Talk About A Rude Company,

NW_PILOT wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...

If there was an outfit that actually had a guarantee that they would
provide the extra hours necessary to complete the program without an
extra charge, they would have to charge all the students extra to cover
the occasional student that needed the extra time. I know of no
reputable flight school that offers such a guarantee. Free time in the
air doesn't exist, SOMEONE has to pay for it!!! Repeat the
aforementioned sentence until you believe it.

If you want to get your rating quickly, and it minimum hours, why don't
you go to Schelble's or some similar outfit that is geared towards
getting your through the program in minimum hours. Look for an outfit
that, when you arrive, they schedule your checkride. Downside is, you
have to pay room and board while you are there. The frustration factor
is lowered however and you get to compare yourself with other student's
(a humbling experience for many of us), because many of these schools
have a student ride in the backseat to observe (and learn).

Be aware that if you go this route, you will have to be prepared to
train YOURSELF to be a safe proficient IFR pilot, probably by setting
higher minimums on cloud decks and more stringent restrictions due to
weather for your first few hours in IMC. This is not bad advice for
most pilots coming out of training, anyway.



Thanks for your advice, I am not looking for the 2 week warrior type of
training but I may have to resort to that, I am just looking for an honest
company to deal with I would work locally if the fbo's were reasonable
priced for the quality and type of instruction I will be receiving and
aircraft I will be flying. I would like to be a competent & safe IFR pilot.

I don't know why you think that it is only your area that has bad FBOs
and poor flight instruction. There are good and bad everywhere, it
isn't localized to just your region. The reality is that there is very
little margin in flight instruction and airplane rental these days.
Most FBOs are working on the edge of bankruptcy and they have to be at
least as careful about their students as the students must be about
their instructors. It sounds to me that you come across, probably
unintentionally, as a "high maintenance" student who will only cause the
FBO grief later with your desire for guarantees. There are no
guarantees in life and certainly not in flight instruction. Almost all
of the guarantees have fine print with a number of exclusions.

I'd say quit looking for guarantees and look instead for a good flight
instructor and a decent aircraft. It is certainly OK to qualify the FBO
and instructor, but once you get to the 20th question and start asking
for guarantees, I don't blame them for writing you off as potential
trouble and hanging up. The best question to ask is for a list of their
references. Try to get the last 5 students (not just any 5 which allows
them to pick the happy ones only). This may not be possible due to
privacy concerns, but it is an easy question to ask and, if successful
in getting the list, saves having to ask 19 more questions and beginning
to raise the "high maintenance" red flag.


Matt