The first thing I’d like to mention is that I think it’s a shame that the Pprune webmaster can’t take some sort of action against people who quite clearly talk utter rubbish. A forum is an area for discussions and for people to give there point of view in an organized manner, not just handing out unruly criticism.
As I have recently completed IR and MEP training at Aerofan in Madrid, I can provide you with a first hand opinion.
The planes are old but very well maintained. The school has a maintenance facility on the field with engineers available throughout the day. Of the two Cessna twins that they have available, one of them had a remarkable avionic set up, including HSI and FD (which obviously were not used). The Cessna 172s have the standard basic panel, but the Beechcraft Bonanza has dual instruments and was an impressive plane to fly.
I was told that they are planning an option in the future that will allow students to fly the C402, but I was not offered this option when I was there. The Cessna 310 was superb.
I was assigned two instructors for my training. One British, and another one Spanish and who is also the CFI. No language issues at all. I found the quality of the training well above what I expected, and the general feeling I got whilst I was over there was that they made me feel like a real customer.
I handed in the Aerofan file to the CAA at LGW and they inserted my rating in record time. There’s quite a lot of paper work involved, but I didn’t have any problem whatsoever.
I was recommended the school by two people who have trained there and in fact are now working for two well know UK LCCs as copilots. I have since personally recommended this school also to several friends, and a one of them has just completed a ME-IR. I have not heard of any complaints. But obviously if you’re looking for top notch brand new aircraft with leather seats, AC, and AP, I would not recommend Aerofan.
Without doubt there is no FTO that is perfect I’m sure that Aerofan has had some unhappy customers over the years. But the feeling and impression that I got whilst I was there, was that they know their job, and they know what they’re doing. I can’t say the same for some of the flying schools that I’ve trained at.
So, if in doubt, go and visit them, speak to the staff, speak to the instructors, and more importantly, speak to some of the many students that have been there before. That’s the homework to do. I did mine.
* Oh, and by the way, for those from the north like myself, I warn you, it gets hot out there in Madrid!!