well, i might as well say a little sumthin sumthin....
the whole deal with failing stage checks and waiting for another stage check pilot for a long time....old news. its a remnant of the 141 program that no longer exists. today, if you fail a stage check for whatever reason its most likely a good thing that you do and avoid getting a nice pink slip from an FAA examiner. if you do fail, you take a practice flight and then another stage. both can be quick, and its super super easy to get an instructor to do a stage check. fail one day(rare to see), review next day, retake day after. thats usually the scenerio.
i have to agree with keephope. on the whole thing that outside instructors (those who didn't fully attend panam) should not take positions that could be filled by graduating CFI's from the Panam program. outside CFI's shoyuld always(almost always) be displaced to make room for "company" CFI's. i believe many of the head instructors no matter where they learned need to keep their positions in many instances. more expereince and stuff. but for lower level CFI's...make room for those that payed their dues at the school. reason one being, CFI's that were taught here, will teach here to the standards that the Panam Career Pilot program instilled into them. i really noticed the difference between those who started here from day one to those who just showed up later. reason two, if a student gets an instructor that began here then they will almost never get screwed on brief costs.....again:
if you have an instructor that started here, they know the brief issue, have been through it, and will be much more aware that you paid for some brief time and deserve to get it. for the instructors i've had that began here....they breifed me like crazy and made sure i got my monies(sp?) worth. those that just came in from somewhere else.....i got charged double sometimes, once by the school and then again by the instructor who didn't understand or want to understand how the brief system works. so, Panam, hire your own...eleviate the negative press over brief time. simple stuff. i know if i get to instruct here that i'll keep crazy tabs on brief time to make sure my students get what they deserve. thats how most if not all students that want to be CFI's here feel when it comes to brief time.
and please, go to college and get a degree. go to school, fly when you've got time and see if this is really for you. so many people come in here with no real education, no real idea of what the "game" is about and end up screwing themselves out of 10's of thousands of dollars. i admit i myself really had no clue when i came in here, but i had the degree, was disciplined enough in college to understand how and why to study, and its all worked out ok for me(thank god). that dgree will teach you how to learn, it'll save you money when it comes to an accelerated program like Panam, and you'll have a back up in case something goes wrong in your flying career. get an education, find your limitations, get some hours, maybe save a couple bucks if you finish a rating or two during school, and then consider an accelerated program. i think you'll find yourself much more staisfied, and prepeared that way.