Looking For Flight Training In ABQ

bigD1031

bigD1031

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
21
Display Name
Display name:
Zhem
Hello All,

First time poster here in Albuquerque and looking to get my PPL.

Looking around it appears the only two places to consider are Bode Aviation and Del Sol Aviation. Any thoughts on either one?

Are there any other options in the area worth considering? Any CFI's training in their own plane?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

D
 
They exist but CFIs don't often train in their own airplanes. The cost of insurance for that purpose tends to be way too high.

I don't know anything about Del Sol but I used to live in Denver and recall that Bode had a pretty good rep. You can hopefully get more current information that I have.
 
I used to live and instruct out of SAF. As far as Del Sol go's, I have some reservations about the condition of their fleet, but I'm not too familiar with the quality of instruction you'll get there these days as it has been a few years since I've had any involvement with them.. Bode has an overall better reputation, but often lacks on the customer service side...If you're willing to commute to Santa Fe, Michael at NM Sport Aviation takes excellent care of his fleet of two modern airplanes and is an excellent instructor. I used to work out of his operation and have zero complaints about the way he runs the show there. Sierra aviation is another option out of SAF that I can recommend (I did all of my training there and have done a bit of work for them as an instructor here and there).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info.

From what I have gathered so far it appears that Bode has a more modern fleet of aircraft but doesn't have a good reputation when it comes to renters/customer service. (I work with a guy who went to rent from them and decided to go with Del Sol because, in his words, their attitude is you should be grateful we are letting you rent from us.) How that will affect the training from the place I have no idea.

Del Sol does have an older fleet but I have heard good things about them in regards to the way they treat their renters/students. Some of their pricing online leaves some questions, guess I could simply call and ask for some clarification.

Santa Fe does look like it has a couple of good schools but part of me would prefer to not add an hour long drive to get to the airport, but at the same time it may be worth it if the quality of training is better.

Would setting up discovery flights at all of the locations be worth it?
 
Try a couple places and see which you like. An intro flight is a small investment.

I would suggest not doing primary training at ABQ airport. Yes, some will say you get good on the radio and all that, but you will waste a lot of time on long taxis and getting out of the busy airspace before you can do anything, and that time is going for $3 a minute. Double Eagle is an underused towered field at which you won't be paying for delays. My experience with Bode there is as a transient pilot noticing things around me, and they seem to do a good job.

If you want to travel to Taos (farther yet than SAF), Adam is a friend and excellent instructor: http://mountaintownflying.com/
His main job is flying a medical helicopter.

I wouldn't consider SAF airport as being far from Albuquerque. Nothing is close in New Mexico, and that's the beauty of it.

Jon
 
Last edited:
4CornerFlyer said:
Try a couple places and see which you like. An intro flight is a small investment.

I would suggest not doing primary training at ABQ airport. Yes, some will say you get good on the radio and all that, but you will waste a lot of time on long taxis and getting out of the busy airspace before you can do anything, and that time is going for $3 a minute. Double Eagle is an underused towered field at which you won't be paying for delays. My experience with Bode there is as a transient pilot noticing things around me, and they seem to do a good job.

If you want to travel to Taos (farther yet than SAF), Adam is a friend and excellent instructor: http://mountaintownflying.com/
His main job is flying a medical helicopter.

I wouldn't consider SAF airport as being far from Albuquerque. Nothing is close in New Mexico, and that's the beauty of it.

Jon
Click to expand...

Hmmm...didn't know they had a rental available up in Taos again.
 
midlifeflyer said:
They exist but CFIs don't often train in their own airplanes. The cost of insurance for that purpose tends to be way too high.

I don't know anything about Del Sol but I used to live in Denver and recall that Bode had a pretty good rep. You can hopefully get more current information that I have.
Click to expand...

Actually most policies will allow you to have 5 concurrent students training in your plane for no increase in premium on a normal Business/Personal policy.
 
Del Sol worked way better than Bode for me. The oddest thing was that Bode made me write out a permission for them to run a background check on me with the county.

BTW, ABQ has lost so much traffic that at times the tower begs to cut circuits there. ABQ based trainers don't have to go to Double Eagle for T+G anymore.
 
Henning said:
Actually most policies will allow you to have 5 concurrent students training in your plane for no increase in premium on a normal Business/Personal policy.
Click to expand...

Last I asked a local owner-instructor about that (and no, it wasn't Bonnie Mauldin), he said that merely letting people solo was too expensive and increased his insurance dramatically.

I think last owner-instructor doing primary training that we had in the area was Chester Smith out of Belen (R.I.P.). Everyone else moved into specialized niche: tailwheel, acro, or PA-46 transitions.
 
zaitcev said:
Last I asked a local owner-instructor about that (and no, it wasn't Bonnie Mauldin), he said that merely letting people solo was too expensive and increased his insurance dramatically.
Click to expand...

He needs to reshop insurance.
 
Thanks for all the info.

I tried to schedule a discovery flight with Bode last week. I called (talked to the receptionist who said she would pass my info on), waited a day--didn't hear back--then emailed the instructors directly. As of now I have not received a return call or an email.

Kind of frustrating cause I am looking to go out there and at the very least do a discovery flight and possibly flight training, ie I am going to give you business/money.

Going to give Del Sol a call this week and see if I can't setup a discovery flight. Will let you all know how that goes.....
 
bigD1031 said:
Hello All,

First time poster here in Albuquerque and looking to get my PPL.

Looking around it appears the only two places to consider are Bode Aviation and Del Sol Aviation. Any thoughts on either one?

Are there any other options in the area worth considering? Any CFI's training in their own plane?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

D
Click to expand...
Avoid Bode like the plague. Del Sol aviation is a pretty out outfit. I have had one person come back unhappy from the reference, but everyone else (myself included) love that place.
 
4CornerFlyer said:
Try a couple places and see which you like. An intro flight is a small investment.

I would suggest not doing primary training at ABQ airport. Yes, some will say you get good on the radio and all that, but you will waste a lot of time on long taxis and getting out of the busy airspace before you can do anything, and that time is going for $3 a minute. Double Eagle is an underused towered field at which you won't be paying for delays. My experience with Bode there is as a transient pilot noticing things around me, and they seem to do a good job.

If you want to travel to Taos (farther yet than SAF), Adam is a friend and excellent instructor: http://mountaintownflying.com/
His main job is flying a medical helicopter.

I wouldn't consider SAF airport as being far from Albuquerque. Nothing is close in New Mexico, and that's the beauty of it.

Jon
Click to expand...

I disagree with the long taxi at ABQ. 99% of your flights will depart runway 8, and Del Sol is right there between Cutter and Eclipse, so its a really short departure. Your landings will usually be on runway 3, which if you land a bit long on, you have a really short taxi back to Del Sol on. For those rare days where you'll depart from 26 or runway 3, yes, you have a really long taxi which just sucks, but its really rare.

If you want to do Bode, expect to pay a bit more than you should have to for very poor customer service and a lot of "hand-me down info" from the CFIs that is just flat out wrong (like "No slipping with flaps" type of info).

There's a reason they're hated by most of the people that fly out of KAEG....there used to be competition, and before Bode strong-armed out West Mesa Aviation, they both were decent enough because they had to earn your business. Not anymore.
 
bigD1031 said:
Thanks for all the info.

I tried to schedule a discovery flight with Bode last week. I called (talked to the receptionist who said she would pass my info on), waited a day--didn't hear back--then emailed the instructors directly. As of now I have not received a return call or an email.

Kind of frustrating cause I am looking to go out there and at the very least do a discovery flight and possibly flight training, ie I am going to give you business/money.

Going to give Del Sol a call this week and see if I can't setup a discovery flight. Will let you all know how that goes.....
Click to expand...

Get used to it with Bode, unfortunately. Also, if you do choose Bode, double and triple check your receipts, as I had a problem with them overcharging fuel.
 
My company has its home office in Albuquerque, and we rent from Del Sol when we need a local aircraft. Good instructors, good fleet.
 
You have to check the receipt in Del Sol too. Even Kyle is capable of forgetting to drop the $5 insurance due to copy-pasting receipts in computer, for example (I carry my own renter's insurance, so I'm entitled to wave that charge by their policy). We're all human and it may be busy, especially on Saturday.
 
zaitcev said:
Last I asked a local owner-instructor about that (and no, it wasn't Bonnie Mauldin), he said that merely letting people solo was too expensive and increased his insurance dramatically.

I think last owner-instructor doing primary training that we had in the area was Chester Smith out of Belen (R.I.P.). Everyone else moved into specialized niche: tailwheel, acro, or PA-46 transitions.
Click to expand...

There was a guy with a 150 out of SAF for many years too-he was my first instructor. He's still around, but he no longer actively instructs.
 
zaitcev said:
You have to check the receipt in Del Sol too. Even Kyle is capable of forgetting to drop the $5 insurance due to copy-pasting receipts in computer, for example (I carry my own renter's insurance, so I'm entitled to wave that charge by their policy). We're all human and it may be busy, especially on Saturday.
Click to expand...

From a customer service standpoint, Del Sol is great, which is where Bode seems to lack. I took something like 7 FAA writtens at Del Sol and each one was a good experience.
 
midlifeflyer said:
They exist but CFIs don't often train in their own airplanes. The cost of insurance for that purpose tends to be way too high.
Click to expand...

Solos might be the issue.

There's a local instructor who uses her own 172 for primary instruction. But not for solos. When it comes time for solos, she has the student rent an FBO plane. Because of insurance.
 
@GCA319 - Thanks for the recommendation on the Santa Fe instructors, I have a discovery with Sierra tomorrow and am setting up another one with Michael at NM Sport Aviation.

Haven't had the chance to talk to Del Sol but they are on the list.

Thanks for all the info and help!!!
 
bigD1031 said:
@GCA319 - Thanks for the recommendation on the Santa Fe instructors, I have a discovery with Sierra tomorrow and am setting up another one with Michael at NM Sport Aviation.

Haven't had the chance to talk to Del Sol but they are on the list.

Thanks for all the info and help!!!
Click to expand...

When I lived in Santa Fe, I used Sierra for a bit. Good quality aircraft, and the people that worked there were very nice. I don't remember much about the instruction as I only did a checkout with them, but all things being equal, they're a good choice.
 
Keep in mind that Sierra is in the OpenAirplane system now, so you can obtain Universal Checkouts from them. It's the only such outfit in the state.
 
I rented a 172S from Sierra for a week in June. We'll maintained and clean plane. People were a pleasure to work with.
 
bigD1031 said:
@GCA319 - Thanks for the recommendation on the Santa Fe instructors, I have a discovery with Sierra tomorrow and am setting up another one with Michael at NM Sport Aviation.

Haven't had the chance to talk to Del Sol but they are on the list.

Thanks for all the info and help!!!
Click to expand...

Great! Let us know what you think and who you choose to go with. Who you going with at Sierra? Larry, Paul, or Chuck?
 
Last edited:
I did my discovery with Paul at Sierra. Had a great time and Paul seemed like a great guy and instructor.

Go in on Monday for my physical so we will see how things progress from there.
 
bigD1031 said:
I did my discovery with Paul at Sierra. Had a great time and Paul seemed like a great guy and instructor.

Go in on Monday for my physical so we will see how things progress from there.
Click to expand...

Paul's great. He's also probably one of the most experienced instructors in New Mexico.
 
bigD1031 said:
I did my discovery with Paul at Sierra. Had a great time and Paul seemed like a great guy and instructor.
Click to expand...

Where are they based? I saw on Saturday that their old FBO sign was covered with a big canvas bag with a sign "FOR LEASE". Did they downsize into a room in the terminal?

NMSA used to sublease from Sierra in the building. But now they have their own office in the new hangar building on the north side of taxiway J (between J and Sierra building I mentioned).
 
zaitcev said:
Where are they based? I saw on Saturday that their old FBO sign was covered with a big canvas bag with a sign "FOR LEASE". Did they downsize into a room in the terminal?

NMSA used to sublease from Sierra in the building. But now they have their own office in the new hangar building on the north side of taxiway J (between J and Sierra building I mentioned).
Click to expand...

This is the address I went to...

87 Aviation Dr.
Santa Fe, NM 87507

It was back off the road a little bit but I don't recall seeing a covered sign.....unless something changed.....
 
Used to be that as you drove down aviation dr, it was the first entrance to the airport.
 
bigD1031 said:
Hello All,

First time poster here in Albuquerque and looking to get my PPL.

Looking around it appears the only two places to consider are Bode Aviation and Del Sol Aviation. Any thoughts on either one?

Are there any other options in the area worth considering? Any CFI's training in their own plane?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

D
Click to expand...
Hi, I'm aware this thread is very old, but I am considering relocating to ABQ for "zero to hero" flight training, and I too am considering Bode vs. Del Sol. Just wondering if you or anyone has any updated thoughts on flight training at Bode vs. Del Sol (in 2023!)? I saw in the comments that many felt Del Sol had good customer service but perhaps an aging fleet. Not sure if any of that has changed?... Any thoughts are appreciated. Many thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top