Search for a Flight School

So having done some research into requirements for pilot licences and what is involved, now its time to research flight schools that will meet my training needs and budget.

Some tips on selecting a flight school:

http://www.aopa.org/learntofly/startfly/chooseschool.html

I live not too far from Archerfield (YBAF) airport in Brisbane so this seemed a logical choice given the short distance to travel for flight lessons and the number of flight school options at Archerfield.  Its also a relatively busy GA airport and it would be good experience flying in Class D controlled airspace with Air Traffic Control (ATC).

I also considered other airports with flight schools offering Recreational Pilot training - Redcliffe and Caboolture.

A good way to "try before you buy" is to go on a trial flight called a Trial Introductory Flight (TIF).  This gives you a taste of flying in the type of aircraft you would be training in and also an idea of the flight instructor and flight school.  Flying should be fun so you ideally want a flight school that make the learning process fun and enjoyable.  TIF flight time also goes in your log book towards flight time requirements for PPL.

On 19/6/10 (some time ago now) I completed a TIF with Royal Queensland Aero Club in a Cessna Skyhawk 172 aircraft (VH-LYF).  It was a 30 min flight time over Mt Cootha TV towers in Brisbane.  I performed the taxi, assisted with run-up, performed take-off and climb, did a radio call, joined downwind and bought the aircraft to final approach where the instructor performed the flare and landing.  Awesome stuff!  :-)

Through looking at a number of flight school web sites and comparing costing, I finally decided to meet with a flying instructor at PathFinder Aviation based at Archerfield airport.  I had a number of questions to ask including the following:

• Need CPL with instrument rating minimum to be employable pilot?
• Likelihood of employment as pilot with little CPL hours and at my age?
• Is it better to seek Command Instrument Rating with Private or Commercial licence
• Timeframe and estimate cost to achieve Private Pilot Licence with Instrument Rating (part-time)?
• Aircraft used with different licences and ratings?  Does Pathfinder Aviation own the aircraft? 
• Aircraft rates – wet (fuel included) or dry rates
• Does Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) charge for ground time?  Eg pre-flight planning and post-flight briefings
• Insurance offered by flight school and insurance offered when hiring airplanes?
• How many students does each flight instructor have and will I have one instructor or a few? Instructor grading?  Instructor instrument rated?
• What are the payment options for the courses?  Financing options?
• Any other costs?  Eg books, landing fees, flight planning equipment, fuel, test fees, etc
• Does PathFinder Aviation have approvals: AS 9001 Quality certified?  CASA recognised flight instructors? Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) assessed?
• Does Trial Intro Flight (TIF) get logged as flight time in logbook?
• Get a tour of the flight school facilities?   See the aircraft?

I was satisfied with the answers provided to my questions and so booked a 60 minute TIF for Saturday 27/4/13.  Can't wait!  :-) 

If all goes well, I'll proceed with my recreational flight training with PathFinder Aviation (they have an arrangement with Flight One at Archerfield for the PPL component of the training).

Next blog will be about the trial flight with PathFinder Aviation...