Aviator academy in Fort Pierce
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: joburg sa
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Aviator academy in Fort Pierce
Hi,
i am thinking of sending my son to this school for his cpl course and instructors,has anyone been to this school or know anyone who has ?
How is the school etc
i am thinking of sending my son to this school for his cpl course and instructors,has anyone been to this school or know anyone who has ?
How is the school etc
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: London
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Please read my post that I wrote today under the EFT Florida thread.
I would not recommend Aviator at all. Lack of instructors, too many students and aircraft constantly being repaired.
I would not recommend Aviator at all. Lack of instructors, too many students and aircraft constantly being repaired.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Fort Pierce, FL/USA
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I went to aviator college, did everything from PPL-CPL and CFI, CFII, MEI. I worked there as a flight instructor as well.
It is a very good school for the amount of money you pay.
But i need to tell you one thing though, and my belief is that this a problem with ALL school in ALL countries.
You as a father need to make sure your son is mature enough to go a school that charges by the hour for flight training.
If he goes in 100% he WILL do everything on minimums. Every student i had did theirs on minimums and all of them had first time passes.
But i have seen students come on mom and dads retirement founds and wasted everything, partying every night, running after skirts and then come on different forums complaining about the instructors not babysitting and feeding them with the spoon.
There is something you need to understand when it comes to instructors.
We do not get paid for ground school, we only get paid for flight time.
The Federal Aviation Regulations have sections that determine exactly what we need to teach and to what standards we need to teach it.
That is what he will get, no more no less. Your son will be responsible for getting there.
It is a very good school for the amount of money you pay.
But i need to tell you one thing though, and my belief is that this a problem with ALL school in ALL countries.
You as a father need to make sure your son is mature enough to go a school that charges by the hour for flight training.
If he goes in 100% he WILL do everything on minimums. Every student i had did theirs on minimums and all of them had first time passes.
But i have seen students come on mom and dads retirement founds and wasted everything, partying every night, running after skirts and then come on different forums complaining about the instructors not babysitting and feeding them with the spoon.
There is something you need to understand when it comes to instructors.
We do not get paid for ground school, we only get paid for flight time.
The Federal Aviation Regulations have sections that determine exactly what we need to teach and to what standards we need to teach it.
That is what he will get, no more no less. Your son will be responsible for getting there.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Perpetually Commuting
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During my time at FPR
Pros:
1) Finishing at minimum is possible if you put 100% in, I finished my IR and Commercial at minimum hours.
2) Accommodation, I was ok with it. No complaints, problems fixed without a delay.
3) During my time, instructors were very good. Feel very privileged to have met them and still stay in contact but most of them have left FPR.
Cons:
1) Part 141 IR ground school totally useless, I still regret why on earth I joined in that class wasting $500 (I think it's $800 now). It was better off to do with Part 61 IR with 50 hours x-country in C172 whilst self-studying with Jepp Instrument/Commercial.
2) Aircraft serviceability problems. On one day, whole fleet was grounded because too many aircrafts were being squawked. Once, I had 2 landing gear failures in two days straight.
3) Bumped off from schedule 3 days straight because someone was taking my aircraft.
4) Had to delay my checkride because the ops chief was unavailable and no one else would sign my IACRA. It pissed my designated examiner off.
5) Impossible to finish the training in advertised time frame. One must double it.
Pros:
1) Finishing at minimum is possible if you put 100% in, I finished my IR and Commercial at minimum hours.
2) Accommodation, I was ok with it. No complaints, problems fixed without a delay.
3) During my time, instructors were very good. Feel very privileged to have met them and still stay in contact but most of them have left FPR.
Cons:
1) Part 141 IR ground school totally useless, I still regret why on earth I joined in that class wasting $500 (I think it's $800 now). It was better off to do with Part 61 IR with 50 hours x-country in C172 whilst self-studying with Jepp Instrument/Commercial.
2) Aircraft serviceability problems. On one day, whole fleet was grounded because too many aircrafts were being squawked. Once, I had 2 landing gear failures in two days straight.
3) Bumped off from schedule 3 days straight because someone was taking my aircraft.
4) Had to delay my checkride because the ops chief was unavailable and no one else would sign my IACRA. It pissed my designated examiner off.
5) Impossible to finish the training in advertised time frame. One must double it.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Fort Pierce, FL/USA
Age: 48
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Hi Lee, i agree with most you say, 141 is a killer and a waste of time.
But i do not fully agree with point 4 and 5.
4) Had to delay my checkride because the ops chief was unavailable and no one else would sign my IACRA. It pissed my designated examiner off.
--- This is mainly your instructors fault, he/she should have known that for a 141 checkride you need to have chief pilots signature in IACRA in order to graduate you. And the instructor should not have scheduled your checkride before that was done. The problem we had, and this was a HUGE problem, was that instructors would schedule a checkride way ahead of time and hoping to finish the students up. This ended up in cancelations and problems when it came to signatures. Also it was not that no one else wanted to sign the IACRA for you, it is an FAA requirement that only allowed Pierre in this case to sign it.
5) Impossible to finish the training in advertised time frame. One must double it.
----- This is just not true, i know of a lot of guys that did it in less than advertised. I know 3 guys that actually did the pro course in 4 months instead of advertised 7-9.
But i do not fully agree with point 4 and 5.
4) Had to delay my checkride because the ops chief was unavailable and no one else would sign my IACRA. It pissed my designated examiner off.
--- This is mainly your instructors fault, he/she should have known that for a 141 checkride you need to have chief pilots signature in IACRA in order to graduate you. And the instructor should not have scheduled your checkride before that was done. The problem we had, and this was a HUGE problem, was that instructors would schedule a checkride way ahead of time and hoping to finish the students up. This ended up in cancelations and problems when it came to signatures. Also it was not that no one else wanted to sign the IACRA for you, it is an FAA requirement that only allowed Pierre in this case to sign it.
5) Impossible to finish the training in advertised time frame. One must double it.
----- This is just not true, i know of a lot of guys that did it in less than advertised. I know 3 guys that actually did the pro course in 4 months instead of advertised 7-9.
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: UK
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Hi Flying SA
I am puzzled why you want to send your "son" (if you are 29 you must have had him a tender age!) to the US. The standard of training in SA is far superior to some the FTO's offering training to predominately foreign students in the US. I did my FAA licenses in Florida and thus have some experience, also I held the SA CPL/IR Grade II and hold JAA Licenses/instructors/examiners etc. Having done many License conversions to JAA I would say overall the SA license holders are far better equipped than those who have got the FAA qualifications. The FAA system is excellent in principle and I use a lot of their material for training, however so much of it is lost in translation when delivered at FTO's catering for foreign pilot hopefuls. This is just my opinion as I have all the "T" shirts and experience of various the licensing regimes. Hope this helps you in a solution for your "son"!
I am puzzled why you want to send your "son" (if you are 29 you must have had him a tender age!) to the US. The standard of training in SA is far superior to some the FTO's offering training to predominately foreign students in the US. I did my FAA licenses in Florida and thus have some experience, also I held the SA CPL/IR Grade II and hold JAA Licenses/instructors/examiners etc. Having done many License conversions to JAA I would say overall the SA license holders are far better equipped than those who have got the FAA qualifications. The FAA system is excellent in principle and I use a lot of their material for training, however so much of it is lost in translation when delivered at FTO's catering for foreign pilot hopefuls. This is just my opinion as I have all the "T" shirts and experience of various the licensing regimes. Hope this helps you in a solution for your "son"!
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Hi J.B
My rebuttals:
"Also it was not that no one else wanted to sign the IACRA for you, it is an FAA requirement that only allowed Pierre in this case to sign it."
No, that's not true. Another instructor at Aviator College (really don't want to name a person's full name here), whom I did my stage 3 IR check could have signed it on IACRA and he was fully authorised to do so by FAA but Pierre and Mike Cohen didn't want anybody to sign IACRA for Part 141 except Pierre himself so I can't blame my instructor who was absolutely professional from my multi engine rating to commercial training. Even the examiner S.R knew it was full of bollocks and went to complain it to Mike Cohen but resulted in nothing. But then, I don't wanna blame it on Pierre either because he had to be hospitalised at that time.
A quote from S.R "what if he somehow gets himself into a serious accident and nobody can sign those papers for weeks?"
Do you see what I am saying? Aviator could have designated a deputy ops chief so to say to sign those papers but they just didn't want it.
"This is just not true, i know of a lot of guys that did it in less than advertised. I know 3 guys that actually did the pro course in 4 months instead of advertised 7-9."
So statistically, that's 3 guys out of so many students. They must have been very lucky in aircraft scheduling when those aircrafts didn't need mx.
But overall, I finished 150 hours in 3 months and I was very happy with everyone there, only thing I am saying is it could have been better. I have met great guys, made many friends. Really enjoyed my training there, perhaps because near around Christmas, nobody was around and I could do my time building like crazy.
My rebuttals:
"Also it was not that no one else wanted to sign the IACRA for you, it is an FAA requirement that only allowed Pierre in this case to sign it."
No, that's not true. Another instructor at Aviator College (really don't want to name a person's full name here), whom I did my stage 3 IR check could have signed it on IACRA and he was fully authorised to do so by FAA but Pierre and Mike Cohen didn't want anybody to sign IACRA for Part 141 except Pierre himself so I can't blame my instructor who was absolutely professional from my multi engine rating to commercial training. Even the examiner S.R knew it was full of bollocks and went to complain it to Mike Cohen but resulted in nothing. But then, I don't wanna blame it on Pierre either because he had to be hospitalised at that time.
A quote from S.R "what if he somehow gets himself into a serious accident and nobody can sign those papers for weeks?"
Do you see what I am saying? Aviator could have designated a deputy ops chief so to say to sign those papers but they just didn't want it.
"This is just not true, i know of a lot of guys that did it in less than advertised. I know 3 guys that actually did the pro course in 4 months instead of advertised 7-9."
So statistically, that's 3 guys out of so many students. They must have been very lucky in aircraft scheduling when those aircrafts didn't need mx.
But overall, I finished 150 hours in 3 months and I was very happy with everyone there, only thing I am saying is it could have been better. I have met great guys, made many friends. Really enjoyed my training there, perhaps because near around Christmas, nobody was around and I could do my time building like crazy.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Fort Pierce, FL/USA
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Hi Lee:
I guess things must have changed since i left. When i was there D.S was still not assistant chief and could not sign papers.
What i was trying to say is that not anyone can sign the graduation certificate and if Pierre was sick then perhaps things should have been planned differently.
But i still believe it is mainly your instructors fault. He SHOULD NOT have scheduled your checkride with an examiner before you were done. And with done i mean all training and paperworks. If he had not done that then you would not have been in that particular situation. He broke school protocol and it pissed of the examiner. Now i know S.R very well and he is one of the coolest guys there but he could actually have failed you for it.
And talking about the 3 guys, they were the exception as you say it. But most people do finish in time. There are mainly 2 different types on students.
1. Want to fly, study hard and stay on budget.
2. Chase the skirts, love to party and sure i'll fly.
#2 rarely stay in time and budget, but i will guarantee you that 100% of them go online on different forums and complain. And of course some people are pure unfortunate and/or have valid complains and i believe they should speak up.
Fly safe
Johnny
I guess things must have changed since i left. When i was there D.S was still not assistant chief and could not sign papers.
What i was trying to say is that not anyone can sign the graduation certificate and if Pierre was sick then perhaps things should have been planned differently.
But i still believe it is mainly your instructors fault. He SHOULD NOT have scheduled your checkride with an examiner before you were done. And with done i mean all training and paperworks. If he had not done that then you would not have been in that particular situation. He broke school protocol and it pissed of the examiner. Now i know S.R very well and he is one of the coolest guys there but he could actually have failed you for it.
And talking about the 3 guys, they were the exception as you say it. But most people do finish in time. There are mainly 2 different types on students.
1. Want to fly, study hard and stay on budget.
2. Chase the skirts, love to party and sure i'll fly.
#2 rarely stay in time and budget, but i will guarantee you that 100% of them go online on different forums and complain. And of course some people are pure unfortunate and/or have valid complains and i believe they should speak up.
Fly safe
Johnny
The standard of training in SA is far superior to some the FTO's offering training to predominately foreign students in the US.
If you do your due diligence and spend some time selecting schools you will find the right one and not end up at one of the non-english pilot mills.
