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Thread: Typical Fees and hidden expenses

  1. #1

    Typical Fees and hidden expenses

    I have a question for those of you in the know.

    I want to make sure I am basically getting a decent deal and not getting caught up spending money on things I don't really need.

    Here are a few of my concerns.

    My flight instructor is a gleim dealer and is really pushing this 200 dollar ground package, do I really need to spend that much on this stuff to take the airman test before I even start taking lessons? I mean it comes with a hat, seriously?

    Also and I have never heard of this so please let me know if this is standard procedure or not. My instructor sells his time in blocks but basically he told me that for every hour I fly I will be paying him for 2 hours of instruction at 35 an hour. so on this 20 hours of minimum instruction that I need I will be paying for 40 hours of instruction after he has already sold me the 200 dollar package and I pass the ground school before I even show up for my first flight.

    Now please don't get me wrong, if this is an industry standard or just the way its done I dont mind at all but if this is just an instructor with creative billing techniques I'm thinking I might want to continue shopping around a little.

    This sounds a little shady to me since I am expected to spend 200 on the gliem package and have the ground school out of the way before I even start flying.

  2. #2

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    No, you don't need the Gleim package. However, depending on your knowledge of General Aviation, it could be extremely beneficial. If you are well read on the subject, you might find that one of the $25 test prep books would be adequate to bring you up to speed for the written exam. If you don't have a good fundamental understanding, the Gleim package might be appropriate.

    As far as the 2:1 ratio of instructor time versus flight time, that isn't a rule. Some instructors and students can do brain work during dual instruction. Some cannot. Some instructors don't want to because it would cut down on their hours and pay.

    My instructor's philosophy was that if I needed ground training we'd do it and if not, he wasn't gonna make me sit through it just so he could increase his income. He had me purchase one study guide for the written, and after I went through that, we probably spent a couple of hours doing prep for the written test. After I passed the test, the only additional ground school we did was an hour or two of review work prior to my check ride.

    In the end, I'd shop around a little more. I might talk to some of that instructor's students to see if he was hard and fast in following the guidelines he explained to you. Your instructor should sell you the products and services you need, no more and no less, and a cookie cutter approach isn't conducive to that.

  3. #3
    steveinindy's Avatar
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    Where are you out of? Someone on here might be able to point you to someone who might be a better choice as a CFI.

  4. #4

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    Talk to, research and visit other flight schools & instructors in your area. You are the customer, this is a buyer's market, shop around.

    Are you aware that if you are a Young Eagle, you get the Sporty's ground school for free? If you are a YE, the fact that your instructor has chosen not to inform you of, or doesn't know about that option would suggest that looking elsewhere might be a good idea.

    Also, be extremely careful of buying in blocks/paying up front. What guarantee do you have that you will get your money back if there is any form of dispute, such as you find you don't get on with the instructor, etc, etc?
    Last edited by Janet Davidson; 12-22-2011 at 07:07 AM.

  5. #5

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    It is not industry standard. It's what works for him. You don't have to do it that way but seriously, you'll be spending money on textbooks, reference materials, plotter, E6B computer and other whatnot. I'm sure all of that is included in the "kit." I know everyone is on a budget but in the overall picture, if $200 is pretty small potatoes. Other hidden fees you might want to budget for are the knowlege testing fee, examiner fee, and medical exam fee unless you are training to be a sport pilot.

  6. #6

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    Kurt, if you have good instructor, he should give you a ground talk, a brief and debrief with each flight, and you must pay for his time, just don't need to pay for the airplane time unless you are using it . BUT, It seems a little high to me to have full hour of ground for each hour of flight. Maybe the first lesson or two, but not eveyone after that. And you will be flying some of that 40 hours solo, anyway.

    I woud really ask around, find out what other students thinik of this CFI. If they like him and learn well and quicklly from him, maybe he is worth it. Otherewise maybe not.
    I woud not pay any big block fee in advance, unless two things: 1st, Go take the first introductory lesson and see if he is the guy for you, and 2nd, you are recieving a discount by paying for a block in advance.
    Some instructors really want to help students learn, but some just see them as a source of money to be tapped.

    You don't say where your are or what schools are nearby.

  7. #7

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    ground school

    I took a somewhat different approach. A local community college offered ground school as a night course. It was less than $200 and very thorough. At the end of the course the instructor gave a test and all who passed received a certificate to take the Faa test I used free aids such as the Sportys test questions and materials from AOPA to prep for the exam. I scored above 90 and ground was done. The flight school preferred to teach it but had no issues with my flight training as I clearly knew the material. I'm not advocating it as the best practice but it worked for me.

  8. #8

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    I tried out 4 different instructors before I found the right one, everyone on here has given pretty good advice, the ground school kit is not a bad thing, I still use the stuff from mine and loan out the books to my ultralite pilot wanna- bee buddies so they can learn. Also try the website "preparetotest.com" worth the small fee for sure. Whatever you do don't give up.

  9. #9

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    Wirejock, what airport do you fly from and what flight school?
    I went to college in Austin, and wish I had been a member and learned to fly with the Longhorn Flying Club when I was there; I did a lot of skiing and some scuba diving instead, but a friend did get his private there and went on to be an airline captain.
    I also used to fly into Mueller often, both airlines and private, and had avionics work done there and also took refreshser flight courses from the Bonanza pilots group there.
    What a great airport that was, and I am really sorry that it closed, and is now mostly a slum area. Bergstrom is not the same, many just a big airline airport out of town.
    Of course the really important thing is that U T beat the Aggies, much more critical than any mere aviation matter.

    I agree the a formal ground school class, either at a local college or FBO or whatever is a good thing. Having a set time means you will probably get the material covered, and it may be more interesting to do it with others and you might meet some flying friends. You can do the study alone, and I have also done it that way, but it is easy to put off home study or get interupted or distracted.
    Since taxpayers are paying part of the costs at a public college, you may get a good value for your money.

  10. #10

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    Instruction time

    Quote Originally Posted by Kurt_3_0_1 View Post
    I have a question for those of you in the know.

    I want to make sure I am basically getting a decent deal and not getting caught up spending money on things I don't really need.

    Here are a few of my concerns.

    My flight instructor is a gleim dealer and is really pushing this 200 dollar ground package, do I really need to spend that much on this stuff to take the airman test before I even start taking lessons? I mean it comes with a hat, seriously?

    Also and I have never heard of this so please let me know if this is standard procedure or not. My instructor sells his time in blocks but basically he told me that for every hour I fly I will be paying him for 2 hours of instruction at 35 an hour. so on this 20 hours of minimum instruction that I need I will be paying for 40 hours of instruction after he has already sold me the 200 dollar package and I pass the ground school before I even show up for my first flight.

    Now please don't get me wrong, if this is an industry standard or just the way its done I dont mind at all but if this is just an instructor with creative billing techniques I'm thinking I might want to continue shopping around a little.

    This sounds a little shady to me since I am expected to spend 200 on the gliem package and have the ground school out of the way before I even start flying.
    IMHO a good instructor will invest ground time both before a flight, to preview what you will be doing for the flight, and how to do it. Then, after the flight, he will debrief you elaborating on what you did good, the errors you made and the adjustments you should make to correct these errors. Then he will brief you on what the next lesson will cover so you can mentally prepare. He may give you an advance briefing on the next lesson.

    The cabin of an airplane is a lousy place to give instruction. IMHO, only corrections and adjustment instructions should b e given at that time.

    A good flight should include a review of what you did last time, and if you achieve that, he can proceed to the next lesson.

    Be aware that if your instructor has led you to believe that you will get your PL with 20 hours instructions and only 40 hours total time, he is lying to you. It will probably cost you about 10,000 before you're finished. But by using the method I've described above, the costs can be minimized. You may be paying for more ground time, but the actual flight time (and, therefore eirplane rental expense) should be cut considerably.

    60-75 hours is a reasonable expectation. But by using the above method, the flight time can be minimized. Of course, some people require more time. A good instructor will not try to drag out the learning time just to "bleed" the student for the maximum dollars he can squeeze from him.

    My personal learning experience (many, many years ago) resulted in my belief that a 141 school, although more expensive hourly, is the best way to complete training in the minimum time and for the minimum dollars.

    Uncle Leon sedit.

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