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I'm going to ignore the flaming back and forth about what constitutes spam
or not and do what one poster suggests and actually post my experience. I also did my multi engine training at Clyde's place at Redbird Dallas in about year 2001, and went there on the recommendation from a couple of now professional pilot friends who had done so. I live about a 2 hour drive from Clyde's. My experiences told here are from 2001 so things may have changed. A little background.... I'm an engineer, a self motivated & self training type, and didn't have a lot of time or money to burn. I would rather self study as much as I can, and I think this was my key to success at Multi-Clydes. I like to think I have a natural ability towards airplanes and things aeronautical and technical, so it comes easy to me, and I realize that's not true for everyone. I had already done some studying from a multi textbook before I got to the course, and was instrument current and proficient. My objective was just to get the rating and multi knowledge, not become the world's greatest multi engine pilot during the course. This is because I was going to be flying part time as a copilot on a couple of multi engine corporate aircraft. I needed the rating to fly, but my real training was going to come from flying with the corporate pilot who was also an active instructor. This objective of "just get the rating" was another factor in selecting Clyde. It's true that Clyde's guarantees you'll get a multi rating. You get ground school, 3 dual instructional flights, then you take the checkride. Clyde is a one time fee of $895 and they'll keep instructing and flying you until you pass the checkride. The checkride fee goes to the examiner so if you don't pass the first time you get to keep paying him $300 for every checkride until you do. I got to Clyde's on Friday morning, and handed $900 to him. They only take cash. He sticks the wad of cash in his pocket, hands me back a $5 bill and says to pick up this material on the table and report to the classroom. The facilities are functional, not especially nice, but appropriate for the money I paid. There are probably 8 other guys there that morning in various stages of training. Not one of them was from the local area or even Texas and I started asking them what brought them here. They all said it was the low price. It was cheaper to get on an airline, pay for a hotel, and come here to take this class than any other option. Wow - this really surprised me. The instructors were a mixed bag, as expected. Some liked to teach and were there to teach, some were ****ed they had to stoop this low after being furloughed, some were a wealth of knowledge and experience, some I had to help during ground school. You generally had different instructors each time you were in the classroom or in the airplane. The classroom material was correct, understandable, useful, but low tech. No computers or 3D animations of asymetric engine thrust. The planes were all BE95 Travel Airs. I think they had 3 of them. These planes were old 3 decades ago, but they flew reliably while I was there. Clyde had a mechanic working there full time keeping them going. Flying usually included one or more students in back watching and listening to the poor slob in the left seat try to keep the dirty side up and the dirtier side down. I was pleased with the instructors I drew for my 3 dual flights and learned a lot on each one. Since I lived not too far away I was familiar with the airports, airspace, and landmarks, and that helped me focus on flying the airplane. Since I was already instrument rated like most of the students, my 3rd flight included hood work and a single engine approach. The Travel Air was really easy to fly and land and I figured the equipment was ok for what I was paying. It was simultaneously very cool and very strange flying around with one prop not turning ! It was also fun to restart it by nosing over to 150 MPH to get it windmilling. As you progress through your flights and classroom time over 3-4 days, you get to know the other guys. Some are just arriving, others are prepping for their checkride. What surprised me was how most of them were very nervous about their checkride, and were basically cramming like it was final exams. I realized this was for good reason as I estimate one third to one half of them failed their first checkride. With everybody around me nervous about it, and the high failure rate, I got nervous too. I've got a whole 3.4 hours of multi engine time in my logbook in the last 3 days and I'm supposed to be ready for a checkride ? For most of the guys the extra $300 for a second checkride and the additional night hotel and expenses really hurt. Everybody who failed the first ride passed the second one. My oral exam and checkride went real smooth. I walked out of Clydes with 5.2 hours of multi time and about $1100 poorer. I think overall it was good training for the money, and believe it was a success for me only because I came prepared. I wasn't ready to go launching off multi engine IFR solo, but I was very ready to begin my copilot checkout and training process on the Seneca with the corporate pilot, and so in that sense my Clyde experience was exactly what I needed. You can begin to appreciate why FBOs require 25 hours in type in multi engine rentals before you're allowed to rent solo. Single engine workload gets big real quick and you've really got to be proficient to stay ahead of the airplane, especially IFR. If you walk out of Clydes with 5 or 6 hours multi, you need to be aware that its just a license to learn. |
#2
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![]() "Henry" wrote in message news ![]() I'm going to ignore the flaming back and forth about what constitutes spam or not and do what one poster suggests and actually post my experience. I also did my multi engine training at Clyde's place at Redbird Dallas in about year 2001, and went there on the recommendation from a couple of now professional pilot friends who had done so. I live about a 2 hour drive from Clyde's. My experiences told here are from 2001 so things may have changed. A little background.... I'm an engineer, a self motivated & self training type, and didn't have a lot of time or money to burn. I would rather self study as much as I can, and I think this was my key to success at Multi-Clydes. I like to think I have a natural ability towards airplanes and things aeronautical and technical, so it comes easy to me, and I realize that's not true for everyone. I had already done some studying from a multi textbook before I got to the course, and was instrument current and proficient. My objective was just to get the rating and multi knowledge, not become the world's greatest multi engine pilot during the course. This is because I was going to be flying part time as a copilot on a couple of multi engine corporate aircraft. I needed the rating to fly, but my real training was going to come from flying with the corporate pilot who was also an active instructor. This objective of "just get the rating" was another factor in selecting Clyde. It's true that Clyde's guarantees you'll get a multi rating. You get ground school, 3 dual instructional flights, then you take the checkride. Clyde is a one time fee of $895 and they'll keep instructing and flying you until you pass the checkride. The checkride fee goes to the examiner so if you don't pass the first time you get to keep paying him $300 for every checkride until you do. 1st check ride is $300 recheck is $150 I got to Clyde's on Friday morning, and handed $900 to him. They only take cash. He sticks the wad of cash in his pocket, hands me back a $5 bill and says to pick up this material on the table and report to the classroom. The facilities are functional, not especially nice, but appropriate for the money I paid. There are probably 8 other guys there that morning in various stages of training. Not one of them was from the local area or even Texas and I started asking them what brought them here. They all said it was the low price. It was cheaper to get on an airline, pay for a hotel, and come here to take this class than any other option. Wow - this really surprised me. Clyde will take a Credit Card! "Examiner Takes Cash Only" And it is true about the costs I finished up total expences for just about $2,100 USD Including food. |
#3
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Henry wrote:
snip and do what one poster suggests and actually post my experience. An excellent read. Thanks for posting. -- Peter |
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