Debate School vs Club

marcoseddi

marcoseddi

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marc
So basically, people on the forum certainly recommend the Club I am referring to Monmouth Area flying club in Lakewood, prices are really cheap, planes are nice. Up front is 725 and 35.00 a month. 152 is 69 an hour. 172 is 89 my school is 100 for the 152 and its not as good condition i guess its not a big deal as a beginner.
Now I just started only logged a few hours, but I do really like my CFI, its going well with him so far(knock on wood don't want to ruin that) and we've been moving really quickly as per my request. He is also similar in age we work well together. Now the kicker is if I stay in the school it will obviously be a little bit more, than doing it with the club. Now not a lot more in general but in the end if i get my license clearly i would want to continue flying. And thats where it would be better to be in the club, At the end of the school if it was a little bit more but the other way I'd be in the club already at the same costs, and can continue plus with the school they don't have renters insurance for students soloing so I would have to get renters insurance(another $350.0) Kind of debating which route to go. Kind of curious to see what you guys have to say.. Thanks
 
Generally I say stick with any CFI you work well with... whatever airplanes they have access to/insurance in/etc. Discuss the club with the CFI, see what they say.

Maybe the club has discounts or something for CFI who wish to join, etc. Many clubs are very open to CFIs, since they know they need them around for aircraft checkouts, etc... some aren't.
 
My choice would be based on aircraft availability. I would see who has the planes with the best opportunity to fly when you want to. Since the School has a financial interest in getting you in the air, they might be better at having a plane available. With the Club, I assume it would a first come first served.

As far as a CFI, I have always tried to have as many as possible since everyone has a different set quirks and styles and that experience has been good for me to have. OTOH, having one and only one allows for less repetition of lessons, maneuvers, etc.

Cheers
 
It's a tough call, as you've already started with the school... if you go over to the club (which is a good club, at least back when I was a member), there will invariably be some review, which will make it seem like you're paying for dual you already paid for. It might only be a couple of hours, though.
Another possibility might be to finish with your school, then join the club to exercise your PP with their planes at a lower rental rate. I didn't find them until after I'd done my PPASEL elsewhere, and it was just a matter of one checkout flight with one of their CFIs. It was a lot cheaper than continuing to rent from the FBO I trained with, or the one I went to nearby after that school closed down.

But before you decide, go to a MAFC meeting, if you haven't already... meet the members, see the airplanes up close, talk to one of the CFIs about your current training progress, and ask about estimates to complete your training with them.

I was a member over 10 years ago, so I don't know how many active members they have now, or how many CFIs. I do know the planes were well-maintained, and availability, back then at least,was not a problem for my schedule. They had a phone-in reservation system that worked very well, and a combo-locked keybox at the clubhouse so you didn't need someone there to pick up or drop off the keys. When I was a member, I could get that 152 pretty much any time I wanted, and a 172 was rarely a problem. A couple of weeks after I joined, they let me block out 3KK for over a week! I flew it down to New Orleans and back. They had a minimum for overnights- 3 hrs/day I think- but with a 20-plus- hour round trip over the two weekends, it worked out perfectly.
My experience, compared to the FBOs I've rented from, was that despite the economic incentive, the FBOs did not do as good a job of providing frequent access to airworthy planes. That may or may not be typical, but that's how it was for me. It's also a more social thing, being part of a club... a nice extra if you like hanging out with a wide variety of fellow pilots.
 
I say go to Debate School. The Debate Clubs just aren't as serious.
 
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My plan, was and still is to complete my PPL with my flight school. Then join a club. I am training in a Piper Sport. I found I do really like the low wing planes. So, I will join a club with Piper PA 28s. I do also plan to get checked out in a 172. These are what I initially pictured myself flying in and plan to build time in them.
 
The single most important person (besides you, the student), is the instructor. Find the right instructor, then solve the school/club delema.
 
Think I've got a really good CFI, although going this route will be an estimated $1500.00 more.. Debating it I'd like to get him in the club.. Just thinking
 
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