Educate yourself
When it comes to choosing a flight school to spend your hard earned money, make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. Many pilots default to the closest or flashiest school and miss out on some of the best schools out there. I do believe you get what you pay for to a certain extent, but the most expensive option is not always the best.
My best experience with a flight school was actually one of the smaller schools at my local airport. Unfortunately I had to go through some other ones to land where I fit best. I think that is the key, finding where you fit best with the management and instructors. Over the course of my training I have flown with 14 different instructors and learned something from many more than that. I learned fast the personality and teaching style have a lot to do with how much and how fast you learn. I have had more than one instance of meshing personalities with an instructor, but their teaching style didn’t match how I learn, and vice versa.
During my time as an instructor I have experienced the other side of that coin. I have recommended to move students to other instructors that were not progressing with my teaching style. I have also had students come to me from other instructors that were discouraged and about to quit, but for some reason the way I explained things made sense to them and they excelled. All this to say that you should know your strengths and weaknesses and your learning style so you can find an instructor that will fill your needs.
Where to look
The short answer is close to home. I have attended schools out of my state, and attended and worked for schools that were a long commute from my house. Neither worked well, not only because of the lost time, but the extra expense associated. Check out AOPA’s flight school finder.
A visit to your nearest airport is the best place to start. I recommend visiting all flight schools in your area to get a feel for how they operate and the quality of their equipment. Don’t be afraid to ask for the tour and ask many questions. If it helps you, make a list of questions at home so you don’t forget anything. Also, TAKE NOTES! Not only will it help you remember the small details, but it will show the instructors that you are committed and organized. Even if you are not organized, fake it ‘till you make it. You have to start somewhere.
What should you ask?
Some of the questions you will have depend on your goals. For instance if you are a casual pilot and you will be renting that schools airplanes in the future, you need to know their policy on overnight trips. Most have a minimum charge if you take the airplane overnight.
Something I have made a habit of asking is about the maintenance of the airplanes. I can tell you right away that every flight school will assure you that their maintenance program is top notch. It’s not always true. Do some research to get an idea of what maintenance is required so you can ask them those questions and see what they say. I had an experience with a flight school that assured me that their maintenance program was the best because they do it all in house. After a few flights I realized they were skipping a very important item. Be careful.
Another thing to ask about is if they have a cancellation fee. Some schools will charge you a fee if you cancel a flight without giving 12 or 24 hours notice. I don’t disagree with this policy, and I have paid several cancellation fees. Just make sure they won’t charge you for cancellations that are out of your control like bad weather or maintenance issues.
The best way to get an idea of the quality of a school is to ask their current students. Ask them about their experience with the school and if there is anything that needs to be improved. Also ask about the pass rate of students that come out of the school. If the pass rate is bad it could be indicative of poor management or instruction.
A few other ideas of questions to ask:
- What are the insurance requirements? What is covered by the policy? Are you responsible for the deductible? How much is the deductible?
- What scheduling software do they use? How does it work? Who makes the schedules?
- How many instructors are there? How many students? Is the airplane available to you 3-4 times a week?
Part 61 or 141?
There are two different sets of rules that a flight school can operate under.
Part 141 schools are usually geared towards career minded pilots. These schools have a syllabus that is approved by the FAA, and they can get you to private pilot at 35 hours, commercial pilot at 195 hours. The syllabus is generally followed line by line, which can be great because you will have a copy and can study for the upcoming lesson. The downfall here is that it may slow down your training if weather or other factors don’t allow that lesson to be completed.
Part 61 schools are generally better for part time students who have to work a full time job to pay for school, but can work well for full time students as well. There is much more latitude in how the training is completed, and you can even complete multiple lessons each flight if you are a fast learner.
Pull The Trigger
Once you have done your due diligence, get started! I fully advocate doing your homework and making sure you find a good school that won’t take advantage of you. Just make sure you don’t delay too long because of over analyzing. Do the homework, make a decision, and go for it.