RHS

Today there are three main paths to becoming a pilot. The most accessible, and typically most affordable, is through sport aviation learning to flying with a Recreational Aviation Australia-accredited school on two-seat, sub-600kg light sport aircraft, typically flying in uncontrolled airspace.

For VH-registered general aviation aircraft – ie anything over 600kg and with more than two-seats – the choice of flight schools is increasingly limited. More and more larger flight schools are primarily interested in providing Part 142 training, meaning full-time pilot training courses with the view of getting the student to a CPL in 150 hours. (Some Part 142 schools do look for 200 hours for their CPL students – the 150-hour licence may be good for a student from overseas but here in Australia a bare 150 CPL may make the job of getting that first flying job harder due to the low flight hours.)

‘Picking a flight school is best done with a bit of research.’

So the Part 142 School might not be interested in a person going for just a private pilot’s licence on a fly-once-a-week basis.

That person might do better with a Part 141 school which can work on the basis of training a pilot for the PPL or the CPL on an infrequent basis.

Beyond choosing the correct pathway, picking a flight school is best done with a  bit of research. Visit various schools in person, and listen to feedback from past students who have flown at a particular school.

And not everything comes down to price, some schools will appear to have low-cost flight training while others might appear to have high-cost training. But that pricing can reflect the type of aircraft used for the training and the quality of the instructors and the training there. Remember, ‘You only get what you pay for’ is particularly relevant in aviation.

Flying training is not cheap, but some commercial training schools can offer FEE HELP where a student can get part or all of their training costs paid for by a federal government loan.

In principle this is a good idea but remember it is just that, a loan that has to be paid back when the borrower earns a certain salary level. While some schools will sell the idea of just get a FEE HELP loan and all will be sweet the negative side to the deal is that if the wannabee pilot gets that CPL or does not get the licence the loan still has to be paid back.

And invariably by the time the pilot is earning a salary that requires the FEE HELP loan to be repaid, life’s other pressures – family, mortgage, etc – means that the loan has to start being paid back – just when finances are tight. This is a consideration not really discussed with potential loan candidates.

For those set on a private pilots licence the quest is to pick not only the right school but to get paired with a good instructor.

Not surprisingly, it is quite common for a budding flight student to be allocated a grade 3 instructor – ie an instructor with the lowest level of experience and qualifications. That is no means necessarily a problem, all instructors have to start at the entry level so why not? But some grade 3 instructors are just in the job for flight hours before they move on to a charter job or even an airline position. And so their heart may not be in training and that will soon show. Alternatively one can it strike lucky and get a great grade 3 or even a grade 2, one who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic and is prepared to give his or her all to get the budding student through to licence level.

Rarer still is the grade 1 instructor, who should have a lot of experience to pass on to a flight student, assuming that they are not tied up with more advanced training such as instrument work, twin-engine training,  instructor training or even just management of the school.

Rest assured, with effort and research, you can find a good school. Seek and you will find is a good motto that is so applicable in the quest for a good flight school and instructor. Good luck!