Looking for a flight instructor

H

Hamel

Guest
Hello,
I am transferring schools and I am looking for a flight instructor in the Williamsport, Danville, or Lock Haven Pennsylvania areas. I'm having no such luck finding a small FBO to fly out of. I would need ratings from my private to CFII and would prefer to fly at least three times a week. I have looked with little such luck. I was hoping someone on here would know of an instructor or be one from the area. I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Justin
 
Good luck with your search. I know we have at least a couple people here from the Williamsport area who might be able to help you.
 
Welcome to the Williamsport area! There are a bunch of pilots in the area.

IPT is a great airport to fly out of. It's really got everything you need in terms of being a paved, towered airport with two runways, an ILS, etc. Plus all that and it has minimal traffic. The only problem is that it also has a pretty limited supply of flight instructors.

There's a local pilot assocation, WRAP (Williamsport Regional Association of Pilots) that is probably going to be able to tell you more than me. I can tell you when the next meeting is if you want.

You'll find that flying out of IPT 3 times a week can be difficult. If you plan for 3 times a week, expect to get 2, sometimes 1. Assuming you fly after work, the time without daylight savings is difficult since it gets dark very early. Plus we frequently have wind, rain, and other variables that make the initial learning process difficult.

If you send me an eMail or IM we can talk about it more.
 
Well Hamel, Welcome to PA. i really cant help with your question, but when you get here let me know and i'll fly up and meet you (along with Ted). I live in Harrisburg and love to fly to meet people. BTW if your around here First Saturday in May your welcome to come to CXY (capitol city) for our Special Needs Fly-in. Good Luck and see you soon
Dave G
 
Justin, Welcome to the board!

Best wishes in finding an instructor to begin your training. We'll look forward to your progress.
 
Well, I'm from the Williamsport area... graduated from Hughesville. I guess a more proper introduction would have been nice on my part. I've flown out of IPT once before with a Mr. Scott... something, I can't remember his last name off the top of my head. It was a pre-solo flight last summer and he seemed really cool. I am currently going to Embry Riddle and flying with a local FBO there and looking to finish my flight training once I get back to the area. I'm currently back on my spring break however I'm pretty busy.
I was also looking into flying with Harrisburg Jet Center. Dave, you may know more about that since you are from that area. There is also the Penn-Selin place out of Selinsgrove that sounded alright. I'll have to call or stop by sometime first.
This sounds backwards but I am looking for a place to fly out of, and then a school to transfer to around it. I currently am set up to go to PennTech next fall so flying out of IPT would be nice, however I'm not quite sure on if I would get the hours and ratings in that I'm looking for.
 
The instructor your flew with is probably mine, he's the only Scott I know of who teaches in the area. He's a great instructor, and a good choice if he has time to fly with you as much as you want. I already have dibs on him for my instrument rating once I finish up my private. :)

Are you restricted to the general Williamsport area? I went to college in Terre Haute, IN and the airport there is actually pretty nice and offers flying lessons, plus the weather is generally good for flying, unlike here in the IPT area where, as a student, you will have a lot of canceled lessons. To give an example, in my flying club during the month of December one of our planes got under 2 hours of flight time. And this is a club plane!

Keep in mind that when you switch instructors, your new instructor may have different standards for you getting your license. If I were you, I would try to get my private done while at Embry Riddle (should be doable unless you've just begun, you have a few months left), and then work on coming up here (or wherever) to work on instrument, etc. Considering your desire to fly 3 times a week, you should get your hours done quickly.

We need more pilots in the area for certain. If you aren't ready to get started up here until the beginning of summer, I'd say at that point would probably be when you should look harder. I can't remember when the next WRAP meeting is (it'd be worth going to), but it's probably not until after your spring break finishes.
 
Thanks. I just put in an application to Marywood for their flight program in Scranton. Lets see how this goes...
 
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