Some great points here:
RENURRP "If instructing is not your long term goal, well, I would suggest don't venture there to start with, do the potential students a favour and be a charter pilot."
And from the charter companies perspective please leave everything you "learned" whilst in the RHS of the 152 at the door and be prepared to start again.
Always inverted "Flag the commercial schools and go somewhere like.."
Steer clear of these clowns they will empty your pockets and steal your watch whilst they hand you a cup of coffee and invite you into the CFI's office (imagine the top gun soundtrack playing in the back ground with amateur footage of a Warrior doing a touch and go). They all claim to be this and that and all they really are is a bunch of crooked rip off merchants. Trust me I've dealt with them and I gave them the arse pretty quick. What you should consider is some thorough research into finding a real charter company that has a small section dedicated to instructing. These sorts of places will give you a head start in GA and if you plan to make a career of it will save you a lot of anguish. Oh and if some pimply face kid is up on the board as your instructor begin laughing histerically and walk out shaking your head saying to yourself "$200 dollars an hour for that.." Ask for credentials from instructors - you want someone with well rounded experience. By the way if they say they've been doing charters in the seminole - run off.
The main problem is that often the place that you are learning is the place that you are trying to get a job and hence you are scared to pipe up when things are poor or unprofessional. The schools boss the students around like some silly pretend GA boot camp. YOU are an adult - YOU have the money. That makes YOU the employer and them the employees. If they put in a poor performance treat them like employees and give them a written warning - if they keep it up grap your gear and go else where. Books and stationary - look on bulletin bords for this stuff they will try and charge you silly amounts for this stuff.
Good luck,
Mr. Hat
