FSA or ARI-BEN?

Yes there is. You will get a chance with 2 students. They pass, you get more, they fail, goodbye. That's Mike's deal when you complete the Pro Course and he stands by it.
 
Greg, Would you recommend going to FSA if the time and the money were not factors? Do you think there were any gaps in your training? Would you have rather gone to FSA if you had the time and money? Why didn't you stay at Ari Ben to instruct?
 
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How about Ari-Ben's spin training? Spatial orientation?

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We do that in a real airplane.
 
Chunk is correct, the two schools are entirely opposite and it all depends on where you feel most comfortable. I looked at both FSA and Aviator as well as ATP. I was impressed with with all three and felt each would help me achieve my goals in a very different way. I liked FSA for the facilities and the structure of the program. I also liked that they NEVER asked what other schools I was considering let alone say a negative word about them. Mike Cohen at Aviator seemed like a very straight guy and he said, "I will never say anything bad about FSA because they have their head on straight up there in Vero. I am not in competition with them as we are a completely different type of operation."

He did however say a few negatives about ATP who I would suspect he was in competition with. But not a big deal as far as I was concerned. ATP on the other hand reaffirmed my decision after some executive called me a month after my visit and drilled me for 15 minutes about what a big mistake I was making. Mike Cohen on the other hand took the high road and wished me the best of luck. More power to him and I will continue to respect his operation because of that. I've worked in the business world long enough to know that I don't like doing business with people whose only selling point is another business's negatives. Not saying ATP is a bad operation but that phone call rubbed me the wrong way.

With that being said, my original point is that the two schools are very different. Aviator is about speed, efficiency, and saving money. That was there selling point when I visited. FSA is about thoroughness plain and simple. Does that mean that a motivated and organized person will leave Aviator with a substandard education? Absolutely not. It seems that both operations have their head on straight when it comes to customer service which should be very important to anyone. Just ask the old ATA students. If you haven't visited both schools make sure you do before make a decision. Like Mike Cohen said, "come spend $1000 before you make a mistake spending $30,000." I thought that was good advice.

Hey Aloft you actually sound a bit like that guy calling from ATP. Quit throwing stones and get started on your own training. Last time I checked you're a lot more "senior" than I am. Seniority is everything right?
 
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Hey Aloft you actually sound a bit like that guy calling from ATP. Quit throwing stones and get started on your own training. Last time I checked you're a lot more "senior" than I am. Seniority is everything right?

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Throwing stones? Nah, just tired of Chunk and his constant "only a fool would go anywhere other than FSA" blathering.

And believe me, as soon as my fundage comes together (next few months, hopefully), I'm enroute direct.
 
Actually, if you READ what Chunk wrote, you will see that he did not say anything negative about Ari-Ben...just that they were completely different schools- which they are.

I visited Ari-Ben when I was looking for a place to do my MEI. They were very straightforward, and seemed like a decent place to me. I would have done it there, but I decided against getting my MEI altogether at that time, since I was short on cash, and moving soon.
 
There is no doubt that Flight Safety has the better known name. I still would not have gone there. I wanted to get as much multi time (and all of the instructor ratings) as I could for the lowest price and in the shortest time and Aviators couldn't be beat. You can always go back to FSA for a type rating or refresher course if you want to have the name show up in your resume. Aviator's is all about multi-engine training and I have yet to meet anyone that got more complete multi training at the initial private and commercial level. I have flown many times with FSA grads and I have found them to be good, well trained pilots, but they did not seem to have any more training than I did.
As far as spatial disorientation training, I found a good aerobatics instructor on my own and I fly with him every couple of months.
I am now a partner in a flight school business and an ultralight instructor/dealer. Those were my goals when I went to Aviator so there wasn't much reason to stay there to instruct. I could have had I wanted to. If your goal is to build multi time than Aviators is the place to go.
I also had a number of very strange and uncomfortable experiences with ATP "sales people" that made me leary about going to ATP too. I got substantially more multi time for a lot less money at Aviator.
 
Is anyone posting a reply involved with the Aviator?

Spin Training- most students do it in a Decathlon. With Mr.Tom Bent(retired airforce pilot/instructor) has more time spining airplanes than I have total time. Also does spin training in a pitts if you have extra money. Let me mention that along with spin training he does some mild acrobatics, Cuban 8, Snap roll, Hammer Head etc...

Spatial Disorientation- I dont understand what your getting at. I dont know a single pilot that passed his or her IFR ride not understanding how to cope with this.

Ground School- AriBen has plenty of ground school. However most of it is one on one.

Depth of training? How is 100% pass rate initial MEI @ the FSDO in the past year. Is that deep enough for you?

Service- Mike Cohen did alot of things he didn't have to do, to help me out when I was a student. Like excepting rent late, finding me work when I was low on funds.
 
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Spatial Disorientation- I dont understand what your getting at. I dont know a single pilot that passed his or her IFR ride not understanding how to cope with this.

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I believe he was getting at the fact that Flight Safety has a simulator that can simulate spatial disorientation without ever stepping into an airplane. It is a great tool and much safer in a simulator. I got to ride in the GAT II trainer here at UND and it is great for training.
 
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Yes there is. You will get a chance with 2 students. They pass, you get more, they fail, goodbye. That's Mike's deal when you complete the Pro Course and he stands by it.

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Okay, I'll bite. What if one passes and one fails?
 
That's when attitude, yours and the student that failed, becomes important. If you slack off and don't take your job seriously, you're gone. If the student was at fault, you won't have to worry.
I run in to plenty of younger students that are training because mom and dad want them to, or because dad is a pilot with Delta. Some of these kids (as kids will do) don't really care or take the opportunity seriously. These students are usually easy to recognize and if you are unfortunate enough to have one assigned to you Mike will recognize them too.
 
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