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Question: How do you find the best place to do your flight training?
Answer: A better way to phrase the question is “how do you find the best place to do flight training for you” because one size does not fit all or even most when it comes to flight training.
Begin your search identifying your goals. Is this a bucket-list item? A hobby? Or are you contemplating a career change?
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If it is the latter, an accelerated academy style program may be in your best interest.
If you are learning to fly for personal enrichment or to enhance an already established career, flying two or three times a week at the local airport flight school may be a better choice, especially if you are working and have family responsibilities that preclude traveling or attending a concentrated academy style program.
No matter what path you take, be sure to get any and all agreements in writing, and comply with the prerequisites of the program, if there are any. For example, some accelerated programs want learners to have completed and passed the appropriate FAA knowledge exam—also called the written test although it is now administered by computer—before they show up for training.
Learning to fly is always more expensive than you budget for. I say this as someone who has been flying for more than 30 years on both sides of the flight training paradigm. If the program quotes are $8,000 for a private pilot certificate, budget $10,000 just to be safe. Money is like altitude in this case—better to have too much than too little.
Good luck on your journey!
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