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Originally Posted by KMU  I know it's kinda off the subject but how's the training in Hillsboro Aviation? I've searched about it but I didn't get much info that I needed.
I'm thinking of getting a PPL, IFR and CPL training at HAI but I don't know if I can finish the training courses on time, on budget. I know some of the schools try to rip you off or have poor aircraft maintanence so that postpones the training. What about HAI? |
The training here is good. You'll be a safe pilot, and have a solid base for a career. The biggest strength here is probably flexibility. We do 61 and 141 training with a number of different syllabi. We have students who fly occasionally and just want some personal attention from their instructor when they come in, and we have students blasting through a 141 syllabus in a brief period flying multiple times a day with multiple instructors. We have lots of local students, and we have lots of students from Europe and Asia - likewise we have plenty of foreign instructors. We operate from two Class D airports with multiple instrument approaches and lots of pt 91 and pt 135 jet traffic, have a Class C aiport 10 minutes away, and Class B an hour away, so you get plenty of oppurtunities to play with the heavies. You will be real comfortable on the radio working with control towers or approach controls. We also have plenty of uncontrolled airports, paved and unpaved, in the area.
Whether or not you finish a course at the minimums is going to be a matter of how fast you learn, how much you study, and how often you fly. People who study a lot, come prepared to their lessons and who fly 4-5 times a week generally do pretty well. But sometimes people will have trouble with certain aspects of training and need more time in some areas. Another thing you can do to help yourself is to make an effort to ride along with other students whenever possible. YMMV. Weather can also be a challenge - during the summer it's perfect here, but from Oct until May or June is hit and miss. The upside to that is you will log plenty of actual during your instrument training if you do it during that period. If you have a price point you absolutely must hit, there may be better options out there - we charge by the hour and there is no guarantee you'll finish in X hours.
As far as working here, it's a good place to be. You'll have no trouble getting 1000tt/100me in 12 months if you put in the effort. You'll log plenty of actual. You'll get to build plenty of contacts at the regionals and Horizon and Ameriflight both use our Frasca 142 for their interviews. Maintenance is good - I've never had to fly an aircraft I thought was unsafe, and every aircraft I've squawked was taken off the line and fixed asap.