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What you should be willing to do to find the right flight school...


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More than anything on these flight training posts, I see people looking to find flight schools that fit them perfectly. Location, ease of training, value in their training, trusting their training.

These are all very important in the search for a flight school that fits their needs, but it should be understood that sometimes, your best bet is found when you step outside your comfort zone and sacrifice what you have now to prepare your future.

I searched for a school nationwide that fit my needs at the time. Close to my comfort zone (home), accepted the GI bill, had adequate facilities, accommodated my youthful and very outdoor lifestyle and could produce (hopefully) a job for me at the end.

I only found three. This was in 2009, and the economy was in the dumps. The flight school field to choose from was like grabbing bubbles; you'd find what sounded like a great school, only to watch it fold under the economic crash. There were still a lot of schools, especially part 61, but what I needed was a long-lasting and sustainable school that took the GI bill, but wasn't in the middle of the prairie lands.

That meant a part 141 school, with an adjoining college or university, and still had to incorporate my outdoor active lifestyle.

That left one.

My girlfriend and I decided to go for it because future helicopter pilots have the same mentality as helicopter pilots. She and I rented out our two houses to who knows what kind of people, quit both of our corporate jobs, consolidated our belongings into a single 1,200 square foot townhouse and moved away from both our families. It was the most intense first six months of our lives. And in the end, we are so happy to have done so.

Now, I am a helicopter flight instructor with 1,000 hours, have a degree from an accredited college, have a new addition to the family in a beautiful little girl, fly every single day, still own our two rental houses, get an amazing view from the office every day, and couldn't be happier. All because we had the courage and foresight to just go for it.

I hope everyone else can get the same results as I did, but the lifestyle often comes with a lifestyle change. Be ready for it, and reap the rewards, there's very few careers that look anything like that of a helicopter pilot.

Let me know how your story went- I'd like to see more of us flying and filling in the gap of the last generation with strong knowledge and skill sets that surpass the last generation.

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I hear ya on the commitment level.

I am married with two young boys. I was working at a mine, making 60-70k or more a year, and hated my job. My wife and I finally grasped the meaning of the saying, "money isnt everything".

I was always gone and thought it was doing us good, but when you hate the job, its not worth it.

 

I had a dream to fly from a very young age. My wife reminded me of this and said, lets look into putting you through school. I let her know right away we didnt have the money and it would happen someday.

She retorted, its always someday, and then she scared me. She said someday is today!

 

So I looked at three schools in the northwest and found one. I had visited the school before, and had friends go there in years back. It had been there for decades, and has a reputation for being tough, and yet making solid pilots.

 

This meant not working at the mine, as they would not accomodate a schedule change of three weeks on one week off for a three/three to let me go to school. It meant moving away from my mountain paradise and friends to a (big for where I am) city, which sucks beyond all reason.

 

I took a month to consider it all, two breaks to travel and get my decision solid, then I dove in. I have to say, it has been the hardest thing in my life as far as crazy challenges, yet I love every minute of it. I know that now a short someday ahead, pay will come back, but life is worth living as I get there. My wife has been 110% supportive, the kids too! Friends think its cool and that I lost my mind, but they dont have the bug........so I ignore their concerns.

 

Now...money may not be everything, but flying helicopters IS!

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It was 2009 and I was three years away from getting out of the marines when I committed to flying helicopters. I spent those three years learning everything I could ahead of time and researching schools to attend. There were two schools I could use my GI bill at close to home that would have let me save a lot of money living with my parents but unfortunately they did not seem like my best option. The school that seemed like my best option to get employed was on almost the complete opposite end of the country. So after finishing my enlistment I packed my bags, left the girlfriend behind, and moved 2600 miles to a state where I did not know a single person. I can't put into words the feeling of taking the first steps of a plan three years in the making. So far I'm confident I made the right choice. My training is going well and I'm enjoying exploring a new part of the country. It was hard to make the move out here and leave behind friends, family, and my comfort zone, but if there's one thing I've figured out so far is this is an industry that takes commitment to break into.

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I was just having this very conversation with my best friend who is half way to commercial now and evaluting his next step. He is fortunate that his girl is a travel critical care nurse so they can relocate anywhere the flight training will benefit him and he said the same thing last night on the phone. It was time to jump and he quit his job and jumped. I know he'll be successful in the end. I was driving 3.5 hours each way to get to my flight school, there is defintely something to be said for commitment and determination, those are the pilots that succeed. Not the ones who want everything to be perfect the whole time, that is just not reality.

Edited by aussiecop
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From someone who is making plans to jump off the cliff, thank you for your posts. They are very encouraging. I'm a year away from starting flight training, and I've asked myself innumerable times "have you lost your mind?!"

 

You will ask yourself that again and again, I can promise you, but if you truly love it and want it then nothing else will matter.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thats what I did. If the hourly rate is adfordable, aircraft are safe, they teach to the PTS and students are passing checkrides, the school is doing what it needs to be doing. Job placement, "reputation" in the hiring world blah blah blah. Nobody cares where you went to school. Nobody cares is your school was located in Class B, at 6000' MSL or in a field in Kansas. Go where its convenient and affordable. I dont know that Ive ever been asked and can probably count on one hand the times Ive even casually discussed it.

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Years ago, while visiting SoCal I took a ride in a 500 and it was that initial flight that got me hooked. After the ride, the ground handler dude handed me a flyer for the company conducting the rides which was also a flight school. The flyer advertised the school as a “Hughes Training Center”. When I returned home, I simply opened the phone book and flipped to the yellow pages and found a “Hughes Training Center” flight school in my area… The rest is history…..

 

While I used to agree, a certificate is a certificate and it doesn’t matter where you get it, nowadays things are different. The single most important factor when choosing a school is the employment possibilities upon graduation. There are circumstances which one can calculate this possibility but that’s for another thread. Either way, I’m certain, there are visitors to this site who will attest their training was safe, convenient and to standards but are nowhere near to employment then the day they first forked over the mega dinero for certification. In the end, the plastic in the pocket doesn’t mean squat unless it’s taking you where you want to go…

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Cheeto9, I chose Leading Edge Aviation in Bend OR.

Their facilities are far beyond the simple "helicopter and hangar," establishment. They have an on-site flight training device, six classrooms, a dozen helicopters, they just opened their fixed wing program, cater to both VA and private pay, and have a very strong management staff with decades of business and aviation experience.

I started there when they were a basic school with a few flight instructors and about 20 students. In the last three years they've increased enrollment to over 130 helicopter students and we are about to hire three of our students as instructors bringing our instructor staff to 24 CFI's. We're a legitimate flight school and I've watched it all happen in the last couple years. Check it out at www.flybend.com

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Cheeto9, I chose Leading Edge Aviation in Bend OR.

Their facilities are far beyond the simple "helicopter and hangar," establishment. They have an on-site flight training device, six classrooms, a dozen helicopters, they just opened their fixed wing program, cater to both VA and private pay, and have a very strong management staff with decades of business and aviation experience.

I started there when they were a basic school with a few flight instructors and about 20 students. In the last three years they've increased enrollment to over 130 helicopter students and we are about to hire three of our students as instructors bringing our instructor staff to 24 CFI's. We're a legitimate flight school and I've watched it all happen in the last couple years. Check it out at www.flybend.com

 

I’d personally like to know, why the check-ride fee is $815.00? Around these parts, a ride fee is about $250… Please explain…………

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I’d personally like to know, why the check-ride fee is $815.00? Around these parts, a ride fee is about $250… Please explain…………

I'm not sure why the website is showing $815 for a checkride. Checkrides range from 500 to about 750 out here, depending on what examiner you use. These costs are set by the examiner, not the flight school. What parts exactly are you from? I've never heard of such a low checkride fee.

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I was at Leading Edge last Thursday & Friday. The onsite DPE was giving PVT. & Commercial practical tests while a DPE that had to fly in from elsewhere was there to do a CFII test. On October 7 & 8 another DPE will be giving 4 ATP practical tests.

 

I can see the varying costs of practical tests because of the travel expenses and loss of a few days of flying in a commercial job by the brought in DPE. I am still fatigued from my travel (18 hour return day-Sunday) and could not fly yesterday, today and maybe not tomorrow. I have a fatigue risk management system in place and never lower my standards.

 

Many schools/applicants wait for practical tests because of the lack of availability. HAI's Training Committee is addressing the lack of DPE availability as a priority.

 

Do not misunderstand, I am not validating the cost of a $815 test or any fee. Ask yourself, if you had to take a day off to fly to a location, have the cost of airfare, rental car, hotel and then fly out back to a job, maybe take another day off to address fatigue before returning to flight status, what would you charge?

 

Should the school have a set fee and pay the difference, maybe? At least the "high" fee is published and not a surprise!

 

And more, DPEs are limited to giving two practical tests a day. They can not even do a third oral to begin a practical test for the next day.

 

Mike

Edited by Mikemv
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Ah...and I just figured out where the $815 average cost is coming from...the aircraft rental is figured into the fee on the website. Mikemv is right...most of the examiners travel to LEA for the exams. Our lowest fee is with our in-house DPE.

 

Mike, by the way, thank you for your visit. I think everyone learned something. I already noticed instructors around the flight school dropping the term 'student'.

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In an attempt to get this thread back on topic...

My story is similar to HeliVane's. Out of high school, not knowing what I wanted to go to college for, I enlisted in the Marines and served 5 years as a helicopter crewchief. At the end of my enlistment, I made the decision to begin flight school. I researched a lot of different schools and ended up with the one I'm at now.

I drove 2700 miles, away from my comfort zone on the east coast to central Oregon. I had nothing set up for myself when I moved out here...didn't know a single soul out here. I stayed in a cheap hotel for 2 days while I found a place to move into. ...began flight training that fall, stayed focused all the way through CFII then was fortunate enough to be hired afterwards.

It's great the way things worked out for me. I was even able to acquire all my airplane ratings through CFII also, which is way more than I ever thought I would achieve. And now I'm beginning my bachelors at ERAU.

I'm still at the very beginning of what I hope to be a long and successful career, but I never would have made it to where I am without taking that first uncertain step out of my comfort zone.

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I was at Leading Edge last Thursday & Friday. The onsite DPE was giving PVT. & Commercial practical tests while a DPE that had to fly in from elsewhere was there to do a CFII test. On October 7 & 8 another DPE will be giving 4 ATP practical tests.

 

I can see the varying costs of practical tests because of the travel expenses and loss of a few days of flying in a commercial job by the brought in DPE. I am still fatigued from my travel (18 hour return day-Sunday) and could not fly yesterday, today and maybe not tomorrow. I have a fatigue risk management system in place and never lower my standards.

 

Many schools/applicants wait for practical tests because of the lack of availability. HAI's Training Committee is addressing the lack of DPE availability as a priority.

 

Do not misunderstand, I am not validating the cost of a $815 test or any fee. Ask yourself, if you had to take a day off to fly to a location, have the cost of airfare, rental car, hotel and then fly out back to a job, maybe take another day off to address fatigue before returning to flight status, what would you charge?

 

Should the school have a set fee and pay the difference, maybe? At least the "high" fee is published and not a surprise!

 

And more, DPEs are limited to giving two practical tests a day. They can not even do a third oral to begin a practical test for the next day.

 

Mike

 

When I was quoted $900 for the checkride in Oregon I was going to have to fly to him (about a 45min ride in the R22 if I remember correctly)! When I paid $300 in Long Beach, I also had to fly to the DPE, in an R22 from Phoenix!

 

Hmmm, maybe I should have charged for travel expenses? :D

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In my opinion…….

 

All schools should have reasonable access to a DPE. That said, the “fee” should be for the services rendered as a DPE. Travel and lodging expenses are different and probably shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of the student. And, even though most DPE’s are not associated with the school and are becoming increasingly unavailable due to Federal government budget cuts, it is the responsibility of the school to manage access to DPE’s. Simply put, a school should provide a “package” to accomplish certification and this includes access to a DPE at a reasonable cost…. Furthermore, the industry should do all it can to discourage “DPE shopping” for obvious reasons…..

 

This just another factor students need to consider when choosing a school…..

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Years ago, while visiting SoCal I took a ride in a 500 and it was that initial flight that got me hooked. After the ride, the ground handler dude handed me a flyer for the company conducting the rides which was also a flight school. The flyer advertised the school as a “Hughes Training Center”. When I returned home, I simply opened the phone book and flipped to the yellow pages and found a “Hughes Training Center” flight school in my area… The rest is history…..

 

While I used to agree, a certificate is a certificate and it doesn’t matter where you get it, nowadays things are different. The single most important factor when choosing a school is the employment possibilities upon graduation. There are circumstances which one can calculate this possibility but that’s for another thread. Either way, I’m certain, there are visitors to this site who will attest their training was safe, convenient and to standards but are nowhere near to employment then the day they first forked over the mega dinero for certification. In the end, the plastic in the pocket doesn’t mean squat unless it’s taking you where you want to go…

 

Could you expand upon this point. Every flight school I visit says that they hire their own students but it depends on if they need instructors when I get my CFI... What do you recommend?

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Could you expand upon this point. Every flight school I visit says that they hire their own students but it depends on if they need instructors when I get my CFI... What do you recommend?

 

Pretty much all flight schools will tell you they prefer to hire their own CFI graduates in order to lure prospective students into the door (read sales gimmick)…. While most do, with some, it’s not worth the money, time and effort, cuz they simply can’t supply the work…

  • Best case scenario, you get hired by the school that trained you….
  • Second best case scenario, you don’t get hired by the school that trained you but, you do get hired immediately by another flight school….
  • Worst case scenario, you never get hired…..

Getting the first CFI gig is simply a numbers game. Understanding how the numbers can increase or decrease your chances is the key to a best case scenario and it starts when you initially choose a school…

 

The school which will provide the best chances for a "best case scenario" should have enough helicopters to support the student load without cancelations. This school will also have enough CFI’s to allow the students to train unhindered by company-imposed restrictions or mismanagement. Plus the bulk of the student body should be focused on pro-pilot aspirations and not made up of part-time wannabes or hobbyists. Additionally, when you start, the CFI’s should be full-time employees and have a fair amount of time under their belts. These CFI’s should be flying a lot. Conversely, seeing CFI’s constantly sitting around the lounge drinking coffee is a bad sign….

 

With the above in mind, find a school that “fits” you. That is, flight schools are rarely the same. They each have their own vibe with corresponding positives and negatives. Personally visit as many schools as you can and talk with current and former students. Do this away from CFI’s or company reps…

 

And while it’s a numbers game, it’s also a balancing act. Go too big and you can get lost in the shuffle. Go too small and you could be the only card….

 

Research, research, research and when you’re done, do it again……….

 

Edited by Spike
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