately relevant information about schools
and instructors than someone who got their licence many years ago.

Chris

Chris, thanks, can you suggest the bst way to find these in-training or
just finished (or is this self-evident once you get to the airport(s) ?
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Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

There is no such thing as too often, BUT you must allow yourself time to
assimilate the new information/experience/knowledge, and to prepare for the
next lesson. Your instructor should debrief you after each lesson and
discuss with you what comes next...but you will escape the re-learning that
comes with flying infrequently.

The web is an invaluable resource. Use search engines to the utmost.

Nothing wrong with cross-posting to both the student and piloting
newsgroups, but you will soon see that the same folks frequent both. I
recommend that you join the AOPA and log onto their forum as well as
www.pilotsofamerica.com, www.purpleboard.net, and www.studentpilot.com. Lots
of friendly, helpful folks and a few jerks.

Bob Gardner

"WJRFlyBoy" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:57:47 -0500, Christopher Brian Colohan wrote:

- if you can, try to fly twice a week (at least). Less than that and
you may start to get rusty between lessons, and it will take longer to
learn.

Is there such a thing as too often?

- try to find "mentors". If you can find someone in your area who
just got their certificate, they should be able to give you hints
about training in your area. It is good to know how often you should
expect lessons to be cancelled due to weather, how reliable certain
schools or instructors are, etc. You are most likely to get accurate
answers to your questions from someone who is not about to ask you for
lots of money. Also, someone who finished recently (or is still in
training) may have more immediately relevant information about schools
and instructors than someone who got their licence many years ago.

Chris

Chris, thanks, can you suggest the bst way to find these in-training or
just finished (or is this self-evident once you get to the airport(s) ?
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:45:15 -0800, Bob Gardner wrote:

There is no such thing as too often, BUT you must allow yourself time to
assimilate the new information/experience/knowledge, and to prepare for the
next lesson. Your instructor should debrief you after each lesson and
discuss with you what comes next...but you will escape the re-learning that
comes with flying infrequently.

The web is an invaluable resource. Use search engines to the utmost.

Nothing wrong with cross-posting to both the student and piloting
newsgroups, but you will soon see that the same folks frequent both. I
recommend that you join the AOPA and log onto their forum as well as
www.pilotsofamerica.com, www.purpleboard.net, and www.studentpilot.com. Lots
of friendly, helpful folks and a few jerks.

Bob Gardner

Got your email, appreciate the time for this post and it as well. The Xpost
didn't accomplish much but I am so behind the learning curve, **** against
the wall kind of thing.

I thought it was especially enlightening when you pointed out the
educational possibilities today vs yesterday (pre 1980?). Sometimes I
forget this not so simple fact even though my business *is* the software
technologies sector.

Kudos.
--
Remove numbers for gmail and for God's sake it ain't "gee" either!