Advice needed (PPL training)

Sifossifoco

Sifossifoco

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Sifossifoco
Okay, first post for me, so this is my story... Ultimate 'rusty pilot' with an Italian PPL (about 200 hours total) that went lost after I moved away from Italy over 25 years ago. Haven't flown since, till this January, when I decided to get a fresh FAA license and start from scratch, given the amount of time without flying and the fact that I now live in the Cayman Islands (no flight training in Grand Cayman).
I picked one of the many accelerated programs (I would rather not name it for now), which was a complete joke. The 172 I was given was older than the one I had in Italy when I got my license in 1989. The instructor, on the other hand, was a very young guy that openly told me he hated working as an instructor. To make a long story short, I did 18 hours in those conditions, then the plane broke, the instructor could not give me any structured training for the check ride, there was no replacement for any of them and I decided to stop there.
Right now I have those 18 hours, my third class medical, a theory test passed with a decent 92, a student pilot license and the approval from TSA to train (I am a non-US citizen). I would like to find a finish up program, ideally accelerated, that could be more reliable than my first experience, hopefully near New York because that's where my wife lives and works, so I am often there. If there are better options away from New York, I am happy to consider them too. Any advice on where to find a place with reasonably new airplanes and the flexibility to train a non-resident? Happy to pay more to train in a glass cockpit, and with an experienced, reliable instructor. Thanks for your help.
 
First of all, the airplanes I trained in were both made before 1975, and the possibility that you'll end up in an old airplane is very high for initial PPL training. If you want new airplanes and glass cockpits, you probably should be looking for a school that rents out Cirrus airplanes. And I don't know, but you might want to reconsider the accelerated program, as you might discover it's a lot harder to keep track of everything now than it was years ago.

I'm not near NY, so can't give much help there, but there have been many threads on flight training in that area, so you might try searching the forum.
 
Sifossifoco said:
Okay, first post for me, so this is my story... Ultimate 'rusty pilot' with an Italian PPL (about 200 hours total) that went lost after I moved away from Italy over 25 years ago. Haven't flown since, till this January, when I decided to get a fresh FAA license and start from scratch, given the amount of time without flying and the fact that I now live in the Cayman Islands (no flight training in Grand Cayman).
I picked one of the many accelerated programs (I would rather not name it for now), which was a complete joke. The 172 I was given was older than the one I had in Italy when I got my license in 1989. The instructor, on the other hand, was a very young guy that openly told me he hated working as an instructor. To make a long story short, I did 18 hours in those conditions, then the plane broke, the instructor could not give me any structured training for the check ride, there was no replacement for any of them and I decided to stop there.
Right now I have those 18 hours, my third class medical, a theory test passed with a decent 92, a student pilot license and the approval from TSA to train (I am a non-US citizen). I would like to find a finish up program, ideally accelerated, that could be more reliable than my first experience, hopefully near New York because that's where my wife lives and works, so I am often there. If there are better options away from New York, I am happy to consider them too. Any advice on where to find a place with reasonably new airplanes and the flexibility to train a non-resident? Happy to pay more to train in a glass cockpit, and with an experienced, reliable instructor. Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Where in NY? It's a big state.
 
NHWannabe said:
Where in NY? It's a big state.
Click to expand...
Well, ideally not too far from Manhattan, but as I said I can be flexible. New York is easier, but for the right training I am happy to go to a different state. Florida comes pretty easy too, as it is close to the Cayman Islands, with more flights even in this Covid time
 
I would opt for the best odds of good weather, if you want to accelerate training, so FL beats NY this time of year.
 
SkyChaser said:
First of all, the airplanes I trained in were both made before 1975, and the possibility that you'll end up in an old airplane is very high for initial PPL training. If you want new airplanes and glass cockpits, you probably should be looking for a school that rents out Cirrus airplanes.
Click to expand...
I do understand that, but still, it has been a weird sensation going back to flying and learning of all the improvements in 25 years except... the airplanes! When I was flying a GPS for GA was a distant dream, let alone glass cockpits. I don't mind pilotage, dead reckoning and VOR, it is in fact all I knew from the past. Foreflight has been an almost shocking discovery. I bought a Sentry too. I would have never thought of replacing the kneeboard for an iPad but if feels good. I would like a more modern plane, if only for the pleasure of trying something new. I have been thinking of training in a Diamond (I kind of prefer low wings and sticks) but I don't know anything about them. A Cirrus sounds more like a plane that I would like to try later on, once I get few more hours back under my belt
 
You can train in Diamonds at MGJ in Mongomery, NY. Greenwood Lake is a bit closer, they use C-172s.
 
Dana said:
You can train in Diamonds at MGJ in Mongomery, NY. Greenwood Lake is a bit closer, they use C-172s.
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Thanks, I was in fact looking at Take Flight Aviation, that is based there. Their website seems professional, but I don't know much more. It would be great if somebody on here had direct experience of training/flying with them.
 
I have a similar background: commercial license SEL went dormant 40 years ago, although I did go up with a CFI for a couple of hours every few years. Now pursuing PPL at Arrow Aviation, KDXR. Bought a Redbird TD2 to practice/learn at home especially when wx doesn't cooperate.. The flight school has an FMX as well.
 
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