Choosing a Flight School for Private Pilot License
Making the decision to learn to fly is often a life long ambition. Although it is exciting it can also be overwhelming. Aviation is often a totally different world to the corporate or work life you are most likely accustomed to.
Taking the first step is often the most challenging. In this article we want to remove the mystery of choosing a flight school. The first step in your journey of becoming a pilot is to find a flight school that can provide you with the training you need while providing you with the tools and confidence to use your pilot licence after you achieve the certification. Learning to fly is both a time and financial commitment. Each flying school caters for students with different requirements and needs.
We have summarized some of the key considerations to make when choosing a flying school to take you through the process of becoming a private pilot.
Determine Your Goals
Before you start looking for the right school to obtain your private pilot license, you need to establish your goals.
When considering your goals key questions to ask include:
Which aircraft you would like to fly in?
Does the school have access to the aircraft you would like to fly after you have completed your training?
Do you need the school to offer the theory training and the practical (not all schools do both)?
Can the school take you from your first lesson to your final goal e.g. Private licence, commercial licence or instrument rating.
Of course, your goals can change, but you want to have a good understanding of your goals before you choose to ensure you are picking a school that can help you achieve your goals.
Rates and Charges Explained
Typical Flying School Charges for a lesson towards your private pilot licence include:
Aircraft charged at
Engine time (sometimes called VDO or logbook) which means engine start to stop; or
Maintenance time which means the time you are in the air.
Airport and Air Services Fees
Landing fees (typically $10-$30) for a light aircraft in Australia depending on the airport you are operating from.
Controlled airspace fees – required if you are operated in controlled airspace.
Instructor fees
Dual fees – some schools charge more for their aircraft with an instructor.
Instructor Rates – some schools charge for their instructor time to keep the cost of the aircraft standard across all types of flights.
Typically most flying schools charge a fee for lesson based upon what resources you have used for the day. Typically the main things that affect the cost of your licence is dependent upon:
Instructor experience; and
Aircraft type, age, speed and equipment you have on the aircraft just like when you hire a car.
Plan Your Schedule
Busy flying school will typically booked out a few weeks in advanced. Having a flight school with limited last minute bookings is a good thing because it generally indicates a quality service with a high level of training.
When allocating time to learn to fly typically you will need to allow a minimum of 3-4 hours for a booking. Having a consistent schedule allows you to ensure you are making progress in your training.
When you are first learning to fly 1-2 times a week is the optimum time allocation to make consistent progress towards your goals.
Visit the School
Visiting the school before you choose is essential to get a feel for the staff and the environment around the school. You get to see how they interact with their students and with visitors and take a look at their facilities. Are the facilities and aircraft well maintained and properly equipped?
Are you looking for a larger school with lots of students or a more boutique one on one style of environment.
It is generally best to book this meeting to ensure you are speaking with the right person. Most instructors that have a busy client base will always have the time to answer your questions but will often be out flying if you don’t have a pre-planned meeting.
Instructors
When selecting your school it is important to ask how many people you will be flying with. Typically 1-3 instructors allows for a good balance. You will have enough consistency but each instructor will be able to provide subtle differences that may accelerate your learning.
Flying with more than 3-4 instructors during your course won’t allow you to progress as seamlessly through your training.
Trust Your Instincts
Learning to fly takes a lot of time and effort for you and your flight school. Thorough research is helpful, but trust your instincts when you visit the school. It’s more costly to find out later that the school will not work out for you. It is worthwhile to look around and see which school fits your needs.
If you are working towards a PPL as your hobby it is important to select a school that you feel comfortable with and staff that provide a service.
About TEAM
TEAM Aviation is a flying school based in SEQ (Archerfield and Toowoomba) specializing in private aviation using modern, safe and advanced Cirrus Aircraft. If you are interested in learning to fly, contact TEAM Aviation to learn more.
