I did my PPL at OFT about a year and a half ago. I did the three week package and passed my skills test on day 22. I had zero hours in my logbook upon arrival at OFT (In fact bought my logbook there), and no ground exams under my belt. But I did study a lot in the months before I went there, flew a lot of FS2004 (particulary on instruments, C172), and listened to a lot of R/T with a second-hand scanner.
A few tips:
- You'll need an M-1 visa and TSA clearance. Start working on this at least two months before you leave
- If at all possible avoid hurricane season (roughly june-october). If you have to fly there in hurricane season, learn the weather patterns quickly. Fly early in the morning (yes, 6am-early) or late in the afternoon. Remember that a number of hours that you do at night may count towards both the basic PPL requirement and the Night VFR requirement.
- Study for your ground exams before you fly to Florida, so that you're able to sit all exams in the first week & pass them. Don't rely on the (free) evening groundschool. It won't get you through quickly enough.
- Make sure you have a flexible ticket. I have had one day delay due to weather (remember Katrina-Rita-Stan-Tammy? Well, there were two nameless storms after them too...) and was able to change my flight back.
- Make friends with your instructor early. Promise him/her a real nice dinner if you pass in 21 days. They don't get paid much so give them a reason to work for you.
- Keep a close watch on your account. You are required to pay upfront (as you arrive). I deliberately choose to pay by credit card, despite the 2% (which is negotiable anyway), so that I would have the credit card company at my side in case of problems.
- Do NOT fly the C-152. They're old and tired. Consider the fact that the very last C-152 left the Cessna factory somewhere in 1985 and you'll know what their general shape is. Upgrade to the Cadet (which I did) or even the C-172 (very nice machines, but even more expensive)
- Become and remain the master of your own schedule. Keep a progress report yourselves, verify with your instructor regularly. Set target dates/hours by which you "have to" have done certain things (together with your instructor) and check regularly. How about 15 hours to solo, 30 hours to qualifying solo x-country.
- Yes, there is a shortage of JAA examiners. Ground exams are no problem, as they can be administered by OFT themselves (I don't know how this works legally, but it works.) But as I was there the R/T examiner had just gone on holiday and the resident R/T examiner had not received the paperwork in time. Also, at that time they only had one JAA examiner. He was seriously backed up with exams which all got delayed due to weather. Short version is that I was fully ready (wrt. hours etc) to do my R/T exam and skills test on day 18 or so, but due to unavailable and backed up examiners, and weather, did my R/T practical only on day 21, and my skills test on day 22. Plan your exams in advance and make sure you get the school to confirm them.
- Considering the intensity with which the aircraft are flown (four sorties a day is the norm), the aircraft are in good nick. The resident maintenance shop is very quick to fix problems that can be fixed quickly and it is rare for an aircraft to be U/S more than half a day. But things do break down which upsets the schedule. Make friends with the dispatcher early on. If possible, be in the ops room when the schedule for the next day is written up. If you do things correctly and nicely, it is very possible to get the exact schedule and aircraft you want, every day.
- If you behave like you're the only customer on the premises and expect that everybody stands in line to help you out in every way they can without any thanks or so, think again. It's not going to work. Instead, if you consider yourself part of the team (together with the instructors, dispatchers, other students, chief instructor and such) with the aim of getting you and the other students their PPL ASAP, your attitude will be much more appreciated. A friendly word or a genuine "thanks" here and there, getting a cup of coffee, soda, donuts for somebody who is working his/her a**e of for you and the other students, helping a solo student to park the A/C after a long flight, and other things like that really help you get the most of your time there. Particularly if the schedule is tight due to weather or A/C being U/S, you will be favoured over others... :-)
- Accomodation: I had accomodation in the apartments in the complex closest to the school. They're a run-down bunch although if things are really broken and you report that to OFT, it will be fixed. But I heard that the apartment at the other side of the main road are *much* nicer.
Some of the people that were at OFT a year and a half ago might still be there. If you want my opinion on individual persons, send me a PM.
Some interesting stories: My A/C failed its run-up tests on my FIRST SOLO! Had to taxi back in to OFT to get a new plane to try my 1st solo for the 2nd time. By the time I got back from my three full-stop-taxibacks the first A/C was just fixed (spark plug failed). But since both times I taxied the aircraft with the intent to fly, I now have both first solos in my logbook! (And to be fair, OFT did not charge me for the taxi/runup time on the first A/C.)
Oh, and on my first night flight we actually went through THREE A/C this way (the first one had a failed landing light during the A-check, the second A/Cs landing light failed after the first circuit, and the third A/Cs interior lights could not be dimmed but we took it anyway. Next day both landing lights were already repaired before I arrived at the school and I saw the engineer take the dimmer out of AC 3 to fix it. Kudos to maintenance!)