Need info...

juan valdez said:
kind of a broad statement without knowing anything about either school he is referencing.
I mean maybe the mom and pop place is known to be shady or cut corners on maintenance or some such. Or it could be the other way around and the big name school is shady. Or any other number of reasons to choose one over the other.

edit: maybe the big name school is giving him a more realistic quote based on hours as well. I mean if mom/pop are quoting him 40 hrs and big name is quoting him 50 hrs, that's the difference in 1200 smackers right there.
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Obviously I can't analyze specifically each school just based on these statements. It is his responsibility to ensure he's getting good training from a good source. However, if they're reasonably equal, take the cheaper one.

Also, knowing many many many people who have paid full cost up front only to have the school close their doors, I recommend never paying full cost up front to anyone.
 
bLizZuE said:
Obviously I can't analyze specifically each school just based on these statements. It is his responsibility to ensure he's getting good training from a good source. However, if they're reasonably equal, take the cheaper one.

Also, knowing many many many people who have paid full cost up front only to have the school close their doors, I recommend never paying full cost up front to anyone.
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Is that a common occurance for schools to close down without notice? I did not know that thank you.
 
mcop306 said:
Is that a common occurance for schools to close down without notice? I did not know that thank you.
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It's happend several times recently.

It's one thing to pay for 10 hours at a time (commonly refered to as "block time") to get a 10% discount, but DO NOT pay for the whole course up front.

When you factor your costs, know that most people take 50% more than the minimum required by the FAA. 50-60 hours is a much more realistic figure.
 
mcop306 said:
thanks for the help. @ bandit, i can see red lights green lights and tell the difference easily. i do have a problem seeing shades of brown deep blue. but i can see traffic lights just fine red green yellow.

Another question is i have narrowed it down to 2 schools. one is a mom and pop and is cheaper. they have older planes but seem to really love flying, they told me they have never had a problem getting scheduling for students or running out of planes for lessons. the other is a big name school with brand new planes all the cool new stuff on them. tehy have 10 instructors and lots of planes but much more business like. what are you guys thoughts? the small school is about 1200 dollars cheaper.
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In my non-medical degree thinking you should have no problem getting a medical, even if you need to get a SODA to do it. Just try and get the 1st class medical right out of the gate. That way you can do anything you want within commercial aviation.

It is are to say which school since I don't know anything about them. As others said you want and experience CFI, find out how many hours he has, how many private students has he signed off for check rides and passed/failed. A gold seal CFI is a plus.

Try out both schools for a demo flight, sit down and talk with them. Evaluate them just as you would any school you are think about spending money at.

All things being equal go with the cheaper school, IMO. You will learn more in the old 172. You can always take a weekend or two and learn glass cockpit stuff later if you wish.

NEVER PAY ALL YOUR FEES UP FRONT....There is too much of a chance today of getting screwed. It is ok to buy chucks of Block time. But once you pay it all up front they've got you. If the school goes south you can't switch schools or if they close you are SOL...

Let us know what you decide and how the medical goes...
 
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