American Flyers or PFT?

msm9724

msm9724

New Member
Hi!!! Well I am making a decision so would like to back it up with you guys. I am choosing between American Flyers Academy at Texas or PFT= Professional Flight Training in FT Lauderdale to get all my Ratings, what would you choose?

Thanks

Marcelo
 
Might help if you get the ball rolling by giving your impressions of each, the pros and cons of each school, and what you are looking for in a flight school?

Oh, and welcome to JetCareers!
 
Thanks Steve!! I want to get my ratings and do my training to Fly Corporate since thats what i have always wanted to do, so i see that AF is an Academy PFT Is a school. PFT says 6 months of training to get the raitings for $36,000, AF says also 6 months but for $46,780 so i want to get a little mor info from the Pros

Thanks

Marcelo
 
As an alum of PFT I feel that I have a good bit of knowledge on this school. With that said I encourage you to avoid this place. The owners mainly the woman (Patricia) is all about the money. She pays the instructors next to nothing ($10/ hour), and charges a higher price per hour than any other school around FXE. Their fleet consists of "OLD" Piper Warriors and two Beechcraft Dutchess which have no glass instruments and atleast one thing does not work in each and every plane. All of the instructors are underpaid and know it. That in turn causes most of them to long for the day they leave and that in my case affected the training I recieved. All is not doom and gloom because you are training in Ft. Lauderdale, a few short miles from the beach. PM me if you have any more in detail questions. IMHO, I would go to Skymates in Dallas or find the nearest ATP to your home.
 
I have been thinking about going to PFT. I just dont know where else to get my training in the south florida area. I need financing (Teri loans). ATP, DCA, and PFT are the major schools in my area that provide this. DCA, I hear to many negatives. ATP, I hear many good things, but when I went to talk to the instructors they knew nothinga nd I just had an iffy feeling. Finally, PFT, I had a good feeling when I walked in, but have not heard anything good about it. It seems like a never ending battle.
 
Left Seat said:
I have been thinking about going to PFT. I just dont know where else to get my training in the south florida area. I need financing (Teri loans). ATP, DCA, and PFT are the major schools in my area that provide this. DCA, I hear to many negatives. ATP, I hear many good things, but when I went to talk to the instructors they knew nothinga nd I just had an iffy feeling. Finally, PFT, I had a good feeling when I walked in, but have not heard anything good about it. It seems like a never ending battle.
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I've heard good things about Palm Beach Flight Training in Lantana (KLNA). MikecWeb was an instructor there and seems to have good things to say about them. I also had a friend get his PPL there and he said it was allright. Not sure about financing though.

http://www.pbflight.com/index.php
 
So it takes a little longer.....Big deal! Why don't you do the traditional route, get your ratings through your local FBO, and save tens of thousands of dollars? Is that an option? Or has this entire world turned to accelerated programs?
 
I wrote an E mail to Sky Mates and all i can say is that its awesome the attention they give you, Instant Reply. Not only That but also all the info they send me, Its very Clean!!

In the other side PFT looks good but i have one week now writing e mails and well just got one Saying Thanks for the Interest....blablab and not very much Info.

Sky Mates really looks Professional really looking to get my training in there.

About American Flyers seems to overprized, i know its an Academy etc... Also i have read no good comments in this Forum about it.

What do you guys think?
 
I know of a few people who have gone through the American Flyers programs, and they had nothing bad to say about it.

I guess there are always problems though. Just depends.
 
MikeOH58 said:
So it takes a little longer.....Big deal! Why don't you do the traditional route, get your ratings through your local FBO, and save tens of thousands of dollars? Is that an option? Or has this entire world turned to accelerated programs?[/quote

Me thinks it's the latter. In a world where 250-500 hours now actually gets you in to the regionals - there is no incentive for folks to do it the "traditional" way. SJS is stronger than ever, and the regionals exploit this with there minimal requirements - regardless of the fact most of those types of ppl are clueless.

Max
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Go to your local FBO and do it there. It will be cheaper and more convenient. You can also do it at your own pace. At the end o the day you will have the same commerical pilot certificate that you would have gotten had you gone to a pilot factory.
 
msm9724 said:
I wrote an E mail to Sky Mates and all i can say is that its awesome the attention they give you, Instant Reply.
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I give the same attention to prospects too. SM has a dedicated sales staff though, so I should hope that they are on the ball to supply you with information.
 
skydog said:
Go to your local FBO and do it there. It will be cheaper and more convenient. You can also do it at your own pace. At the end o the day you will have the same commerical pilot certificate that you would have gotten had you gone to a pilot factory.
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:yeahthat:

I am also searching for a flight school down here in South Florida (although I am pretty sure I have already found it), and it seems that quite a few of them require unnecessary expenses like uniforms that in the end just make it a lot more expensive. Also, even though I already have the Jepessen PPL kit (2002) the same flight schools that required uniforms also required me to buy from them the latest set of books (even though they use the same thing).
 
nkoenig said:
I second That!!!

I did my PPL finish up with them. They truly finished me up and I did recieve my ppl but they also finished up my wallet. $195 dual in a 172 "P" model $80 hr ground.
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Did you not know the rate when you went there? Why did you choose to "finish up" there? Were there time constraints? Did you finish your rating in the time you needed to?

AF is not the cheapest option for any rating, but the amount of resources and structure they can provide can't be matched by most small flight schools/FBO's.

I went to AF's CFI Academy in in Dallas, and other than it was expensive don't have anything bad to say about it. In fact, I'll say the instructors there were some of the best I ever had or worked with subsequently.

Yes, perhaps I could have done it at home for less, but there is no way I could have done it in the time I had available. (I was laid off from work at the time). In a little more than a month, I finished up the comercial and got both the CFI and CFII ratings done and most importantly, was prepared to teach when I finished the program. There is no way most small FBO's can provide the kind of focus that AF can when it comes to the CFI ratings. AF's value depends on your situation. Time was important for me and they delivered on their promise.
 
msm9724 said:
Hi!!! Well I am making a decision so would like to back it up with you guys. I am choosing between American Flyers Academy at Texas or PFT= Professional Flight Training in FT Lauderdale to get all my Ratings, what would you choose?

Thanks

Marcelo
Click to expand...

I would drop both those jokers, buy a plane ticket, and go to Skymates Flight Training in Arlington, Texas. The owner Luca will set you up with a crash pad, you'll fly excellent equipment, you'll meet some incredible pilots, and you'll have a hell of an adventure without the stigma of the 'accelerated wonder-program'. Oh yeah, you'll also save thousands, not only in initial costs but in interest.

Wish I had done it.

But hey, if American Liars or Pay For Training sounds more fun, more power to ya. Just thought I'd throw it out there.
 
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