Whats going on here at FSA??

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C5crewChief

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Ok planes are getting sold...the SAAB 2000 sim has been down for over a month.. the GAT trainer was down for over a week.. trying to get a plane has become extreamly outrageous, waiting up to an hour with the chance to have to cancel duel flights because the IP has another student scheduled after your time. SO in that case you, the student, dont fly.. all the while your paying for a dorm sitting around with not a whole lot to do. On top of all that the pilot shop has new hours, which are very minimal. The mail room is a disorganized mess with pachages sitting on shelves with potential for package theft. I went to check out the career advisor office, which by the way is unattended, with three-ring binders that say "Pilot Jobs". All the postings in thoes book are from 1998 to 2003ish... so on the FSA website where it says "a dedicated fleet of 26 multi-engine and 62 single-engine aircraft" show me 62 SE planes and 26 ME's. where are they all hideing? And like i said earlier sometimes you have to wait up to an hour for an airplane for training.. according to the FSA website "When you need an aircraft for training, you know one will be ready for you". The videos are very old on the website also.. the aerial view of the flight lines show the main ramp AND the south ramp filled with airplanes... the real deal is that the south ramp has ZERO FSA planes sitting on it except for a few that are in maintenance and a few studrnt owned aircraft. Whats going on here?
 
We are selling planes in an effort to make room(money) for newer aircraft. The airplanes that were sold were chosen to be sold based on utilization and maintenance. We weren't really utilizing those aircraft to their potential, that's why we sold them. However, we haven't sold enough to really affect availability as adversely as you suggest. Keeping airplanes out of maintenance is the real problem. Our techs are working really hard and doing an excellent job of keeping the fleet flying, however they're just plain understaffed. Just as the flightline is understaffed with instructors. Know any good maintenance techs that need a job?

I'm not sure how the SAAB affects your training. It is rarely used anyways.

The GAT I'm sure is on high priority because it's ability to be used during weather. I work in the same building, and I have seen the sim techs in there working on it. There isn't much we can do to prevent things from breaking.

Scheduling is one of those things that you just have to deal with. Be on time, and prepared to your flights, pre-flight efficiently, be back on time. This is why scheduling is hard. It has less to do with availability and more to do with student preparedness and IPs managing their schedule. This means you show up ready to learn and fly, and that your instructor is also on time and prepared.

There are definitely some items on our website that need to be updated, and I'm sure they're working to correct it. Understand that it costs money to do those things. You want more airplanes or a pretty website? (Although I agree that it should be changed, incorrect information is never a good first impression.)

Overall I think if you're really concerned about not getting what you are paying for, this isn't the place to complain. Go see the chief pilot or the center manager, they can give you results. Venting your frustrations on an internet forum although therapeutic, rarely offers the results you seek. If you truly care about your training here, let the people who can make a difference know.

ps- spell check.
 
Wow!!!!! And so the conveyor-belt continues to roll on..... An aspiring pilot chooses an academy..... enrolls and then complains about customer service and false promises...........THEN, the same student gets hired and becomes an instructor.......and SUDDENLY, with some dual-given in the sunny skies of FLORIDA, he magically forgets what it was like TO BE A STUDENT there...... and condescends and strokes his own ego and even berates someone's spelling for voicing the SAME concerns they probably used to have!!!!!! WHATEVER man....

I'll check back in with you guys in a couple years when one of you is asking which crappy regional to apply to...... and the other, who probably asked the same questions with the same starry eyes before he went to a regional, will be telling you how dumb you are for considering the regionals.

A VISCIOUS CYCLE INDEED.
 
Im almost sure that the chief pilot and the center manager already know the problems with the school. It's quite obvious, three students in the current private pilot ground school, was four with one drop out already. Just to make my point about very limited flying time its already Tuesday and i have yet to be on the schedule. The schedule is already out for wednesday and yet again.. not on it. At this rate i might as well get a part time job instead if sitting around while the school collects money for my housing. And yes, I have spoken with DM about my scheduling issues. It amazes me how the Irish, Swiss, Chinese, or any other contract student has passed me up in training flying 5 times a week, all the while i sit around looking at the schedule and hoping to be on it. My american roomate is still pre-private flying twice a week while two Irish guys i know came in about a month ago already have their PPL's.

I know this is not the place to complain, but i do know that this is the place potential students look before making the decision to visit or attend ant school.

On the other hand I dont have all complaints. I must say the Frascas at FSA are very high tech. and well maintained! Also the PCATD's are free to use whenever the students want (within library hours). Other schools charge about $35 - $40 /hour for the PCATD's.

So not all its bad but the schedule needs to be worked on and if the contract students get to fly 5 times a week the americans shouldent be put on the back burner... flying once or twice a week isnt good because you cant keep up your poficiency.
 
Ignatius J said:
Wow!!!!! And so the conveyor-belt continues to roll on..... An aspiring pilot chooses an academy..... enrolls and then complains about customer service and false promises...........THEN, the same student gets hired and becomes an instructor.......and SUDDENLY, with some dual-given in the sunny skies of FLORIDA, he magically forgets what it was like TO BE A STUDENT there...... and condescends and strokes his own ego and even berates someone's spelling for voicing the SAME concerns they probably used to have!!!!!! WHATEVER man....

I'll check back in with you guys in a couple years when one of you is asking which crappy regional to apply to...... and the other, who probably asked the same questions with the same starry eyes before he went to a regional, will be telling you how dumb you are for considering the regionals.

A VISCIOUS CYCLE INDEED.
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First thing, don't make assumptions.

My time here as a student surely wasn't lollipops and butterflies, and I'm sure I complained about it here. The difference is I was vocal about it at the school, and told people who needed to know. Getting on a soapbox just to get on it is pointless. Point that mouth at someone who can listen and help.

I wasn't condescending in any way, and every word I wrote was meant with pure intent to help. I'm not going to banter back and forth on the internet about things I can't do anything about. I was simply offering my advice.

As far as spelling- that's a life lesson. If you want to be taken seriously and professionally you have to start some time.
 
C5crewChief said:
Im almost sure that the chief pilot and the center manager already know the problems with the school. It's quite obvious, three students in the current private pilot ground school, was four with one drop out already. Just to make my point about very limited flying time its already Tuesday and i have yet to be on the schedule. The schedule is already out for wednesday and yet again.. not on it. At this rate i might as well get a part time job instead if sitting around while the school collects money for my housing. And yes, I have spoken with DM about my scheduling issues. It amazes me how the Irish, Swiss, Chinese, or any other contract student has passed me up in training flying 5 times a week, all the while i sit around looking at the schedule and hoping to be on it. My american roomate is still pre-private flying twice a week while two Irish guys i know came in about a month ago already have their PPL's.

I know this is not the place to complain, but i do know that this is the place potential students look before making the decision to visit or attend ant school.

On the other hand I dont have all complaints. I must say the Frascas at FSA are very high tech. and well maintained! Also the PCATD's are free to use whenever the students want (within library hours). Other schools charge about $35 - $40 /hour for the PCATD's.

So not all its bad but the schedule needs to be worked on and if the contract students get to fly 5 times a week the americans shouldent be put on the back burner... flying once or twice a week isnt good because you cant keep up your poficiency.
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DM is not the chief pilot, and he's not the center manager. I highly recommend you visit them instead.

As far as ground school- I know a month ago we had a ground school with almost 30 students. We're not hurting for customers, that's obvious.

Scheduling should get better in the next few weeks, we currently have about 15 new instructors getting standardized. I expect they will hit the line in the next 2-3 weeks. That should relieve your scheduling problems, as more instructors mean less students per IP, and more scheduling availability.

I am in no way suggesting you not complain. That's the right you have as a consumer and a customer. It only motivates us to be better! I just highly recommend you focus your efforts to the correct receptacle.
 
I'll be attending the next CFI ground school at FSA (Oct class). I'll say the caliber of training has not suffered since I enrolled in FEB 07. But we now have a TON of foreign kids and the staff is stretched thin. A lot of the check airman have students too. The SE planes are on their last legs as well. The maintenance costs have to be up there. It's getting to the point where they will have to do something soon or their customer satisfaction will suffer. Hopefully new planes will be ordered soon, but knowing how FSA is run, it's not likely.
 
Again, try to stay away from assumptions and speculations.

The aircraft are hardly on their 'last legs'. Maybe the Arrows, but our fleet is well maintained. I DARE you to find maintenance this good on a fleet of this age(and size) anywhere.

We do in fact have new aircraft on order for delivery in October.
 
C5crewChief said:
Ok planes are getting sold...the SAAB 2000 sim has been down for over a month.. the GAT trainer was down for over a week.. trying to get a plane has become extreamly outrageous, waiting up to an hour with the chance to have to cancel duel flights because the IP has another student scheduled after your time. SO in that case you, the student, dont fly.. all the while your paying for a dorm sitting around with not a whole lot to do. On top of all that the pilot shop has new hours, which are very minimal. The mail room is a disorganized mess with pachages sitting on shelves with potential for package theft. I went to check out the career advisor office, which by the way is unattended, with three-ring binders that say "Pilot Jobs". All the postings in thoes book are from 1998 to 2003ish... so on the FSA website where it says "a dedicated fleet of 26 multi-engine and 62 single-engine aircraft" show me 62 SE planes and 26 ME's. where are they all hideing? And like i said earlier sometimes you have to wait up to an hour for an airplane for training.. according to the FSA website "When you need an aircraft for training, you know one will be ready for you". The videos are very old on the website also.. the aerial view of the flight lines show the main ramp AND the south ramp filled with airplanes... the real deal is that the south ramp has ZERO FSA planes sitting on it except for a few that are in maintenance and a few studrnt owned aircraft. Whats going on here?
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If you're not under contract or you can bail on the one you've got, do it.

Why are things so tough at FSA? They're cutting costs because few if any of the Regionals are hiring. As such, there are many less students to be had.

If they're still shoveling the "we'll get you a job right away!" line, they're full of crap. Stop and take a good hard look at the state of the industry, and then take another look at any pilot Academy.

The Academy will lie to you- They'll tell you they're the only way in to the Airlines and that THEY can get you a job. That's not true. They (or anybody else) might not be able to get a job.

These Academy places rely on student showing up in droves to 'buy the dream'. Don't be their sucker, man.
 
Things are not tough here, we're at the highest student count since 9/11.

The jobs are still there, but now they're instructing jobs.
 
bLizZuE said:
Things are not tough here, we're at the highest student count since 9/11.

The jobs are still there, but now they're instructing jobs.
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Wait for it. If your hallways are more crowded than ever, it's because your turnover rate for instructors is lower than in previous years.

Plus, if students can't get scheduled (and finish training) it'll bottleneck the system.

Good signs for the industry mean having a hard time finding instructors, not planes.

Unless the Regional hiring wave picks up again, the backlash will be felt at the instructional level.
 
Firebird2XC said:
Unless the Regional hiring wave picks up again, the backlash will be felt at the instructional level.
Click to expand...

We may very well be on that road; not necessarily to the degree that we were prior, but hiring nevertheless IF oil continues its downward trend. I know that my airline (Eagle) is considering hiring again.
 
bLizZuE said:
You have no facts in your statements, just speculations.
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True, but pretty good speculations. Also I'm sure we could look at history and pull some inferences relating to the current environment. However one factor we haven't had before is the amount of foreign students coming here to train. I remain hopeful, but I'm looking to get to a good place to instruct to ride out the storm, MEI ride Monday!
 
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