PPL in USA Advice , Naples or Orlando ?
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PPL in USA Advice , Naples or Orlando ?
Hi All,
This is my first post and I have the difficult decsion of selecting a flying school.
It is my intention to continue my flying lessons over in the US as my time in flying in the UK has been slow i.e. limited instructor availability or flight's cancelled due to weather.
I was wondering if any of your out there has learn to fly at either Naples Air Center or Orlando Flight Training to carry out PPL ???
What is the general consensus / views ?
My family are considering going over so I think that OFT would be be the option for this. I beleive that Naples is also a good school.
Any information is most welcome.
Thanks
BB
This is my first post and I have the difficult decsion of selecting a flying school.
It is my intention to continue my flying lessons over in the US as my time in flying in the UK has been slow i.e. limited instructor availability or flight's cancelled due to weather.
I was wondering if any of your out there has learn to fly at either Naples Air Center or Orlando Flight Training to carry out PPL ???
What is the general consensus / views ?
My family are considering going over so I think that OFT would be be the option for this. I beleive that Naples is also a good school.
Any information is most welcome.
Thanks
BB
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Bomber,
Try putting "Naples AIr Centre" or "Orlando Flight Centre" into the search facility, and selecting the Pivate FLying forum to search. You should get a screenfull of threads which should contain some useful info.
Try putting "Naples AIr Centre" or "Orlando Flight Centre" into the search facility, and selecting the Pivate FLying forum to search. You should get a screenfull of threads which should contain some useful info.
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No doubt that there is more to do for the family in the Orlando area than near Naples.
Naples is pleasant enough, although I did not manage to see much of it when I was over there in January as I was 'working' so hard.
I have no experience in flying out of Orlando.
A number of friends and acquaintances had used Naples before so when it came to the crunchline on where to go I rang NAC for advice.
They were extremely helpful from the word go in giving information and guidance for the Visa process (this process is actually a lot less hassle than it may seem from the material you read)
I did go to NAC to get my FAA tickets and managed to 4 checkrides in 5 days (ME PPL/ME IR/SE CPL/ME PPL) This was possible as I discussed my requirements and experience with their CFI beforehand.
He said that if I was up to the standard that I assessed myself that he would promise to sort out the bits from his side.
A schedule for all my flying was ready upon my arrival and adapted where necessary. I felt at all times that I was treated well with respect and never felt that they tried to 'milk' me for extra hours, au contraire, when I wanted to fly an extra sortie the afternoon before my CPL checkrides and an extra one in the twin in the morning before my ME CPL the CFI told me not to bother as I would be fine.
The aeroplanes were well used but sound and the entire operation extremely efficient.
Their rates are not the lowest you can find in Florida or the States but entirely reasonable.
I would have no hesitation at all to recommend NAC for flight training, especially since the feedback that one read from time to time about them seems to be consistently positive.
FD
Naples is pleasant enough, although I did not manage to see much of it when I was over there in January as I was 'working' so hard.
I have no experience in flying out of Orlando.
A number of friends and acquaintances had used Naples before so when it came to the crunchline on where to go I rang NAC for advice.
They were extremely helpful from the word go in giving information and guidance for the Visa process (this process is actually a lot less hassle than it may seem from the material you read)
I did go to NAC to get my FAA tickets and managed to 4 checkrides in 5 days (ME PPL/ME IR/SE CPL/ME PPL) This was possible as I discussed my requirements and experience with their CFI beforehand.
He said that if I was up to the standard that I assessed myself that he would promise to sort out the bits from his side.
A schedule for all my flying was ready upon my arrival and adapted where necessary. I felt at all times that I was treated well with respect and never felt that they tried to 'milk' me for extra hours, au contraire, when I wanted to fly an extra sortie the afternoon before my CPL checkrides and an extra one in the twin in the morning before my ME CPL the CFI told me not to bother as I would be fine.
The aeroplanes were well used but sound and the entire operation extremely efficient.
Their rates are not the lowest you can find in Florida or the States but entirely reasonable.
I would have no hesitation at all to recommend NAC for flight training, especially since the feedback that one read from time to time about them seems to be consistently positive.
FD
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I was one of the earlier UK visitors to Naples, and I chose it after much research and input from people on PPRuNe and elsewhere.
There were only two places in the USA that got the top rating from all the correspondents - Naples, and Flight Safety International. FSI wanted me to wear a uniform, and reckoned they'd need well over $10k to get me to the standard to pass an IR. Naples looked at my experience first (including the IMC rating) and suggested around $2,000.
Naples was an excellent experience; totally professional, aircraft well cared for - snags dealt with, not deferred - and I have no hesitation recommending them.
I didn't go to Orlando because one or two people were not happy with the experience there. That may or may not be statistically significant.
I know several others who've been to NAC since, and all were happy with the experience. Some have gone back to do further ratings.
Any help?
There were only two places in the USA that got the top rating from all the correspondents - Naples, and Flight Safety International. FSI wanted me to wear a uniform, and reckoned they'd need well over $10k to get me to the standard to pass an IR. Naples looked at my experience first (including the IMC rating) and suggested around $2,000.
Naples was an excellent experience; totally professional, aircraft well cared for - snags dealt with, not deferred - and I have no hesitation recommending them.
I didn't go to Orlando because one or two people were not happy with the experience there. That may or may not be statistically significant.
I know several others who've been to NAC since, and all were happy with the experience. Some have gone back to do further ratings.
Any help?
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I can echo Keef's comments as we went together a coupla years ago to NAC to do the FAA/IR.
There was plenty of PPL activity, tho' I do remember one poor Brit who was grounded for 5 days in a row (out of his 3 week stay).
He was doing his PPL and the grounding was mainly due to weather (Winds and occas rain: which of course was not a problem for IR training.) Mind you he was able to rattle off the exams in that time.
Soo pick your time of year carefully -Feb/March to June are pretty good: after that the Floida thunderstorms can spoil your day, not to mention the heat and humidity.
Whatever you do enjoy it!
And good luck.
There was plenty of PPL activity, tho' I do remember one poor Brit who was grounded for 5 days in a row (out of his 3 week stay).
He was doing his PPL and the grounding was mainly due to weather (Winds and occas rain: which of course was not a problem for IR training.) Mind you he was able to rattle off the exams in that time.
Soo pick your time of year carefully -Feb/March to June are pretty good: after that the Floida thunderstorms can spoil your day, not to mention the heat and humidity.
Whatever you do enjoy it!
And good luck.
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Go to Canada
No visa hassles, cheap airfares(Canadian affair), really nice people, currency with the queens head on,general population don't feel the need to carry a firearm that they inevitably shoot themselves with,nice airport customs etc etc etc cheap-very cheap
To go to the US you will need a visa(6mnths), Canada has no such requirements.
good luck
No visa hassles, cheap airfares(Canadian affair), really nice people, currency with the queens head on,general population don't feel the need to carry a firearm that they inevitably shoot themselves with,nice airport customs etc etc etc cheap-very cheap
To go to the US you will need a visa(6mnths), Canada has no such requirements.
good luck
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I've not been to either school myself, but have picked up from other threads here that the intensive training can be very hard work and tiring. Not really conducive to combining with a family holiday. It would be easier if you took care of all the ground school and exams in the UK before you went.
TG.
TG.
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yeah BB it does seem difficult to know where to fly. seems like there's a lot of schools to choose from? would anybody recommend just heading out there and having a look-see b4 making a choice?
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Hi Simboi,
The only problem I can see with going out to Florida to have a look around schools before making a choice is that you will have to return to the UK before you can start training.
You require an M1 visa to do any sort of training, even a trial lesson, out in the USA. You can't get an M1 visa until you decide upon which school. Plus you would probably be in the USA looking around the schools on a Visa Waiver Scheme. Whilst on a Visa Waiver Scheme you are not authorised to change your status to an M1 within the USA.
Bomber,
I am another one of the people who Flyin'Dutch speaks of in regards to training at Naples.
As I was very pleased with the school last year that I returned this year to add a multi rating to my certificate (yank speak for licence).
I'm also doing my ATPL groundschool with them via distance learning.
They have plenty of aeroplanes, there doesn't seem to be any availability problems and all of the planes are well maintained. Some of the fleet have moving map Garmin GPS's but most of the fleet are IFR equipped with the exception of some of the older Cessna 152s.
I would strongly suggest you either complete all of your ground exams at home before going to Florida or alternatively leave your family at home. You most probably won't have enough time for both study and family. Even those who had passed all of the exams before travelling to Florida were working very hard.
Anyway all the best!
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
The only problem I can see with going out to Florida to have a look around schools before making a choice is that you will have to return to the UK before you can start training.
You require an M1 visa to do any sort of training, even a trial lesson, out in the USA. You can't get an M1 visa until you decide upon which school. Plus you would probably be in the USA looking around the schools on a Visa Waiver Scheme. Whilst on a Visa Waiver Scheme you are not authorised to change your status to an M1 within the USA.
Bomber,
I am another one of the people who Flyin'Dutch speaks of in regards to training at Naples.
As I was very pleased with the school last year that I returned this year to add a multi rating to my certificate (yank speak for licence).
I'm also doing my ATPL groundschool with them via distance learning.
They have plenty of aeroplanes, there doesn't seem to be any availability problems and all of the planes are well maintained. Some of the fleet have moving map Garmin GPS's but most of the fleet are IFR equipped with the exception of some of the older Cessna 152s.
I would strongly suggest you either complete all of your ground exams at home before going to Florida or alternatively leave your family at home. You most probably won't have enough time for both study and family. Even those who had passed all of the exams before travelling to Florida were working very hard.
Anyway all the best!
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
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hi
if youīre new to aviation ( i.e. starting with your ppl ) you always think that that school is good, because you donīt know it better .
normally i should post the whole **** about what i saw in that school, but then this posting will prolly deleted and no one is warned again.
so all i could tell you is : please donīt go there ! ( well you can still train in naples , but please not at that school )
if you would like to have some more detailed information, feel free to email me .
p.s. i did my ppl / ifr 2 years ago in naples
if youīre new to aviation ( i.e. starting with your ppl ) you always think that that school is good, because you donīt know it better .
normally i should post the whole **** about what i saw in that school, but then this posting will prolly deleted and no one is warned again.
so all i could tell you is : please donīt go there ! ( well you can still train in naples , but please not at that school )
if you would like to have some more detailed information, feel free to email me .
p.s. i did my ppl / ifr 2 years ago in naples
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Should be no problems as long as you do a factual report on your experiences. After all post about positive experiences are not removed either.
one nice summer day in 2003, there was one of the good flightinstructors (not sure about his name maybe david, but he is native british and now married to heather , who is (was) as well an instructor there) he was flying with a student in a warrior or a cherokee (fixed gear) ... well on the approach to RNW 5 at KAPF they LOST their gear and the instructor need to perform a belly landing with his student siting right next to him. well u might say, ok **** happen ... but within the same week he had 2 engine failures though. as i first heard that story, i was like :wtf this canīt be real ... but after a while i met david on 5th av. in a bar . he was working there behind the desk. as i walked up to him he told me that he quit working for NAC because of their behavior/treatment īn stuff like that and gave me a little closer look to whats going on there behind :/
i flew in KAPF more or less 200 hours now ( hour building , sightseeing etc) and you all mentioned their good and "well maintained" a/c .... well .... WHAT WELL MAINTAINED A/Cīs PLEASE ? they have their own maintainance ( they īre not using london aviationīs or prime planeīs maintainance ) so basically the owner decides if a plane is good to fly or not ( doesnīt matter if the plane is airworthy or not ) believe it or not , but the only guy from their maintainance team is that one avionics guy ( forgot his name) but he seems to do a propper job there. anything else i.e. if it come to 100 h inspection ... well forget about that quick. (sad but true)
the next thing is the threatment with customers. well if you already know quite a bit about whats going on in aviation they donīt touch you . BUT if you īre clueless theyīll suck you dry . the **** is , most foreigners go there with M1 or whatever visum , using the I20 from the school. so once you discover that they rip you off, they donīt let you change schools because they tell you : hey you little german punk, train here or get the
lost , because YOUR VISUM IS BOUND TO THIS SCHOOL. so you go , ok ...another lesson in life ... if you try to talk to a instructor about your little problems theyīll tell you . ( because they are forced to tell you that ) : we are not allowed to discuss those things with you, talk to the management ....
about the good things :
the wellesly inn is kinda cheap during summer, cause NAC has a kinda special rate for 30 or 33 $US with them .
another good thing is the location. right on the east ramp at KAPF , a lot of parking space available ... so that really is a nice thing.
anything else about naples you can grap online through google , bu be aware of the fact that NOTHING is cheap there
anyway i hope this will help and will not bring up a war ... ( i think i can remember that the NAC owner was posting here under different names some month ago, but the admins got that **** sorted though
so thatīs another story ... p.s. sorry for my bad grammar and english, but iīm just a little german punk ...
Flies for fun
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another 1, Can I guess that Naples is the first and only school that you have been to? I have been a customer of several both as a student and as an hour builder and can assure you that the aircraft at Naples are in the best condition that I have seen training school aircraft . The manner in which the school is run together with the relationship between the management and customers is absolutely superb in my view. I did talk to a few people who were doing their basic PPL stuff and not one had a bad word to say about the place!
Regards your story about the colapsed gear, you sure you got that info first hand? I had a look at the FAA database and there is no mention of any such incident and since Naples is a towered airport, any such incident as you mention would have been reported. There is a couple of reported instances of solo students trying to bury their gear into the runway though!
http://www2.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp
Regards your story about the colapsed gear, you sure you got that info first hand? I had a look at the FAA database and there is no mention of any such incident and since Naples is a towered airport, any such incident as you mention would have been reported. There is a couple of reported instances of solo students trying to bury their gear into the runway though!
http://www2.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp
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Sensible,
Whether it is a non-towered airport or a 'towered airport' is irrelevant.
I know both the individuals (instructor and student) involved in the 'strut falling off incident', and the partial engine failure, and I know it's true...!!!!!
If someone out there wants to cover it up, well that's no business of mine, but lets not play dumb huh.!
Captmav..
Whether it is a non-towered airport or a 'towered airport' is irrelevant.
I know both the individuals (instructor and student) involved in the 'strut falling off incident', and the partial engine failure, and I know it's true...!!!!!
If someone out there wants to cover it up, well that's no business of mine, but lets not play dumb huh.!
Captmav..
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Sensible,
I don't believe it is as both PA28s that were online last summer were online a month ago. Although N3052B had a new registration but that was only to bring it in line with the 'AC' at the end.
How can one make a belly landing on a fixed gear cherokee? Now if "another1" said an Arrow with its retractable then it would be more plausible, however both of their Arrow IVs were still in the air a month of so ago.
The instructor who is now married (I believe) to Heather (who was my instructor) is Andrew, not David.
By the way Richard (the owner) posts on pprune under the schools name. Quite clear as far as I am aware.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
I don't believe it is as both PA28s that were online last summer were online a month ago. Although N3052B had a new registration but that was only to bring it in line with the 'AC' at the end.
warrior or a cherokee (fixed gear) ... well on the approach to RNW 5 at KAPF they LOST their gear and the instructor need to perform a belly landing with his student siting right next to him
The instructor who is now married (I believe) to Heather (who was my instructor) is Andrew, not David.
By the way Richard (the owner) posts on pprune under the schools name. Quite clear as far as I am aware.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
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bomber
no , naples wasnīt my 1st experience because i did fly in germany before . yes i agree with you that it could be much more worse than NAC especially if we are talking about the a/c conditions . but letīs stay in naples , there are some more schools at KAPF london aviation and eaa . both of them have a bunch of brand new c172 or pa28
http://www.londonhelicopters.com
http://www.eaa-fly.com
well thatīs your impression/oppinion i know by name at least 2 students who had major trouble in 2003 ( one from england and one from nigeria ) both of them switched school after a long hassle . well just to get this right here , i donīt want to harm anyone , and i donīt want to ruin their business, but iīve spent more than 150 days in 2003 in naples and saw a lot. i saw those students sitting outside the school or hanging around at the pool while studiing at the hotel ... talking about those money issus over there at NAC ... i.e. you just finished a XC and the first thing they gave you is the bill . if you donīt pay that day theyīll skip your schedule ... anyway i really would like to help other people to make a good and SAVE decision. during my time in naples i mainly rented c172 or pa28 from other schools. so i donīt go to NAC anymore. during that time i spoke to alot of people working at KAPF ... everyone will tell you the same ! it doesnīt matter if you ask a fuel guy or in the pilot shop ... even the doctor who has his office right around their corner might know whats going on . if everyone keeps telling you things about that place during a period of 2 years , do you think that this isnīt something to be afraid about ? i mean , you guys came for 4 or 6 weeks , doinī ppl , cpl whatever ... in your mind youīve got those old bloody english schools over there in the UK, with outworn airplanes īn stuff like that ... but do you really think that the way NAC is providing their service is the way it has to be ? well maybe thatīs one difference between uk guys and bloody germans
and about that belly landing . well ask around, most of the people living and doing business out there at KAPF know that story. and it wasnīt a student trying to bury their gear into the runway . it was a dual flight and one of the main gear tires fell off in the gulf right in front of RNW 5 approach. the instructor was able to land the ship on the remaining 2nd main and front tire. i donīt know why it wasnīt reported ...maybe he departed A4 and let the wing go down on east ramp ... i really donīt know . all i know ( and thatīs because i talked to that guy who flew that plane ) is that this isnīt a "story" but weīll see , maybe weīll find someone who is able to tell us the truth ...maybe even NAC has the balls to explain what happend ?
cheers
no , naples wasnīt my 1st experience because i did fly in germany before . yes i agree with you that it could be much more worse than NAC especially if we are talking about the a/c conditions . but letīs stay in naples , there are some more schools at KAPF london aviation and eaa . both of them have a bunch of brand new c172 or pa28
http://www.londonhelicopters.com
http://www.eaa-fly.com
The manner in which the school is run together with the relationship between the management and customers is absolutely superb in my view.
and about that belly landing . well ask around, most of the people living and doing business out there at KAPF know that story. and it wasnīt a student trying to bury their gear into the runway . it was a dual flight and one of the main gear tires fell off in the gulf right in front of RNW 5 approach. the instructor was able to land the ship on the remaining 2nd main and front tire. i donīt know why it wasnīt reported ...maybe he departed A4 and let the wing go down on east ramp ... i really donīt know . all i know ( and thatīs because i talked to that guy who flew that plane ) is that this isnīt a "story" but weīll see , maybe weīll find someone who is able to tell us the truth ...maybe even NAC has the balls to explain what happend ?
cheers
Last edited by another1; 12th Aug 2004 at 15:16.
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Fun Stories on Pprune
Hmmmm.......I just love it chinese whispers take effect in this forum with our 3 post wonders!
Never let the truth get in the way of a good post!
An incident happened where due to a hard landing of the previous renter that was not reported to the school leading to the following person encountering a left main gear failure.
This incident happened after the airport was closed at approx 2215. The airport authority notified Richard, Jatin (CFI) and myself who all arrived on the scene at approx 22:30.
Apart from the aircraft, there were no injuries.
No blame was placed on either the student or Instructor.
The instructor continued to work for NAC beyond this incident and continued training the student.
The instructor is currently awaiting work authorization as he is between immigration status and has withing the last 3 months spoken with the HOT in an effort to rejoin the NAC team.
As for engine failures etc. search the NTSB database - our record luckily speaks for itself. You do not need to rely on the hearsay of any one but the actual facts of the NTSB. Although I must stress, just because a school has an incident or accident it may not necessarily be a fault of the school!
May I suggest that we should all use this forum for one reason - tell the story as it is and use no fabrication or synopsis as to why things happen when the facts are not known.
Thank you, Nikki
Edit: I would like to add that my response to this post was for factual reasons and not in response to Another 1's invitation!
Never let the truth get in the way of a good post!
An incident happened where due to a hard landing of the previous renter that was not reported to the school leading to the following person encountering a left main gear failure.
This incident happened after the airport was closed at approx 2215. The airport authority notified Richard, Jatin (CFI) and myself who all arrived on the scene at approx 22:30.
Apart from the aircraft, there were no injuries.
No blame was placed on either the student or Instructor.
The instructor continued to work for NAC beyond this incident and continued training the student.
The instructor is currently awaiting work authorization as he is between immigration status and has withing the last 3 months spoken with the HOT in an effort to rejoin the NAC team.
As for engine failures etc. search the NTSB database - our record luckily speaks for itself. You do not need to rely on the hearsay of any one but the actual facts of the NTSB. Although I must stress, just because a school has an incident or accident it may not necessarily be a fault of the school!
May I suggest that we should all use this forum for one reason - tell the story as it is and use no fabrication or synopsis as to why things happen when the facts are not known.
Thank you, Nikki
Edit: I would like to add that my response to this post was for factual reasons and not in response to Another 1's invitation!
Last edited by Ninety-Nines; 12th Aug 2004 at 16:58.
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another1,in your second post on this topic you said;
Now that is an instructor that I could really learn from! but then I thought you said in your first post;
Your story doesn't seem to be consistent does it? Why have the grapes turned sour in Germany this year?
the instructor was able to land the ship on the remaining 2nd main and front tire. i donīt know why it wasnīt reported ...maybe he departed A4 and let the wing go down on east ramp ... i really donīt know
the instructor need to perform a belly landing