intro flight discovery flight

[ThisGuy]

Not sure of what school I would like to go to.
Would doing a "intro" flight or discovery flight at eachschool be a waste of time and money?
Does the time spent count towards my total time?
Can I get 1 hour of instruction at each school instead or how should I go about this?
Looking to fly with a few different instructors or until I find one I feel will be suitable for me.

[photofly]

I heard of a guy once who finished his entire ppl by doing 45 "special-offer" intro flights at 45 different flight schools. Apparently it cost him less than half what most people spend on that much flying. (Of course the air fares across the country to all those different towns more than made up the difference.)

"Intro" or "non-intro" - it doesn't make much difference. Go book a couple of lessons at different flight schools. Tell them you're auditioning for an instructor for a ppl.

Good luck.

[ThisGuy]

Thank you. So essentially the hours are recorded as the same regardless if its a "intro flight" or "training lesson"
I am sure they will show me/tell me this but just so I am on point how do I ensure the hours are recorded properly?
Thanks Again.

[pianokeys]

Get a log book and a PTR, carry them with you to each flight school.

[mike123]

Don't ask for "intro flights", ask them to teach you the next lesson.

[B-rad]

I heard of a guy once who finished his entire ppl by doing 45 "special-offer" intro flights at 45 different flight schools.

I call BS on that. Who would sign him off for his cross country and solos? I doubt they covered spiral dives in those intro flights regardless of how many you would have elsewhere.

good story tho but that's all it is.

[5x5]

I was just typing my response below while B-rad did his. I had a chuckle as the start is amazingly similar.

I heard of a guy once who finished his entire ppl by doing 45 "special-offer" intro flights at 45 different flight schools

Well, personally I'd call BS on that story. Not many schools would take in a stranger and go out and teach them advanced upper air if they had no previous experience with that "student". And as a result there would be lots of extra flight time to ascertain the student's capabilities before new training would begin. I can't see it working out, but I guess anything is possible, but this one is very unlikely.

Regardless, it isn't a waste of money to go to the schools you're interested in to take an introductory lesson/discovery flight/whatever. You will get a good insight into the school's operation and the general mood of the staff and students that are there. And don't limit yourself to just the dispatcher and the instructor that will be working with you. Take the time and ask to talk with the CFI or any other management person that is around. Ask them why you should take training at their school. Look for things like a solid, published syllabus (ask to see it). Ask how they work to insure that student's receive effective, efficient instruction i.e. supervision and monitoring. They should have some sort of process in place to review each student's progress at least on a monthly basis. What kind of recourse does a student have if they have questions or concerns that they aren't comfortable discussing with their instructor? You'll get a pretty good feel for how the school is run.

Don't get sucked in purely by any one thing like shiny, new airplanes or lowest hourly rate or fancy offices. These can be good things when combined with a lot of other factors, but the main thing you should be looking for is a school that is truly looking to provide you with the best training possible. Little more time upfront can save you a lot of regret later.

[Pop n Fresh]

Ok, I'll point out fam flights are usually .5 hours, so the guy was a prodigy that only had 22 and a half hours to snag a PPL. We don't suppose photofly might have been kidding about that?

[stol701]

Would doing a "intro" flight or discovery flight at eachschool be a waste of time and money?

Definitely a waste of time. You have to trust your instructor. That goes pretty much from before you fly. If they turn to be a complete idiot, yes, try with another one. But to approach the whole thing with the idea of such calculated selection is not right and thus any time and money you spend on this is wasted.

[love2fly14]

Also a student and this is my advice.
Honestly, look for convenience... All instructors are different and you will learn something from all of them. This guys are certified, some might be doing this for hours and some just because they love teaching. But they all have been qualified to teach.

When I say convenience, look for a school that is near your place so you can fly frequently, you can fill up cancellations, students fail to show up etc.. You will soon realize that the weather is your worst enemy.

My other point is, if you are interested in flying commercial, then you will be paired up with other crew, so changing instructors does give you some sort of experience in how to deal with different people.

Good luck!!

[LousyFisherman]

Also a student and this is my advice.
Honestly, look for convenience... All instructors are different and you will learn something from all of them. This guys are certified, some might be doing this for hours and some just because they love teaching. But they all have been qualified to teach.

When I say convenience, look for a school that is near your place so you can fly frequently, you can fill up cancellations, students fail to show up etc.. You will soon realize that the weather is your worst enemy.

My other point is, if you are interested in flying commercial, then you will be paired up with other crew, so changing instructors does give you some sort of experience in how to deal with different people.

Good luck!!

+1

[5x5]

Guess it's the new millennium alright. Make one of your most significant life decisions - the expensive (time and money) start of your education and a career - based on convenience. We all have opinions and in our own minds (mine included) we are all correct.

So there's no point arguing, but all I'd ask is at least give as much time and effort into choosing a school as you would if you were buying a new car. Perhaps you would, in fact, just go to the nearest dealership and pick the car closest to the exit because after all, all cars are basically the same and anyone of them will get you where you want to go. And if so, carry on with that decision making strategy and good luck to you.

[slam525i]

Guess it's the new millennium alright. Make one of your most significant life decisions - the expensive (time and money) start of your education and a career - based on convenience. We all have opinions and in our own minds (mine included) we are all correct.

I chose based on convenience. I was 17 and it was the last millennium. I simply didn't know better, but I lucked out with a great instructor at an old-school flying club.

It's good for new potential pilots to ask. I've seen far too many newbies get screwed.

[love2fly14]

Big difference, when you are buying a car you are bound by a contract and just agreed to purchase or finance for xxxx amount $$$$...

Now, when we enroll with a school, we are not signing a contract stating that we are doing our PPL with them and paying 18K in advance...
We are just purchasing a block of 2hrs ....

[ThisGuy]

I have a few friends who train at X ( not going to bash any company ) This Flight training School would be convenient for me.
Today while asking some friends questions they basically told me half the instructors are @$$holes lol this discourages me from wanting to go there.
I will be driving to St Thomas this following week and going to there flight school to inquire about lessons and to meet with who my instructor would be.
I will ask them questions such as if they do this as a career or are working on building hours.

[photofly]

they basically told me half the instructors are @$$holes

That's 50% that aren't. That's pretty good going. You only need one of those. Do you consider yourself able to distinguish an @sshole from a non-@sshole?

[Shiny Side Up]

they basically told me half the instructors are @$$holes

That's 50% that aren't. That's pretty good going. You only need one of those. Do you consider yourself able to distinguish an @sshole from a non-@sshole?

And technically speaking, half of any segment of the human population are a$$holes to varying degrees, if we assume standard distribution and all. You have to worry when a group has a higher percentage of a$$holes than the usual 50%, or if someone tries to tell you that there are no a$$holes in a group. The former means there's some sort of a$$hole magnet in the situation which is responsible for the unusual concentration, the latter because its probably a sales pitch and there are indeed a$$holes to be encountered at your own peril.

[photofly]

Alternatively it could be his friend that's the @sshole.













Just saying.

[Shiny Side Up]

There exists that possibility too.

[B-rad]

.

[B-rad]

ok just had to check if we had to write in code or if it would get censored.
I don't think it's super secret code you're using so I don't know whats being saved by not being right out with it.

[ThisGuy]

I just didn't think it would post hah other forums will put *'s.
Anyways didn't mean to offend anyone.

[Pop n Fresh]

Speaking of that word in code, I saw this as a quebec lisense plate at the museum.

370H55V

[5x5]

Big difference, when you are buying a car you are bound by a contract and just agreed to purchase or finance for xxxx amount $$$$...

Now, when we enroll with a school, we are not signing a contract stating that we are doing our PPL with them and paying 18K in advance...
We are just purchasing a block of 2hrs ....

[B-rad]

Speaking of that word in code, I saw this as a quebec lisense plate at the museum.
370H55V

now, that is more like it!