The things you dont know about Flying Academy and you Wont realize until you sign the contract and hidden costs and disgusting facts
1) Money
Although it seems quiet cheap when you make a first glance at it, the fact is not like that. In my case I paid 10.000 US $ more than my contract. So how did this happen? Let me explain to you. In contract they don't tell you about extra spring training, landing fees, departure fees, arrival fees, communication fees, low pass fees, CTR fees, IR approach fees. Yes you heard it exactly right. They charge you even for a ordinary low pass and IR APPROACH FEE. So think about it, IR is nearly all about approaches like ILS, VOR, RNAV, NDB. And they charge you even for that. Besides you make a simple low pass and they get your money just like that. In simple contract you pay for 85 PIC HOURS. But when you advance in your progress you realize that you are supposed to fly 100 PIC HOURS To become commercial pilot. So you fly more to complete it. But nobody tells you about this because they also know that you will already fly these hours to complete the training. Sometimes they just tell you that you must take ground briefing or extra ground lesson or they won't let you fly. So you take these lessons and you pay more. In the web site school says that they will help you with visa process and guess what ? They charge you for visa assistance too. In conclusion you will spend so much or will be unable to finish your whole training due to this bilateral contract and monetary policy of the school management. So if you think it is cheap I assure you it is not and you will pay much more than you assume.
2) Safety
This is extremely vital and Flying Academy s.r.o BRNO/PRAGUE does not seem to worry about this as well. You will fly with planes which don't have or inoperative artificial horizon, heading indicator, turn coordinator, fuel indicator. Your doors will get open during your flight.Yes you heard it right my fellows. They are either all or partially not working. And when you complain them about these particular and highly vital elements they will tell you it is ok. According to regulation yes you can fly VFR for example with inoperative heading indicator but don't forget you are paying for these and it is safety first in aviation. Even though it is written in manuals of planes , even Czech check riders can cut off the gas during exam which is really caotic. Welcome to caos flight in Czech Republic. Generally it is not fit to fly due to weather in this country but the system pushes you to fly. The decision must be on your call but the school does not care about this and if you cancel your flight due to weather conditions they charge you for extra. Think that you will feel yourself pushed to fly even the weather is bad.
3) Time
You will spend much more time than you normally planned to finish whole training. Why? Due to lack of planes you will wait for flying. You will wait for your plane to arrive. You will wait for your instructor to show up. You will wait hours but you won't be able to fly because the day is over or the plane should go to hourly maintenance etc. You will finish your training and start to wait for your check ride. It may take weeks. Yes my friends this sounds unbelievable but unfortunately it is a boring fact. For my situation it took exactly 83 days waste of time doing nothing but waiting just for my check rides(PPL, IR, MEP, CPL). Because Czech Civil Aviation Authority has only 3 guys to make check rides for all country and Flying Academy is not the only school in there. Besides time wasting is not limited with General System. Assume that you want to take written atpl exams. School will tell you there is no seat avaliable which is a total nonsense because my colleague just scheduled himself via his own communication. Then you can't take part in exam and you will lose at least one month. Make sure that you can't finish this school less than 20 months.
4) Training
In Flying Academy Brno/Prague the ground training is a total disaster. You should study more and more to understand what is going on because you will not learn much during their lessons. The instructors are so new that when I first started here they started more or less at the same time with me to their aviation lifes. It can sound normal but they are not experienced and some of them are really empty and you will realize during either flying or on the ground when you ask something to them. I am not even talking about ATPL ground lessons because it is just signing the paper that you show you are not absent. It is like a conference. Besides they don't have instructors for IR, MEP training. There is only one guy trying to do as much as he can but finally of course it is not enough. So people are cumulating and you not only don't get a proper training but also lose time eventually.
5) Organization
The system is a cumulative of arrogant ignorant people. I don't say all of them are like that. There are really afew people who are really nice but they can't solve a problem because there are hand tighted. The people who are supposed to give your dispatch, plane bag etc. stuff like this are just put there to exam you about your patience. If you keep calm and say nothing make sure that you have ice in your veins my friends. Sometimes they act like you are a slave working there and they are the bosses.
6) Weather
Weather sucks. It is so simple. The only weather fit to fly is from May to September. Besides there will be bad weather days or weeks during this summer time too. So think about a pool which do not have water. I guess you see what I mean.
Conclusion
Flying Academy maybe has the best web site ever. It is so seducing and charming. But the truth is Flying Academy Brno/Prague is waste of time and money seriously. The only thing that matters for them is money. The only respect and nice communication you will receive is the process from beginning to signing the contract. Please think twice my friends. If you really think about taking your aviation education in Czech Republic you may think about Fair, DSA and other ones. Also there is Bartolini in Poland and CAVOK in Hungary and you may count as much as you want. Maybe they have bad sides too, maybe they are worse. The point is you have to be careful about choosing your aviation training. Please just don't make it Flying Academy Brno/Prague or you will make your own report like this
))
Have a nice day fellows. Safe skies...