Flight schools in Pompano Beach, Ft. Lauderdale area

scubaracer

New Member
I want to enroll in a school school to get my PPL. Does anybody out there have recommendations, experiences at either of these areas? I live very close to the Pompano Beach airport, so would prefer there then Ft. Lauderdale, but the quality of the training is the most important, and not the cost so much...Thanks in advance for any advice you may have...
 
I want to enroll in a school school to get my PPL. Does anybody out there have recommendations, experiences at either of these areas? I live very close to the Pompano Beach airport, so would prefer there then Ft. Lauderdale, but the quality of the training is the most important, and not the cost so much...Thanks in advance for any advice you may have...

FXE is a bee hive when busy, same for most of the airports in the area. Due to the high volume of activity and mix of traffic, it'll take about an hour to do three circuits in the pattern at FXE. For reference, you could get 8-10 landings done in an hour at a non-towered airport.
 
If practicing landings a 5-7 min pattern is slow for a training plane. Best way to practice them is repetition
 
8-10 landings in an hour? Seems like a lot. Is that safe to rush it?

Not if the student is up for the tempo. Repetition is the key to landings, hence the need for 3 to maintain currency. What most students don't like is paying $175 or more per hour for a dual lesson and watching the hobbs click over while waiting for the runway to clear at a busy airport. Or constantly getting told by the tower to extend the downwind to accommodate other arrivals and departures.
 
Not if the student is up for the tempo. Repetition is the key to landings, hence the need for 3 to maintain currency. What most students don't like is paying $175 or more per hour for a dual lesson and watching the hobbs click over while waiting for the runway to clear at a busy airport. Or constantly getting told by the tower to extend the downwind to accommodate other arrivals and departures.
OTOH, there are diminishing returns as the student repeats the same series of mistakes over and over and over and over and...

IMO, two or three good patterns and landings in a row are far more beneficial to the student than 8-10 questionable ones. Besides, there is so much more to learning to land than just flying the pattern.

Having learned, flown, or taught at both a very busy D and fairly quiet and medium nontowered, the downside of the busy C or D very early on is the distraction of traffic and communication. But it's easy enough to fly somewhere less busy for more focus and concentration before integrating the real world.
 
OTOH, there are diminishing returns as the student repeats the same series of mistakes over and over and over and over and...

IMO, two or three good patterns and landings in a row are far more beneficial to the student than 8-10 questionable ones. Besides, there is so much more to learning to land than just flying the pattern.

Having learned, flown, or taught at both a very busy D and fairly quiet and medium nontowered, the downside of the busy C or D very early on is the distraction of traffic and communication. But it's easy enough to fly somewhere less busy for more focus and concentration before integrating the real world.

I agree 100%. Definitely don’t want to reinforce of bad habits, which is where the CFI should step in and teach. I was reflecting on the experience I’ve had at a busy D airport vs non-towered E or G. There is a better opportunity for learning if you can get more than 3 landings per hour accomplished. Especially if switching it up between short/ soft, crosswind, or wheel & three point landings. Such as teaching commercial maneuvers or specialty checkouts that require repetition for power off 180s. Having the tower extend your downwind and call your base just about eliminates the possibility of doing a power 180.
 
Hey guys, what's up? Can anyone give an update on this?

I live here in South Florida and last week I finally got my very long and dragged out PPL wrapped up part 61 and am now contemplating my alternatives to get all the other certs as fast and as affordably as possible. The fast part has me looking at ATP and American Flyers. The affordable part has me questioning this decision lol.

ATP is pretty well debated on the forums, so I feel like I have a reasonable grasp of their program. American Flyers on the other hand, I pretty much only found information about their CFI academy. Right now, I'm looking at maybe doing their part 141 IFR training (don't have the 50NM x-country PIC) and then figuring something else out, but wouldn't mind doing an all-the-way program if the price and timeframe are right.

What I've heard from people who have been to AF is that they're terribly expensive, no one actually finished a certificate there. Does anyone have experience with their Airline Academy or even their training in general?

Any insight into AF, ATP, or any other South Florida flight school is greatly appreciated. (Heck, any tips on getting things done quickly are appreciated)

Best regards and thanks!
 
Flyers are great. Visit PMP and see
Coincidentally, I was there as you posted this. Left with an overall good impression of the operation. Person I spoke with seemed knowledgeable and didn't try and push anything that I don't need. Also, I liked that they didn't quote minimums. Not sure how many hours is realistic for the IR, but they quote 20h of sim and about 25h in the airplane, all in 14-15k.

@ahw01 what training did you do there? Any insights?
 
I did CFI. Really good. Where did you do PVT?
I did it a few different places, flying club then rental, hiring independent CFIs part 61. Long story short, learned how much time and money you waste by not doing it in one stretch.

Are you still at AF instructing or went there just for the course?
 
I did it a few different places, flying club then rental, hiring independent CFIs part 61. Long story short, learned how much time and money you waste by not doing it in one stretch.

Are you still at AF instructing or went there just for the course?
Just did the course. Great folks. Checkout the latest digest if you can.

View: https://twitter.com/Americanflyers1/status/1646936869341483011?s=19


For instrument, SIM practice is free and really saves time in the air. As does MS Flight Sim.
 
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