RVAC in Moorabin

[nibbio86]

Hello. I'm going to attend a PPL course at RVAC in Moorabin. Opinions about that school? I know it has been training pilots for decades,but not alwyas age means quality. Any information would be appreciated

[Jnr380]

I personally dont attend RVAC but they are one of the good ones at MB, a bit on the pricey side but they do offer quality training and i have met a few outstanding captains in the industry that did their training with them.

Good luck for in PPL.
Jnr380

[aircabbie]

[QUOTE][Hello. I'm going to attend a PPL course at RVAC in Moorabin. Opinions about that school? I know it has been training pilots for decades,but not alwyas age means quality. Any information would be appreciated/QUOTE]

"Been training pilots for decades" is that what there website said , not implying anything about you mate just sounds like the usual run of the mill bull**** they feed out .. Good luck with the course buddy , ive never heard a bad word about them . :ok:age is often not all ways the best as you said . i trained with a guy with 40 thousand hrs and it was the worst mistake i made ( so far).

[aircabbie]

Hi there CAPT solo . :ok:

[PlankBlender]

here's a post I just made on a similar thread:

Just to chip in my 2c's worth, I would strongly urge any prospective student to evaluate that school carefully before they make their decision to part with their hard-earned!

I went there for some instruction on an ill-informed recommendation, and wasted hours on substandard instructors: No pre or post flight briefings to speak of, thereby provoking very avoidable c:mad:ckups and thus the need for more flights.. go figure! Communication in general lacking to say the least, no attempt to understand the background or needs of the student, plus some of the worst instructional performance I have ever encountered in aviation (basically one guy who justed wanted to get his hours up and couldn't care less about the student, and another one who couldn't teach if his life depended on it and just grabbed the controls whenever he felt like it). :ouch:

Now I am sure there are decent instructors around at RVAC and a lot of people will choose that established club for a lot of good reasons, so just be warned that you probably need to be more clued up than myself and make it very well understood what you need and want (not that I wouldn't expect from a good instructional institution of any ilk to figure that out FOR the student :sad:).

[TINTIN25]

RVAC - I have never done any training with them but I have used their club to prepare for my flights and have found them helpfull. Although From what I saw you are pretty much are another number. If you are looking for personal attention you are better off going to a smaller school. They have been around for many years so obviously they are doing things right.

It really depends on what you are looking for in a flying school. When you are training you really don't want to have more than two instructors teaching you. It gets to confusing getting used to them all and there different quirks!

[Awol57]

I did some flying there a few months back. Admittedly it was just a dual check, but the guys there all seemed professional enough.

I think its a bit rough to say that you will always be a number at a big school. I used to instruct at a large school in WA, not in the game anymore, but still keep in contact with a number of my students. In fact I had lunch with one today. Don't just assume that if you go to a large school you will automatically be a number.

Have a look around and ask a few of the members/students there to get a real feel for the place.

[Blown Seal]

Use some advice that I was given a decade or so ago, go and speak to all of the operators on the airfield, ask questions of them so that you will know what to expect from your training and how much it will cost.

If you don't know what to ask, post again, and I am sure others, as well as myself, will post.

BS

[PlankBlender]

Excellent advice, BlownSeal, I wish I had done that when I first came to Melbourne, looking back I was quite naive going with a second-hand recommendation (they didn't have actual experience with the school, just knew of them) and by their image (big property, lots of planes, etc.).

Look at Bini when it comes to IR they have an apparently excellent theory guy there (search here or at bladeslapper for more details), and MFT have a superb wrap-around screen sim..

[Flyingblind]

Might not be too much help but i did my initial training with them back in '89 and found them to be very professional. A lot of what my instructors taught me (the basics) remains with me today.

Plus they had a very attractive brunette (female!) instructor who just started working there as i was finishing up. Never got to fly with her though :{

[joshfly97]

I am currently doing my ppl there and find it to be a very good school for my needs. While it is a big school, my instructor really gives me the feeling that I am his only student, when obviously he is very busy. Very high quality instruction and they always satisfy my needs. I will definitely return after uni to do my atpl and all of the fix ins. I also want to kick start my career with them, as an instructor. :D

[Jack Ranga]

Josh, 7 years! And featuring a post from the ignominious 'plankbender' :D

[Ramjet555]

An amazing two post history!

RVAC has a very long history that includes a bunch of instructors of varying standards and each running their own flying school.

It also includes a chronic history of mismanagement and repeated bankruptcy, hirings and firings and the re-hiring of those who repeatedly screwed it
up repeatedly previously followed by the odd coat of fresh paint once every 20 years or so.

To succeed at RVAC requires a lay back attitude, never rock the boat, and be able to throw back the beers and show an appropriate elbow on the bar with a never ending smile was usually the way to appear like a good instructor.

Knowing how to drink with the flower bombers and toilet paper cutters was also a useful thing to do in order to stay alive in a club like political minefield.

That mine field is the same today as it was 30 years ago, and many of the same problem personalities are still there and will be there till they turn up their toes or get a toe tag.


What's that about flying? Well that's what you do for a living between resting your elbow or leaning up against the same spot at the same place every night and learning the age old geriatric secret of making a single beer last as long as possible especially if you paid for it.

[peterc005]

I think any situation where you have a business run by a club committee, rather than a sole business owner, will have politics and personalities.

My son did his PPL at RVAC a couple of years ago and I came away with a favourable impression. RVAC is big enough to be well-resourced and managed, but not so big that a student gets lost.

The CFI and CP had been around for a long time and were very capable and respected. They were also very approachable and seemed to show a lot of care, especially for younger students.

My son had training from four instructors at RVAC. One was excellent, two were very good and one was a dud. Probably above average for a GA school.

Interestingly, the best instructor was the youngest and least experienced. Maybe he had more energy. I think at any flying school it's a matter of finding the instructor that works best for you. A bigger flying school will get you more options in that regard.

Junior subsequently went on to a big university-based course, which was more structured, disciplined and professional. RVAC in contrast was a much friendlier and fun environment to fly.

The university-based course had a fleet of brand new Cessnas, compared to the 40 years old fleet at RVAC. The prices at RVAC were almost half the price and RVAC will hire their planes to students outside of training.