Riverside Flight Center-Tulsa, OK

A150K said:
Thanks! I've been doing some research on Tulsa and it doesn't seem too bad. Look's like it's about the size of Albuquerque give or take. I spoke to the director of operations, Robbie over the phone (he's the one who offered me the position and who I'll be calling tomorrow). Does that name ring a bell?
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Yeah Robbie is (Or was) the other chief instructor along with Landon. I rarely see him at the school anymore and it doesn't seem like he's flying quite as much as he used to, so I'm not entirely sure what his position/role is now, but he's a good guy. As far as the students, there's still quite a few Indians, people from various parts of Africa, getting some British people back again and there seems to be an increasing number of American students recently. Tulsa can be a fun town. I mean... again, I grew up here so I'll be a bit biased. But downtown has gotten a lot better like someone else said, and the bars and restaurants along Brookside are always a lot of fun. Okie girls aren't bad for the most part, just gotta know where to look. Although I will admit I went to the dark side... My girlfriend is a Texan. :eek:
 
Congrats man! There's a possibility I'll still be around although I've gonna have to be getting back to Norman around that time... So if I'm still there and I figure out who you are I'll be sure to say hey!
 
A150K said:
Well...I just took the position and will be there in two weeks. Look's like I'll be in the instrument program.
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Congrats!! I was involved with the instrument program a little and it was a very good program when I left. You probably won't get as much flight time as the other programs but when the weather is bad you can still be plugging away in the FTD's making some money while the others are standing around. While teaching instrument you will learn a lot of things that you will use for the rest of your career. Holding and full approaches will never be an issue. My absolute favorite part about the instrument program was never sending a student up solo :) Once again, congrats! Have fun get some experience and move on to the next step in your career, what ever that might be.
 
planejay said:
Congrats!! I was involved with the instrument program a little and it was a very good program when I left. You probably won't get as much flight time as the other programs but when the weather is bad you can still be plugging away in the FTD's making some money while the others are standing around. While teaching instrument you will learn a lot of things that you will use for the rest of your career. Holding and full approaches will never be an issue. My absolute favorite part about the instrument program was never sending a student up solo :) Once again, congrats! Have fun get some experience and move on to the next step in your career, what ever that might be.
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I have a feeling the lack of solo endorsements won't cause me to lose sleep at night lol I did plenty of that at my current gig and while it's rewarding, it's also nerve wracking as hell. Due to my light weight (150 lbs), they may also have me doing some time building XC's with students in the 152's on the side as well.
 
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moxiepilot said:
Tulsa grows on you. It's a good town. Heck, if it doesn't workout for you there you can always apply at spartan.
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I agree Tulsa grows on you. I lived there for almost 7 years. Everything south of Memorial Drive and 111th is pretty much brand new. New stores, entertainment, places to eat and whatnot. There are quite a few Tulsa pilots on this board. However, Spartan (flight side, not the mx side) is barely keeping their doors open. Unless they land a new training contract, my prediction is they won't be around much longer. I got lured in during the height of "Spartan is God's flight school, GO THERE!!!" and learned a lot of things the hard way. Thanks to message boards such as this, word got out about the questionable practices concerning financial aid and a number of other issues and the domestic market slowly dropped off. Last I heard, they had just shy of 40 students (there were <>500 students when I attended). Live in Broken Arrow, Jenks or south of the e/w portion of highway 169 (Sand Springs would be fine too). There are other nice parts but if it were me, I'd stay away of anything north of Riverside and 61st St. It's really bad right there with crime. Also, stay away from the NW of downtown area (ghetto). Maybe @chaser918 could add a bit to the conversation....
 
I had no idea Spartan was in such bad shape on the flight side. Guess the Chinese contract didn't work out in the long run...
 
I've been in Tulsa now for 9 years and really enjoy it. I too was lured here by Spartan and have not found a good enough reason to leave. I spent 2.5 years teaching in the instrument program at RFC and second what @planejay said about the value of the skills you will learn. For the most part RFC is a great place to work. Landon is a rock star and will be a great guy to work for. As far as where to live @Stomp16 nailed it. I live in Bixby and love it...although it is growing very fast. Hit me up when you get in town and I'll buy you a drink.
 
I lived in Tulsa for two and a half years, lived at 61st and Memorial (would not recommend at all) and then the University Club downtown. It was expensive for Tulsa but my girlfriend and I loved it there. Walking distance to Brookside, Cherry Street, and Downtown. Plus if you like to cycle or jog there is the Riverside Park system which is great. There are bad parts of town around there so you have to be kind of careful but a little street smarts goes a long way. The worst areas are north of downtown, between there and Tulsa International Airport.

I worked with a bunch of guys that had been at RFC and seemed to like it there, but that is about all I know about it.
 
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