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2 Answers

Flight school vs club

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Student Pilot

Which is better and/or cheaper?, Enroll in a flight school, or with a CFI in a Club?

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2 Answers



  1. Jim F. on Oct 24, 2012

    Here’s an answer you’ll hear a lot: It depends. How much is the CFI per hour at both places? What type of aircraft do each offer? What are their aircraft rental prices? Are those per hour rates wet or dry (meaning including fuel, or do you pay for fuel separately)? Are they offering part 141 and/or part 91 training? There are so many unknown variables that we just don’t have enough information.

    What I can assume is, that if you’re the CFIs’ only student at the club, he would most likely have a more open schedule, and you would get more personalized training. While a part 141 school may seem to be quicker, that can be offset by a more impersonal CFI. If you were part 91 with a very dedicated CFI, you could cruise through training with the minimum time required.

    Also, a great way to reduce cost is to do a lot of ground study at home. This will drastically reduce the time/money you need to do groundwork with your instructor.

    Like I already said, there is no standard answer. It will vary greatly with changes in many variables.

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  2. Collin Hughes on Oct 25, 2012

    Just because a school is Part 141 does not mean that the instructors are impersonable. Another thing to look at is that if you go to a club or a school where an instructor has very few students the question I would as is why is this instructor not busy? Quality instructors usually are going to have more students. But yes, finding the right mix is dependent on many variables. It is difficult to obtain a pilot certificate on a tight budget. If you are a student pilot looking for a career in aviation Utah Valley University (I think that is the current name of it since it has changed) can assit you with additional financing to pay for the flying. However, with this program you must be enrolled in the university’s online degree program. But you can fly with your local flight school for the flight training portion. What this can do is open up money so you will not need to worry so much about price, but focus on quality of instruction and be able to pay more for the quality. Remember, you get what you pay for.

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