I need some help guys

C

cuy

New Member
I'm calling on all pilots who know about pilot training to please help me on this one. My dilemma is that i do not know which of 3 FBO's to choose. Here's the low down:

1. This school is also 30 minutes away, but it is based on a larger and more complex airport with multiple runways and more air traffic. The prices are pretty good. Prices are: $80/hr. wet for a C-152 (1978) and $50/hr. for flight instruction. The advantage is that I think i will be stronger in ATC and radio communications with a bigger and busier airport, however, the commute is not so great.

2. This school is close to home has a tower, 2 runways and is an easy commute. Prices are as follows: $89/ hr. wet for a 1982 C-152 and $44/hr. for flight instruction. This FBO is convenient, but strict and follows a rigid schedule. But this deal is pending, it might not happen for other reasons.

3. This school is a 20 minute commute from home, but walking distance away from the college which I attend. Prices are $80/hr. wet for a C-152 (don't know what year), and $60/hr. for flight instruction. But besides allowing me to stay at school and fly within walking distance from each other, this airport caters to upper class people and I figure also has more expensive airport operations.

I don't know what to do. Please help me choose the wisest decision that I will not regret in the future. Thanks.
 
I would go with door # 3 to start with. Convenient and less traffic.

You don't want a busy airport until you've solo'ed. Then go to the bigger complex airport for that training, and split it up after that.
 
My response is: It all depends. It is not a simple matter of hourly costs.

1)What is your learning style (Detailed and individualized instruction? Can you drink from a water hose)?
2) Know your instructor. He/she can(will) make all the difference.
3) At a busy airport you can spend a lot of time taxiing.
4) How movitated are you to direct your own training?
5) Are you career oriented regarding aviation?

Welcome to aviation. Good on you, asking the questions.
 
I fly from a towered Class Delta field with two runways. I love it, I'm very confidant on the radios after working with them all the time, and I feel safer flying from a towered field then a non towered. Its a 30 min drive for me but I love it. I pay 124 wet/ hobbs for 2002 172SP's with full GPS and autopilot which is nice for prepping for commercial operations. But its up to you, fly around and find one you like. I moved from an FBO running 1980's 172N's and 152's. I am much happier with the newer aircraft.
 
gator4798 said:
I fly from a towered Class Delta field with two runways. I love it, I'm very confidant on the radios after working with them all the time, and I feel safer flying from a towered field then a non towered. Its a 30 min drive for me but I love it. I pay 124 wet/ hobbs for 2002 172SP's with full GPS and autopilot which is nice for prepping for commercial operations. But its up to you, fly around and find one you like. I moved from an FBO running 1980's 172N's and 152's. I am much happier with the newer aircraft.
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:banghead:...To the OP I don't think it will take much time flying out of a controlled field to get confident there, it's just a matter of doing it. I don't think it's enough to base your decision on. Like others have said, talk to the instructors, check out the planes, talk to people there see how they like it. Based on what you said I'd probably go with 2..but it all depends. You don't need fancy "GPS and autopilot" to be a good pilot, and it all has it's time, no need paying an extra 30-40 dollars to play with it when you're just starting out (I assume).
 
Setting aside all other unexplained circumstances (and your instructor is more important than anything...get one you like and can learn from), the one that is cheapest in dollars, commute, and time. You'll figure out how to fly the thing. Don't get distracted by the neon.
 
Option A is the closest to what I learned in, so I gravitate toward that.

But - pretend for a moment that all places are totally equal. Interview instructors. Go with the one who you believe is going to give you the best quality instruction. If the guy is a career flight instructor - in other words - not building time - that's the guy you want.

I'm not saying time-builders are bad, I'm saying that in my limited experience, the professional, full-time-I'm-not-going-anywhere-else instructors are going to be your best bet.

In any case - your instructor relationship will have more effect on your flying than anything else at all. Even if it costs more, if he's a superior instructor you'll spend less time in the airplane, you know?

Good luck.
 
I would just to each airport and do a discover flight and see which schools you like best. Simple as that, you'll know which one is the best for you.
 
cuy said:
I'm calling on all pilots who know about pilot training to please help me on this one. My dilemma is that i do not know which of 3 FBO's to choose. Here's the low down:

1. This school is also 30 minutes away, but it is based on a larger and more complex airport with multiple runways and more air traffic. The prices are pretty good. Prices are: $80/hr. wet for a C-152 (1978) and $50/hr. for flight instruction. The advantage is that I think i will be stronger in ATC and radio communications with a bigger and busier airport, however, the commute is not so great.

2. This school is close to home has a tower, 2 runways and is an easy commute. Prices are as follows: $89/ hr. wet for a 1982 C-152 and $44/hr. for flight instruction. This FBO is convenient, but strict and follows a rigid schedule. But this deal is pending, it might not happen for other reasons.

3. This school is a 20 minute commute from home, but walking distance away from the college which I attend. Prices are $80/hr. wet for a C-152 (don't know what year), and $60/hr. for flight instruction. But besides allowing me to stay at school and fly within walking distance from each other, this airport caters to upper class people and I figure also has more expensive airport operations.

I don't know what to do. Please help me choose the wisest decision that I will not regret in the future. Thanks.
Click to expand...

As a current student, I would recommend whatever gives you the highest quality instruction for the lowest price. The airspace issues will come with time, though I would say that a towered airport will get you more used to radio work in busier places.

I planned on going to a flight school ~45 min away (RYN, Class D) until I realized that the lower fuel and aircraft rental costs didn't quite make up for the rates, instructor availability and quality closer to home at TUS. Weather, aircraft/instructor availability, and your ability to flow with that mess can make quite a difference in the long run.
 
From my experience, it would be crazy to go any further than your closest flight school. Don't go cheap on the airplane. Go cheap on the instructor. Find an instructor that is new and available. Do a little bargaining with the CFIs, there MUST be a lot of slow business out there I'm sure they'd be willing to work something out. Every bit helps maybe you can use that to pay off your checkride. I see you're in LA. Any airport is as good as any in LA because of the airspace. Don't go LGB there is too much going on. Go to an airport where you will preferably spend less than 10 minutes on the ground. Don't worry about ATC experience.
 
Socal321 said:
Go cheap on the instructor. Find an instructor that is new and available.
Click to expand...

This is about where you lost me.

As a student pilot, I'd rather have a rickety airplane and a seasoned flight instructor because I'm going to do a lot of learning and be much safer and respect the aircraft.

On the other hand, if I had a shiny, clean, full of glass 'n GPS airplane and an inexperienced CFI, I'm way more likely end up in a crumpled piece of aluminum and composite in some parking lot 3 miles short of the runway.

I was able to charge a slight premium when I was a CFI because my students knew I was going to be hard on them and train them beyond the PTS. It wasn't because I got an erection for being a hard ass, I just cared about them flying safe and getting home in one piece.

But that's just my own perspective and there are many.
 
What matters is the price I guess not the experience. By my experience I didn't learn anything different from a seasoned instructor than a relatively new one. However I'm an independent learner and do not require a lot of hand holding.
 
FWIW, here's my two cents. I agree with Doug: find a really good instructor. My main instructor was a retired college professor with 8 years flying experience. Two other instructors I worked were: a retired rocket scientist (did NASA payloads, missiles etc.....oh yeah, and climbed Everest) and 25-year veteran cargo pilot.

As a physician, I REALLY appreciate excellent and concise teaching, and that is what I got with every instructor I worked with at my flight school.
 
You're looking at commute times and price schedules. You're looking at the wrong things. Commute times are all less than an hour each way so they don't matter. They just don't. The price schedules you're looking at are all within spitting distance of each other so they don't matter either.







As has already been suggested, you want to look at the instructors. You want to visit each school and you want to interview several instructors at each if possible and you want to determine where they fall in the following list.
  • The retired pro. This instructor worked as pilot doing something other than instructing. Then retired or quit and now teaches just for the enjoyment of teaching and a few extra sheckles every month.
  • The high time life-long teacher. This instructor has been a full time flight instructor or school teacher/college professor since before you were born. Not much experience outside of the teaching environment, but enough real teaching experience to make up for it.
  • The high time hobby instructor. This instructor does something far more lucrative than flight instructing to put food on the table and teaches as a part time hobby. This instructor will also have a couple thousand hours of experience as a non-professional pilot. *If they were a teacher/professor they should still have over 1000 hours of pilot time.
  • The 1000+ time builder. This instructor is much less desirable because they're only instructing for the time it puts in their logbook and the skills it will give them (notice how its all about them and not you?). But with over 1000 hours, they've probably learned a thing or two about teaching whether they ever intended to or not. And they've made it over the sub 1000 hour burnout point (see below).
  • The sub 1000 and sub 500 hour time builder. This category has two sections which both share the same rank. The sub 1000 time builder knows a bit more than the sub 500 hour version, but they are also more of a flight risk (moving on to the next job) and are more likely to be tired of instructing and therefore simply phoning it in (sub 1000 hour burnout). The sub 500 hour doesn't know nearly as much yet, but is also so new at it, that they're still excited to be teaching everyday and they're so low time that they pose very little flight risk.
Interview as many instructors as you can and go with whoever ranks highest on the above list.
 
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