Monarch Air, Texas, U.S.A

[erpini]

Hello!
Could anyone over here please tell me if Monarch Air, Texas is a good place to learn my flying or not? Also let me know about the instructors over there! Are there any hidden charges. How are the fleet and accomodations over there? Is it a good place to join?? Please let me know. Thank you.

[Jez_G]

Hi Erpini,

I'm currently a pilot in the Dallas area and whilst I did not do my training at Monarch and actually have not been into the school itself, I have had some contact.

Firstly, Dallas is a great place to flight train, especially the Addison airport where Monarch is located. Addison is a really busy little airport with lots of flight training being conducted and a fair amount of corporate aviation also. It is also located in the DFW class B and makes for a good training environment with two local busy airports keeping you on your toes (KDAL and KDFW).

Now to Monarch itself, like i mentioned, i have not personally done any training there. However, I work for a small company out of KDAL and 2 of our 4 pilots were flight instructors there. The first has been with our company for a few years coming straight from Monarch as an instructor, he is a GREAT pilot and instructor and only has the best things to say about the place. The second guy i work with was a senior instructor there up until recently and again a top guy and great pilot. My mentioning these two pilots is meant to emphasize the quality of Monarchs instructing and production of good pilots/people.

From the many stories my colleagues have told me about their work there, it seems that the school is friendly, a great place to work and learn. I believe it is run by an ex-airline captain who apparently does a superb job.

Again, i stress, i have not even so much as been there myself but i have heard very good stories (i therefore can't comment on their pricing either).
If you need to know any particulars about the school then the guys i work with are only a phone call away and still are very much involved with it, so let me know.

Jez

[erpini]

Hi Jez,

Thanks a lot for the information that you have given to me and also thanks for the really quick reply. Yes, it would be really nice of you if you give me the contact details of the 2 instructors that you have mentioned in the above reply!!

Please send me the contact details (E-Mail ID & Phone Number) of the 2 instructors/pilots that you have mentioned about earlier as a private message on my ID.

Once again, thanks a lot for the reply.

Cheers,
Erpini.

[erpini]

If there is any one who knows about Monarch Air please do write in over here!!

[rateone]

erpini,

Not been there for a while but I used to fly out of Addison and rented Pipers from Monarch. Addison is a great place to fly from. A very busy GA field that is the size of most regional airports in the UK. Saturday and Sunday mornings will find a sizeable queue of small aircraft and light jets waiting to take-off but the controllers are very efficient. There are some excellent locations to fly to around Texas.

I found Monarch to be a very professional outfit and the aircraft were high quality and well maintained. That was some time ago so things could have changed. Cost of living in Dallas is pretty reasonable and you should be able to find accommodation close to the airport at a reasonable price. There is a great choice of excellent restaurants along Beltline Drive, close to the airport.

One last thing - you will need a car! Dallas doesn't do walking or public transport.

[erpini]

RateOne,

Thanks a lot. The information you have provided is indeed helpful. If you have any clue about the condition of the fleet please let me know. Are they well maintained??
Accomadation will not be a problem as Monarch provides its students with an apartment which is close to the school!!
Once again, Thanks and please do reply if you know anything about the fleet and instructors at Monarch.

Cheers,
Erpini

[rateone]

As I said it's been a while but the fleet was pretty sizeable (mostly private owners on lease arrangements. Quality generally very good, only Archer I've ever flown with air-con, mind you it's a must with outside temps of 104 degF. I seem to remember they had a Bonanza and a Mooney for complex conversions. Can't remember any twins. Hanger was exceptionally clean and well kept (shiny floor, etc) with a couple of Lears. Good flight planning facilities upstairs.

Having said that I did have radio failure on a trip to Corsicana (picking up some Christmas cakes from the Collin Street Bakery). Dropped into Mesquite 'cos I didn't fancy the busy Addison circuit non-radio (bad enough with radio - R/T is as quick as a cattle auction). A quick phone call leaving Corsicana and there was an engineer waiting to meet me a Mesquite. I flew the other a/c back to Addison while they worked on the radio.

Rates weren't the cheapest but the quality was high.

Oh, make sure you check up on your insurance position - same in any US school, read the small print to find out what you're covered for.

[On the Spot]

Hi I have rented from Monarch on and off since 2000 and found them to be a pretty good bunch. They have in recent years updated the fleet to more modern 172's and including G1000 equipped in some cases. Their rates are competitive but not the cheapest.

Addison is a good location for the city but if you are doing basic training there are no touch and go's. These are normally at McKinney which is about 20 mins away and that even gets to busy on some occasions and so can be elsewhere. Monarch also have an outfit at McKinney and so you can save yourself flying time by renting / training there at the expense of about 20/30 mins extra drive.

Weather varies - depends on time of year - I rented in January and found everyone a but unnerved by the posisbility of having to scrape ice off the aircraft. If you arelooking for an IR I might go eslwhere were the weather is more likely to be IFR

They charge fees for the TSA process if you need that. Most do nowadays but some don't if you look.

[dJUNOR1990]

plz shut uo if u dont knoe nethin dallas has a public transport service known as DART plz google it if u dont knoe

[dJUNOR1990]

Monarch Air is the best in all aspects of flight training. Instruction is best management is gud aircrafts are new and well maintained. Addison area is the best. You can trust me on it coz i have been trained at Monarch Air.