az flight schools/florida

[citori man]

hey everyone im brand new here just trying to find out alittle bit about the pilot life. I live in arizona and im like 10 mins from falcon field does anyone have anything good to say about any othose flight schools? but i also have the choice to move to sarasota, FL where i would be about ten mins from bradingtons airport and also not far from venice and all of those. but i most likey will be staying in arizona. also would you guys recomend still going and getting a degree? also should it stay in the avation field? sorry if im asking stuff thats been posted before im new and exploring the site so sorry and thanks for the help in advance!

 

[drunkenbeagle]

hey everyone im brand new here just trying to find out alittle bit about the pilot life. I live in arizona and im like 10 mins from falcon field does anyone have anything good to say about any othose flight schools? but i also have the choice to move to sarasota, FL where i would be about ten mins from bradingtons airport and also not far from venice and all of those. but i most likey will be staying in arizona. also would you guys recomend still going and getting a degree? also should it stay in the avation field? sorry if im asking stuff thats been posted before im new and exploring the site so sorry and thanks for the help in advance!

Grammar and proper capitalization often goes a long way here, so I will get that out of the way.

There are plenty of good FBO's in FL and AZ, you are fine either way. Getting a degree is important though in the long run, and involves far more work than learning to fly. I would start with that, aviation isn't going anywhere.

 

[JOEFRIDAY2]

hey everyone im brand new here just trying to find out alittle bit about the pilot life. I live in arizona and im like 10 mins from falcon field does anyone have anything good to say about any othose flight schools? but i also have the choice to move to sarasota, FL where i would be about ten mins from bradingtons airport and also not far from venice and all of those. but i most likey will be staying in arizona. also would you guys recomend still going and getting a degree? also should it stay in the avation field? sorry if im asking stuff thats been posted before im new and exploring the site so sorry and thanks for the help in advance!

Do not pay any flight school more than $2500 in advance no matter what they tell you or how good they make it sound. Do not ever let any flight school get more than $2500 ahead of you in undelivered training. Arizona is one of the states that has absolutely no protection for students if the flight school goes out of business and does not deliver the service. Florida has the same problem in that they do not protect the flight school students.

California and Utah have protections in place for flight school students, so you might consider training in one of those states.

Joe

 

[smack300]

Do not pay any flight school more than $2500 in advance no matter what they tell you or how good they make it sound. Do not ever let any flight school get more than $2500 ahead of you in undelivered training. Arizona is one of the states that has absolutely no protection for students if the flight school goes out of business and does not deliver the service. Florida has the same problem in that they do not protect the flight school students.

California and Utah have protections in place for flight school students, so you might consider training in one of those states.

Joe

Totally agree. Knew a guy that saved 70k to get all his licenses for helicopters. A month later they shut down and he never saw that money again.

-Anyways, there are plenty of great places to train and get degrees from in both states. What I have been recommended to do, since I am in the same situation, is to get a degree in something that interests you, it doesn't have to be in aviation. Incase you become medically unqualified to fly you have something to fall back onto.

 

[drunkenbeagle]

California and Utah have protections in place for flight school students, so you might consider training in one of those states.

There are plenty of reputable operations in Florida that won't ask you to pay a dime in advance, many will bill you in arrears. In any case, it is absolutely not necessary to move anywhere to learn how to fly. California is probably the most expensive place you could choose, and most of the operators out here are actually pretty well established clubs.

 

[JOEFRIDAY2]

The absolute cheapest way to learn how to fly is to find a CFI within 50 miles of where you are sitting right now. Hire and pay the CFI direct. Don't go through a school. It's not necessary. The CFI may have a plane available and if he/she does not have a plane he/she will know the cheapest place to rent one. If you "click" with your CFI then you will have some of the best training available. If you don't click then you can move on to another CFI. In the end your pilot certificate will look the same as anyone that went to a flight school or a university. There is absolutely no difference.

How do you find a CFI? Craigslist is a good place to start. Also your local Civil Air Patrol will know some CFI's in your area that accept new students. You do not need to join the Civil Air Patrol in order to ask that question. The reason I like asking the Civil Air Patrol folks is because they usually are not connected with any flight school and are usually very willing to point you in the direction of a good CFI.

Joe

 

[Zondaracer]

There are good places in AZ and FL, but there are also crappy places too. I´ve been to both, and after knowing what a good school is like, I promptly turned around and walked out of the crappy one. Don´t be fooled by a school by a fancy website or if you walk in and everyone is wearing a pilot uniform. That usually has little to do with the actual quality of the school. I know this first hand.

 

[citori man]

Thanks for all the advice! I looked at craigslist and as of right now thier is one guy doing flight lessons for as low as $125 a hour including him, the plane, and fuel. I also went down to look at a local flight school and they gave me this as their private pilot pricing:
C150 Aircraft Rental50 hours @ $78/hour =$3900.00Instructor20 hours @ $50/hour =$1,000.00Ground20 hours @ $50/hour =$1,000.00Phase Check10 hours @ $55/hour =$550.00
Total Cost$6450.00
I was wondering on how good of pricing everyone thinks that is knowing most have you have gone through the training already.
thanks for the advice and help also.

 

[JOEFRIDAY2]

Thanks for all the advice! I looked at craigslist and as of right now thier is one guy doing flight lessons for as low as $125 a hour including him, the plane, and fuel. I also went down to look at a local flight school and they gave me this as their private pilot pricing:
C150 Aircraft Rental50 hours @ $78/hour =$3900.00Instructor20 hours @ $50/hour =$1,000.00Ground20 hours @ $50/hour =$1,000.00Phase Check10 hours @ $55/hour =$550.00
Total Cost$6450.00
I was wondering on how good of pricing everyone thinks that is knowing most have you have gone through the training already.
thanks for the advice and help also.

It takes the average pilot 70 hours to get their private ticket. The flight school is not giving you everything here. Take a discovery flight with the local CFI and see if you click. If you do then go with him. What kind of plane does the CFI have? Also what is the CFI going to charge you for ground instruction per hour?

Joe