im back !!!
Well im back safe and sound...i managed a whole month in Titusville and if you have ever been there you will know thats its an achievement and a half !!!
Well what did i think about Debenair..... Annette (the owner of the school) has customer service skills to a tee. I had a house to myself for the whole time i was there and i only paid for a single room! They were so nice that they put other couples in another house so we each had a little bit of privacy.
LD Max mentioned something about car hire. What he didnt mention is if you are over 25 you can rent a car from Annette too.
The school. Well this is mainly just a porta cabin so dont be suprised. But they do share a hangar (pretty big one too) where the debenair mechanics get to work. Ian, who is from down south somewhere, is a top bloke to get to know. On 3 or 4 occasions when the weather was bad he explained the ins and outs of aircraft with the cowling etc removed. He knows his stuff and explained everything in detail. He tried to keep the aircraft flyable while i was there and was successful apart from 1 or 2 minor hitches. But still make sure you check them before you fly, especially the C152s and N757EA with ER tanks which did me no favours. By the way the Arrow is wicked to fly and well maintained.
The school is well run. I flew with both the CFI, Elsworth, and an instructor Mike. Both were brilliant but have there own ways of doing things which is not necessarily the JAA way. But it worked. I got my complex rating and they both prepared me well for my CPL skill test. However they do seem to have a massive complex about leaning that mixture ! (by the way which we all did).
Titusville... imagine an old peoples home and multiply it by 1000. Its crap. Theres absolutely nothing to do. Make sure you take somebody along with you if you do decide to go because its boring as hell. Even worse if you dont hire a car. I used the bike to get there and back for a few days. My a*se was in tatters and it knackers you out. A handy tip. DONT STAY NEAR ORLANDO. ITS A 1 HOUR DRIVE AT LEAST TO THE SCHOOL so add your go go juice to your accomodation and it works out well cheaper and less tiring to stay in one of Annettes houses. If you do go to Orlando for a night out dont bother asking where to go either because they aint got a clue ! Check out Pleasure Island at Disney or Church Street in Downtown Orlando. You re bound to get lucky in one of them. If not trry the expensive gentlemans clubs in Cocoa if you are into that kinda thing. Ask Ian the mechanic for more info on this he he he.
The bottom line is that Debenair really do have things sussed. If you are thinking about hour building then this is THE place to do it. Just give yourself ample time (there was about 7 days bad weather while i was there) and you should be fine. Oh and you have to visit River Ranch, an activity park and rodeo just for pilots.Great.
P.S i think there rates have gone up by 2 dollars just after i arrived so i think its 43 dollars / hour for a C152 and not 41 which may still be advertised.
Happy flying and hello to all at Debenair. Thanks again for your help. If i know how to post pics here i would because ive got 2. reply and i will try.