American Flight Centers, LLC. FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions):
American Flight Centers, LLC. receives new questions and
e-mails everyday. We thank you for your support
and continually strive to answer all of your
questions! This is a list of the most common
questions we receive at American Flight Centers, LLC.. This
is the most fair, unbiased, and trusted information
you will find anywhere!
1. How much does it
cost to learn to fly and become a pilot?
a. We love
this question because browsing around at different
flight schools you’ll get a different
answer each time you ask the question. Some
schools will advertise, “Get your Pilot’s
License for $6,950.00!!!” That’s
where we come in and shed some truth on the
subject.
b. The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) requires that you fly a minimum of 40
hours before taking the test to become a Private
Pilot. The low figures you see such as “$6,950.00,”
are based on this 40-hour minimum; they are
designed to get you in the door. Unfortunately
in the 15 years we’ve been in aviation,
we have never seen a pilot get his/her certificate
in 40 hours. The least we have seen is 55
and most get their wings between 75 hours
and 95 hours. Figure an average of 1.25 hours
of ground instruction for every hour spent
in the air. That means you’ll have paid
for an aircraft for somewhere between 75 and
95 hours and a flight instructor for 1.5
times that (between 115 and 145 hours).
c. At the flight schools
that advertise these low figures, they will
gladly take your money up-front and leave
you with 40 hours on the button wandering,
“Where is my Pilot Certificate?”
d. Now let’s do some
math! Flight instruction runs from $45.00
per hour to $60.00 per hour at some of the
larger flight schools. A two-place Cessna
152 training aircraft will run from $85.00
to $99.00 per hour. If you’re slightly
heavyset or just want a more comfortable aircraft,
the larger Cessna 172 four-place training
aircraft will run from $105.00 to $165.00 per
hour depending on the model and year. At American Flight Centers, LLC.
we charge $40.00 per hour for flight instruction,
and $99.00
per hour for a Cessna 172N. Using the above
figures a Private Pilot Certificate will realistically
cost between $12,500.00 and $15,500.00 (versus between $13,500.00 and $16,500.00 at other flight schools) if training
in the Cessna 172SP.
e. Please note that these
figures are dependant of course on the individual.
While we have yet to see a student take more
than 100 hours to get a Private Certificate,
it can happen.
2. How long does it
take to become a pilot?
a. We’ll
that depends on you and how much time your
able to commit to it. If you have a good head
on your shoulders, possess the motivation,
and have the time to dedicate yourself, you
could get your Private Pilot Certificate in
as little as four months.
b. A lesson will typically
last around 2.5 hours and you will have about
1.5 hours of reading assigned after each lesson.
The more often you train, the fresher the
material be; we will not have to repeat lessons
and so the faster and more effectively you
learn. We allow students to take as many as
3 lessons per week. If you are able to dedicate
and fly 3 times a week, you will probably
earn your wings within 5 months. If flying
twice a week, you’re now looking at
earning the wings within 8 months. If you
fly once a week, earning those wings will
probably take you between 12 and 14 months.
Again, this is all dependant of the individual.
3. What is the process
involved in becoming a pilot?
a. There
are three major steps to getting your Private
Pilot Certificate, the Pre-Solo Phase, Solo
Phase, and the Cross-Country phase. First,
we’ll teach you the basics, rules, regulations,
and procedures. When we feel you’re
ready, you’ll fly an aircraft all by
yourself for the first time, known as a solo.
After your solo phase, you’ll be flying
largely on your own, practicing what we’ve
learned until the cross-country phase. At
this point, we’ll learn navigation,
more procedures, rules, regulations, and then
you’ll fly to a cross-country destination
on your very own maybe even Lake Tahoe! After
a few finishing touches you will be ready
to take the test and earn your wings!
b. There are two tests involved
in earning your Private Pilot Wings. A written
test consisting of 60 questions must be passed
with a 70% or higher. Lastly, there is a “practical
test.” Usually lasting the better portion
of a day, an FAA flight test examiner will
ask you questions to see if you know and understand
all of the concepts, rules, procedures, and
regulations, and then go flying with you to
make sure that you can safely operate an airplane,
accomplishing all of the requirements to get
your certificate.
4. Am I smart/old/young/tall/light/fit
enough to become a pilot?
a. Of course
you are!!! Anybody can become a pilot. If
you believe you can, you can! We generally
recommend that students have at least some
high school level algebra in their background
before taking lessons, as it will help them
to understand concepts much more easily. Therefore,
16 is a great age to start flying (it’s
also the minimum age to solo) and do not ever
think it’s too late! We have had students
learning to fly well into their mid 60’s!
If you are short we have special cushions
and some planes even have vertically-adjustable
seats. If you’re too tall or are slightly
overweight we’ll take a bigger plane.
While there isn’t much we can do to
accommodate the blind, many handicaps will
not prevent you from making it into the air!
The worse case scenario is that we take you
up whenever you want on an amazing flight
and let you control as much of the plane as
you are able to! The freedom you will experience
is like nothing else.
5. I wear glasses or
contacts. Can I still become a pilot?
a. Absolutely!
Your vision however must at least be correctable
to 20/20.
6. Some flight schools
advertise that I can earn my wings in two weeks. Is this true?
a. Sadly
it is. Indeed these fraudulent schools can
teach a person how to “pass the test”
in a month, two weeks, or even 10 days. Keep
this in mind when making your decision on
a flight school: Many consider getting a pilot
certificate about as difficult as becoming
a nurse. Would you want your nurse to have
been in training only 10 days, or even a month?
We sure wouldn’t fly with one of these
pilots. The local aviation community nicknames
them “Cracker-Jack” Pilots.
b. Think about when you were
in school preparing for that hard exam the
next day. After cramming hard for that test
and taking it, did you actually remember anything
worth noting a few weeks later, or even now?
We believe that you forget information the
faster you try to learn it. Many of these
accelerated courses involve extensive cramming,
and skimming of information, teaching you
just enough to “pass the test.”
The longer you take to learn something and
let it sink in, the longer you’ll remember
it. It’s for this reason that we don’t
let students fly more than three times a week.
Safety has and always will be our number one
priority.
c. We can prove to you that
these programs are extremely unsafe. Wisdom
comes with experience and experience only
comes with time. One month is simply not long
enough to uncover all of the variables in
aviation or even ensure longevity in memory
of the rules, regulations, and concepts involved.
7. Is learning to fly
safe? Are small aircraft safe?
a. Safety
is our number one priority and we take pride
in constantly improving our programs to make
them safer and more effective. Ask any of
our students about the number one thing we
stress and they will all tell you, “Safety!”
It’s talked about on every flight and
during every ground lesson. With excellent
training standards flying an airplane can
be much safer than driving a car.
b. Here are some figures
to get a general idea of how safe flight training
is:
i. A typical
trainer can glide almost 20 miles at altitude
without an engine, touch down softly at
40 miles per hour, safely land, and stop
within 400 feet. 40 miles per hour is very
slow considering the plane is still flying
at that airspeed!
ii. The overwhelming majority
of accidents involved in general aviation
are caused by: pilots forgetting to check
gas and running out of fuel, or inadvertently
flying into bad weather.
8. How can I get in
contact with American Flight Centers, LLC.?
a. By telephone
at: (858) 245-7420
b. By e-mail at: info@sandiegoflightcenter.com
9. Where is American Flight Centers, LLC.
located and which airport(s) does it operate from?
a. We are
hiding from you! No really, American Flight Centers, LLC.
has offices located in Mission Valley, but
they serve as a meeting ground for flight
instructors only.
b. American Flight Centers, LLC. operates
out of Montgomery Field, in between the 15 and the 163 on Aero Drive. We are available seven days a week including weekends for your convenience. We schedule all of
our flight lessons or appointments by telephone
or on-line and have the flight instructor
meet you at Montgomery Field. Montgomery Field has facilities available to us for flight
instruction. We get to enjoy all of the benefits with you of having a full service flight school, without the overhead.
c. Overhead, what does that
mean for you!? It means that we can deliver
the safest and most effective flight training
possible for much less than other flight schools.
10. I have heard that
there are two ways to train, part 61 and 141. What is the difference?
a. These
are regulations within the Federal Aviation
Regulations (Title 14 of the Code of Federal
Regulations) that specify the requirements
to get a Private Pilot Certificate.
b. Many flight schools adopt
the part 141 methods of teaching. It is highly
structured, aggressive, more profitable for
the flight school, and highly characteristic
of accelerated programs. In fact, most accelerated
programs are part 141. Basically the FAA has
put together a separate set of rules for “Schools,”
teaching in a group environment. There are
fewer requirements to get the Pilot Certificate
and some schools are even allowed to have
their own in house flight test examiner. We
are sorry to say this, but because the flight
school employs the examiners, they will pass
just about anyone who squeezes by the margins.
One local person earned every pilot certificate
up through their instructor’s rating
at one of these schools. An FAA examiner saw
the individual one-day and thought that they
were such an unsafe pilot, the examiner took
away every single certificate that pilot had
ever earned.
c. Just like we stated above
in question 5, there should be no hurry in
getting your pilot certificate, otherwise
you’ll forget everything you learned
because of the cramming involved. There should
be no shortcuts in safety and at American Flight Centers, LLC.;
safety is our number one priority.
d. American Flight Centers, LLC. feels
that part 61 is more effective in teaching
students to become safe and competent pilots.
More than 80% of all pilots earn their wings
through part 61. It covers things more in
depth, takes more time, and yes, delivers
more experience in the process.
11. What type of aircraft do you use or have available?
a. American Flight Centers, LLC. has a beautiful Cessna 172N with outstanding avionics and a GPS moving map. Whether you are getting your private, or instrument, this plane is a wonderful and reliable learning platform!
12. What are your flight instructor qualifications and their quality of teaching?
a. We couldn't possibly tell you how much we care about you and your flight training. Most of the flight instructors you will meet have one goal, build hours to get into the airlines. Sometimes, at the expense of you, these flight instructors will not even hold a ground lesson prior to flight just because it doesn't help their goal of building hours. At American Flight Centers, LLC., we absolutely love teaching and delivering the dream of flight. It is the only reason most of us are in this business. While we do have a few flight instructors who wish to fly in the airlines someday, we wouldn't hire them unless they loved teaching, and agree to adhere to our strict rules of instruction. Our flight instructors are 150% dedicated to serving you in the best way possible.
b. Our flight instructors come in all breeds, young, middle-aged, old, low-time, high-time, etc. They do however all have one thing in common: They have all been handpicked among the best of flight instructors, passed an extremely difficult testing process, and are among the best of the trade. We do not hire incompetent flight instructors or those with alternate agendas. No matter who your flight instructor is, we teach the same syllabus, adhere to the same rules, and provide the same great level of flight instruction.
c. Choosing a flight instructor is a matter of choosing personalities and it is for this reason that you can at any time, change flight instructors to better suit your needs. No one will have any hard feelings because our only goal is for you to absolutely enjoy flying in the safest way possible. You can tell us exactly what you want in a flight instructor if you'd like and we'll make sure to pair you up as best as we can with a flight instructor that meets your expectations from the start!
13. Can I learn together with someone?
a. Absolutely! We have seen it all: Husbands and Wives, Fathers and Sons, Roommates, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, and just recently, Bosses and Employees! The fact of the matter is, it's less expensive and more effective when you learn to fly with someone. Both of you will attend ground school together and when you fly, one of you will sit in the back and observe while the other pilots the airplane. The results are awesome as we have seen in every pair that has learned here! When one doesn't understand a concept, usually the other does and can explain it to them a little better than we can because of their personal relationship. When each of you fly, the person in the back learns much faster through watching what the individual in the pilot seat does right, as well as what they don't do so well. Each lesson we alternate which of you will go first and that is the secret recipe for efficient flight training success!
14. Why should I train
with American Flight Centers, LLC.!?
a. That’s
simple! We care more about your safety and
happiness than any other flight school. Unlike
other flight schools that endorse and exploit
a person’s natural impulse to “hurry”
through things, we protect students from themselves
by demanding more time and experience We want
you to acquire wisdom, not memorize it.
b. Every month we produce
articles, videos, and pilot tools to help
you become and stay a safe and effective pilot.
We have published most of the training literature
you will ever need on-line, something no other
flight school in the country can claim. Our
videos, articles, and literature are absolutely
free! Our job is to make you safe pilots,
not fill our pockets.
c. None of our instructors
are heading to the airlines. They love to
teach and are here to stay. Many flight instructors
that are heading into the airlines care only
about building hours as fast as possible to
get into the airlines. In the process they
do not serve the customer well and even frown
at ground lessons because it does not serve
their purpose in building time. You will never
find a flight instructor with an alternate
agenda at American Flight Centers, LLC., we guarantee it!
d. If you have questions
after a lesson, we accept and reply to all
e-mails from our students at no extra charge,
allowing you to continue learning at your
own pace and on your own time.
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