CAPT program (Palm coast )and flight safety academy

Lemnos

New Member
Hi, to everyone that is interested in going to this place which is known as "CASINO"..... I was a former student(international) and what i have to say is only bad things. There are so many that i do not know from where i can start . The thing that make me more upset is how they treat the customers-students.They only treat them like a goodlooking girl treats an old man .In other words they are obsessed with money so much that they overcharge and they also use tricks to take you more money.They do not care about producing good pilots at all it is only Business over there like CASINO.I must admit however that from my experience(i have changed 2 schools first was flight safety academy-Vero Beach) and from other students that i met while in US i have to say that i did not listen many good words for any flight school in Florida.
The thing that i write down is a list of what a new student must be aware of.Everything applies to CAPT program and flight safety academy according to my personal experience with these 2 "schools"
1.Ask about experience instructors not time builders (this can save money and make you better because most time builders they do not pay attention to students -they care about hours)
2.Ask about the rates of each A/C and what rates apply if you do extra hours(try to have a contract with fix prices irrespective of fuel and other costs)
3. Be careful about the brifing hours that more instructors overcharge.If you are not in a brifing room and you are heading to the A/C is not part of the briefing!!!
4.Most important ,availability of A/C and good maintenance so that you can fly most of the time.In CAPT i flew once per Week.....because they have a contract with Chiniese and we were over 200 students with 10 A/C only.(cirrus sr-20: the only good about the school)
5.Forget about good words when you make the toor ask only students without any of the empoyees in front IMPORTANT.....Very IMPORTANT
I hope that i can help some people to avoid schools that are only businesses. Always high and with afterburner...
 
It is unfortunate that you had a bad experience at FSA in Vero. However, you do have good advice. Make sure you talk with students who are currently enrolled in the school. Heck, talk to the instructors too. Most instructors (not management) will give you the down and dirty no problem.

We could've told you to avoid the CAPT program here. But that is a whole new can of worms.

But As for the breifing time, keep in mind you are paying for an instructors service. So if you are going to be super stingy over a 2 minute walk, I suggest you look into a new profession. Instructors do not make much, so keep that in mind. In addition, I know for a fact that in some cases the instructor has to be present with the student walking to and from the airplane. For example, a pre-solo student is not allowed to conduct a preflight without the supervision of an instructor. At any rate, good luck in your search for a new flight school.

This is not a jab at you in any way, however, when people complaining about 3 or 4 schools or switch around it usually is not the school, but the individual. This may not be the case with you, however, I am speaking from experience with people.
 
I'm not refuting your experience, only offering some additional thoughts, in red.

The thing that i write down is a list of what a new student must be aware of.

1.Ask about experience instructors not time builders (this can save money and make you better because most time builders they do not pay attention to students -they care about hours)

Even "time-building instructors" can be good instructors. What really needs to be assessed is can the instructor teach, and what time-frame are they looking at for future employment

2.Ask about the rates of each A/C and what rates apply if you do extra hours(try to have a contract with fix prices irrespective of fuel and other costs)

Absolutely. Just like any investment, you should be fully aware of the costs and overage costs. If you lease a car, there is usually a cost per mile over the agreed upon limit.

3. Be careful about the brifing hours that more instructors overcharge.If you are not in a brifing room and you are heading to the A/C is not part of the briefing!!!

An instructors time booked is just that. If a client books me for 8 hours and only decides to use 4, I'm going to bill for 8 hours. I could have used that time making revenue. While this is an extreme example, if you are not asking questions about flying on the walk to the airplane, this is the buyer's loss; not, the instructor's. Just because the buyer does not use the time effectively, does not mean I should suffer for that. It is, however, give and take. An instructor should attempt to actively teach at all times while being scheduled.

4.Most important ,availability of A/C and good maintenance so that you can fly most of the time.In CAPT i flew once per Week.....because they have a contract with Chiniese and we were over 200 students with 10 A/C only.(cirrus sr-20: the only good about the school)

Availability and maintenance are part of the equation. The other aspect is the student's desire to be aggressive in booking flights. Were you at dispatch when you were not scheduled to fly? There are always cancellations due to other students being sick and other excuses. If you want to fly all the time, sometimes extra effort is necessary, instead of an instructor trying to find you and see if you are available to fly.

5.Forget about good words when you make the toor ask only students without any of the empoyees in front IMPORTANT.....Very IMPORTANT
I hope that i can help some people to avoid schools that are only businesses. I hate to say it but all schools are businesses, first and foremost. If they are not profitable, they are out of business. Customer service is important. As stated, usually students and instructors will give the reality pitch on the manner the operation runs.
 
It is unfortunate that you had a bad experience at FSA in Vero. However, you do have good advice. Make sure you talk with students who are currently enrolled in the school. Heck, talk to the instructors too. Most instructors (not management) will give you the down and dirty no problem.

We could've told you to avoid the CAPT program here. But that is a whole new can of worms.

But As for the breifing time, keep in mind you are paying for an instructors service. So if you are going to be super stingy over a 2 minute walk, I suggest you look into a new profession. Instructors do not make much, so keep that in mind. In addition, I know for a fact that in some cases the instructor has to be present with the student walking to and from the airplane. For example, a pre-solo student is not allowed to conduct a preflight without the supervision of an instructor. At any rate, good luck in your search for a new flight school.

This is not a jab at you in any way, however, when people complaining about 3 or 4 schools or switch around it usually is not the school, but the individual. This may not be the case with you, however, I am speaking from experience with people.

When you pay a lot i think that you have the right to ask the best training possible. For my experience in the US the instructors that i met care only about the time building and the school about money and dollar .Without ofend but is the system in US and the American dream that make the people behave this way, most of the people are obsessed with dolllar....

I understand from your answer that you might have been an instructor with FSA so i say the following : First of all i do not speak about pilot skills only i am saying that is not enough to be an instructor even if you are good pilot.A good instructor must care about the student,pay attention and must be involved in the process.I am not stingy about the 2 minutes but i hate when somebody looking only your wallet and does not care about your progress.The bottom line is that i am not going to be with a bad school even if i find a good job later.I want to learn something from the bottom not just a,b,c,d do you follow me ??
In order to be a good pilot somebody needs his dedication, his ability and motivation from the instructor.This is the order that i put the things .I am not compromised with time builders. OK ?
 
i dont think that you understand all the training it takes to become a flight instructor and especially at flight safety. you may be able to pass the cfi checkride but FSI has standardization for all the cfi's. my first instructor was a time builder at flightsafety and i was one of his first students, but i thought he was great. flight instructing is a time building job, used as a tool to further your career in aviation. Not many people in the industry see being a cfi as their final goal.

also about brief time... if you study everything for your lesson at home you can knock out 1.5 hour briefs in about 20-30 minutes its really up to you, the instuctor should have to spoon feed you everything throughout the entire brief.
 
Careful about the broad generalizations there.

You would probably identify me as a time-builder. I'm a relatively low-time CFI who will, once I have enough hours and a good opportunity arises, give up my instructing job. But I--as with many instructors--am very proud of what I do for a living. Flight instruction can be one of the most personally rewarding jobs in the world, if sometimes also among the most frustrating.

Above all, most flight instructors try to conduct themselves in a professional manner. We attempt to give you the best instruction we can and offer you value for your money as much as it is in our power to do so. Understand, though, that we are professionals offering a highly specialized professional service and we will bill you for our time.

And don't think flight instructors aren't sensitive to how much flight training costs--we've all been there, paid those bills. Your flight instructor likely has anywhere from $40-80 thousand invested in training alone. Yes, aviation schools will attempt to get every last dime out of you they can, but that has nothing to do with your instructor's goals for you.

As for your blithe "American dream" comment, here's the reality for many flight instructors: Most of us have--as mentioned above--40 to 80 grand invested in our flight training, plus, in many cases, however many thousands or tens of thousands we invested in our college degree. As flight instructors, we work long, irregular hours, many of which are unpaid. We often do this six days per week. Unless we have it from a spouse or other external source, we don't have health insurance. And, despite our immense investments and huge responsibility, we could collect food stamps or, if you're not familiar with US welfare system: we basically have incomes below the poverty line.

I don't tell you this to make you feel bad or excuse the bad instructors that are out there. I tell you this because I want you to understand that we are motivated, dedicated professionals with a borderline obsessive love of aviation. If we were anything but, we would not be in this business. Most of all, we are not in this for the money. If money were all we cared about, we be in other industries.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with FSI. You're not the only one who's had a bad experience with an academy (myself included). It sucks. It's frustrating. Sometimes it makes you want to give up or scream at anyone who will listen. Vent, sure, but be careful how broad a brush you use.

When you pay a lot i think that you have the right to ask the best training possible. For my experience in the US the instructors that i met care only about the time building and the school about money and dollar .Without ofend but is the system in US and the American dream that make the people behave this way, most of the people are obsessed with dolllar....

I understand from your answer that you might have been an instructor with FSA so i say the following : First of all i do not speak about pilot skills only i am saying that is not enough to be an instructor even if you are good pilot.A good instructor must care about the student,pay attention and must be involved in the process.I am not stingy about the 2 minutes but i hate when somebody looking only your wallet and does not care about your progress.The bottom line is that i am not going to be with a bad school even if i find a good job later.I want to learn something from the bottom not just a,b,c,d do you follow me ??
In order to be a good pilot somebody needs his dedication, his ability and motivation from the instructor.This is the order that i put the things .I am not compromised with time builders. OK ?
 
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