Sunstate Aviation - Florida - Multi/IR Quality ?

[undecidedpilot]

Hello All,

I am planning to start my Multi and IFR training in the next 2 months and I have been looking at Sunstate Aviation. The CEO is very friendly, and they seem to be professional, but I would like more information from any of you who have had to deal with them, especially on the quality of training for the Multi / IR.

I am looking for a very professional and disciplined training. If you have had experience with them and you can answer those questions, I would really appreciate it:

_ Did you finish on time? (3 weeks for IFR and 1 week for Multi)
_ How would you rate the training?
_ Was there a training syllabus?
_ Were the prices listed respected?
_ How was aircraft and sim availability?

Thanks in advance

[whistling turtle]

Hi there,

I did my Single Engine IR with Sunstate last year, let me first say that you have made a very good choice with this school.

They are a very professional group and will go out of their way to get you your ratings.

Now to your questions:

1

I did not finish during the minimum times quoted but that was my fault because I set in straight away in to the IR after completing my JAA ATPL exams so I had to also study for my IR written and oral exams in conjunction with my flight training.

Ideally (and they recommend this to you in advance) you should finish the multi-media ground school labs they provide you before you start the flight training portion at sunstate. The times quoted are certainly doable but it's a hard slog.

2

I'd rate the training as easily the best I have recieved anyway.

3

Yes there certainly is and it's implemented rigidly.

4

Yes they were but I ran over time like I said so I paid more as a result.

5

Both excellent but it has to be said that at that time they were only training me and one other guy on instruments. They had a bunch of PPL students at the time as well.

- Hope all this helped, I always recommend Sunstate to people because they are the real deal when it comes to training people to fly. They may cost a bit more but you pay for what you get in aviation.

It's going to be hard work all the way but you will enjoy the experience I'm sure.

[undecidedpilot]

thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my questions!!

Sorry to bother you but I just have a few more questions: where did you live in kissimmee? did you go to a motel? I am thinking of renting a furnished condo for 2 months as I will be there with my girlfriend. How did you find life in kissimmee?

Again, thank you very very much!

[whistling turtle]

Hi again, glad to help.

I lived in a ''super 8'' motel near the school which had a slightly lower rate for Sunstate students. If you have stayed in one motel in the states then you have stayed in them all to be honest - it's basic and does the job.

You should bear in mind that accelerated courses give you little time to even breathe - I had one day off during my 4 weeks of training so it's really like an aviation boot-camp!

An accelerated IFR course day at Sunstate goes like this - you will probably fly first at 8am or possibly a little earlier for an hour. Then maybe a session on the sim for an hour or more around 11am followed by another flight or sim sometime during the afternoon. Factor in quickly getting something to eat for lunch, the Florida heat and the high levels of concentration with the lessons and you will be thoroughly exhausted by the time you get back to the motel in the evening.

That's why it's a good idea to get the ground material out of the way before you start the flying - the multi-media course you need to finish has something like 50 hours of ground lessons. It's not any fun doing these in the evenings after doing a day of the above!

I'd recommend to you to go on your own for the first month and get your training done and following that then have your girlfriend come over - that way you will be in a position to spend time together and do the parks etc.

Kissimmee is really just a place people pass through - it's basically a big highway with a bunch of cheapish motels and restaurants straddling it. I think your girlfriend would get bored with it very quickly if you were off training at Sunstate every day.

[tonypool]

Used them for hire, then IR followed by SE CPL and in January ME CPL IR.

Very Proffesional, Great Instructors. Jason is a great multi instructor and gives a lot of his time to help you.

I have used 3 other Florida schools and without a doubt Sunsate are THE best.

Regards
Tony

[punk666]

Yup I agree sunstate are amazing. I converted my JAA CPL multi to an FAA CPL Multi in 7days with Jason Gledhill. I was at the school 10 hours each day i'va flying or ground school to get the job done.

I wish they did JAA training also they would be making a killing but then again the reason there so good is because there like a back alley lot staying in the shadows. But saying that everyone is down to earth, love flying, the planes are pretty much brand new and most of all THEY CARE!!!

I recomend flying there 1000000%

[undecidedpilot]

Thank you all for replying You are being of a great help !

About the multimedia training, from what I understand, I can study and finish it at home in Canada and then go to Sunstate? Am I right?

Thanks Again !

[youngskywalker]

Another recommendation for Sunstate! A breath of fresh air for a Florida flight school!

I renewed my CPL Multi IR with them last year. Jason is the Multi instructor, he is easily the most knowledgable instructor I've ever flown with (JAA or FAA). he will expect and require you to know your stuff! The Seneca is pretty old but is in very good condition, far better than any of the wreckage I've seen at most UK and US training schools.

Friendly people, well organised, no hidden costs or any money up front.

I've no hesitation in returning again.

[whistling turtle]

Yeah you can do it anywhere, when you finish each video there is a test which you complete and then it's submitted online that you have finished that section.

It's really self study - I tend to prefer actual groundschools myself as you can ask questions but that said the multi-media course is actually very good.

I'd recommend going over it as much as you can in advance as there are also videos of what you will do in your Flying lessons as well which are helpful.

[punk666]

youngskywalker!

Can you explain how you renewed your CPL/IR ? I was under the impression that the FAA license is vaild as long as your medical unlike the JAA one.

[undecidedpilot]

whistling turtle

thank you very very very much!!!

[tonypool]

They use the Cessna (Kings School) multimedia system for the IR and CPL.

Definately advise you get these and get them done BEFORE you do any flying.

I studied these and did my IR at the same time and it was a high workload.

However, when I did my CPL I got the disks before I started the course and it was far easier to study before you do any flying, so you can just concentrate on the flying.

Didnt get any disks for the Multi flying but advised to read the book "Transition to Twins" which is a good read for multi flying, But as I said earlier Jason does spend quite a bit of time going through the syllabus.

[youngskywalker]

By renewed i meant 'IPC and multi engine BFR', faa medical and Instrument had Lapsed.

[Dylan Krassen]

IFR Training in 10 days.

My Training with AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training www.afit-info.com was the best dual instruction experience In the five years I've been flying. They were wonderful, worked around my schedule and amazingly within just a week or two's notice had everything taken care of, making getting my instrument rating during spring break a reality. My experiences with Ed was nothing short of awesome. He is a very enjoyable person to work with, and someone which you can really just sit and have a good conversation with. He really likes what he's doing, and his previous experience as a teacher shines extremely well through his flight instruction. His knowledge and first hand experiences with Icing were extremely helpful, especially when we ran into some icing ourselves during the training. Ed was extremely knowledgeable, and made the training not only a great learning experience, but a fun one as well. While there was alot of information to absorb, alot of breaks enabled me to learn the information and then take some time to absorb what was learned. The days were long usually lasting from 8 to 6, but with the breaks they seemed to go by very fast. Throughout the training we logged quite a bit of time in actual conditions, taking us all the way from San Luis Obispo to the San Francisco Bay Area, and even a trip to Modesto,CA. The Oral Portion of the checkride focused on the basic systems of the Cirrus, placing emphasis on what you would do if you had an electrical failure. The majority of the oral was focused on the planned Cross Country which was from Salinas to Long Beach,CA. Questions were asked regarding the departure, approach, and enroute procedures for the planned flight with taking the weather especially the freezing level into consideration. The Oral also went over lost com procedures in detail and ended with going over various symbols on the Approach Plates and Low Alt. En Route Charts. Most of seemed to be more judgment style questions rather then A and B answer questions, which I felt very prepared for as Ed and I had gone over the weather and scenarios for every flight every morning for the last 10 days, including wondering why a Cessna 172 constantly flew into known icing almost every morning we checked the Pireps. AFIT would be my number one and only recommendation for anyone wanting to earn an instrument rating. I'm confident that when my Father takes his instrument training this summer that it will be with AFIT, and I'm positive that he'll enjoy the training with AFIT just as I did.

Hope this helps.

[punk666]

Dylan,

Not to burst your bubble and all but whats that got to do with Sunstate aviation in FLORIDA! If you was in the San Fran area ?

The only thing in your post that can possibly be related to Sunstate is the use of Accelerated Flight Training.

Sorry if I sound like a but I think other people will be thinking the same.

[Dylan Krassen]

Hi, I understand what your saying, I thought he might care to hear about another option for training that for me was excellent and with a senior instructor. Nothing against Sunstate. I liked they came to my location and worked around my busy schedule one on one and for 8 to 10 hours a day. I learned more in those 10 days than I have in the last 10 years. I have since attained my Commercial and CFI and will be doing CFII in late summer.

I finished on time.
The training was excellent
They utilized a training syllabus outlining each day AM and PM.
Price was reasonable

They prefer to not utilize simulators, especially for a low hour pilot (600 hours) as myself, there is no real substitute for actual in my opinion. I want to be able to handle any situation that comes my way in the air. Not knocking sims, but for me, actual was the way to go for all my ratings.

Again, I'm sure Sunstate is good, but I always like knowing all available options when making an important decision.

Undecided Pilot stated he was only looking at Sunstate as a possible choice. I simply gave him another, which worked exceptionally well for me.

Flying to Canada today for theWiinter Olympics with no fear of the weather. "Safe Flying"

Sorry if the post upset you. Just trying to be helpful.!!!

[HomerJay]

I have used 3 other Florida schools and without a doubt Sunsate are THE best.

same for me. here now just hour building though but it's a top school.