Hey guys,

Im new here looking for some up to date advice on flight schools in the area.
Looking to go from no experience to instructor rating in about two years.
Any reviews on the following would be greatly appreciated:

1) Canadian Flight Academy
2) Durham Flight Centre
3) Canadian Flyers
4) Toronto Airways

..and any others I may have missed.

You know Buttonville Airport is closing very soon, don't you?

You should probably buy a car. Compared to flight training it's a small expense.

Billy Bishop airport is accessible by public transit. No idea how they are for flight training, but I went for a flight in an Island Air 172 earlier this year and they showed me a really good time.

...laura

Picking out a flight school can be very tricky, specially when you don't have enough money. So you really want to spend the minimum to get everything if possible.

I did 11 Dual in C-172M @ Canadian Flyers. It is not the best because the instructor's teaching ability really varies. Some are very detail but at the same time willing to lower briefing time(Best). Some wants to drag on forever and kill your money(worst). Although you may say that is the same in every flight school, but in Canadian Flyer. This doesn't help because they have i believe 5 Cessna, 1 Piper and 1DA-20 and hey are either fully booked or under booked. Which sometimes could be frustrating because you really need to know your schedule in advance. Their price is slightly lower than Toronto Airway assuming the training time require and aircraft are both the same, which includes small factors as well. The down side is that a few training that requires ATC and certain Runway restriction can't be performed there.

Toronto Airway, i never trained there but i had a few friend that studied there. Since this is not my personal experience, i have no idea with the actual experience. My friend did about 10 hours there and had a blast, the instructor he got was very chill and lay back but at the same time experienced. The Price is higher than every flight school around Scarborough but it is a very decent choice because it is the closest airport and they have a functional ATC. The Buttonville one is closing down at July of 2017 i believe so training there will be a bit tough. However, the Durham location remains active.

Island Air, Again, no experience but just my personal opinion. Their Fleet varies, range from 172 to 150 i believe. The 150s can be offered for training at a lower rate so you actually saves thousands of dollars. However, i am unsure of their status in terms of cockpit renovation. I believe Island Air offers the lowest training fee(last i check in 2015) comparing to all the the flight school but accessibility is surely a headache. In addition, In order to travel to practice area, the aircraft would have to take about 15~20min +. In addition, Although ATC communication is definitely an advantage but sharing runway with Porters isn't the best option.

Durham Flight training Center, Again, no experience but just my personal opinion. After reviewing their offers(2015), i don't really see anything that is very outstanding. Nothing in price or in review, and the location is a headache to get to. Therefore, i personally wouldn't take it unless i am going for CPL.

There are others that isn't really close by but offers a decent option.

Again, These are just my personal opinion and you can take it for reference if you want.

Cheers