Southwest Flight Center

[badestdudeintown]

Has anyone used or heard anything about Southwest Flight Center, located in Scottsdale, AZ? They're pricing looks pretty reasonable, and their website looks very straightforward (not all glitzy and sales-y like others i've looked at). It also says they've been around since 1984, so they must not be horrible. Plus, they have at least one multi-engined aircraft, so i could stay at the same FBO when it comes time to work on my multi certificate. I'm thinking about calling them to set up a $59 discovery flight soon to check them out, but figured i'd check with you fine folks first.

Thanks!

[CLR4ILS]

Nice small mom and pop operation. The aircraft are older but well kept. Lacking in facilities though (briefing rooms, WX rooms, sims/ftd's etc.)

ILS

[badestdudeintown]

Thank's for your reply. I went and did an intro flight with them this last Sunday, and was pretty impressed. They were very nice, the guy working behind the desk (owner?) was very laid back and chit chatting with the customers. He set me up with Miguel, a flight instuctor, who walked me through the preflight checklist. He actually let me taxi the plane and take off. Once we were in the air, he had me keep the aircraft on a steady course pointed to a nearby mountain. He then took over, and put it into a few stalls. Overall, it was a blast, and a little overwhelming . He says he's been flying for about 20 years, and seemed extremely knowlegeable and relaxed. I know that the smart thing to do is to check out a bunch of different local schools, but i have nothing but good things to say about them so far, so i'm pretty sure i'm gonna call them and set up an apointment for my first lesson tomorrow.

Oh, and they do have a simulator for insturment training, according to their website.

[CLR4ILS]

Originally Posted by badestdudeintown

Thank's for your reply. I went and did an intro flight with them this last Sunday, and was pretty impressed. They were very nice, the guy working behind the desk (owner?) was very laid back and chit chatting with the customers. He set me up with Miguel, a flight instuctor, who walked me through the preflight checklist. He actually let me taxi the plane and take off. Once we were in the air, he had me keep the aircraft on a steady course pointed to a nearby mountain. He then took over, and put it into a few stalls. Overall, it was a blast, and a little overwhelming . He says he's been flying for about 20 years, and seemed extremely knowlegeable and relaxed. I know that the smart thing to do is to check out a bunch of different local schools, but i have nothing but good things to say about them so far, so i'm pretty sure i'm gonna call them and set up an apointment for my first lesson tomorrow.

Oh, and they do have a simulator for insturment training, according to their website.

Stalls on the intro flight? The instructor must have seen a little dare devil in you. Stalls are not usualy introduced on the first few flights because they tend to freak out new students.

ILS

[8sm]

The one nice thing about the PHX metro area is you have alot of options for flight training. There are many airports offering flight training from Scottsdale, Williams Gateway, Chandler, Mesa, Deer Valley and Glendale. I have always been very pleased with Chandler Air Service, although their equipment is not new it is well maintained. Feel free to pm me if you would like any additional information.

[badestdudeintown]

Originally Posted by 8sm

The one nice thing about the PHX metro area is you have alot of options for flight training. There are many airports offering flight training from Scottsdale, Williams Gateway, Chandler, Mesa, Deer Valley and Glendale. I have always been very pleased with Chandler Air Service, although their equipment is not new it is well maintained. Feel free to pm me if you would like any additional information.

Thanks, unfortunately, Chandler is way too far of a drive for me. I live in Glendale, and even Scottsdale's a bit of a drive for me.

Yup, he did two stalls on an intro flight, and dropped the right wing pretty bad on one I didn't think i came across as a daredevil, but i did mention that my uncle had taken me up in his Piper Cub before, and that i fly a lot of R/C and simulators, so he must have figured i could handle it.

I have my first official lesson scheduled with Southwest Flight Center on Wednesday... wish me luck!

[8sm]

Southwest Flight Center is a great choice, they have been at the SCF airport for sometime, at least 20plus years. They are doing something right to last in the rental/training business.

Good luck & have fun with your training, keep us updated when you can.

Peace.......8sm

[badestdudeintown]

Just a quick update...

Well, after two weather delays, i finally had my first flight lesson yesterday. Well, I had left the intro flight a little overwhelmed but after the first lesson i feel completely, hopelessly hooked He had me do the radio calls, which i did, but not very well. I kept forgetting what to say, and was getting a little flustered. I taxied out to the runway and actually did a pretty good job of staying on the yellow line this time. He had me take the plane off again, and although it definitely wasn't the worlds prettiest take off, we still got off the ground without any damage. From there, he showed me climbs, descents, and holding a heading. We flew out over Lake Pleasant, and practiced some turns. I must have done them well, because we then went right into tight turns, which i also seemed to do pretty well. He said he didn't do tight turns until his 3rd flight.

It's funny, i seem to do fine with the actually flying part, now i just need to get used to the radio. It must be all the R/C and simulator i've done.

Anyways, it was an insane amount of fun, and really boosted my confidence up a bit. I have another lesson scheduled for Thursday. I can't wait!

[badestdudeintown]

Oh, and i've created a blog to chronicle my flight training. Here's the link in case you would like to read along:

http://badestdudeintown.blogspot.com/

[pedro]

Hey Badestdude, Its nice to hear that you are having a good experience with SWFC. What made you choose them over Alliance Flight schools next door? That has been my #1 choice so far and they seem to have about the same pricing as SWFC. is SWFC 61 or 141? Thanks man and good luck on your training!

[badestdudeintown]

I remember checking them out and thought they looked pretty good. Not sure why i didn't give them a chance. I'll definitely keep them in mind.

I believe SWFC is 61.

[azcessnapilot]

I did some flight training at SWFC when a friend of mine was working for them. They ARE nice people but at times I really felt the planes were very very tired (the cessnas and that old twin) and the rates were not any less than other FBO's with new planes. I flew several 172's that were cut from the fleet due to age and wear of another FBO (I had flown those exact planes at that other FBO). Take a good look at some of those planes on the ramp (I did just yesterday) yikes. Anyway, on a positive note they also now have the diamond line so that should pep things up a bit. I'm glad im not in the market for flight training anymore, its so hard to find a good place. And the choices for the average general renter get harder and harder (like in geu, glendale aviation is gone, and airsafety only does intl students)

I think the most important thing in flight training though is your instructor, if you are happy with him/her then life will be good no matter where you get the plane.

[badestdudeintown]

Yeah, i do hear what you're saying. I originally started on a 1978 Cessna 152. I went out there to preflight it, only to discover that the flaps weren't working. I upgraded to the 1983 Cessna 172, which has been fine, but today was told that the carb heat isn't working. Are either of these big deals? No. The flaps were caught in time, and repaired promptly. The carb heat... well... i flew at NOON today in 115 degree heat. Carb icing wasn't my main concern.

They have been around for a while, so yeah, they have a wide range of ages of aircraft. I'm flying on a budget, so naturally i'm going with the older of the bunch. They do have a 2003 Cessna 172SP, a DA-40 and a DA-42, so you've still got those options.

As far as my instructor goes, i couldn't be happier. He's got over 20yrs flight experience, is very friendly and helpful, and has been very forgiving of my ham-handed ways He has only charged me once for 30 min of flight school, since i'm doing most of my ground work as self study. SWFC has also been extremely flexible with scheduling... i can pretty much take lessons whenever i want.

So, i guess it's a trade off. I CAN say that i'm very happy so far. I am, however, very new to this flying business, so don't really have much to compare it to. Nothing has fallen off of any of the planes yet, so that's good, right?

Oh, and as far as the Duchess goes (the old twin), i'll have to ask about that. I didn't think it was being used based on the condition of it. The spinners are missing. I dunno, i'll ask about it next time i'm there.