Fly EASA - PLEASE HELP
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Malta
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I've been at OBA and found it a good school provided you are self-disciplined and assertive. It worked for me; did not work so well for others inclined to partying with their roomies in their lively house.
I had a little less than three months between finishing university and starting my full-time job at home in Malta. I spent one month (right after finishing my uni final exams) reading and studying all the PPL books. I had ordered the school's package and received everything at home. So basically I went to Florida all geared up for the written exams (even took the books with me on the 9+hr flight to the US!). I passed all of them on first go - easy exams if you study properly! Then I had about 5 weeks there which was more than enough to get it done as at the end of the course I had a two days left to enjoy Florida as much as I could! And overall I was grounded for about 4 to 5 days due to weather and aircraft problems. I only had about 12 hours flying after two weeks there and I was getting worried - but once you get your first solo done everything starts moving much faster!
My experience there was not all positive though. I can mention a few things which I did not like at all - mainly the fact that their advertised '27 aircraft' are actually only about 9 which are in flying condition. To make matters worse I had opted to go for the PPL with the Cessna 150, mainly because I now fly the C152 and C172 at home in Malta. My first instructed lesson was on a C150 (N704FE) which barely got off the ground with two persons on board and full fuel, not to mention the terrible heat and humidity there in August - overall a horrible aircraft, and very dangerous - and that was their ONLY C150 available for me! That got me very worried, especially as I had to share the aircraft with three hour builders but thankfully I was the only one doing the PPL course on the Cessna at the time. Ironically, the other school at Ormond Beach (Sunrise Aviation) had a whole fleet of beautiful Cessnas
About half way through my course however a C150A got out of maintenance (N9890J) - and thank god for that - a much better aircraft which solved many problems for me.. I really enjoyed flying that plane - and it was out just in time for my cross country navs. The over-priced (and rather filthy) accomodation is another point which others mention. First of all students are responsible for keeping the house clean. But when u get students who wouldn't bother cleaning, the filth tends to build up... at least while i was there the housekeeping lady gave the house a good clean up! Also only four weeks are included in the PPL package so I had to pay an extra $300 for my 5th week - that was the only unexpected / hidden cost that I encountered (to be fair however, they did tell me about it when I got there). Other than that, there were no other hidden costs for me - but only because I did my research properly before and read all the fine print! And the EASA houses are a short 5min bike ride from the airport - if you manage to get hold of a bike that is!
Its also worth mentioning that I was lucky to have a great instructor - not the case with all the students there. Having a good instructor will definitely help you get through it in a month.
Overall - I totally enjoyed my time in Florida but I consider myself lucky that things worked out my way. I would only recommend EASA to people who are really dedicated and have a good aviation background or basic knowledge to help get them started... and please don't go for their Cessnas!
PS: I still use my fuel tester today - so that $6.50 was worth it
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Age: 52
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FLY EASA
Hi GAZ45
I do agree that the it’s a good school for the flying but I would avoid putting too much money down in one hit as you will struggle to get any of it back if you need to.
I went over in November and stayed in their provided accommodation but on day two of my training went down with food poisoning and had to come home early. The house I was staying in was pretty filthy as the students already staying there weren’t very worried about cleanliness and probably caught if from within the house!! But I might have just had a one off bad experience and you will probably find it okay.
I am still waiting to get my money back that I already had put into my account and this has really put me off going back there again due this fact…but don’t let me put you off.
Cheers and good luck!
I do agree that the it’s a good school for the flying but I would avoid putting too much money down in one hit as you will struggle to get any of it back if you need to.
I went over in November and stayed in their provided accommodation but on day two of my training went down with food poisoning and had to come home early. The house I was staying in was pretty filthy as the students already staying there weren’t very worried about cleanliness and probably caught if from within the house!! But I might have just had a one off bad experience and you will probably find it okay.
I am still waiting to get my money back that I already had put into my account and this has really put me off going back there again due this fact…but don’t let me put you off.
Cheers and good luck!
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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My first instructed lesson was on a C150 (N704FE) which barely got off the ground with two persons on board and full fuel, not to mention the terrible heat and humidity there in August - overall a horrible aircraft, and very dangerous - and that was their ONLY C150 available for me!
(iirc, according to the POH, she shouldn't have been able to get off the deck with full tanks and two up on a hot day anyway!).
Far better than the heavy Aerobat they had with the flap gauge built into the door frame - that was a bit of an experience to fly. Did my skills test in that one.
Fun times! [
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Is it possible the study to the theory in the classroom, seat the exams in Florida and would it still be possible to finish the PPL course within 4-6 weeks?
