So Cal. Schools?

[Timbuff10]

Making the move to the Southern California area in the next few weeks and was wondering if anyone had any input on flight schools in the area between about Long Beach and down maybe as far south as Carlsbad? Probably moving to the Laguna Niguel area and want to keep the drive to about 45 min at most if possible.

Was looking specifically at Cessna Pilot Centers such as California Flight Center at LGB, AFI at FUL, Fly Corona at AJO, and maybe even Pinnacle Academy down at CRQ.

Looking at a good school to instruct at and one that has a good reputation in the area so I know they can attract students too. If anyone is flying at these schools or others in the area I am interested to hear opinions. So far all I know is that anything at SNA is either really expensive, or really old and pretty expensive.

Thanks!

[USMC-SGT]

Pinnacle is the largest at KCRQ by a bit and as far as I know the only cessna pilot center. They do a great deal of business and have the largest nicest maintained fleet. On the other hand they have a large staff of instructors so I am not sure how much time they are each averaging. I started training there two years ago and left because I didnt like the atmosphere, the person at the front counter/owner was ALWAYS trying to sell me and be fake and was never real. It was not my style. I currently fly at grey eagle at CRQ and it is much smaller part 141 and va approved fbo. They have 2 172's 2 152's a beech duchess, a g1000 c182, an avidyne cirrus sr20, and a citabria for acro/tailwheel. They have three full time instructors and one two part time instructors and they each average approx 100-110 hrs/ month. I dont know about Orion also at kcrq but they seem to be a bit larger than grey eagle with a more complete fleet. I have people have been screwed there financially but I guess you can say that for most schools so I wont put them down

[woodreau]

You might also want to look at being an independent instructor if the FBO instructing thing doesn't work out.

I think California is a little wierd in terms of flight training as a lot of instructors aren't affiliated with FBOs, but rather are associated with flying clubs or are independent.

It's more of a client based relationship, as I guess people that want to learn to fly in California have the money to spend and they usually bring their own airplane. I couldn't find any FBO instructors flying in Southern California, all of my instructors were independent, and once I found a good one that worked well for me, I just stuck to that one guy for everything, even though he was expensive (compared with what CFIs everywhere else in the country are paid), charging $40/hr for instruction.

It's a bit harder than teaching at an FBO, as you'll need to get known first and once you get branded as a "good" instructor, your clientel base expands as people recommend you to their friends through word of mouth.

[AlexF]

Originally Posted by woodreau

even though he was expensive (compared with what CFIs everywhere else in the country are paid), charging $40/hr for instruction.

It's a bit harder than teaching at an FBO, as you'll need to get known first and once you get branded as a "good" instructor, your clientel base expands as people recommend you to their friends through word of mouth.

I'm not sure if I'm reading this right, but $40/hour is not really considered "expensive" as far as instructors go in socal. That is about the median rate over here. Also, there are several flight schools that work with freelance instructors (like long beach flying club), and there is nothing saying that you can't do both. The area of schools you are looking for is a broad area and you may want to first find out where you are moving to because chances are if you're a CFI you aren't going to be driving against traffic, so that 45mins may be 1:30 or more each way (3 hours a day commuting!). Plus Laguna Niguel is not the cheapest area to live in, so if finances are a concern the wear and tear and the gas bills from the commuting are not going to help (not the mention the higher car-insurance rate you're going to have to pay for living in Los Angeles). Don't forget, if you find a good place at SNA (like sunrise) it dosn't matter how expensive it is because you're not paying, the airport is in an area where there are more people willing to pay the higher prices for flight training then other areas because usually they can afford it.

[Timbuff10]

Hmmm yeah good points. It looks like we will be in Mission Viejo so I am thinking Santa Ana would be a good start. I will definetly be looking at Orange County Flight Center. I like their fleet and I would imagine they are probably a CPC which means they are very structured, which I like.

I am thinking Long Beach Airport may be too much of a commute like you were saying. I would consider good schools that are under an hour drive, don't think I could put up with a drive longer than that. I guess I will just have to try out the drives when I get there in a few weeks.

[SIUav8er]

Originally Posted by Timbuff10

Hmmm yeah good points. It looks like we will be in Mission Viejo so I am thinking Santa Ana would be a good start. I will definetly be looking at Orange County Flight Center. I like their fleet and I would imagine they are probably a CPC which means they are very structured, which I like.

I am thinking Long Beach Airport may be too much of a commute like you were saying. I would consider good schools that are under an hour drive, don't think I could put up with a drive longer than that. I guess I will just have to try out the drives when I get there in a few weeks.

Look at sunrise aviation at Orange County airport. Not sure what they pay, but i know they charge a LOT. Theyve also got a pretty decent fleet.