Luftpost
Well-Known Member
Greetings to everyone and many thanks to Doug Taylor for an outstanding site. I found this site late last night. This is my first post.
Anyway,....This past Thursday my wife and I flew commercial (Southwest) to FS for their tour. I arrived on time and was greeted by the receptionist. She was very friendly and arranged for my tour guide (student). I will keep names out of this to protect the innocent.
As I write this, I realize that this could become a very long post, as the tour lasted just over 3 hours, so I will jump to the things that most influenced me.
My guide was a young lady, very knowledgeable about the school and also very confident with herself (a good thing). She showed me classrooms, simulators, briefing rooms, the weather room, etc. I was quite impressed with the whole operation. The campus is quite large, consisting of several buildings. What I did notice however was that the facilities seemed a bit under maintained. These conditions would become even more evident after visiting Pan Am International Flight School in Ft. Pierce. The students seemed very busy, and pretty much kept to themselves (a bit unimpressionable perhaps). Towards the end of the tour, we visited the flight line where I was able to peek into a Seminole, Archer and Zlin.
I could tell just by looking at my wife that she was very impressed, as was I, in fact I had pretty much committed myself to FS. As a matter of fact, she told me that she might like to consider signing up (and she hates to fly). Our tour guide did a fine job of representing the school and was very obvious that she was proud to be there. Our guide then brought us back to the main building were we then met with a Marketing Rep (MR).
This is where the tour went south. Let me tell you a bit about myself and situation. I am 33 years old with a college degree. November 9th I will be doing my FAA PP checkride. I have been training at a local FBO now for nearly 6 months with about 57 hours under my belt. This change will obviously be a complete lifestyle change for me (us). We have 3 children and my wife stays home with them (we don't like daycare). Fortunately, we live a comfortable life.
The MR first reassured me that I was not alone, and that flying is a common career change. The MR then explained to my wife numerous times how much she will suffer during the first 5 years. We knew that already. Did I mention numerous times?? Then they began to insist that FS was my only choice, as other school could not live up to the reputation. I understand that FS has a very highly respected reputation in the industry worldwide. Following, the MR then began to bash other flight schools (unprofessional in my opinion). The kids came up in the testimonial, and they said "screw them"
, in respect to there change in lifestyle.
Then salaries became the topic. I understand that the first few years is at poverty level, with considerable increases with seniority, however the $ which she expressed seem completely unrealistic, especially in my scenario (I am no spring chicken). After our session, my wife and I were in complete shock. Not into the lifestyle we will be living, but the image in which this person is representing the school. It almost seemed as if she was trying to talk us out of it (remember, she is a marketing manager). Well, I certainly would not base my life decision on one person, but it did highly impact my feelings about FS. Yes, I do want to hear all aspects of such a career change, but then it should be presented in a way that doesn't make you feel dirty afterwards. We both felt a bit played by the end
A few other thoughts...This school is 50 years old, and has a current enrollment of approximately 400 students. Why is it then that their airplanes are older, and the facilities and it amenities are not current?? At $60 grand a pop, for that many years, it should look a little better. Additionally, since ASA has temporarily pulled out, there is no carrier which is committed to FS.
So in summary, I was a bit disappointed with the facilities, and certainly its marketing dept., which did not do its job. My tour guide was however very pleasant as I mentioned earlier. Yes, there is mention of an airline signing with FS, but it is not official yet. I do like the reputation which proceeds Flight Safety, and feel it would only help the perspective employment candidate.
I am interested in your thoughts and experiences.
If you are interested, I will post my experiences with Pan Am under their topic.
Anyway,....This past Thursday my wife and I flew commercial (Southwest) to FS for their tour. I arrived on time and was greeted by the receptionist. She was very friendly and arranged for my tour guide (student). I will keep names out of this to protect the innocent.
As I write this, I realize that this could become a very long post, as the tour lasted just over 3 hours, so I will jump to the things that most influenced me.
My guide was a young lady, very knowledgeable about the school and also very confident with herself (a good thing). She showed me classrooms, simulators, briefing rooms, the weather room, etc. I was quite impressed with the whole operation. The campus is quite large, consisting of several buildings. What I did notice however was that the facilities seemed a bit under maintained. These conditions would become even more evident after visiting Pan Am International Flight School in Ft. Pierce. The students seemed very busy, and pretty much kept to themselves (a bit unimpressionable perhaps). Towards the end of the tour, we visited the flight line where I was able to peek into a Seminole, Archer and Zlin.
I could tell just by looking at my wife that she was very impressed, as was I, in fact I had pretty much committed myself to FS. As a matter of fact, she told me that she might like to consider signing up (and she hates to fly). Our tour guide did a fine job of representing the school and was very obvious that she was proud to be there. Our guide then brought us back to the main building were we then met with a Marketing Rep (MR).
This is where the tour went south. Let me tell you a bit about myself and situation. I am 33 years old with a college degree. November 9th I will be doing my FAA PP checkride. I have been training at a local FBO now for nearly 6 months with about 57 hours under my belt. This change will obviously be a complete lifestyle change for me (us). We have 3 children and my wife stays home with them (we don't like daycare). Fortunately, we live a comfortable life.
The MR first reassured me that I was not alone, and that flying is a common career change. The MR then explained to my wife numerous times how much she will suffer during the first 5 years. We knew that already. Did I mention numerous times?? Then they began to insist that FS was my only choice, as other school could not live up to the reputation. I understand that FS has a very highly respected reputation in the industry worldwide. Following, the MR then began to bash other flight schools (unprofessional in my opinion). The kids came up in the testimonial, and they said "screw them"
Then salaries became the topic. I understand that the first few years is at poverty level, with considerable increases with seniority, however the $ which she expressed seem completely unrealistic, especially in my scenario (I am no spring chicken). After our session, my wife and I were in complete shock. Not into the lifestyle we will be living, but the image in which this person is representing the school. It almost seemed as if she was trying to talk us out of it (remember, she is a marketing manager). Well, I certainly would not base my life decision on one person, but it did highly impact my feelings about FS. Yes, I do want to hear all aspects of such a career change, but then it should be presented in a way that doesn't make you feel dirty afterwards. We both felt a bit played by the end
A few other thoughts...This school is 50 years old, and has a current enrollment of approximately 400 students. Why is it then that their airplanes are older, and the facilities and it amenities are not current?? At $60 grand a pop, for that many years, it should look a little better. Additionally, since ASA has temporarily pulled out, there is no carrier which is committed to FS.
So in summary, I was a bit disappointed with the facilities, and certainly its marketing dept., which did not do its job. My tour guide was however very pleasant as I mentioned earlier. Yes, there is mention of an airline signing with FS, but it is not official yet. I do like the reputation which proceeds Flight Safety, and feel it would only help the perspective employment candidate.
I am interested in your thoughts and experiences.
If you are interested, I will post my experiences with Pan Am under their topic.
