I am going to make a bold post, take it for what you will.
I have never trained there but have come up through the ranks in the last couple of years and am familiar with most trainging operations. I am not a student or adisgurntled employee. I currently fly a 206l and a 500d. These are just some honest observations and opinions. Here is my take.....
I would run away.
1)any school who wants your money up front is a scam. there is nothing you can do if they shut the doors tomorrow and you lose. Dont think this hasnt happened. The stories of this are all too common in this business. Pay as you go. I used to keep a couple of grand on account and pay weekly. Because I did this , I got a small discount but didnt have much to lose, and even when I went a couple of hundered in the red it wasnt a big deal, cause they knew I would go to the bank.
For example: Key bank has disbursement dates when you sign the note. The school has the athority to change these dates with out telling you. SSH is know for this, they capture your cash.... I know of one person who cancelled the rest of the disbursement, when he found out, they were not happy with him.
***borrow as little money as you can**** you do not want to carry debt, you are going to be poor jumping from stupid job to stupid job for the first year or two. Think of this as a 5 year investment before you make good living wage. It may happen quicker, but that is a good number.
Remember these Key loans schools push are adjustable rate, money is cheap right now. This could change fast and all of a sudden it could go up sevarl pionts a quarter and get real expensive.
2) They dont have enough a/c for the amount of students. I know a couple of people there who have been there 5-6 months and still havent gotten their ppl becasue they can never get on the scheudal. 2 a/c for 40 plus students. ( I think they got a third but a student overspeed it after the first week) The owner does seminars, gets people to sign up with key bank, gets all your money up front then you are along for the ride. It should not take you longer than 9 months (tops) , ppl to cfii if you are dedicated, full time.
There was a bunch of students ready to sue in CAl because they signed up and there was no a/c , there might have been one. the same story is heard in AZ lots of student , not enough a/c. They got a couple of a/c in cal but not enought to get 100+ students through in a reasonable amount of time.
The other heart burn I have is the way they charge guys for ground school. You HAVE to attend 3 nights a week for the entire time you are enrolled and it is part of the billing in your package, they bill you. If you dont go to ground school you dont get on the scheudal to fly. As a former cfi/cfii I dont have a problem with strucured ground school, but it is not necessary for everyone. Also from what I have seen it is almost too much ( I know that proably dosent make sense)... As a student you sould make the most of your time and money and learn as much as you can on your own. Most of this stuff is'nt rocket science. Use the time you have with your instructor well, talk to him while you are in the a/c, during the preflights, postflights. You can get a lot of information on the areas you dont understand with out having to pay for it. When I tought, if a guy knew the answer to the questions I moved along and didnt waste his or my time covering it, or his money... ( I knew how much he was paying and felt for him).there comes a time when knowing the tip speed of the r22 t/r is less important than focusing on real world practices that will help you in your carear in the long run. Most of it is common sense stuff..Anyone who makes you pay for excessive training , should throw up a red flag. Ask yourself how come every other flight school isnt doing this. Is this the norm?
Another red flag for me is the owner is new to the business and has grown like an dot.com in the 90's... and from what I see dosent have the background/ track record that some of the other schools have. Never been a professioanl pilot or a true commercial pilot.
One more factor that limits the availabilty of the a/c is beacue of the accidents thaty have had in the past the cfi's can only fly 5 hours (may be 6) a day...
Never trust anyone who says they will give you a job. Your first couple of jobs will be pure luck. Yes , schools hire there grads when they have opening, but if you have 100 students how many CFI's will they need. Most CFI's stay for 12-16 months. You will get a job becasue some school somewher had a guy bail for the canyon or the gulf. They are scrambling because they have students waiting to fly and are losing revenue. You must be able to pack it all up into a couple fo rubbermaid bins , drive accross the country and work for peanuts... this is the life path you have chosen for the next coupke of years. Typical phone interview question : can you be here tomorrow?
Dont expect to work where you trian. Pick a place you would like to live , based on potential for that first job, if it works out cool! If nto be prepared to bolt for the first thing that comes up.
Make up your own EDUCATED decision, talk to the students at the school, see how fast they are progressing, how much it is really costing them. How many student have ended up working there?Then Talk to the students at some of the other schools like Quantum, Guidance, Vortex, HAI, Palmbeach, Heliflight, Sky, universal, volar about how long it is taking them and what is costing them. due dilligance, it iwll pay off.
All these schools have + and -'s ( you will not find the perfect school) but have been in business for a while and have a fair amount of people auctally out there working in industry.
Pick a place based on quilaty of a/c, happy students, good track record, manitaince/accidents, public opinion, and how long it will take you. Location is important, but other factors should be more important. You goal needs to be : how domI get good instruction and into the work force the fastest....
It shouldnt cost you more than 47k from 0-200hrs cfii, if you shop smart. You MUST take control of your training, your future and profession you have chosen. If you dont you will get swindelled
As a past insturctor with 9 passes (no fail's) this is my ramblings take it for what you will.
rb