Looking for good CFI for Sport Pilot in DFW area

S

saintlfd

Filing Flight Plan
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Jun 21, 2011
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Argyle, Texas
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Dave L.
Can anyone recommend a good CFI in the DFW area for SP training?
In case it makes a difference in your thinking--I am 56 y.o. and have a few hours of LSA training in my log book. Not yet solo'd.
Thanks!
 
Thanks, Bill. I have flown with these guys out of KADS and, candidly, the experience was not satisfactory. That was a few months ago; is your experience with them more recent? Have you been pleased?
 
Ron Podmenick might be a good choice. I have a few hours with him doing a checkout for US Flight Academy's Warrior and really liked his approach in teaching and flying.

US Flight Academy operates the Remos' and has some other LSA's in their inventory. Rental is $95/hr wet, which is pretty decent considering what fuel prices have been lately.

I'll PM you Ron's info. US Flight Academy is (940) 383-2484 and based at Denton Municipal. Chris Ramey is their Chief Instructor. http://www.usaviationacademy.com/
 
Thanks, Mike. Have you had a good experience with Ron's flight school? I have heard that their focus on foreign students--those working for ATP status--dominates their behavior such that individual SP candidates are sort of forgotten. Anything to that?
 
Dave,
I'm currently finishing up my PPL with them. So, i'm there all the time. I also talk with two other students that are training there and are currently having a good experience. The other students and I were working with a now closed outfit out of Air Park. I started working with US Sport and they followed me there.

I have been impressed with their flexibility and the availability of the aircraft. The training has been much better than what I was getting and i'm moving nicely thru the curriculum.

What didn't you like about your experience?

Bill D.
 
saintlfd said:
Thanks, Mike. Have you had a good experience with Ron's flight school? I have heard that their focus on foreign students--those working for ATP status--dominates their behavior such that individual SP candidates are sort of forgotten. Anything to that?
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The foreign professional pilot students are their big "money maker" right now and there is a lot of activity surrounding them. But the CFI's are what make the deal for the domestic students work.

I got my PPL through USFA and found that I had good access to my instructor, Dan Heilmann. While Dan did have 2 international primary students and 1 in the instrument/commercial stage, never did I feel that I was short changed. Only once or twice did a scheduling conflict come up. And we frequently got together after he was done for the day for a meal to go over various "ground school" items.

Ron primarily works with the domestic students. And he knows how to make sure you feel like you're getting your dollars worth and will listen to you if you don't feel that way. That is why he gets my referral.

(BTW; Dan is still there and also does a good job, but he has yet to be "officially" checked out to instruct in the Warrior. Which is how I met Ron.)

Last thoughts about the internationals -- They actually are a pretty interesting bunch. I wish there were more opportunities to meet them socially and get to know them and their culture.

I also have to give them props for doing an okay job on the radio when on the ground or coming into the pattern. I've heard a few mistakes and can tell by response time they are processing the information into Chinese and then figuring out how to respond in English. Fortunately most of the tower controllers are used to it and are good at keeping their cool. That's when you do your best to be at the top of your communication game and lessen their workload when dealing with you.


On timing your lessons, do your best to receive your dispatch clipboard and depart on the odd hour (7:00, 9:00, 11:00, etc). For some reason, the even hours are when the various shifts of internationals are ready to go and a big jam up can develop at the dispatcher desk and at the runup area.
 
txnightster said:
Dave,
I'm currently finishing up my PPL with them. So, i'm there all the time. I also talk with two other students that are training there and are currently having a good experience. The other students and I were working with a now closed outfit out of Air Park. I started working with US Sport and they followed me there.

I have been impressed with their flexibility and the availability of the aircraft. The training has been much better than what I was getting and i'm moving nicely thru the curriculum.

What didn't you like about your experience?

Bill D.
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@Bill: PM Sent to you with my phone# if you ever want to meet for a meal or snack after training. Plus, I'm always looking for fellow pilots to go with when flying the Warrior.
 
txnightster said:
Dave,
I'm currently finishing up my PPL with them. So, i'm there all the time. I also talk with two other students that are training there and are currently having a good experience. The other students and I were working with a now closed outfit out of Air Park. I started working with US Sport and they followed me there.

I have been impressed with their flexibility and the availability of the aircraft. The training has been much better than what I was getting and i'm moving nicely thru the curriculum.

What didn't you like about your experience?

Bill D.
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------
When I was flying with US Sport, there was a shortage of aircraft and the chief instructor wore too many hats to be attentive. The young CFI he then put me with was too quick to take the controls instead of providing verbal instruction so that I could make corrections. They followed no curriculum such that I had no idea what I needed to work on, other than everything. I logged 25 hours with no idea what I still needed to show to be able to solo; constantly told I was 'close'.

So, basically, my complaints are disorganization, no direction and poor feedback. Great people, though. We got along well.
 
The issues you point out have been addressed, in my opinion. The facility is now managed by Stuart Stephenson who has been successful in other industry and does a nice job.

There is now a ground school being taught on Saturday's by Stuart Stoll. He has worked with American Flyers for a number of years and won't do anything without a syllabus. Maybe he would be a good fit for you.

Not sure how many aircraft they had when you used them. Their current fleet including the Remos is four dedicated rental planes.

I hope you decide to give them another shot. It doesn't sound like you burned any bridges and you are correct that they are good guys.

Hope to see you at the airport,Bill D.
 
I can definitely see what you said being allowed to happen. If you don't already know what to expect and demand with Part 61 training, they do allow the instructors to not follow a definied cirriculum. Which is why I insisted with Dan that we have one and we did.

Call Ron and speak to him about your experience and see if he can do better job. He's much better at letting you fly while he provides verbal coaching than the youngster you wrote about.
 
txnightster said:
There is now a ground school being taught on Saturday's by Stuart Stoll. He has worked with American Flyers for a number of years and won't do anything without a syllabus. Maybe he would be a good fit for you.
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Good to hear they are making some positive changes.

Next time you see Stuart, find out if they are going to start an IFR ground school sometime soon. If they are, I'm interested.
 
I hope you don't mind my unsolicited advice. I own and fly a CTSW and I blew thousands of dollars on incompetent and ineffective light sport training. My hangermate, a ATP and CFII, ended up training me for my PP certificate and there was no comparison in the quality of instruction. If there is any way you can get a 3rd class medical certificate, I'd strongly recommend you go the PP route.
 
Old Geek said:
I hope you don't mind my unsolicited advice. I own and fly a CTSW and I blew thousands of dollars on incompetent and ineffective light sport training. My hangermate, a ATP and CFII, ended up training me for my PP certificate and there was no comparison in the quality of instruction. If there is any way you can get a 3rd class medical certificate, I'd strongly recommend you go the PP route.
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I assume that the original problem was with Sport Pilot instructors, not medical status? Your hangar-mate could have sent you for the SP ride - you didn't need a medical to fly with him.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I assume that the original problem was with Sport Pilot instructors, not medical status? Your hangar-mate could have sent you for the SP ride - you didn't need a medical to fly with him.
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Right. The quality of sport pilot instruction was the problem. Don't want to go into details, but I sensed a conflict of interest in a situation where the head of the SP flight school was also the sport pilot DPE for the area.

An example of the SP instruction quality issue was the head instructor not knowing how to use VFR flight following. And all the time badmouthing PP training as not as good as his.

My hangermate really wasn't interested in signing me off for a sport pilot checkride. He convinced me, and rightfully so, that PP was the open-ended direction to go if I ever wanted something bigger than an LSA.
 
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Old Geek said:
He convinced me, and rightfully so, that PP was the open-ended direction to go if I ever wanted something bigger than an LSA.
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When I first was looking at flight training, I was on the fence between Recreational Pilot and full Private. LSA's were not yet approved. I was presented with the same argument as highlighted which is what swayed me toward full PPL.

And glad I did.
 
Old Geek said:
Right. The quality of sport pilot instruction was the problem. Don't want to go into details, but I sensed a conflict of interest in a situation where the head of the SP flight school was also the sport pilot DPE for the area.

An example of the SP instruction quality issue was the head instructor not knowing how to use VFR flight following. And all the time badmouthing PP training as not as good as his.
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:sigh:

My hangermate really wasn't interested in signing me off for a sport pilot checkride. He convinced me, and rightfully so, that PP was the open-ended direction to go if I ever wanted something bigger than an LSA.
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If you are one that can get a medical with no nonsense / SI / etc., I don't see much point in getting a SP ticket myself and would agree with that advice.

But we need to be clear, that for those who may find a medical more hassle than it is worth, you don't need to find a SP instructor - a real CFI can do the job.
 
I second the endorsement of Ron Podmenik. He was my PPL instructor but he also does a lot of sport pilot instruction. The school is very busy but they have a dedicated staff for the international students so you shouldn't experience any schedule conflicts with any instructor who handles domestic students. You can choose to use either a FAR Part 141 or a 61 curriculum. The Part 61 is the standard Jeppsen curriculum.

I have watched these guys grow since 2005 and it is an amazing story. The international contracts, mostly from China, provide a good financial base with benefits naturally spilling over to domestic instruction such as a large instructor pool, excellent facilities, a large fleet and good maintenance.
 
DrMack said:
I have watched these guys grow since 2005 and it is an amazing story. The international contracts, mostly from China, provide a good financial base with benefits naturally spilling over to domestic instruction such as a large instructor pool, excellent facilities, a large fleet and good maintenance.
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Spilling over is right on. During my training last year, they poured and completed a very large addition to the parking ramp, USAG was able to totally overhaul their building from a typical large hangar to a very nice FBO with loads of office and classroom space. And the ability to get a fuel contract to provide FS 100LL slightly cheaper than Biz Air's SS.

And they students help the local economy. I live near one of the apartment complexes where they are housed, so I see them in the neighborhood frequently. They spend their dollars in the local business just like I do, including my own place. So having them about has brought some decent economic stimulous to the city of Denton.

@Dr. Mack. Good to know of your experience with Ron. I hope to fly with him some next week for some skills refresher. If ever you're up this way and want to grab a nosh, let me know.
 
Aggie,

I thought of you Tuesday morning. Wasn't that a US Flight Academy plane that went down at the Denton airport?

Doc
 
saintlfd said:
Can anyone recommend a good CFI in the DFW area for SP training?
In case it makes a difference in your thinking--I am 56 y.o. and have a few hours of LSA training in my log book. Not yet solo'd.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Just take a couple weeks vacation and come to Joplin, Mizzou Aviation has a Rans S7, you can get your SP and tailwheel at the same time.

http://00aaced.netsolhost.com/flight instruction.htm
 
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