Best Flight School in DFW

mhcasey

mhcasey

Well-Known Member
Alright hopefully this doesn't cause a ruckus...

I just found out I'm going to have to spend the summer in DFW instead of Austin as planned. Thus, I am searching for the best place in the area to get my Commercial and CFI done in 3 months or less. Money is an issue...

Your thoughts?
 
www.Skymates.com at GKY

Give Ryan a shout... tell him "Bob" sent you and that for the referral, I'd like block rate for when I come to get re-current in the singles...

;)

Seriously though... good people over there.

Bob
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
Good Bob, so thought you were gonna advertise for the other team! ;)
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Don't know why you would think that... I've never just blatently said "the other team" is the best for everyone.

Based on what little info I got from what mhcasey provided above... DFW, Initial Commercial, CFI, time, & money... I know that 'mates is a better choice for him vs. "the other team".

However... there are like 50 flight schools in the area... I'm sure all have some positives... but... I say support the JC advertisers on this one. You know they will treat him right... otherwise he'll be back on here telliing everyone how bad it was... ;)

Bob
 
Captain_Bob said:
Don't know why you would think that... I've never just blatently said "the other team" is the best for everyone.

Based on what little info I got from what mhcasey provided above... Initial Commercial, CFI, time, & money... I know that 'mates is a better choice for him vs. "the other team".

Bob
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It's all good cap!
 
Where in DFW are you going to be? It's a big place.

I've never flown with Skymates, but I have visited there, and it's a solid operation from what I can tell. There are many JCers who have studied or instructed there with great results. I don't think you could go wrong there. The only downside to them, for me, is the distance from my house. KGKY is quite a trek for me from both work and home.

Monarch over at KADS also has a very good reputation. I *have* flown with them once and I enjoyed it - their staff seems very professional and their rates are comparable for the area. At least one other JCer I know of has worked with them and loves them. Their fleet is almost brand-new - I think they only have 2-3 aircraft that are not G1000-equipped.

The North Texas Flying Club out of KTKI has a good reputation as well - I've not visited them, but I have exchanged emails with a couple of their people and they seem like good folks. You have to join the club there - the fees aren't that bad, and they only charge for tach time rather than hobbs. That can save you time and money. But again, TKI is a trek from my place - about equidistant to Skymates for me, depending on traffic.
 
Check out Mesquite Aviation - I did my initial PPL training there. It's small, but it was by far the cheapest around. HQZ is a good place to fly, too - you can head out east and not be bothered with any class B traffic.
 
Sorry folks...I was half asleep when I made the original post and left out some details I guess. I live in Grapevine, which is just northwest of KDFW. My house is right under final approach for 13R.

The commute to skymates will be a huge pain, but I'll be willing to drive an hour or so...that will motivate me to show up prepared I guess.

Anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks to all replies thus far.
 
360 to I-20 to Collins St./GKY from Grapevine is only 20-30 mins as long as you don't do it during rush hour.

Bob
 
mhcasey said:
Sorry folks...I was half asleep when I made the original post and left out some details I guess. I live in Grapevine, which is just northwest of KDFW. My house is right under final approach for 13R.

The commute to skymates will be a huge pain, but I'll be willing to drive an hour or so...that will motivate me to show up prepared I guess.

Anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks to all replies thus far.
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You are lucky then! It should only take you around 30-35 minutes to make the drive. I drive there almost everyday from Flower Mound (really more Highland Village than FM). By the time I get to where you are starting from, I have already been driving for 20-30 minutes. The drive down 360 south is very easy, no matter what time you do it, coming from north of the metroplex. The only time I have ran into traffic is when there was an accident on 360. It takes me just about an hour to do the 36 miles down there from FM. You will like Skymates. The only disappointment with Skymates, for me, is that I can only get them to dedicate a 2 hour block of flight time per day (dual). And, I am a full-time student and would like more!

I went up and checked out US Flight Academy a couple of months ago. I spent around an hour up there talking with everyone and I really got the creeps. Their website is all about accelerated programs, but when I got up there and talked to the people in the know, they didn't have a clue what I was talking about and asking. Big disconnect between their website and the way they are running things. Although they were VA approved and it would have made good and easy sense for me to just simply start up there with them, they gave me the creeps so bad that I instantly labeled them as "don't touch that." Maybe it was just a bad day on their part, but it sure scared me away. Others have had good things to say about them.

Hope this helps a bit.
 
mhcasey said:
Sorry folks...I was half asleep when I made the original post and left out some details I guess. I live in Grapevine, which is just northwest of KDFW. My house is right under final approach for 13R.

The commute to skymates will be a huge pain, but I'll be willing to drive an hour or so...that will motivate me to show up prepared I guess.

Anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks to all replies thus far.
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How tough is it for you to get to Alliance? Anything out there?

If you work full-time, getting anywhere east (KADS) would be tough after hours. I live in Garland and it takes me 45 minutes on average to get to Las Colinas (I work at 114 and the BushPike) every day, each way. I would think Denton would be pretty easy for you to get to, though.

When my house sells, the g/f and I are planning to move into the downtown/uptown/lakewood/oak lawn area. Which would put me pretty darn close to major highways and/or KDAL if I wanted.

Which reminds me. Is there a GA-type FBO at KDAL with a flight school?
 
Murdoughnut said:
Check out Mesquite Aviation - I did my initial PPL training there. It's small, but it was by far the cheapest around. HQZ is a good place to fly, too - you can head out east and not be bothered with any class B traffic.
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mesquite is probably the best place to do a PPL to learn the correct way (old school) and to do it on the cheap. however, mesquite doesn't have a complex airplane so you can't do a complete commercial there. it's pretty much a PPL/instrument school only.
 
killbilly said:
How tough is it for you to get to Alliance? Anything out there?

If you work full-time, getting anywhere east (KADS) would be tough after hours. I live in Garland and it takes me 45 minutes on average to get to Las Colinas (I work at 114 and the BushPike) every day, each way. I would think Denton would be pretty easy for you to get to, though.

When my house sells, the g/f and I are planning to move into the downtown/uptown/lakewood/oak lawn area. Which would put me pretty darn close to major highways and/or KDAL if I wanted.

Which reminds me. Is there a GA-type FBO at KDAL with a flight school?
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Pretty stinkin' easy to get to Alliance, but I'm not sure there are any schools on the field out there. If I don't go with Skymates, I'm thinking right now that Marcair out of Northwest Regional (52f next door to Alliance) is my number one pick, though I'm definitely going to check out the other schools mentioned. Denton is a very easy drive as well.

I may post this on the Skymates section and/or call them, but if I do commercial and CFI there, can I expect to save a little cash? I'm hoping that if I can show whoever I need to that I can do the maneuvers for commercial, it shouldn't be a problem doing them from the right seat after another few flights...
 
mhcasey said:
Pretty stinkin' easy to get to Alliance, but I'm not sure there are any schools on the field out there. If I don't go with Skymates, I'm thinking right now that Marcair out of Northwest Regional (52f next door to Alliance) is my number one pick, though I'm definitely going to check out the other schools mentioned. Denton is a very easy drive as well.

I may post this on the Skymates section and/or call them, but if I do commercial and CFI there, can I expect to save a little cash? I'm hoping that if I can show whoever I need to that I can do the maneuvers for commercial, it shouldn't be a problem doing them from the right seat after another few flights...
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If you do go to NW Regional, ask for Ken. I used to work with him, and he is a great instructor.

If you come to Skymates, you won't get milked by an instructor. If you are ready for the checkride, you will get signed off to take it. I had 0 hours in an Arrow and no training on the comm. manuevers when I did my commercial there in Sept. and got signed off in 4 hours.

The main part of becoming a CFI is being able to teach, and not necessarily fly. There is a lot of ground involved. Since I started working here in Feb, Ryan has signed off 4-5 people for their initial CFI, and all of them passed the first time out.
 
mhcasey said:
Sorry folks...I was half asleep when I made the original post and left out some details I guess. I live in Grapevine, which is just northwest of KDFW. My house is right under final approach for 13R.

The commute to skymates will be a huge pain, but I'll be willing to drive an hour or so...that will motivate me to show up prepared I guess.

Anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks to all replies thus far.
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Hey I'm in Grapevine too and Skymates is probably the easiest one to get to. I've made it in 15 minutes before, but I usually give myself 30 mins during rush hour.
 
Toss another vote in for Skymates. I was looking to get my initial commercial, CFIs, etc, and they'll tailor a program specifically for you.

Max, that's a HUGE reason Skymates is a better fit than "that other place." They don't do initial commercials outside of the career program. I found that out when I was looking into this stuff in 05.
 
kellwolf said:
Toss another vote in for Skymates. I was looking to get my initial commercial, CFIs, etc, and they'll tailor a program specifically for you.

Max, that's a HUGE reason Skymates is a better fit than "that other place." They don't do initial commercials outside of the career program. I found that out when I was looking into this stuff in 05.
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Oh, I know. They created a custom program for me based upon my hours for a price that was insanely low!!!

Still have to visit and check it out. But I'm sold!
 
mhcasey said:
Sorry folks...I was half asleep when I made the original post and left out some details I guess. I live in Grapevine, which is just northwest of KDFW. My house is right under final approach for 13R.

The commute to skymates will be a huge pain, but I'll be willing to drive an hour or so...that will motivate me to show up prepared I guess.

Anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks to all replies thus far.
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Huge pain? Dude, I had half a dozen students who commuted from freakin' ITALY to go to Skymates.

So you want to know the best flight school in DF and Dub?

SKYMATES, FOOL!
(Sheeeeeit, that oughta be thier new tagline.)

I kid, I kid. Seriously, look at Skymates - Professional Flight Training and Aircraft Rental - Texas, USA to see the programs they offer. If you don't find what fits you best, call Ryan. He pulls no punches, but he's a straight shooter. Best equipment, best price, best people, most fun. No sh#t.
 
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