Flight Training in Brisbane
 

Hi There,

I am a newbie, and was just wondering if someone could recommend a flight school in Brisbane - specifically at Archerfield (as i live closer to Archerfield). Does anyone know, or have any experience with, schools like AV8, Gil Layts or the Royal QLD Aero Club? (or any others at Archerfield?)

Thanks - any responses would be greatly appreciated.

mailman73

Well...i went to Flight Training Australia at YBAF some years ago, albeit whilst Humph M was at the helm (RIP), but theres still some very good blokes there from when i went...did most of my CPL with Andrew Nasca...great guy, well recommended.

You could try Sunland @ YBAF, Mr B Westin is very good and knows his stuff, they have Cirrus SR20 & SR22 on line and a C172 also.

@ YRED Redcliffe Aero club are also very good, very busy school, with some fairly new C172's.

Enjoy flying over SEQ ! It has some of the best views in Oz :ok:

Thanks for the response guys.

In addition to the ones you've listed, does anyone know anything about AV8 or RQAC?

Probably a bit less $$$ to go to Redcliffe Aero Club or Aero Dynamic Flight Academy at Caboolture than at YBAF.

Nicer scenery too! (and now I think about it I think ADFA at YCAB have one nice bit of scenery doing some instructing;) but I can not gaurantee it!)

J:ok:

SUNLAND at YBAF is the place to go if you want experienced instructors like B.Westin and a friendly environment.

Jabawocky has the right idea. Is Gill Layt still at Archerfield? Met a lot of guys that went there and they all had one thing in common - they flew extreemly well.

Depends where you live really. If you are in Brisbane then the fuel costs travelling to YRED will chew up the, (if any), savings available. Plus on a rainy looking day, it's a long way to go to be told your flights been cancelled.

I know students (past and current) at all of the majors out at Archerfield.

FTA was pretty good, but its been a while since I have been in there. I hear they are flat out these days with all of their international students though. Good fleet.

RQAC is stable and do a good job with training for PPL and CPL. Busy.
Airline academy of Australia is one of the best if your looking for full time training from close to zero experience. They offer great facilities and a good staff makeup.

I have heard good things about Gil Layts. No messing about there from what I gather. Not sure if he is still out there though?

Don't know anything about AV8, but do know Mr. Westin from Sunland. He is a top bloke and I can only imagine Sunland are a decent outfit.

Hope that helps.

mins :cool:

flying at Archerfield
 

I visit YBAF on a regular basis and from what I have seen the Airline Academy seems to be doing a lot of flying with lots of students at their facility. They had very good press recently in an Asian Aviation edition and from their website seem to be the only Qantas approved school in Queensland.

Mins is right the Academy has great facilities and a good fleet of 172R. FTA also seems to be doing a reasonable amount of flying as is RQ. In the circuit it seems to be a mix of AAA/FTA and RQ aircraft all the time.

At the end of the day you need to go look for yourself and ask questions.

oz

dead right oz

The best way to figure out which school is for you is to go out in person and do a quick meet and greet / tour. Helps you get a feel for the place and makes your decision a little easier than solely relying on websites and word of mouth.

good luck with it

:cool:

don't be fooled by people saying airlines prefer our product or all our previous students are in ailines ect. Go to a place that will save you money and will teach you how to fly.

Avoid sausage factories.

I spoke to Sunland today - the conversation i had with a guy named Dane was very promising - he was a friendly and knowledgeable guy, who himself knows or at least acknowledges the importance of having friendly staff, and staff that makes the student (no matter what the background or circumstance) feel valuable and important. I think this is what should differentiate the schools (other than usual of experience, and safety).

Anyone elses thoughts?

Awww, i'm feeling warm an fuzzy already!!! Now...gimme your $$$$:E

Gil Layts
 

I have heard through the grapevine that Gil Layts may be closing it's doors at the end of the year when it's lease is terminated with AAC.

As all the others have said above, you are best to drop in to the flying schools and have a chat/look around. With AAA it is best to give them a call and ask to speak to the marketing manager, Rhonda, to arrange a time to come in for a meeting with her to go over all the aspects of the course and have a tour of the facilities.

Opso

Gil Layts
 

Gil has just done a deal with the owner of archerfield.

He now rents the flying school building and is as busy as ever. Gil runs the operation with an iron fist ie. no funny business and his wife sue does the books, its a great combination.
Two very experienced Grade one instructors.
From what we hear the FTA and other big schools at AF are like sausage machines...I guess they have to be to keep the over seas students governments happy because they are the ones paying the o/seas students bills.

Yeh, they been around a loooooong time - that tells you something.

Westin.
 

Career flying instructors are like hens teeth. Mr Brian Westin at Sunland is an absolute gentleman. You will not find a more committed and likeable bloke on the field. Money well spent with this fella! :ok:

Well there you go! That would explain how I got to be so good! :ok:

GG :cool:

An extremely ignorant and incorrect comment.

Gill Layts doesn't look as flash but i think the value for money is there. No i didn't train there. Sunland sounds okay to.

Find out the exact costings of all schools. Every penny. Find out if you are roped in to buy books rulers ect through the school or if you can source your own. Every cent counts.

Try and suss out what age group the instructors are that you will get. Ask who you will get.

Petrolwise might be worth looking into what it really costs to go to AF vs redcliffe. For example have you seen the traffic around AF? Might seem closer than it is...

At the end of the day remember when you go into these places you are being sold something so of course they will be nice to you. You must be objective. If they are rude of course don't waste your time.

Standards before other considerations
 

I'd recommend going to Redcliffe Aero Club (everyone I know who went there was very pleased with their training) or perhaps RQAC (though I have no experience with their operations or standards). I did all my training at FTA before it started going downhill, luckily. FTA trains to a very, very high standard, but unfortunately student care has gone south in a big way. Also have a look at Australian Wings Academy on the Gold Coast (nice new fleet, friendly staff and I hear their standards are nice and high) and/or Aero Dynamic Flight Academy at Maroochydore (also said to be excellent).

Above all, don't be tempted by the ads saying things like 'CPL in 10 weeks, guaranteed' etc. Not only are they total b*ll****, but you absolutely MUST be looking for a school based on standards first! Length of training and price run a distant second and even further distant third, respectively.

Also, be wary of places that require you to pay your fees up front. Arena Aviation did that, and they went bust, taking a lot of peoples' hard earned coin with them.

Hope that was some help. Make sure you visit each place in person to see what it's really like.

Yeah those guys on the Gold coast look pretty good as well. Flew some of their planes and they were pretty tidy.

What do I know? I only work for one of those so called 'sausage factories' you are referring to. Not a government dollar in sight and if you don't perform you are removed from the course.

thanks for the interest on the thread guys...

the next question is: where does cost come in? in other words when would it alter or help determine a decision? Is it a case of 'you get what you pay for?'...

kiss
 

Simple if its 10k more at a place that reckons it trains airline pilots then don't bother.

Unless you actually are a cadet with a contracy for employment after your training then what school you go to won't make a lick of difference to your employment prospects. So then the priorities come down to 1.quality of training 2. cost.

When you are a newbie you tend to have all theses ideas about how to get a leg up but at the end of the day the way to get a leg up is to pack your car up and go and meet operators. Update your one page resume, have a 'can do' attitude, be professional and present yourself professionally at all times. In 12 years i haven't had one job interview or met one operator that asked me where i trained..

I learnt to fly ages ago with the original Sunland with Gordon & Jean Jenkinson and crew, since then I have flown with RQAC, Redcliffe, ADFA and Hemples. I have also flown with the current (Maltby owned) Sunland and have only the highest opinions of Brian Westin and Peter Franks presently at Sunland. If you want to learn on state of the art modern aircraft with quality instructors, then you would not find better instructors anywhere. Just remember it is YOUR money and you need to be comfortable wherever you end up so ask plenty of questions including the instructors experience (you have a right to know) costs vary and depend on the type of aircraft you train on and level of experience of the instructional staff. Be careful of "packages, prepay schemes, airline academies (read sausage factory) and be careful of the frostings some schools promise when you finish your training . :rolleyes:

Out of curiosity, when did Brian Westin take charge at Sunland? Did the Malbys sell it to him? I haven't been around Archerfield in some years, but may be interested in going back there when fundage / time permits...

I did PPL a year ago at RQAC at YBAF and the people there were pretty good but just the fact that they have a marketing manager for an aero club made it seem like a more of a business straight away. I know she's mainly for AAA but if you're not full time then you're 'relegated' to the RQAC section. This is how I felt anyway - just a number. I then did CPL at Redcliffe Aero Club. As soon as I walked in I felt more comfortable with the club atmosphere while still impressed with the professionalism of the instructors. New 172s (for hour building and NVFR) and getting to do the last part of my CPL in a 182 sealed the deal for me (plus the cheaper costs even though I drove from the southside over the gateway 45mins everyday - it's not that bad!). If you choose RAC and you'd like to do it full time then I'd advise talking Tony (CFI) or a senior instructor for half an hour to tell them the time frame you want to do it in. They'll set up a plan of attack to help you.
Ultimately trust your gut because you have to feel comfortable with your school because you've got some exciting times ahead and the school that can assist you the most and makes you feel that you can ask whatever, whenever will allow you to develop the most efficiently.
My two cents. Good luck:ok:

There is no way Tony will want to spend half an hour with you unless you want to fly a twin and have a bag of cash. Also a number of pilots have left RAC due to their booking inefficiencies. I notice the ebrief system is user pays now. When I flew I could access it for free, now you have to pay to access vital training information. The only benefit is for the CEO whose bonus is now getting bigger due to the new revenue stream. Still seem to be some good instructors there but nothing like they were 2 years ago.

Yes, I seem to remember booking a BFR there not long back with a 3 month wait to achieve the combination of instructor and plane......:suspect:

ADFA YCAB all the way!
 

Exceptional staff, very personal, and happy to help with anything. If you are having trouble with something, everyone is more than happy to assist - both instructors and other students. Plenty of organised social events (after all a lot of things in aviation are not what you know but who you know), no landing fees at YCAB, great machines, access to C210 for hour building (very handy if you are planning to fly in the territory) and as Jaba mentioned, FANTASTIC scenery!! I can confirm that!

Best of luck mate!

AGS99:ok:

Well Lee sat down with me when I wanted to do it and Tony has sat down with several mates so yes, he does. The booking waiting list IS the problem hence sitting down with someone to fix it. There is an increasing number of canellations also so if you stay on top of it and are keen, you'll be the first they call.
Good luck

hey there,
I had a bit of my flight training done in Brisbane with Av8 and would much prefer to not deal with them again, although that was with instructors who no longer work there. If i choose again i would probably look closer at redcliff I've heard some good feedback about them.

Definitely seek out Redcliffe Aero Club. Well worth the extra $$ spent on fuel getting there. however remember to leave really early if you are going there from the southside of brisbane. Took me 2hrs 45 minutes one morning not long ago. F****** ridiculous. The CFI is a top bloke and very knowledgeable, and loves what he does and that shows through. I.e. he's not there to move on, he has a genuine passion for what he does

300

Archerfield?
 

Archerfield :yuk::yuk:

Long taxi and transit times to the training areas can significantly increase the cost of your flight training. Learning to fly out of Redcliffe or the like would be ideal. More training time per lesson and much cheaper also.

Type rating in Brisbane or Close?
 

Hey guys does anyone have an idea about type rating programs in brisbane or a close city....?