COLIN ACCELERATED PRIVATE CHECKRIDE
My wife knew that I had always wanted to be a pilot, and bought me an introductory flight at Pacific Skies Aviation for my birthday. That flight was awesome: Reza worked the radios and the rudder and all I had to worry about was the yoke, which is hands-down the best part of flying. That old part of me that had always wanted to be a pilot was completely reawoken.
After the flight, I asked him about flight training options. He described their accelerated program (6+ lessons per week) in addition to their more traditional approaches (fewer lessons per week). I took a month or two to look around at the other options in L.A., but in the end I came right back to PSA. I chose the accelerated option at PSA because:
1. I really liked my time with Reza, and thought he would be a great instructor (I was right).
2. They charge an hourly rate when you do the accelerated program that can't be beat by any of the other flight schools.
3. Because the lessons are so close together, it would probably require fewer hours to be ready for the checkride.
4. I could have my license within weeks, not months.
So, I found a time period where I thought I could be flexible with my work, and signed up. I got started with the reading & studying right off the bat, weeks before my first real flight lesson. Once my flight lessons started, I felt my skills were growing at a lightning-quick pace. It took me only six weeks from my first lesson to the day I passed my checkride! It took me just 50 hours in my logbook and a bit over $10k (including the cost of all materials & exam fees) to become a pilot.
The approach at PSA is everything I was looking in a flight school. Any instructor has a monetary incentive to string you along and hold you back, since you pay by the hour and you only take the checkride when the instructor thinks you're ready. The instructors at PSA were always pushing me (in a good way) to go for the next step, and learning to fly was the most fun I've ever had!
After the flight, I asked him about flight training options. He described their accelerated program (6+ lessons per week) in addition to their more traditional approaches (fewer lessons per week). I took a month or two to look around at the other options in L.A., but in the end I came right back to PSA. I chose the accelerated option at PSA because:
1. I really liked my time with Reza, and thought he would be a great instructor (I was right).
2. They charge an hourly rate when you do the accelerated program that can't be beat by any of the other flight schools.
3. Because the lessons are so close together, it would probably require fewer hours to be ready for the checkride.
4. I could have my license within weeks, not months.
So, I found a time period where I thought I could be flexible with my work, and signed up. I got started with the reading & studying right off the bat, weeks before my first real flight lesson. Once my flight lessons started, I felt my skills were growing at a lightning-quick pace. It took me only six weeks from my first lesson to the day I passed my checkride! It took me just 50 hours in my logbook and a bit over $10k (including the cost of all materials & exam fees) to become a pilot.
The approach at PSA is everything I was looking in a flight school. Any instructor has a monetary incentive to string you along and hold you back, since you pay by the hour and you only take the checkride when the instructor thinks you're ready. The instructors at PSA were always pushing me (in a good way) to go for the next step, and learning to fly was the most fun I've ever had!