I am a long time lurker on this website, and I decided to finally jump in and post about my experiences at Pan Am Ft. Pierce.
Disclaimer: This post is not meant as a response to other people that have had problems/issues with Pan Am. I don't know them, and can't comment/opine about their problems. The only thing that I will say about their posts is it sounds like they have some legitimate issues, and I honestly hope that they can get them resolved and get their training completed. After all, that is what we are all striving for.
Also, I am only commenting on what has happened to me directly.
I have been at Pan Am since the end of last year. I started with 0 hours and 0 idea about what I was really getting into. Sure, I have had a few issues with Pan Am. But, nothing that I wasn't able to get worked out. These issues were mainly about scheduling and administrative problems. To Pan Am's credit, these areas ( to me ) have improved over the last couple of months.
I have not had any issues with the level or quality of the instruction or the aircraft. I now have over 200 hours in Pan Am aircraft. I have had one squawk. This squawk was in a Cherokee I was using for a solo flight. The alternator light came on during the runup. I could not extinguish it, so I returned to the ramp. I squawked the plane, was given another to use and was not charged for the .2 on the hobbs. As far as the level of instruction, I feel that I have been very well prepared for all of my checkrides. I have had 4 so far (ppl, inst., comm. s.e., comm. m.e.) with 3 different examiners. I have not failed one yet ( I've jinxed myself now! /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif )
Now for the nitty gritty, money. I am one of the few who is on the "old" program. I was grandfathered into it and decided not to switch. I could see the advantages/disadvantages of the new program, but I felt that the program I was on was the best for me. Alot of people mention that it will cost you 15-25% more that quoted to complete the program. Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. But, if you start having a lot of repeat lessons, failing stage checks, and bust checkrides, then the costs will certainly add up. My costs, so far:
Private: I went over the estimate by a little over $1,000. I chalk this up to it taking me a little longer to "get" some of the maneuvers and landings, plus time off for Christmas doesn't help at that early stage of training. I also had an extra review flight the day before my checkride.
Instrument: I went over the estimate by $75. I attribute this one to my instructor being very good. Again, I had an extra review flight the day before my checkride.
Commercial Single Engine: I was under the estimate by $10. Different instructor than instrument, also a very good instructor. Once again, I had a review flight the day before my checkride.
Commercial Multi Engine: This checkride was 2 weeks to the day after my Comm. SE. checkride. I was under the estimate by $400. I was reunited with my instructor from instrument, and we get along well. Yet again, I had a review flight the day before my checkride.
So, I am about $700 over budget. That works out to about 2% over budget.
In closing I would like to say that I have had to work very hard to get these ratings. I have never studied so hard in my life, and it is only going to get harder in order to earn my CFI ratings. Could I have acheived this at another school? More than likely, it is up to the student to earn the rating. Do I think that Pan Am is better/worse that other flight schools? I can't answer that because Pan Am is the only school I have attended. Do I have any regrets about attending Pan Am? No, one year ago I didn't even know I wanted to be a pilot. Seven months ago I had 0 flight time. Now I have a Comm. ME. rating and will be a CFI at some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Thanks for reading, good luck to all!
Disclaimer: This post is not meant as a response to other people that have had problems/issues with Pan Am. I don't know them, and can't comment/opine about their problems. The only thing that I will say about their posts is it sounds like they have some legitimate issues, and I honestly hope that they can get them resolved and get their training completed. After all, that is what we are all striving for.
Also, I am only commenting on what has happened to me directly.
I have been at Pan Am since the end of last year. I started with 0 hours and 0 idea about what I was really getting into. Sure, I have had a few issues with Pan Am. But, nothing that I wasn't able to get worked out. These issues were mainly about scheduling and administrative problems. To Pan Am's credit, these areas ( to me ) have improved over the last couple of months.
I have not had any issues with the level or quality of the instruction or the aircraft. I now have over 200 hours in Pan Am aircraft. I have had one squawk. This squawk was in a Cherokee I was using for a solo flight. The alternator light came on during the runup. I could not extinguish it, so I returned to the ramp. I squawked the plane, was given another to use and was not charged for the .2 on the hobbs. As far as the level of instruction, I feel that I have been very well prepared for all of my checkrides. I have had 4 so far (ppl, inst., comm. s.e., comm. m.e.) with 3 different examiners. I have not failed one yet ( I've jinxed myself now! /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif )
Now for the nitty gritty, money. I am one of the few who is on the "old" program. I was grandfathered into it and decided not to switch. I could see the advantages/disadvantages of the new program, but I felt that the program I was on was the best for me. Alot of people mention that it will cost you 15-25% more that quoted to complete the program. Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. But, if you start having a lot of repeat lessons, failing stage checks, and bust checkrides, then the costs will certainly add up. My costs, so far:
Private: I went over the estimate by a little over $1,000. I chalk this up to it taking me a little longer to "get" some of the maneuvers and landings, plus time off for Christmas doesn't help at that early stage of training. I also had an extra review flight the day before my checkride.
Instrument: I went over the estimate by $75. I attribute this one to my instructor being very good. Again, I had an extra review flight the day before my checkride.
Commercial Single Engine: I was under the estimate by $10. Different instructor than instrument, also a very good instructor. Once again, I had a review flight the day before my checkride.
Commercial Multi Engine: This checkride was 2 weeks to the day after my Comm. SE. checkride. I was under the estimate by $400. I was reunited with my instructor from instrument, and we get along well. Yet again, I had a review flight the day before my checkride.
So, I am about $700 over budget. That works out to about 2% over budget.
In closing I would like to say that I have had to work very hard to get these ratings. I have never studied so hard in my life, and it is only going to get harder in order to earn my CFI ratings. Could I have acheived this at another school? More than likely, it is up to the student to earn the rating. Do I think that Pan Am is better/worse that other flight schools? I can't answer that because Pan Am is the only school I have attended. Do I have any regrets about attending Pan Am? No, one year ago I didn't even know I wanted to be a pilot. Seven months ago I had 0 flight time. Now I have a Comm. ME. rating and will be a CFI at some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Thanks for reading, good luck to all!