Tour Went GREAT...

pilotN2005 · December 11th, 2004, 21:29

Hello all,

Well, I have a lot to report and so little time, but here goes. I arrived into sunny Orlando, FL right on time and then rented a car for the 95 mile trek to Vero Beach. As I pulled onto campus I was already impressed by the campus layout and college like atmosphere. Went into the ADMIN building to be cheerfully greeted by Joan the receptionist ! What a nice lady, she gave me my visitors badge and called for my tour guide (which I found is always done by a student at FSA). Joan introduced me to my tour guide (Brian) and off we went. I expressed to Brian that I was kinda hungry from my trip, and he zealously exclaimed "Thanks , because I haven't eaten yet." So off we went to the cafeteria for lunch "ON" FSA. All the staff in the cafeteria were very nice, and the food was good. After chatting and getting to know each others story, off we went to the academic building. (cafe is in that bldg) This building contained the SIMS, Frasca's, Microsoft Lab, Library, Instructor Offices and Pilot Shop. Everything was very organized and clean. They have a SAAB Sim and are getting the ERJ sim soon, both level D.

Next it was over to the operations building. On the way there we stopped to look at a bungalow (one of the housing choices on campus) Brian had a bungalow so he showed me his and we said hello to ELVIS (only Brian will probably get that LOL). The operations building housed Flight plannning / Weather room, Pre/Post Briefing rooms, Dispatch, and Operations Offices. Then we stepped out onto the flight line and WOW ! Check out all the airplanes (I think 93 or 94 in all) From Archers, Arrows to Seminoles and the cool looking ZLINS, it was all there nice and uniform. My tour guide showed me inside the different planes on the line (some were a little older, but that doesn't bother me, brand new airplanes just means more cost for the student). They did have newer airplanes though, like the seminoles.

Next we mosied on over to the maintenance building which also houses the GAT II trainer where I met Cliff, the GAT Instructor and operator, who came to my rescue later (thats another story). After that I headed out to the line to take a DEMO flight with "PHILOSOPHERPILOT"a fellow JCer. This was also on the house. By the way, thanks for the DEMO Grayson, you did just fine. After the flight my COMEDIAN tour guide, Brian, introduced me to Dick Scovgaard the Ops Center Director at FSA. We had a great conversation about my career aspirations and told a few USAF war stories. Great talkin to someone who genuinely cares about you as a person and not just your money !

After this we headed back over to ADMIN to finish up the tour. Here I met with 3 lovely and helpful ladies; Mary (The person to see for all things VA and also an Acting Mother figure at the Academy), Sylvia (The loan and financing expert), and last but not least Jackie (Marketing Rep). She sure didn't seem like a marketing person to me though, she was very friendly and asked me what I was looking for in a school and how the tour went.

Great people, all around at FSA. (NOT ONCE did I hear any BASHING of other schools) Well the tour had pretty much lasted from 11:30am till about around 5:00pm, so I was given my room key and a gift bag. The gift bag had some good stuff; Local area information, keychain, pen, pencil etc.. and a handsome FSA coffee mug ! Talk about hospitality ! FSA put me up in one of the Bungalows which was cool, very nice. I think if there is one available when I start school I will take it.

Well that covers the tour portion. That evening I got a hold of the famous "SNOW" from JC and he stopped by to chat about the school. It was at this time I locked myself out of my room (felt like a dumb@#s, but hey it happens to all of us) well at this point "PAVELUMP" had joined me and "SNOW" and he had Cliff, whom I mentioned above, paged. Within a few minutes Cliff came to the rescue with a key ! Thanks Cliff.

Well after that debacle "SNOW", "PAVELUMP" and I went out for some dinner. It was great to be able to get off campus and talk to a couple of guys that had been through the program. It was great meeting all the JCers that I met, thanks for all your advice and info on the school guys !! Well off to bed I went, had to get up early and trek down to Ft. Pierce for a tour at PANAM.

Tour of PANAM: Since this isn't the PANAM forum I won't go into too muck detail here (sadly I don't think I would be able to anyway).

** PLEASE NOTE: (I am not bashing PANAM here, so if any PANAMers are reading this please take this as what I saw and how I interpreted what I saw in comparison to FSA.)

1. First off they did have some hurricane damage, so I cut some slack there, I understand that there was a lot of damage and they looked they were getting things back up to speed.

2. Less airplanes than FSA

3. Less on campus housing choices

4. Wasn't very impressed with there PCATDs and other trainers

5. I was told by the Instructor who gave me the tour that the SIM would be back up soon. ( by the way he was a nice guy)

6. I was shown a few airlanes ( they had a 152 that they use for Spin training, not as good as a ZLIN I am sure)

7. And over all the attitude there was very very I mean very DIFFERENT.

In conclusion, I spent a whole day a FSA and 45 minutes at PANAM.

In closing let me say that I reccommend that anyone looking to invest a lot of money into a Flight academy should tour at least two to three schools before choosing. They are all different and some may suit ones needs better than anothers.
I will say that I was able to see both Marketing CD ROM videos for both FSA and PANAM before I went on this little trip, and FSA was all that and more in person, PANAM left a lot to be desired in my mind. Yes I know they are still recovering from Hurricane damage, but FSA had damage too and they were taking it in stride. What I am trying to say is that I felt like the people at FSA were not just interested in my money, they were interested in me as a person and what they could do to help me reach my career goals. When I was at PANAM, I recieved a 45 min tour and no one else even wanted to talk to me (Unbelievable). When I was on my way to the school that morning, I called ahead and the contact that was given to me by Marketing in PHOENIX was not even aware that I was coming. So I left there very dissapointed and since I had some time, I stopped back by FSA and chatted with some students and a few of the people I had met the day before.

My choice here is very obvious. FSA wins by a huge margin (Hospitality being right up there with quality of facilities and faculty). I did not get a sense of home at PANAM. I felt like I was just some guy that walked in off of the street. I can tell you this much, If I had purchased my own airline ticket for that 45 minute peek at PANAM, I would have been very upset.

Lastly, you still need to evaluate these schools for yourselves though (if you are looking). I will tell you the same thing I was told at FSA when I mentioned touring PANAM the next day; "We reccommend you tour as many schools as you can" is exactly what they said. So do yourself a favor before you drop any money, and check out a few schools. If you have toured PANAM, tour FSA too. See and feel the difference and then decide. Well good luck to anyone who is doing the same research as I have been doing. Thank GOD, my research mission is over and I have made my choice. I will see all of you down there at FSA within a few months if things go the way I want them to. Till then stay cool and keep in touch !

Thanks all, for your patience in reading this BOOK !

Rick

veer · December 12th, 2004, 17:55

Excellent man. Just reading your post makes FSA seem like a tightly knit university for flight training. The whole atmosphere feels like a friendly local FBO's with all the hi-tech equipment. I would go to FSA only if someone gave me a check for $100,000 and told me there you go spend it anyway you like hahahhaa.

Well thanks for this tour man. I wish there was a section on this site dedicated to tours of diffeent academies and schools.

Later
tj

PhilosopherPilot · December 12th, 2004, 23:28

Hi Rick,

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and your flight! (I'm also glad I decided to call tower back to confirm the landing clearance...hehe.)

I look forward to having that drink in the near future. Sorry I wasn't available that night!

Grayson

CLR4ILS · December 15th, 2004, 00:12

Rick,
congrats on your decision. FSA is a very professional and well respected academy. I went there for PPL through MEI and was very happy with my decision to attend. Make sure you take a few minutes each day to relax and take in all the academy has to offer. Your training will fly by and before you know it, you will be moving on.

Good luck on your training... You will have a great time there.

ILS

Snow · December 20th, 2004, 14:15

Nice post and glad you enjoyed the tour (and the pizza!)

Baronman · February 9th, 2005, 12:45

That's funny you mentioned Elvis....I used to live 3 or 4 doors over from Brian and whenever I used to go out at night I would be startled by the sight of Elvis in his window.....funny stuff

Windwalker · February 9th, 2005, 17:13

Thanks for the post. I am walking in your footsteps..planning on visiting FSA and Pan-Am Arizona campus and posiibly others in the next 2 months or so.

DutchFB98 · March 2nd, 2005, 21:16

Hey great post! Im going to DVT to visit Pan Am next week and hopefully out to Florida for FSA and maybe DCA this spring or early summer when school gets out. Very interesting and glad you stressed for everyone to form their own opinions. Its just like looking for a college, everyone likes something different. Good luck at FSA, perhaps see you in the future!

Planenut · March 5th, 2005, 16:00

Likewise, thanks for the great post!

I am tentatively scheduled for a tour in September. The reason it's so far into the future is I have to work for at least 5 months after returning from my ankle surgery and recovery.

So far I have my sights set on FSA because of their "pay as you go" policy. Because I refuse to take out a lump sum of loan money, I need a flight school that will allow me to finance on those terms, and FSA will allow me to do that.

Erik.

December 11th, 2004, 21:29	#1
pilotN2005 Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Newark, DE Posts: 5	Tour Went GREAT... Hello all, Well, I have a lot to report and so little time, but here goes. I arrived into sunny Orlando, FL right on time and then rented a car for the 95 mile trek to Vero Beach. As I pulled onto campus I was already impressed by the campus layout and college like atmosphere. Went into the ADMIN building to be cheerfully greeted by Joan the receptionist ! What a nice lady, she gave me my visitors badge and called for my tour guide (which I found is always done by a student at FSA). Joan introduced me to my tour guide (Brian) and off we went. I expressed to Brian that I was kinda hungry from my trip, and he zealously exclaimed "Thanks , because I haven't eaten yet." So off we went to the cafeteria for lunch "ON" FSA. All the staff in the cafeteria were very nice, and the food was good. After chatting and getting to know each others story, off we went to the academic building. (cafe is in that bldg) This building contained the SIMS, Frasca's, Microsoft Lab, Library, Instructor Offices and Pilot Shop. Everything was very organized and clean. They have a SAAB Sim and are getting the ERJ sim soon, both level D. Next it was over to the operations building. On the way there we stopped to look at a bungalow (one of the housing choices on campus) Brian had a bungalow so he showed me his and we said hello to ELVIS (only Brian will probably get that LOL). The operations building housed Flight plannning / Weather room, Pre/Post Briefing rooms, Dispatch, and Operations Offices. Then we stepped out onto the flight line and WOW ! Check out all the airplanes (I think 93 or 94 in all) From Archers, Arrows to Seminoles and the cool looking ZLINS, it was all there nice and uniform. My tour guide showed me inside the different planes on the line (some were a little older, but that doesn't bother me, brand new airplanes just means more cost for the student). They did have newer airplanes though, like the seminoles. Next we mosied on over to the maintenance building which also houses the GAT II trainer where I met Cliff, the GAT Instructor and operator, who came to my rescue later (thats another story). After that I headed out to the line to take a DEMO flight with "PHILOSOPHERPILOT"a fellow JCer. This was also on the house. By the way, thanks for the DEMO Grayson, you did just fine. After the flight my COMEDIAN tour guide, Brian, introduced me to Dick Scovgaard the Ops Center Director at FSA. We had a great conversation about my career aspirations and told a few USAF war stories. Great talkin to someone who genuinely cares about you as a person and not just your money ! After this we headed back over to ADMIN to finish up the tour. Here I met with 3 lovely and helpful ladies; Mary (The person to see for all things VA and also an Acting Mother figure at the Academy), Sylvia (The loan and financing expert), and last but not least Jackie (Marketing Rep). She sure didn't seem like a marketing person to me though, she was very friendly and asked me what I was looking for in a school and how the tour went. Great people, all around at FSA. (NOT ONCE did I hear any BASHING of other schools) Well the tour had pretty much lasted from 11:30am till about around 5:00pm, so I was given my room key and a gift bag. The gift bag had some good stuff; Local area information, keychain, pen, pencil etc.. and a handsome FSA coffee mug ! Talk about hospitality ! FSA put me up in one of the Bungalows which was cool, very nice. I think if there is one available when I start school I will take it. Well that covers the tour portion. That evening I got a hold of the famous "SNOW" from JC and he stopped by to chat about the school. It was at this time I locked myself out of my room (felt like a dumb@#s, but hey it happens to all of us) well at this point "PAVELUMP" had joined me and "SNOW" and he had Cliff, whom I mentioned above, paged. Within a few minutes Cliff came to the rescue with a key ! Thanks Cliff. Well after that debacle "SNOW", "PAVELUMP" and I went out for some dinner. It was great to be able to get off campus and talk to a couple of guys that had been through the program. It was great meeting all the JCers that I met, thanks for all your advice and info on the school guys !! Well off to bed I went, had to get up early and trek down to Ft. Pierce for a tour at PANAM. Tour of PANAM: Since this isn't the PANAM forum I won't go into too muck detail here (sadly I don't think I would be able to anyway). ** PLEASE NOTE: (I am not bashing PANAM here, so if any PANAMers are reading this please take this as what I saw and how I interpreted what I saw in comparison to FSA.) 1. First off they did have some hurricane damage, so I cut some slack there, I understand that there was a lot of damage and they looked they were getting things back up to speed. 2. Less airplanes than FSA 3. Less on campus housing choices 4. Wasn't very impressed with there PCATDs and other trainers 5. I was told by the Instructor who gave me the tour that the SIM would be back up soon. ( by the way he was a nice guy) 6. I was shown a few airlanes ( they had a 152 that they use for Spin training, not as good as a ZLIN I am sure) 7. And over all the attitude there was very very I mean very DIFFERENT. In conclusion, I spent a whole day a FSA and 45 minutes at PANAM. In closing let me say that I reccommend that anyone looking to invest a lot of money into a Flight academy should tour at least two to three schools before choosing. They are all different and some may suit ones needs better than anothers. I will say that I was able to see both Marketing CD ROM videos for both FSA and PANAM before I went on this little trip, and FSA was all that and more in person, PANAM left a lot to be desired in my mind. Yes I know they are still recovering from Hurricane damage, but FSA had damage too and they were taking it in stride. What I am trying to say is that I felt like the people at FSA were not just interested in my money, they were interested in me as a person and what they could do to help me reach my career goals. When I was at PANAM, I recieved a 45 min tour and no one else even wanted to talk to me (Unbelievable). When I was on my way to the school that morning, I called ahead and the contact that was given to me by Marketing in PHOENIX was not even aware that I was coming. So I left there very dissapointed and since I had some time, I stopped back by FSA and chatted with some students and a few of the people I had met the day before. My choice here is very obvious. FSA wins by a huge margin (Hospitality being right up there with quality of facilities and faculty). I did not get a sense of home at PANAM. I felt like I was just some guy that walked in off of the street. I can tell you this much, If I had purchased my own airline ticket for that 45 minute peek at PANAM, I would have been very upset. Lastly, you still need to evaluate these schools for yourselves though (if you are looking). I will tell you the same thing I was told at FSA when I mentioned touring PANAM the next day; "We reccommend you tour as many schools as you can" is exactly what they said. So do yourself a favor before you drop any money, and check out a few schools. If you have toured PANAM, tour FSA too. See and feel the difference and then decide. Well good luck to anyone who is doing the same research as I have been doing. Thank GOD, my research mission is over and I have made my choice. I will see all of you down there at FSA within a few months if things go the way I want them to. Till then stay cool and keep in touch ! Thanks all, for your patience in reading this BOOK ! Rick

December 12th, 2004, 17:55	#2
veer Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 46	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Excellent man. Just reading your post makes FSA seem like a tightly knit university for flight training. The whole atmosphere feels like a friendly local FBO's with all the hi-tech equipment. I would go to FSA only if someone gave me a check for $100,000 and told me there you go spend it anyway you like hahahhaa. Well thanks for this tour man. I wish there was a section on this site dedicated to tours of diffeent academies and schools. Later tj

December 12th, 2004, 23:28	#3
PhilosopherPilot Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 454	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Hi Rick, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and your flight! (I'm also glad I decided to call tower back to confirm the landing clearance...hehe.) I look forward to having that drink in the near future. Sorry I wasn't available that night! Grayson

December 15th, 2004, 00:12	#4
CLR4ILS Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona Posts: 581	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Rick, congrats on your decision. FSA is a very professional and well respected academy. I went there for PPL through MEI and was very happy with my decision to attend. Make sure you take a few minutes each day to relax and take in all the academy has to offer. Your training will fly by and before you know it, you will be moving on. Good luck on your training... You will have a great time there. ILS

December 20th, 2004, 14:15	#5
Snow Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 870	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Nice post and glad you enjoyed the tour (and the pizza!)

February 9th, 2005, 12:45	#6
Baronman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: NEWARK Posts: 1,129	Re: Tour Went GREAT... That's funny you mentioned Elvis....I used to live 3 or 4 doors over from Brian and whenever I used to go out at night I would be startled by the sight of Elvis in his window.....funny stuff

February 9th, 2005, 17:13	#7
Windwalker Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 32	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Thanks for the post. I am walking in your footsteps..planning on visiting FSA and Pan-Am Arizona campus and posiibly others in the next 2 months or so.

March 2nd, 2005, 21:16	#8
DutchFB98 Newbie Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 12	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Hey great post! Im going to DVT to visit Pan Am next week and hopefully out to Florida for FSA and maybe DCA this spring or early summer when school gets out. Very interesting and glad you stressed for everyone to form their own opinions. Its just like looking for a college, everyone likes something different. Good luck at FSA, perhaps see you in the future!

March 5th, 2005, 16:00	#9
Planenut Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Newark, CA USA Posts: 43	Re: Tour Went GREAT... Likewise, thanks for the great post! I am tentatively scheduled for a tour in September. The reason it's so far into the future is I have to work for at least 5 months after returning from my ankle surgery and recovery. So far I have my sights set on FSA because of their "pay as you go" policy. Because I refuse to take out a lump sum of loan money, I need a flight school that will allow me to finance on those terms, and FSA will allow me to do that. Erik.

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