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9 Answers

cfi academy review

Asked by: 13243 views ,
Flight Instructor

Does anyone have a good review for CFI Academy in Yuba City, CA?  They have an accelerated CFI course that I would like to hear more about from others.

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9 Answers



  1. Michael Lombart on Jan 31, 2016

    I’m afraid I do have a review. Hmmm, wonder if I’ll get any flak for this… But gotta share my experience.

    When I was spinning my wheels trying to figure out how to get the CFI project done, I found their website and thought it seemed pretty reasonably priced. I really liked the idea of being able to get it done in a definite time period.

    I visited the school, met “Prince”, the owner – and probably the sole staff member, at the time – and was impressed with his confidence in the business of training instructors. Though it didn’t have much semblance of a “training institute”, I felt it would be good training, nonetheless. After heading home to think about it more, I decided I would go for it.

    At the time, “Prince” had just relocated airports, so he was in the process of getting his planes and facility set up, but he said he could start training me in the next few weeks. Well the one meeting was pretty much the last I heard from him, despite my repeated attempts to get in touch. He had promised to send me material to start studying, which never materialized. I tried calling multiple times to find out when we would be able to start training, and no answer. Sometimes a text would come back that he was flying and he would call me later in the day. When that call didn’t come, I would try calling again to no avail. Texts asking when it was a good time to call had no reply.

    So after two weeks of that, I was getting a bit fed up and frustrated. So I started doing some Google searches, which turned up some less-than-stellar history on a previous flight school enterprise of his. Just type in the following words to Google and see what you can find: Prince, American School of Aviation.

    Needless to say, I dropped the whole idea after my bit of research. Now if you look on the Facebook page, there does seem to be a fair number of success stories from real people. So I’ll bet that “Prince” is pretty good at instructing. But when it comes to the reliability and customer service that’s essential, I’ve been burned and I didn’t think it prudent to plunk down $4K+ and run the risk of being left high and dry. Fortunately, in my case, “Prince” didn’t give me the chance.

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  2. Michael Lombart on Jan 31, 2016

    Btw, I’d be happy to share my write-up from my CFI checkride and an outline of my study plan.

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  3. thsana on Jul 19, 2016

    Scam artist, con many people from all over states and overseas with empty promises. Especially 100 indian students of $40,000 each!
    Search online for Manpreet Singh, American School of Aviation, Inc. (ASA), Merced, California, Indian student

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  4. CFI Academy on Aug 09, 2016

    https://www.facebook.com/CFIAcademy/reviews
    http://cfiacademy.com/testimonials/
    Also, there are plenty of reviews on Google business for CFI Academy

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  5. carl joseph on Mar 04, 2017

    Wow!!
    If only I knew
    I recently signed up for this individuals course, my instructor rating had expired and he fed me some bollony that with the correct preparation and management the ticket could be re-instated within 3 -5 days, of course I didnt believe 3 days but for a re-instatement I thought 5 days was possible
    I recieved no training material to self prep before arriving however I came from overseas so I prepared myself as best I could whilst still in country, and also thought I had a check ride scheduled with one of the local DPE\’s for a few days after my arrival

    On the morning of my arrival Prince could hardly find the time or the motivation to greet me
    (I had just flown in from London) and it was some hours before any kind of training plan began to evolve
    Needless to say from that first day the whole experience went from bad to worse aircraft maintenance was a serious concern, the aircraft (Duchess) was prone to iuncommanded feathering and engine shortdown if the RPM was reduced anything below 1200 the fuel pressure guages and fuel QUANTITY gauges were, well I want to say unreliable, in reality after airborne they stopped working
    Prince attempted to mislead me in advising me my flight test with the DPE was booked for Saturday 4th March, he also advised that the day prior, we would fly and we would then spend a few hours reviewing the test profile, we did neither as Prince dissapeared for the day and failed to answer his mobile phone
    I attempted to do some of the legwork with regards to planning myself, and hit on the idea just to check with the DPE if infact I was scheduled for a check ride, You know the answer I was not scheduled for Saturday, Sunday or any other day.
    Fortunately I have not parted with too much money, and after the first day I was somewhat wary of the Prince so I made payment by credit card which fortunately has provided me with a certain amount of protection

    In summary this individual is the most inappropriate ambassadior for FAA flight training, both in his lack of professionalism, and the parlous state of the equipment he uses .
    I am not exagerating or being dramatic, if the authorities continue to allow him to operate with such impunity and disregard for basic rules and regulations with regards to the maintenance state of the aircraft then I predict a fatality, indeed why are the authorities allowing this to continue
    I would refute the suggestion he is a pretty good instructor, from my own experience with him, and my exposure to the industry he is the complete opposite

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  6. Len Myers on Mar 28, 2017

    Dear Carl……..My name is Len and we’ll just leave it at that for now. I was an instructor for “prince” in Yuba City last summer and all of your reasons are why In nolonger an instructor for “prince”. I don’t know myself why the FAA still allows him to operate. If you can, call Mr. Don Miller at the Reno, NC. FDSO. He has a file on “prince” and maybe he’ll do something. Len

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  7. manpreet singh on Sep 04, 2017

    interesting. So, he never took a dime from you? Did he?

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  8. RAHULSURESH on Aug 22, 2018

    FOLKS PLEASE NOTE: Please do not approach this person or his flight school for training.
    CFI Academy owner Manpreet Singh AKA Prince Singh, is a SCAM ARTIST! He dued me and 4 other flight training students of 40000$ back in 2008 with his then Flight school American School of Aviation going bankrupt. All other students from that flight school, roughly around 70 – 100 lost anywhere between 1000$ – 30000$. This incident has had a grave effect on me mentally and emotionally. Lawsuits were filed with no results. The case was a default because the court couldn’t serve him because he was hiding. I have heard negative review from a flight student at CFI Academy who wasn’t reimbursed 5000$ for undone training due to fake promises. I heard he only has one C172 and an Arrow at the school and it really is not airworthy. Im just trying to advice anybody thinking about joining there to please find a different option. This guy is an immoral human being.

    It changed my life and shattered my dreams. I’m still trying to finish my flight training after 10 years. Suffered a lot but never gave up.t’s astonishing he is not behind bars. All that he is advertising is fake and untrue. He is a SCAM ARTIST. If anyone wants info or proof regarding this pm me.

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  9. Freedml on Apr 12, 2024

    I’m sad to read the above reviews as my experiences with Prince and the school have been great. They came highly recommended from a friend who had earned his CFI certificate there months earlier. This was in 2020, so years later than the above reviews. Prince is an amazing instructor, Fadi takes care of the business end, the aircraft are old but reliable and the CFIs that help Prince are good. I earned CFI, CFII and ASES there.

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