I notice that ETS has a lot of flight/pilot safety info, so I'm assuming that a few pilots hang out here. I've wanted to go through the school for year ever since a client of mine let me pilot his plane a little bit on a trip. I was wondering in anyone might have some recomendations/contacts on schools and/or doctors to get the physical in the central OH area. I found a lot when I searched so I thought I would see if anyone has some personal experiance with any.I've finally been converted from a temp worker to a real employee so I now have insurance and money's not so tight anymore. So anyone a pilot or from around OH?

Howdy! I'm not a pilot but I am from Springfield.
Ed

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

HI
I'm not sure if this will help but I got a voucher for a flying lesson as a Christmas present. So my first lesson won't cost me anything, but the complete course will set me back £4,000, which isn't going to happen in the near future.....
Maybe you local schools/clubs do that kind of try before you fly deal?

Justin

From what I can tell there are a few that let you pay as you go, which is something that I'm looking for when choosing. But even narrowing it down by that there are still quite a few to choose from.

There really won't be much of a difference between flight schools, I don't think. What it will come down to is, which one is convenient for you? Which of them will be most cost-effective?

Whatever you do, once you've decided to go for your pilot's license, go for it. Don't do what I did, which is to go take a lesson every other week. If you're not flying at least once or twice a week, regularly, then you just throw away 3/4 of your money, because if you come back to flying after two weeks, it takes you 45 minutes to relearn everything you've forgotten.

My first flying school was a large school with a solid reputation, but they didn't have "an" instructor, they had at least six. As a result, I flew with whatever instructor was available, and there was no-one monitoring my progress. So after I'd soloed, and I was going up, day after day, and just doing circuits ("take-offs and landings"), no one was there to say "Ok, Will, time to move on to the next step." A dedicated instructor who will monitor your progress is essential, IMO.

Don't choose an instructor who will just let you go up and bore holes through the air. When I was trying to get my instrument rating, a friend of mine (who had an instrument and commercial rating) offered to teach me for free. Those "free" lessons probably cost me at least $2000, because I never did get my instrument rating. I could fly straight and level and make instrument approaches, but I couldn't handle (or at least wasn't comfortable with) the little things that he hadn't thought to teach me (file an instrument flight plan, copy a new clearance in the air, monitor the radio, recognise developing emergencies, etc.)

Study the requirements for the certificate and make sure you have a plan to get there. Be prepared to spend lots of time on the ground with your instructor discussing your progress; what you've done and what you want/need to do next. If he wants to get paid for this, pay him. It's money well-spent.

There's lots of stuff you can do to practice that won't cost you a cent, although it does take self-discipline. Once you know how to plot a flight and file a flight plan, it costs you nothing to do it. Pick a destination you'd like to fly to, check the weather, and do all the preparation you normally would; set aside an hour in the evening two or three times a week and do this at home; pretend you've got an early morning flight at 3 a.m.

Make sure that at the end of each lesson, you're one step closer to the flight test. For example, don't get hung up (like I did) on doing ten, fifteen, twenty hours practising take-offs and landings. You practise take-offs every time you take off, and landings every time you land. Do a short cross-country, and instead of simply landing at your destination, do a couple of touch-and-goes. (If you don't know what those are, you'll find out, trust me <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

I hope this helps. Don't get hung up on finding the "right" flight school. Try one that's convenient. If you don't like it, or the instructor's an [censored], say "thanks" and try another one.