Naples Air Centre INC, Florida
Last week I visited Naples Air Centre INC. in Florida. It was refreshing to see student pilots who were entirely content with the school. NAC have recently moved their operation a few yards and the whole set up is clean and modern. Richard, Nicky and Bea are the welcoming party on the front desk. Richard is something of an acknowledged expert with computers and can often be found posting advice to hapless computer illiterates like myself on the PPRuNe Computers and Internet forum. There are very adequate modern flight planning and study rooms and the whole operation is very efficiently and professionally run. The instructors all seemed to show up when they were due to (quite unusual in many flight schools) and were all smart and cheerful.
The aircraft including 172R’s and PA28’s are all in good clean condition and the ones that I looked into were IFR equipped. There are no hassles with refuelling the aircraft which is carried out by a fuel truck and operator, I personally find refuelling a bore and very time consuming so I was pleased to be relieved of that task. The airport itself has 5,000ft runways so no problems with these even for students landing long. The airport has a tower with Class D airspace around it and there is a choice on departure whether to go East, West or South into Class G airspace or go north into Class C airspace which makes it ideal for training PPLs who could keep within the Class D and G airspace to reduce RT workload.
There are many interesting places to visit locally, I visited several places, the more memorable being Everglade City to visit the National Park and a flight over the sea to Key West. Lifejackets were provided by NAC as a precaution since there is around 95 miles of water between Naples and Key West but I did fly at 8,500 ft and get flight following as a precaution. My return was made up the length of the Keys, a low level pass of Miami Beach and then a turn west to follow Aligator Alley back to Naples.
Many thanks to Richard and his team for making my visit very enjoyable and hassle free. I certainly have no hesitation in recommending NAC to anybody contemplating FAA or JAA training and certainly Richard and his team keep the stress to the minimum by sorting out the visa requirements for training in the USA. It’s always best to avoid the schools that tell you to “Just tell immigration that you are there for a holiday” that’s ok till you get deported then try to get back in years later, immigration guys have long memories! Richard and his team are very efficient in arranging hasle free visas!