I've been accused elsewhere of being unduly biased towards Barton, but I s'pose that's natural when one has flown from it since 1974
(God, that long....) ... so please factor in a bias when reading.....
The present crop of instructors seem a decent bunch to me. As with all bunches/herds/flight (what IS the collective description for several instructors?
) you'll get a mix of characters and reasons for being an instructor. But in my short interactions with them when booking in/out, they all seem nice, enthusiastic people, with good customer-relations attitudes.
Really though you must explore the weight aspects in terms of flying the Grob, and mention it if you call them. Several of the instructors don't fly the Grob because their weight combined with the student's weight is too much.
SSD, I'd agree on the handling, though I did note that when I increased speed (by diving!!) the controls started to feel a lot nicer (rather than just heavier). But a fellow PPL of some experience that I took up in one was also unimpressed by it.
If you want to email me offline (
[email protected]), I'm happy to chat about it more. Shame I'm not current on the Grob else I'd offer you a trip. It's expensive enough keeping current on 3 types. But if you are coming up, let me know, maybe we can meet up.