Flying Lessons

[Russell D]

Hello,

I'm interested in learning to fly. I'm looking for a good school where I can do my training (I only intend to get a PPL). I've been processing mountains of information from many different flying schools and comparing relative costs and the quality of the training provided.

Was just hoping for some feedback in helping me to decide which ones are the best value for their quality of training. I've narrowed down my search to the following:
Aerospace Aviation
Basair Aviation College
Airborne Aviation
Aerodiamond (Camden)
Proflite
Scholfields Flying Club
Whitworth Aviation
RAAF Richmond Flying Club

Which would probably be the best suited just for PPL level training? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Kind Regards
Russell

[Edward Terry]

Hi Russell,

I have been flying at Schofields for a few months now after my old school went belly-up (I think!). I have been very impressed by the quality of the instructing, the standard of the facilities and the upkeep of the aircraft. Most of the instructors are Grade 2, so they are very experienced. I think they have about 3 152s and 5 Warriors on the flight line, and if you book early enough (> 2 weeks) you can usually get the time and aircraft you want. If you do your PPL you would fly the 152 until GFPT then fly the Warrior for your PPL navs, which is an economical way to complete the licence. Some other schools don't offer this choice. You will need to pay a one-off and annual membership fee but in exchange you will have the ability to participate in club fly-aways and social events. Also non-members pay $20 more per flying hour, so you 'pay it off' in just a few hours. They are a well-established school and their recent move to Birch St suggests that they are on a growth trajectory. So in summary I would say Schoies offers a welcoming atmosphere and high-quality training.

Also I have very positive second-hand reports of Whitworth. Some other board members will no doubt be able to elaborate!

Cheers

[Nick W.]

I fly at clamback and hennessy at Bankstown. 6 years, no complaints, and my dad's been flying with them for a decade longer.

[Ken N]

May I offer you another choice Russell !!

Curtis Aviation out at Camden offer excellent instruction also, a professional and very friendly bunch of guys. Knowing you've been taught by quality stick and rudder pilots and a tailwheel endorsement in your logbook is worth considering.......:D

[Russell D]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the helpful feedback and the offer (Ken - Sorry, don't mean to be rude but I'm not a big fan of taildraggers, but I'll keep your offer in mind).

By now I've done a lot of research, and its basically come down to where I can get training which is of at least a reasonable standard for a PPL at a competitive price.

Have ruled out Basair (they seem to be a somewhat unorganized and another source has informed me that they are a bit too commercialised and aren't as focused on providing individual attention to each student)

Haven't tried contacting Proflite on a number of occasions with no response so far, and considering they seem a little dearer than the others, I'm pretty close to crossing them off my list as well.

I've also been told that Whitworth are great, but they really excel more in the field of post-PPL training (e.g. CPL etc). However, I might just consider them.

So I've basically ruled it down to six:
Aerospace Aviation
Airborne Aviation
Aerodiamond (Camden)
Scholfields Flying Club
Whitworth Aviation
RAAF Richmond Flying Club

I'm hoping that the club management at Richmond will consider me eligible to join, although their decision is still pending.

If memory serves me right, a fellow board member is an instructor (Allison McKenzie?) is at Schofields? I tried to find her in the member's list but my search came up with no results. Have contacted her personally via email from the Schofields Flying Club website but haven't yet received a reply.

I'm hoping to make a decision within the next week so that I can complete my medical and SPL+ASIC forms get them out of the way so I can knuckle down for the HSC.

Cheers
Russell

[Adam P.]

I'm not a big fan of taildraggers,


You lose.

[Tony G]

Would be good to see where you end up Russell and get some feedback. As i am trying to put some funds together to get my GFPT in one go ( one of those deals where you get it in a short time). It would help me in a decision as well.

[Nigel C]

I'm with Adam and Ken. Learn to master a tail wheel and your overall flying ability will be much better off for it.

It's a handy endorsement to have, especially if you want to get into gliding ops (I note you have time on a Twin Astir already) and do some tug operating. Most gliding ops seem to use the Pawnee as the tug, although there are some other types that get used.

[Dan Collins]

Hi Russell, and actually, Hi to everyone on the forum (first post)...

I have been doing some flight training out of Bankstown and have had all but one flight with Aerospace Aviation. My first experience was with Basair, but I feel they're probably not the best to go with as you'll probably feel just like a number there, and the amount of times aircraft go u/s gets ridiculous.

My father has flown with Basair, Proflite, Aerospace and Schofields.

Through my own experience with Aerospace, they are a good flying school but it can be difficult to find the 'right instructor' at times. I've had five different instructors there and I'd say that three of them have been great and worth coming back to. These three take the time to sit with you and make sure you're on track etc, so you feel less like a number. Still, they're a busy school and so aircraft still do need maintenance or go u/s on occassion too.

Proflite appears to be a 'smaller' operation, but that's not necessarily bad as my father continues to endorse them and tries to convince me to fly with them. They are very friendly, speak to Bruno, he'll tell you plenty of stories!

Schofields is again a professional flying club and they keep their planes in mint condition, at least they never look dirty. My father flies in their formation team, and again it's a nice social environment and they've recently moved to a new clubhouse.

It really depends what you're after in your training. They're all good, and I guess you need to actually go there and get a feel for the environment, pricing etc and see what you want to go with. Take them up on their trial flight offers and see whose technique works best for you etc.

Good luck with it all though, very little can take the fun away of flying when you're the one in control!

Dan

[Joseph Saragozza.]

hey guys
i went to RMIT open day not so long ago and they seemed fairly good.
i was told that they are not so good by someone on here, dose anybody know why?
also i am going to TVSA and Swinburne open days on sunday and tuesday, can anyone give me any inside information on them.
Sharp Airlines are willing to give me my licenses and a job as a first officer after completion of my course but its all a bit hard when you first come out school and don't have HECS available.

it will be helpful if anyone can give me any information on the above schools and/or recommendations.

thanks
joe

[Lukas M]

Check your PM, and again..

[Russell D]

Ok. Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've continued my "extensive" research and compared relative prices and weighed up the pros/cons for each school. Ruled it down to just three main ones now:

Schofields Flying Club
Aerodiamond (Camden)
RAAF Richmond Flying Club (if they deem me eligible to become a member)

Still have Aerospace as a fallback, although I'm gonna take your advice Dan since I'd rather prefer a school where I can get more one-on-one attention with my instructor/s and not just feel like a number.

In regards to Aerodiamond, one of their "pros" is the fact that they are practically on the doorstep of the training area, and combined with the reduced air traffic and taxi times etc, I'm trying to figure out whether they would be more economical. Schofields seem slightly cheaper, but I'm trying to weight this up against the fact that at Aerodiamond (Camden) the shorter taxi, holding, and travel (to training area) times will mean more value for the cost of each flight.

RAAF Richmond Flying Club seem really good, although they are only open on Friday arvo and Sat & Sun. Hence, this will mean it will take longer for me to complete the training as I won't be able to do it full-time (2-4 hours a week) as opposed to Schofields and Aerodiamond. Nevertheless, their a/c hire and training rates seem significantly less, so it is making it a hard decision to really split the three schools apart now.

Let you know how I go (especially Tony).

Cheers
Russ

[Matt_L]

Hi Russell,
I can further the advice re Schofields. They are a great club where a member feels part of a team/group just like the local RSL, a very relaxed easy going environment with highly professional instructors and equally members. Great planes as well, I personally recommend the 2002/3 warrior SFK:).
I did my PPL at Schofields after a bad experience with Aerospace this year, had been at Aerospace about 2 years doing gfpt and I just wanted some consistency of instructor and training which I got at Schofields, had 1 instructor for all of PPL, whereas at Aerospace had 6 or 7 over the course of a few months. Schoies also has really cool events, flyaways etc seldom experienced at other clubs. An example is Friday Night circuits where even the low hour gfpt or anyone can fly at night in the circuit cost sharing between 3 or 4 people with an instructor on board.
If you would like, I'd be more than happy to take you round the place, or give you more info, Just drop me an email at jerseysinoz@hotmail.com.

All the best,
Matt

[Philip Argy]

I don't know if this proposal has been superseded, but three months ago the sale of Schofields aerodrome was certainly proceeding:

http://www.realcommercial.com.au/commercial-real-estate/2517601

You may want to make some enquiries!

[Edward Terry]

Ah yes this can be confusing: Schofields Flying Club is at Bankstown!

[Tony G]

Ok. Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've continued my "extensive" research and compared relative prices and weighed up the pros/cons for each school. Ruled it down to just three main ones now:

Schofields Flying Club
Aerodiamond (Camden)
RAAF Richmond Flying Club (if they deem me eligible to become a member)

Still have Aerospace as a fallback, although I'm gonna take your advice Dan since I'd rather prefer a school where I can get more one-on-one attention with my instructor/s and not just feel like a number.

In regards to Aerodiamond, one of their "pros" is the fact that they are practically on the doorstep of the training area, and combined with the reduced air traffic and taxi times etc, I'm trying to figure out whether they would be more economical. Schofields seem slightly cheaper, but I'm trying to weight this up against the fact that at Aerodiamond (Camden) the shorter taxi, holding, and travel (to training area) times will mean more value for the cost of each flight.

RAAF Richmond Flying Club seem really good, although they are only open on Friday arvo and Sat & Sun. Hence, this will mean it will take longer for me to complete the training as I won't be able to do it full-time (2-4 hours a week) as opposed to Schofields and Aerodiamond. Nevertheless, their a/c hire and training rates seem significantly less, so it is making it a hard decision to really split the three schools apart now.

Let you know how I go (especially Tony).

Cheers
Russ

I appreciate the update Russell. My situation is difficult. I work out at Richmond and Live near Mascot. So on days off Bankstown is the most convenient for me. However after work on Fridays Richmond flying club is just there. I was also looking for more of a social aspect as well. A club that conducts flyaways would be cool. I like reading the stories when about 15 or so GA aircraft trek up the coast. Would be good to be a part of that. It is hard to find a club that does flyaways with a nice price tag that comes with it.

[Nick W.]

Clamback and Hennessy do fly-aways, mostly on demand a few times a year.

www.clahen.com.au

N

[Tony G]

Clamback and Hennessy do fly-aways, mostly on demand a few times a year.

www.clahen.com.au

N

Thank nick, ill check it out.

WOW your voice is used on the boeing. Cool. The Hercs use a female voice. They say men tend to listen to the womans voice more when it comes to taking instructions, thats why it is used. Well there are more female aircrew coming through now, i wonder what they prefer, maybe there own voices :P, who knows.

[Russell D]

Its a runoff between Schofield's and Aerodiamond (Camden) now. Both seem equally good, although I'm probably more inclined to go Schoies since some of you guys have endorsed them.

Up to the present, I haven't had any first hand endorsements on Aerodiamond or the benefits which would make completing training with them at Camden better than doing it at YSBK (closer to training area and shorter taxi/holding times).

I'm pretty much now considering on the basis of prices, but it looks like I'll be heading to Schoies unless someone from Aerodiamond or first hand experience with Aerodiamond can convince me otherwise.

Cheers

[Russell D]

Took a trip down to YSBK Schofields last Saturday to complete my ASIC and SPL application forms and register for membership with Schofields Flying Club.

I must say that I was very impressed with the quality of the facilities at Schoies in comparison to some of the flying schools I've visited during my research (I guess that's why it is a club and not just a school). I was fascinated at how close some of the 152s are parked right next to the patio/decking area, which makes for a great view while relaxing during the summer heat.

I have my first lesson coming up this Saturday, so I'm pretty excited to finally get my training underway (although I have done a TIF before at Aerospace).

At the moment I'm aiming for 2 lessons per week, however, if public transport is trustworthy (and that's a big if), then I hope to get out to YSBK 3-5 times a week.

I've found that to get to YSBK involves catching to buses, the first from Parramatta Station and the second from some terminal stand at some shopping centre. Was just wondering if anyone has any advice as to whether public transport is reliable or is a complete no-go?

cheers

[Edward Terry]

Russell, the public transport links to Bankstown are reliable but infrequent, especially on weekends and in the middle of the day. I don't know if taking the train is convenient for you but it is easy to take the train to Bankstown station and get the 905 bus (from memory) from North Terrace, on the northern side of the train line. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the airport. Schools on the northern side of the field (e.g. Schofields) are a short walk away from the bus stops on Marion St. Bring a hat in summer though!