Hi Eugene,

I am a pilot but in Iowa not Ohio so I would not be able to help you with specific OH school recommendations. My best recommendation would be to start hanging around places where pilots hang out: airports. Most FBOs (Fixed base Operators) make their living selling fuel, renting planes and selling rides to people interested in flying. Go fly with a few. You don't have to commit to any one right away and you will get to know a few people and learn where the good schools are and who the good CFIs (Certified Flight Instructors) are. Many of the best CFIs may not be affiliated with a particular school and a lot of the CFIs that are affiliated with a school are only there so they can build up flight time so they can get an airline job. Also check out some of the smaller airports where flying will be less expensive. FBOs at the big commercial airports can be very pricy.

Check out the Be A Pilot web site: http://www.beapilot.com/indexfl.html or the National Association of Flight Instructors http://www.nafinet.org/directory/flight_lookup.html

You may also want to join the AOPA http://www.aopa.org or the EAA http://www.eaa.org The EAA has many local chapters around the country of aviation enthusiasts which are always ready to help new comers. http://www.eaa.org/chapter/chapter_locator.html