nater1978

As far as academies go, what are your general thoughts on Flight Safety Academy?

boeingt7

I've heard nothing but bad things about flight safety... Way too expensive for what you get, they treat you like children, they gouge you for money every chance they get, employees have a bad attitude, upper management is a joke, and with the exception of the seminoles the planes are old and are down for maintenance a lot. the pilots that have told me this say they would never go there again and that they wouldn't recommend flight safety to anyone.

olympic

On the contrary, ive heard nothing but good things ... was there 6 years ago.

cospilot

There is good and bad. I went through FSA back in 2000. It was expensive but they are thorough. My GI Bill paid for most of it so I didn't incur any debt. They have a lot of money to throw at your training and they do a good job and have good airplanes. I started in October of that year and was done, essentially, in November. I did an add-on SE Commercial in December.

I then jumped schools and went to Pan Am Academy for my CFI and CFI-I.

I then went to Ari Ben Aviator in Ft. Pierce, FL, for my MEI and that is where I stayed until I was hired by ExpressJet.

Would I do it that way again? Probably not. I think FSI and Pan Am Academy are too expensive, especially considering what the starting pay at regional airlines are now. If I had to do it all over again, I would find a less expensive school and go that route.

When you interview at an airline, they aren't going to care whether you went to FSI or Bob's Flight Training school. They want to see the hours, multi- time, and your knowledge.

A good instructor is all you need. However, if you need structure, an organized flight school might just work, but look around. There are still a lot of great schools out there!

Jeffrey

nater1978

are the programs at FSA structured? Anything else you can tell me?

pagey

Hi. FSA has been around for 50ish years. They know what they're doing. Is it expensive? yes. So is every other academy type school. The planes are kinda old, but the maintnence is top notch. Pretty experience instructors right now as FSA hasn't hired for over a year. Great availability of CFIs and acft due to low student load.

peace

nater1978

Thanks very much!

BLott4

I was also there back in 2000 and hired on as a CFI during the good times until 9/11. Did my pvt and inst at a part 61 fbo to save money. What FSA (and probably others) do is prepare you for sop's and checklist adherence that I certainly did not get at the FBO. It was expensive then and probably much more so now. I still have some friends there who went the professional cfi route and they are quality people. Like the other guy said, the quality of instructor is the most important thing you can look for. There are some great ones at the FBO (the guy who soloed me is with me at Netjets now) and there were of course some less talented ones at FSA. I thought it was a great experience.
BLott4

jumpseat2024

If you're planning a professional pilot career, FSA is probably one of the top schools in the country. I started as a student there a little over 2 1/2 years ago and finished their C/I/ME program. I have since completed all the way up to my CFI/I at other school in Ohio and CA, as well as did some teaching in CA. Based on what I experienced at these other schools, I was very happy when FSA called me and offered me a job.

The program is very structured, and yes, may be a little on the pricey side, but they definitley don't train you JUST to pass the checkride..like some other popular schools do.

No, most of our planes aren't shiney glass cockpits, but our maintenance department is the best I've ever seen. IF you find a problem during preflight, you just get another plane. You are NEVER pressured into flying a marginally safe aircraft..that's the benefit of having 80 aircraft.

If you want to know more feel free to message me..there are some negative aspects to the school, and I'd be more than happy to share them with you; but overall, I think you'll have a hard time finding a better place to train. Hope I helped some...

rickair7777

FS has a good reputation, mainly because they are a REAL aviation training company as opposed to a puppy mill boiler room.

However...I think you are missing a few pieces of the big picture here. You are happy with their training environment enough to want to work there, but how about the long-term financial aspect?

If you are paying big-money to get a $20-30K regional job, you might have some regrets down the road. You will be facing years of poverty while you pay off those loans...your "love of flying" will last one year at the regional, after that you will want to have money to eat out, go on dates, and do stuff with your friends. Unless you have financial means independent of aviation then you need to shop around for the lowest training costs without compromising safety.

If money is no object, then I too would recommend FS.