I almost forgot…Where to go and what to fly??? Well I trained in the states and I can tell you about schools there. Lets see the myths that surround the flight training.
Firstly does flying happen as quickly as they promised??? Well in most parts the answer is no. When you see the plan that the school put forward you got to be prepared to spend double the time. Why??? Well you are flying a plane with a million parts working together and not a glider. So there are a million ways something can go wrong. ( Yes shit happens duhhh). So maintenance will be a huge part of the delay. Also weather. Weather in the states can chage from really awesome to really horrible in a matter of hours. ( Believe me I got stranded in a couple of places cause I would have landed there but by the time I fueled up it would turn so windy that wind sock would look like a durex ad that went horribly wrong).
So like my real estate agent says it all about location, location, location. Nothing else. East coast gets really horrible during the winters. Florida gets hit by hurricanes during the summers. South west states are ideal. States like Texas, New mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Southern california are all really good places.(Southern california get bush fires every year in the summers). As you go up North well winters get horrible. Espeacially Seattle cause the front startes from there and gradually goes around America.However summers are absolutely awesome. Sunsets are like at 10 at night and rises at 3 in the morning.(belive me my 2nd flight was at 4 in the morning). Best time to go there is after feb, march.it starts clearing up and spring there is amazing for flying.
Secondly, should my training be completely done on a cessna and seneca (planes registered in India)? Well not necessarily. All you need is an endorsement stating that you can fly those planes so you can fly diamonds or pipers or cirrus. The choice is yours as long as you have 5-10 hrs on the cessna and seneca you are absolutely fine.
Thirdly, Can I go and tell the school I want to fly this, this and this and thats it and they will give it to me. Well they will say go to hell cause most of the reputed schools run what is called a part 141 programme which is pre approved by the FAA. It takes a lot of time and money to get a program approved so unless the program is designed for your needs already they will not do any changes. Of course there are schools which are part 61 schools who will fly what you ask them to fly.then again they have some min no of hrs that you will have to comply with. However these schools are of less repute and I would personally advise you not to go there and get stranded cause believe me its a horrible feeling to get stuck there.
So now comes the question. Which is the best school for Indians??? Well I dont know why but I would have absolutely loved to fly in Wings aloft in Seattle. Ya I know the place is horrible in winters but its an absolutely beautiful place. I had the privledge to check out the place.Lots of Indian students and amazing atmosphere. If I have to do my recency thats the place I ld like to do it in.
I did my flying in Arizona which is a perfect place for flying simply cause the weather is great when compared to other states. Air safety in glendale is pretty good. Have a couple of friends there. I would go out and ask students to go to ATP which is based off Mesa Gateway. They have a program which has 190 hrs of multi and you will fly all around America in this.My instructor flew from phoenix to florida which is 3 time zones. Ya its going to come to 60,000 $ but its soo worth it if you have the money plus you will be done fast and you can get a cfi rating as well in case you cant get a job in india its always a backup. not only that the companies will choose you over any guy who has just 40 hrs multi which is bull shit.
Its sad to say this but the last place I want anyone to learn flying in is in my very own Sabena Airline Training Center. Its not that the instructors are bad or anything like that. Its just that the school is run by a bunch of cash strapped belgians whose purpose in life is to make you and your friends life miserable. ( Just the Indians mind you). They treat the belgians, germans and deutch students like royalty because well they pay 3 times what we pay. (they pay close to 100-150 thousand EUROS!!!) as to us complaining to pay 40000$. So unless you are an unlucky soul from Indigo or Kingfisher, dont go there. Of course having graduated from Sabena without any yellow slips or hearing boards on my name is an achievement (thats for another story all together).
Having said that however I still believe its high standards for flying and excellence will forever be instilled in my heart. Bottom line is Sabena makes Airline Pilots who are disciplined and god damn professional. If you are a passout of Sabena without having any bad marks to your name you are without a doubt a great pilot in the Airline industry. Truth is I will sleep better if I know the plane I am flying on is in the hands of a Sabena pass out.
The choice is yours. True you are going to be an airline pilot but the fact is this is the only time you can have fun in a plane cause later all you do is program the plane and let it fly itself and wake up when its time to land. You will end up being a professional anyway so why have a lousy time now. The choice is yours to make. Hope you make the right one. peace out.
