Hi
I am new to the board. I was looking to begin my flight training in Edmonton area. Would like to get inputs and recommendation for schools in this area.
So far i have in mind
Centennial - did a intro flight and noticed the time even get to taxiway takes about 10min from hanger to getting clearance and getting past the gates. Also noticed they only have 2 instructors to get trained with
Namao Flying club - did not get to check out the place but from the website and talking to phone seemed they don't have many spots open for booking due to lack of instructors. By far the cheapest place to train
Edmonton flying club and cooking lake aviation - New aircrafts smaller airports so i guess less taxi time but the cost adds up due to g1000 aircrafts. Does training in the new systems help in the later stages of the career or is it better to start old school ?
Would like to hear inputs from people who have trained or are currently training in any of these places. Tried doing searches on them but could not find any recent information.
YEG Flight training
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, Right Seat Captain, lilfssister, North Shore
Re: YEG Flight training
I did all my training at Cooking Lake Aviation (CLA). They do have one Cessna with your standard 6-pack display that you can do the majority of your training on, most of the Commercial students do their training on the analog aircraft anyways. But CLA does incorporate training on both aircraft in order to be comfortable on both, plus experience in the G1000 is an asset, many 703/704 ops are starting to utilize a more integrated/glass panel avionics system. At the end of the day the $$ you spend on renting the G1000 you would pay with the long taxi times over at ZVL & flight out to the practice area in the cheaper aircraft.
I always recommend to choose a school that has an environment you can learn in and be successful. Throughout my training I met 4 or 5 students that came over from Edmonton Flying Club and had a much better experience at CLA. The environment is often based on a company culture of the school. I had a great experience at CLA: reliable & consistent maintenance, friendly, laid back, willing to help, motivated & want you to succeed. Read the google/facebook reviews, physically go to the school and check out the location, meet the instructors, chief pilot, dispatchers & other students.
DM me if you have any more questions.
I always recommend to choose a school that has an environment you can learn in and be successful. Throughout my training I met 4 or 5 students that came over from Edmonton Flying Club and had a much better experience at CLA. The environment is often based on a company culture of the school. I had a great experience at CLA: reliable & consistent maintenance, friendly, laid back, willing to help, motivated & want you to succeed. Read the google/facebook reviews, physically go to the school and check out the location, meet the instructors, chief pilot, dispatchers & other students.
DM me if you have any more questions.
Re: YEG Flight training
No first hand information from any of those FTUs, but I do want to chip in my two cents. Just because a flight school or club only has 2 instructors and a couple of airplanes, doesn't mean that it's a poor choice. In fact, a slower, smaller school could get you done faster and you may learn more. The instructors get to give you more personalized training, and know you better as a person/student. Also less likely to have scheduling issues booking a plane (or instructor) if they're not too busy.
You are also more likely to get the instruction by the same instructor over the course of your training, which does lead to less wasted flights and more money in your pocket.
As for the G1000, I'm not old, but do have a bit of old school train of thought when it comes to flight training. I find the 6 pack better to learn from, and THEN to move towards glass. Easier to learn that way. Most people struggle if they go glass from the beginning, and end up flying a 6 pack later on down the road. As mentioned by RILEY, it is good to have some experience with the G1000 or other glass cockpits, your transition towards other airplanes that have glass will be a lot easier once you're out in the working world.
Just a couple pointers, I know I have no first hand info from the aforementioned schools , and i apologize for that.
You are also more likely to get the instruction by the same instructor over the course of your training, which does lead to less wasted flights and more money in your pocket.
As for the G1000, I'm not old, but do have a bit of old school train of thought when it comes to flight training. I find the 6 pack better to learn from, and THEN to move towards glass. Easier to learn that way. Most people struggle if they go glass from the beginning, and end up flying a 6 pack later on down the road. As mentioned by RILEY, it is good to have some experience with the G1000 or other glass cockpits, your transition towards other airplanes that have glass will be a lot easier once you're out in the working world.
Just a couple pointers, I know I have no first hand info from the aforementioned schools , and i apologize for that.
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Cessna driver
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Re: YEG Flight training
EFC and Centennial
Having worked at one and flown at another (in no particular order), here is my $0.02
Both are great schools, with very different environments, ultimately the decision is yours to make, and go with the school you would best fit with, that means going in and checking them out.
Aircraft
CFC has cheaper aircraft costs and older aircraft, but with that being said, a 172 is a 172, not much in differences in new vs. old. Depending on what your goal is, whether is be commercial or just private, your going to walk away with a licence. There are many operators and private aircraft out there that are still running steam gauges (you would have seen these on your intro flight at CFC) so it is not necessarily a downfall.
EFC is running new 172 with the G1000. The G1000 is a nice feature, but necessarily the best when learning to fly. Students tend to stare at the screens too much. Lots of small operators and private aircraft are starting to go towards the Glass Cockpit set up, but it is still a slow transition. The cost to fly these new aircraft is also fairly high.
At the end of the day, your licence will look no different whether you learned to fly on steam or glass.
Environment
CFC is more of just a school type of environment. They have great staff and are always willing to help. There usually isn't too much for outside activities, its mainly just flight training.
They are located at a fairly busy airport so you get the experience flying with lots of traffic in an ATC controlled environment.
EFC is more of a club type atmosphere. There are pub nights, fly ins, golf days, movie nights etc.. where anyone can tag along and join in. In a nut shell, more of an outgoing type of crowd.
They are located at an uncontrolled (no tower/atc) airport, but still somewhat busy with mainly training aircraft.
The instructors at both schools are great, and the training is even better at both. The biggest thing is don't pick a school based on one aspect. Go out to each of them, visit, talk to people, and see where you think you would fit in better.
As its 2 am, i'll leave it at that, any questions feel free to PM me
Having worked at one and flown at another (in no particular order), here is my $0.02
Both are great schools, with very different environments, ultimately the decision is yours to make, and go with the school you would best fit with, that means going in and checking them out.
Aircraft
CFC has cheaper aircraft costs and older aircraft, but with that being said, a 172 is a 172, not much in differences in new vs. old. Depending on what your goal is, whether is be commercial or just private, your going to walk away with a licence. There are many operators and private aircraft out there that are still running steam gauges (you would have seen these on your intro flight at CFC) so it is not necessarily a downfall.
EFC is running new 172 with the G1000. The G1000 is a nice feature, but necessarily the best when learning to fly. Students tend to stare at the screens too much. Lots of small operators and private aircraft are starting to go towards the Glass Cockpit set up, but it is still a slow transition. The cost to fly these new aircraft is also fairly high.
At the end of the day, your licence will look no different whether you learned to fly on steam or glass.
Environment
CFC is more of just a school type of environment. They have great staff and are always willing to help. There usually isn't too much for outside activities, its mainly just flight training.
They are located at a fairly busy airport so you get the experience flying with lots of traffic in an ATC controlled environment.
EFC is more of a club type atmosphere. There are pub nights, fly ins, golf days, movie nights etc.. where anyone can tag along and join in. In a nut shell, more of an outgoing type of crowd.
They are located at an uncontrolled (no tower/atc) airport, but still somewhat busy with mainly training aircraft.
The instructors at both schools are great, and the training is even better at both. The biggest thing is don't pick a school based on one aspect. Go out to each of them, visit, talk to people, and see where you think you would fit in better.
As its 2 am, i'll leave it at that, any questions feel free to PM me
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Cessna 180
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Re: YEG Flight training
Centennial is a great school. I work with a number of guys who did their training there and seem to be well rounded pilots. I used to work a few hangars down from them and met their staff. They all seem like great guys. Older instructors that know what they're doing as well as some younger guys that seem rather committed.
Cooking Lake is also a great school. Good fleet of airplanes. Seems to be rather well managed. Also have a few friends who went there and are all rather good pilots. I know a couple instructors too and they are good guys. Only downside to CLA is the drive out to Cooking Lake where Villeneuve is a bit easier to get to especially if you're living in St. Albert or the west end (both quite a bit cheaper to live then Sherwood Park).
I wouldn't really look at saving hobbs time at Cooking Lake as a reason to go there over Villeneuve. Villeneuve is hardly busy and tower controllers are quick. It's essentially the same one you taxi out to do a run-up. The gate is always open now at ZVL which saves fiddling with the garage door opener that rarely works.
Cooking Lake is also a great school. Good fleet of airplanes. Seems to be rather well managed. Also have a few friends who went there and are all rather good pilots. I know a couple instructors too and they are good guys. Only downside to CLA is the drive out to Cooking Lake where Villeneuve is a bit easier to get to especially if you're living in St. Albert or the west end (both quite a bit cheaper to live then Sherwood Park).
I wouldn't really look at saving hobbs time at Cooking Lake as a reason to go there over Villeneuve. Villeneuve is hardly busy and tower controllers are quick. It's essentially the same one you taxi out to do a run-up. The gate is always open now at ZVL which saves fiddling with the garage door opener that rarely works.
Re: YEG Flight training
Thanks for the all the great inputs. I will have to check out CLA as i did not even consider it as an option. With Centennial I noticed the 2 instructors they have both are fairly new guys who just got their instructor ratings
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Cessna driver
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Re: YEG Flight training
theres nothing wrong with a class 4 instructor, we all started somewhere, find an instructor you get along well with, wont bullsh*t you, and will find the correct answer for you if he/she doesn't know. There are some really good Class 4 instructors out there.
