How to Choose a Flight School & CFI

Typical flight students put more effort into selecting a hotel for a vacation than they do into selecting a flight school and a flight instructor. Sometime they get lucky, but sometimes they choose poorly. Flight training is a huge undertaking and a massive expense, and it warrants more research before pulling the trigger. That being said, there’s no one right solution because every student is different, with different needs and different expectations. Let’s look at some of the typical considerations.

Part 61 or Part 141

One of the biggest things to consider is the type of flight training program to pursue: Part 61 or Part 141. For the uninitiated, the FAA offers multiple pathways to obtaining pilot certificates, and the most common two pathways are described in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) under two different “Parts,” 61 and 141. In broad strokes, Part 141 is more rigid and formal, whereas Part 61 is more flexible and adaptable.

Part 141

Any FAA-certificated instructor can provide training, but if they’re employed by a Part 141 school, that school’s program has been specifically approved by the FAA; consequently, such schools can offer certain advantages. The minimum hours required to obtain certification through a Part 141 school are lower than the minimum hours required through Part 61. Also, Part 141 schools are typically able to offer financing and to accept servicemembers using their benefits under the GI Bill. Some Part 141 schools have the authority to perform in-house testing, simplifying the process for students to take practical exams, and often even rolling the costs of those exams into the students’ financing arrangements. Many of these schools hire their own graduates as instructors, which is a good way for those instructors to build their own hours towards other commercial flying opportunities, but sometimes this means that their instructors may regard flight-instructing as a stepping stone rather than an avocation. The option of taking out a student loan for flight training lets many students begin earlier and fly more regularly and consistently, but these tend to be larger schools where students may be bounced around between different aircraft and different instructors, particularly as their instructors leave for other opportunities. Part 141 schools may even have relationships with airline cadet programs or with other commercial flying opportunities to enable them to help their students with job placements. A Part 141 school has its pros and cons.

Part 61

In contrast, a Part 61 school can be more personal. These tend to be smaller schools or individual flight instructors who are willing to work around their students’ schedules and to provide more individualized attention for their students’ needs. Their students are more likely to be able to work with a single flight instructor in a single aircraft throughout their training. These schools are also more likely to be able to offer you training in your own aircraft, if you have one.

As these are typically smaller schools, there may be fewer choices in aircraft, so when a plane goes down for maintenance, there may not be another one available during the outage. Similarly, when an instructor takes time off for a vacation, illness, or personal reasons, there may not be another one available to pick up the slack. Most cannot accept GI Bill benefits, and instead of financing, they may just offer a prepayment discount, so you’ll likely be paying out of pocket, as you go. Even so, on an hourly basis, a Part 61 school may be less expensive than a Part 141, but it may take more hours to achieve your goal. Importantly, Part 61 instructors are more likely to be instructing out of an affinity for doing so, rather than as a stepping stone, so you’re more likely to be able to stay with the same instructor for primary training, instrument training, commercial training, and even years later for flight reviews, instrument proficiency checks, and other transition and recurrency training. In my experience, you can develop lifelong relationships with Part 61 instructors since they’re more likely to continue instructing because they love instructing. I still talk to the instructor who trained me for my PPL, IR, and CPL, and I still fly regularly with the instructor who trained me for my CFII, doing instrument approaches and WINGS activities together – and I even trained him for his ATP-SE license … and I still have relationships with many of the Part 61 students with whom I’ve worked over the years.

Considerations Recap

So, the biggest considerations in choosing between a Part 141 and a Part 61 school are how you plan to pay for flight training and how much time you can commit to it. For financing or GI Bill benefits, and if you can commit to a regular schedule of consistent training, choose a Part 141, especially if you’re aiming for an airline career. If you have a day job, family commitments, or other obligations, the flexibility and pay-as-you-go model of a Part 61 may work better for you … and you can still get to the airlines, if that’s your goal.

Location, Location, Location

Unfortunately, there are few ways of getting around the fact that location is a primary consideration for any student, but not all airports are the same. Some are busier and some are quieter; some have control towers and some are “uncontrolled;” some offer multiple options for instruction and some have fewer. There’s no universal right answer here – it depends on your preferences. When I began training, I started at the geographically-closest airport, 20 minutes from my home; it was tower-controlled, and it was close enough to the big NYC airports that we had to communicate with approach/departure control every time we flew out and returned. After a long hiatus from training, when I got back into it, I selected a school at a quieter uncontrolled airport where I could concentrate on the flying rather than the local procedures and radio communication, even though that airport was a 90-minute drive each way. It was the right choice for me, but it may not be for everyone.

Aircraft Options

For decades, the most common training aircraft have been Cessnas and Pipers because they’ve proven to be extraordinarily safe and stable training platforms. Certification of new aircraft designs is an onerous process, so it has taken years for new options to become mainstream, but Diamond and Cirrus are among the new crop of options available at flight schools. Recent FAA rule changes have also opened the door for training in a variety of Light Sport Aircraft (“LSA”), including many “Experimental” models. Many of these are more economical to operate and maintain, so they may provide lower-cost routes to getting licensed.

Regardless of the aircraft in which you train, your license will qualify you to fly any small single-engine aircraft, so even if you train in a cheaper two-seater that sips avgas, you’ll later be able to fly larger, faster planes that are more suited to longer trips and family vacations. The decision to train in a plane with two-seats or four, high-wing or low, 100-horsepower or up to 180, one door or two, traditional analog (“steam”) gauges or digital (“glass”) displays, certified or experimental, tricycle gear or conventional (“tailwheel”), with or without shoulder harnesses is largely a matter of personal preference and local availability options. In the end, you’ll get the same license. Of any of these options, only tailwheel aircraft require an additional endorsement, but if you train in one, you’ll be endorsed for it by the time you solo, and that one endorsement is valid forever.

Choosing the Right Instructor

Once you’ve decided whether a Part 141 or Part 61 is the better choice for you, next you’ll want to choose an instructor with whom you mesh well. You’re going to be spending countless expensive hours over many months in a confined space with your instructor, so you want someone who understands your goals, constraints, and needs, and with whom you can relate and communicate well. If you’re looking for midweek sessions and she has another job, that might not be a good fit; if you’re looking for weekend sessions and he has family commitments, that may not be a good fit. Beyond scheduling, different people learn different ways, so you want to find an instructor who can teach the way you best learn, whether that be through clear explanations, mnemonics, demonstrations, practice, repetition, variation, homework for self- study, etc. My CPL instructor began by introducing me to the multiple new maneuvers I’d need to learn, but when I realized and expressed that I wanted to concentrate on them one at a time, she adapted. Find someone who “gets” you and can work with you the way you learn best.

Questions to Ask

Again, the only right answers are the ones that fit your individual needs and goals, but you should regard choosing a flight school and a flight instructor as an important decision. Think of it like a hiring decision. Here are some of the questions you may want to ask:

Costs and payment terms are obviously a huge consideration, so …

• What are your rates for aircraft rental and for instruction?
• Do you offer financing or other payment terms?
• Do you accept my GI Bill benefits?
• Do you offer block rates or other prepayment discounts?
• Do you offer discounted group rates for ground instruction?
• Are there any other costs I should consider, such as renter’s insurance? Fuel surcharges? Cancelation fees?
• Are there openings for me to work at the desk, on line service, or as a mechanic’s aid to help me pay for my training?

Scheduling is another big consideration, so …

• Is there availability for me to fly on weekends? Weekdays? Mornings? Middays? Evenings?
• What frequency and length of flight training sessions do you recommend?
• How far in advance does the schedule book up for aircraft and instructors? Can I book on short notice? A week out? Two?
• Is booking available by phone? eMail? Online? App?
• May I see the upcoming aircraft and instructor availability schedule?
• May I cancel without penalty for bad weather?
• Do you have multiple aircraft available? Multiple instructors?
• Are your instructors full-time? Part-time? Seasonal?
• Do you have relationships with examiners for me to take my practical exams?

Continuity and instructor experience are also important, so …

• How long have your instructors worked here?
• Are they building hours to move on to airlines or do they love teaching?
• Can I expect to regularly work with the same instructor/aircraft?
• Are your instructors able to offer my eventual instrument training, too?
• Are your planes suitable for my eventual instrument training?

Structure is also important, so …

• Do your instructors work from a syllabus?
• Will I know in advance what we’re going to do at each lesson so I can prepare for it?
• Will there be preflight briefings and post-flight debriefings?
• Will I get homework?

If it’s important to you, you may also want to ask …

• Do you offer ground school training? Single or group? In-person or Zoom?
• Do you have relationships with Aviation Medical Examiners (“AME”)?
• Do you have relationships with Designated Pilot Examiners (“DPE”)?
• Do you have a testing facility for the knowledge tests?
• Do you have a simulator in which I can log any of my training?

Thinking ahead, you may also want to ask …

• Are your planes available for rental once I have my license?
• If so, are your planes available to rent for overnights or longer trips?
• Can I get transition training into other aircraft?
• Do you offer training in complex, high-performance, or tailwheel aircraft?
• Do you have Technically Advanced Airplanes (“TAA”) available?
• Do you offer multi-engine training? Seaplane training?
• If I buy a plane or join a flying club, will you train me in those aircraft?

And if you’re undertaking flight training towards a career in aviation …

• Do you have job-placement assistance?
• Do you offer resume assistance?
• Do you hire your own graduates as instructors?
• Do you have relationships or connections with commercial operators?

Then What?

Once you’ve narrowed down and ranked your list of prospective flight schools, the next smart step is to audit them. Book “discovery flights” with the contenders. Evaluate the ease of scheduling, your commute, their professionalism, how you feel about their instructors and aircraft, and the costs. It’s all loggable flight time, and you’ll get valuable flight experience from each, so don’t think of this as a delay or a diversion from your goal, but rather, as a speed-dating opportunity. See which one is the best all-around fit for you. As mentioned earlier, once you pick a flight school and a flight instructor, you’re going to be spending countless expensive hours together over many months, so it’s important that they meet your expectations and that you mesh well.

Even after you’ve made your choice, it’s alright to constantly reevaluate. Don’t jump ship for frivolous or fleeting reasons, but if you come to realize that one school or one instructor isn’t exactly what you expected, revisit your decision criteria and consider making a change. When I got back into flight training after my hiatus, I started with a mostly-glider school that offered powered-flight training as a sideline, and I quickly realized that I’d have a better experience elsewhere, so I switched to a different nearby school where I ended up doing the rest of my PPL, IR, and CPL training. (I did, however, get a second opinion from another instructor when my PPL progress wasn’t advancing as quickly as I’d hoped.) Thereafter, I used different instructors for my CFI and CFII ratings. It’s okay to switch – find the schools and instructors who can best help you achieve your goals at each stage. As they’ll each want to review your past training, switching instructors may require a step backwards before moving forwards, but it can be worth it if you’re not progressing to your satisfaction. Every instructor has different experience and different areas of emphasis; take the opportunity to learn something from everyone with whom you fly – even from non-instructor pilots.

The best mindset is that flight training is a journey rather than a destination. Be curious. Ask questions. Join AOPA and/or EAA. Read magazines and blogs. Watch videos. Follow aviators and aviation groups on social media. Hang out at the airport and meet other pilots and aircraft owners. Network with them. Check out the local flying clubs. Take opportunities to fly with other pilots in other aircraft, even if it’s not loggable time. Volunteer with aviation-related charities. Get a job at the airport. Book a local flight whenever you’re on vacation somewhere new to experience different aircraft, different instructors, and different locales. Take a glider flight. Take a balloon flight. Take a seaplane flight. Create an account on www.FAASafety.gov and take free WINGS training courses. Attend airshows, hangar days, and fly-in breakfasts. Learn what you can from everyone you meet along the way. Many flight schools adopt the mantra that “a good pilot is always learning,” and it’s absolutely true, so be a good pilot and always be learning.