Re: US Aviation in Denton TX, hiring 19 new flight instructo
You will be busy and you will be monitored, but I honestly feel you don't create a completely accurate picture. Many things have improved since USFA first started their massive expansion, and while it was shaky at first, I believe they are slowly becoming a much more solid company to work for.
Concerning MX, yes most of their planes are older and do have their issues, but I was there for about two years and never had any of the above listed problems. Not to say they didn't happen, because I know they did, just that it doesn't occur with the frequency you make it sound. They have added much newer 172's, although they still have the original older models you remember.
I'm not attacking you or saying your experience was wrong, because I know where you are coming from, I'm just offering another perspective.
Fair. Like I said, I am providing some perspective based on my time there. I do understand they were and are going through some growing pains which is why I actually left out MANY more negatives that I could have posted.
However, let me add that I never felt completly safe within a 10nm radius of DTO...especially in the pattern. In a span of 3 months I had 4 near misses in mid-air with another aircraft. Compare that to my 3 years flying out of KADS when I had NONE. Granted, DTO has NO radar...but I heard they may install one soon, or may already have. If so that would help. For those who don't know, on a typical day the pattern at DTO becomes completly saturated with USFA aircraft doing touch&gos, not to mention another handful holding at the OM and/or doing practice approaches. As far as airport operations go, DTO is busier than KADS and KDAL combined all because of USFA aircraft doing touch & gos.
I actually heard, for the first and only time in my life a controller flip out over the radios while in the DTO pattern one day. In the dead heat of July, while it's a nice 110 degrees outside...it seemed as if every Chinese and Indian student was out solo in the pattern. Most of them had less than stellar English and were missing calls, understanding instructions incorrectly, and making their own radio calls very hard to understand. Finally the guy in the tower screamed, " There are too many people in the pattern who DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH!" He proceeded to reject anymore touch & go operations (there were 4 more USFA aircraft in the runup) made all inbound aircraft hold their posistions where ever they were, and landed 6 aircraft he deemed as "non-English profecient".
Meanwhile, I happened to be on downwind when all of that went down. Unable to get a word in edgewise, and the controller on the verge of a mental break down I had to break out of the pattern since he completely forgot about me. I announced 3 times that I would be holding to the west of the airport at 2,000 feet. Sure enough, I had to dive for my life when a 172 came straight at me.
That same 172 ( the red and white one) also missed my wing by no more than 20 feet once when we were BOTH told to fly to the water tower inbound to DTO. Of course, we both get there at the same time with me slightly higher than him. The only reason I was even slightly higher is because I took that initiative, after not being able to spot him and knowing we were both coming in at the same altitude I had my student climb a little "just in case". Had I not, we would have collided at an angle as we both converged on the same spot at the same time.
What resulted pretty much had me sure that this was not worth $15 an hour plus everything else we had to put up with out there. Again, I hope things do get better for them but I can't recommend working there based on my experiences.
Oh, and I talked to the instructor in the 172 that almost hit us when we got on the ground. He had no clue. He never saw us, neither did Brenda in the tower.
