Anyone going to EASA (OBA) FL this year?

[Ringway004]

Hi, is there anybody going to train at FLY EASA in Ormond Beach FL this year any time? or has anyone been/trained here before? it would be good to hear your views since I might consider going here:D

[VJW]

Hey

This is probably the most talked about Flight school on the whole of prune, do a quick search mate.

I doubt anything has changed!

[ct8282]

Hey Ringway. I am planning to go there for my PPL training on the 21st April. I have had many coversations with Justin in their sales department who has been very helpful and patient with me so far.

I only joined this forum but am quite concerned to see the amount of bad press OBA is getting on here. However, there is also a lot of people saying they had a good experience there. It's a lot of money, even if it is cheaper than here in the UK, and to be honest I will be going out there to work my ass off and get my PPL. This will not be a holiday for me!! I have seen a lot of people saying on here that is you put the time and commitment into the course you will do just fine, so I wonder how many of those bad comments are from people who maybe didn't take the course as seriously as they should have. However, I can't comment as I have never been but I am starting to wish I hadn't seen the bad reviews on here as it has got me slightly worried.

I haven't booked anything yet, well I have enrolled but haven't parted with any cash just yet. I will prob speak to Justin again and see what he has to say about the bad press first before I make a decision.

[moona]

I wen't to OBA a few years ago to finish off my PPL as I was getting frustrated with the weather and flight cancellations back in the UK.

The best advice I would give would be to do the written exams and possibly the RT exam before you go. It may cost a bit more this way but will make it a lot easier when you are there to focus on the flying.:ok:

[mad_jock]

I will prob speak to Justin again and see what he has to say about the bad press first before I make a decision.

Ehh what do you think he is going to say? That its all true and you should go somewhere else? There certainly isn't smoke without fire with this school. The characters involved with it over the years have had glorious reputations.

But at the end of the day its your money go and spend it where you want to. Normally on these threads the posters who say the place is great and they would go back usually drop off the radar and don't post on any other topic apart from how much they enjoyed thier training and how they are looking for ward to going back. BUt i will grant you thier will be some who really feel like that.

I too went there for a ppl and it was only after I had completed cpl/IR and also a FI rating I realised how poor the quality of training I had recieved there. Yes it gave me a PPL but looking back in hind sight I should have gone somewhere else. But this was nearly 10 years ago now but the reports/complaints are still the same year in year out since I went there.

What ever you decide moona's advice is very good for anyone doing an intensive flying course anywhere.

[cefey]

Well, not to defend that place. But can any1 point at least 1 place where everything is perfect?
Too much maintenance, too expensive, not good enough instructors, too old planes, too many students, too bad weather...

Common guys, you cant get EVERYTHING and for cheap.

Ive been at PFTC in Hollywood. Very expensive place, 50/50 good-bad instructors and HUGE maintenance problems. DONT go there.

For OBA... I havent been there. But out of what people say. Its 50/50 what kind of instructor u gonna get.
Well, do some research, ask who is good and who should you avoid. Is it that hard?!

Maintenance... at PFTC its been times, when I had 1 flight in more then 1 month! THATS a maintenance problems! When 23 of 25 planes is out.


Now, out of what I heard so far, Aviation College at Fort Pierce is one of the best places. Spoke to some guys that went there. They said: "yes, sure, its some minor problems here now and then. But if I had to pick school over again, I would still pick this one".
Good luck matey!

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

I too went there for a ppl and it was only after I had completed cpl/IR and also a FI rating I realised how poor the quality of training I had recieved there. Yes it gave me a PPL but looking back in hind sight I should have gone somewhere else. But this was nearly 10 years ago now but the reports/complaints are still the same year in year out since I went there.

There is a lot of truth in what MadJock is saying here. I too went to OBA back in 1995, and at the time had no real complaints, I went there, got the job done and came back with a PPL. However, knowing what I know now, especially after also being an instructor, I don't think it is a necessarily the best way to structure a PPL course, with respect to getting the most out of it, and providing a solid base to which build on.

Whilst I was there, for the first 2 or 3 days I had an instructor who was a bit of a nasty piece of work (I think tosser was the technical term), to which I did not respond to particularly well. Luckily for me, he left and I ended up with a lovely lady named Ashley, who was brilliant, very patient, thorough who made it fun and was a pleasure to fly with. Having a good instructor counts for an awful lot when learning to fly, however your instructor is a bit of a lottery as Cefey says.

As the cost of all this, especially with professional licences, cost is an issue, and a lot of people strive for the cheapest deal. Remember having a solid grounding from PPL level will do wonders for you later on. So, if you choose this method of cruising over to the USA for a PPL in 3 weeks, remember, and already pointed out it will be hard work. Great advice from Moona here about the ground exams, get them done BEFORE you go, this will take the pressure off you and allow you to enjoy and concentrate on the flying.

Also with regarding to your preparation, get hold of a good book on the flying exercises, maybe Trevor Thom book 1, and learn all the PPL flight exercises lessons 1 to 19, this will also give you a head start.

To summarise, and with out getting to bogged down, when you get there, enjoy it! I had a fabulous time doing my PPL in the US, is was great fun, and have been back since for hour building at numerous places in the US. With all this preparation and advice you have been given, will allow you to spend far more time down in Daytona Beach enjoying yourself in various bars and clubs :ok:.

All the best, enjoy!

[B2N2]

I have had many coversations with Justin in their sales department who has been very helpful and patient with me so far

Enough said....


(crying in disbelief)....WHY ?

[mad_jock]

Also with regarding to your preparation, get hold of a good book on the flying exercises, maybe Trevor Thom book 1, and learn all the PPL flight exercises lessons 1 to 19, this will also give you a head start.

Unless things have changed this is also very good advioce because I didn't get a single pre lesson brief the whole time I was there. In the UK I wouldn't dream of taking a student up without a class room brief.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

All too common an error this.

Don't skimp on the PPL. It really is like skimping on the house foundations. Its risky and can cost a LOT of money to put right later in your training career. A failed IRT can cost you a couple of grand in the blink of an eye.

If anything I'd go for a premium PPL course and skimp on IR stages if you're going to skimp anywhere. There's more to skimp on and if you're competent the basic course is enough to pass the test every time.

I used to teach 3 week PPL courses at what was the cheapest school in the whole country (cheaper than Florida after the air fare). It could *just* be done if everything aligned perfectly and the guy was good. But he would be exhausted at the end of it and usually a few years down the track would regret that they didn't take more time so as to enjoy the journey.

If you can, as I always advise, do your PPL at a decent school, not too far from home which also does CPL/IMC/MultiIR courses. This will make their investment in you from scratch so much higher that in nearly every case you'll get a much better overall standard of training. When I instructed in Jerez it was possible to have the same instructor from Effects of Controls 1 right through to your IR and that was A Very Good Thing.


A hastily taught, intensively learned PPL in a foreign country delivered by a mix of instructors is really really far from ideal. A good thorough PPL course taught by basically one guy in the same environment that you'll eventually tackle your CPL and IR in is much much more ideal.

That said, you're looking at a well trod path, it works but be sensible and as a minimum:

Don't treat it as a holiday,
Allow an extra week,
Allow an extra £500.



Good luck,


WWW

[mad_jock]

This comment isn't only poked at the FL flight schools but UK ones as well.

I am sad to say that its not infrequent when getting a new FO on line that I have to teach effects of controls and straight and level again. They can just about hold it together at 90knts in a light twin flying around out of trim all the time battering the aircraft into submission when trying to fly a profile.

Stick them into something a bit faster even just a CAT B with ATC giving it 160knts to 4 DME and it all unravels itself unsually in a quite an amusing way for me but a soul and convidence destroying way to the FO.

Unfortunately we have the most inexperenced clueless insturctors teaching by far the most important lessons in becoming a pilot.

So as WWW says if you can find somewhere that you can get an old hairy arsed instructor that teaches the whole lot from zero to hero.