Guys
After reading the Comair ad in the back of Flight International and reading some of the comments on this thread, I am concerned that people may be duped into going over to Sanford.
The flight training in the 141 academy is excellent, but the aircraft are absolutely atrocious.
Comair is a school at which the flight safety officer got in front of 100+ instructors and told them that the official procedure in the event of an undercarraiges' failed to extend and lock, was to get in the back whilst the PF slowed the ac to 75KIAS and physically attempt to swing the gear with arm out of the aircraft.
Not necessarily dangerous, but hardly what you would call professional and very disappointing for a 117 ac fleet that flies up to 12000 hours a month.
I have it on very good advice that the Academy is an unwanted child at Comair and Delta, which it intended to be dropped as soon as it hints at posting a loss, and this attitude goes someway to explaining why an otherwise potentially very succesful school, has an almost complete absence of investment at a time where every other major school is commiting to a new fleet.
I am a JAA/FAA instructor myself and it is very frustrating to see the question of professional flight training in the States consistently raised.
Please head this advice, gleanded from almost ten years in the States-
1. THERE IS NO CHEAP OPTION FOR QUALITY FLIGHT TRAINING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, PARTICULARLY IN THE STATES.
2. IF YOU WANT TO FLY IN EUROPE AND/OR YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PERMANENTLY RESIDE AND WORK IN THE STATES, TRAIN IN EUROPE- IT WILL BE, AT THE VERY LEAST, THE SAME PRICE IF NOT CHEAPER, BY THE TIME YOU INCLUDE LIVING COSTS AND CONVERSIONS.
Please feel free to E-mail me regarding this issue, I have seen many disappointed people waste lots of money and perhaps most importantly extra time (for pilots time means seniority) converting.
In the opinion of myself and my collegues, the only decent non-airline JAA program in the US, which had its own problems, at PAN AM is now closed. Pan Am are now only training for KLM.