I never went to Sault College, and I know a number of my contemporaries didn't have the greatest things to say about it, however I have met a large number of graduates who got a lot out of the programme.
-Costs more to move to dault ste mare for three yaers than it would to be to do it privately
Possibly true, although you still have to live while you do your training, plus the cost of living in the Sault isn't that high... There is also advantage to having the costs spread out over a longer time.
- They fly old outdated planes that are not good for flight training, and not very economical
Ok, this is nonsense! The Zlin is definitely an interesting choice as a trainer, but I would personally trade all of my C172 and C150 hours for the equivalent time in a Zlin! It may be harder to fly than a C172, but is that really a bad thing? I often hear that the Zlin fleet is nearing the end of its lifespan, so the college is trying to decide on an aircraft to replace it; my vote is for a fleet of new Decathalons! This would continue the trend of having an unusual airplane for training at the college, and at the same time produce graduates with superior stick and rudder skills. Performance is comparable to the Zlin, and it is aerobatic and it has a constant speed prop...
The PA44 is widely regarded as an ideal multi trainer. I have a few hours in one, and found it to be an easy to fly airplane, well suited for multi/ifr training. It is also one of the most fuel efficient twins available, so your un-economical argument is bs.
-Takes approximately 3 & 1/2 years to complete yor training
Where do you get this number? The programme is only supposed to be 2 3/4 years long... I met a number of people that had their CPL done by the end of 2nd year, and were able to complete instructor ratings in the spring following the end of classes, and instruct for the summer.
-No upper hand in the industry towards getting a job. The only thing you get is an aviation diploma. You might as well use the diploma to start a fire
I haven't found this to be the case. I have seen a number of people get hired because of internal references from friends that they made at Sault College. Networking seems to be an important factor in getting ahead in aviation in this country, and its hard to argue with the network of graduates from the Sault college programme (or any other well established college programme for that matter!)
- You are forced to live in a small town that contains no women
I overnighted in YAM a few months ago and I ran into at least one women. (at least I think that she was a women... I didn't inspect further)
-There is absolutely nothing to do in sault ste marie that is fun except become an alcoholic or go skiing.
I think that says more about your personality than it does about the town.
-Two years of working time gone down the drain because you are spending it in school
Just like I wasted 4 years of my life going to university rather than going to work right out of high school???
-The profs in the program are incompetant, but there are some goods ones
An unfortunate problem in most academic institutions...
-Extemely depressing program that makes you take courses that are so unrelated to aviation
Surely there is some value to having a broader education that covers more than just groundschool!
-Most of the flight instructors there think they are maverick
Awesome!
-All around poorly run program
I would like to see what you consider a well run programme.
-Theres much more
I understand that you didn't like the programme, and there's nothing wrong with that! I personally did all of my training privately and learned a few things that college students don't because of the self directed programme that I followed. However, when it came to working with grads from the Sault College programme, I was embarrassed to find that I hadn't been taught a number of things that the Sault College students had!
