Choosing A Flight School

I started this article over a week ago.  The article kept getting longer and more detailed, until I finally took a step back and approached the subject from another angle.  I’d like to simplify the approach.

Your employer won’t care what school you graduated from.  There are pros and cons to going to big or a small school.  The bottom line is that you attend a school where you can learn and progress.  The best education is going to come from great teachers.  The best teachers are not necessarily the most experienced pilots, or at the most expensive schools.

Career flight instructors as a general rule are pilots who are committed to becoming great teachers.  Next are the flight instructors that teach for the joy not for the income.  Some of the best instructors I have come across are those who have other careers, but teach because they love to pass on safe and accurate skills.  Flight schools that fast track high quantities of students often cycle through instructors equally fast.  So take the time to get to know as much about the school as possible.  Look over the employee credentials.  Do a web search of the school name.  Check out the better business bureau for complaints. 

More effectively is to interview students and teachers of the school. It is realistic to seek a job as an instructor with the school you choose.  Therefore, you will want to speak with some instructors prior to selecting your school.  Try to get an idea of the instructor’s satisfaction of the school.  While you’re asking around talk to some students too.
 If there are references the school can give you then check them out.  If you have the opportunity to visit in person ask around the airport what kind of reputation the school has. 

Understandably many of you are looking from overseas.  You may not want to spend a few thousand dollars to come visit, just to look into a school.  To those of you debating the expense I suggest you think of it as seriously as you would medical school.  It is going to be expensive.  Your are training to be responsible for people‘s lives. 

As an instructor I introduce my students to many key individuals. I feel it is important for them to get a sense of support and seriousness from a wide variety of aviators.  Is the school you are looking into going to provide you this type of serious and professional opportunity?

So once you’ve narrowed down the search to just a few choices, what are you looking for?  You should have a good feeling about the entire program.  If you tend to get emotions confused with intuition then make a list of positive and negative features.  Keep a notepad with you and whenever something doesn’t sound quite right, mark it with a red flag.  Likewise keep good notes and refer back to questions you’ve written down.

This kind of tough interviewing is not insulting to professionals.  Quite the contrary, people with whom you want to do business should  be impressed with your motivation and thorough attention.  A quality flight school (or anyone) isn’t going to have anything to hide. 

And when in doubt, speak out!!!  Feel free to contact me or anyone else you can relate to who may help answer your questions.  When my students are flying in the clouds for the first time, I expect them to recall their training and contact an air traffic controller if they need help.  Forget about how amateur or foolish you may feel.  Start communicating.  Get some opinions.  Get some advice.  Be proactive.

The following is a list of facts and red flags that are often ignored.

1-A student should never blindly follow a school’s advice. 
2- Flight Schools are businesses; as such many are profit driven with no forgiveness.
3- If you attend a school that requires all of your money up front, you will never see that money again even if you don‘t finish the course.
4- There are different methods of teaching.  What is your preferred method? - Is this a study at home type course or is it a 4 hour a day class room setting with 4 hours of flight?  How many students are in a class?  Are there regularly scheduled start dates?  What happens if you fall behind?  Is this a college atmosphere or is it a 1 on 1 instruction. 
5- Some schools have many instructors others may have a single instructor.
6- There is generally a time table.  What is the schools policy of time? How long does each course take? 
7-  Flight availability is an issue.  Is there a guaranteed schedule? How many students are there per plane?
8- Ground school instruction varies a lot with different facilities. Are there texts? Does the ground school follow the flight lessons?
9- A school should have plenty of good references.  Talk to the local examiner, the students currently enrolled, graduates, the local businesses such as the FBO or others who may have an idea of the company.
10- You should have a plan.  At the minimum you should have a course syllabus.  Ideally you should know from the beginning what you are doing for every day of school.
11- Is this a 141 or a 61 school?  If it is a 141 are all of the courses 141 courses or just one or two?  ( Some schools only qualify one course with the FAA.)
12-Is the school registered with the board of education?  Schools that have taken the time to register with the state board of education have taken the time to make themselves legally responsible for their training. 
13-Be cautious of job promises.  Promises of any kind should be received with some skepticism.