Snaggle: I'm with those who say you need to take some action here, regarding being alerted to maintenance/inspection issues on a timely basis, and of course the VOR thing... even if the syllabus for the day is all about VOR nav,
you should be able to say you still want to fly, and why shouldn't they oblige? Obviously there must be down time while a VOR problem is addressed, but it should be scheduld, and students alerted.
This kind of business is what annoyed me most during my training... hustling out to the field after work or whatever only to find out the plane was off the line or had been booked for someone else, etc. I hardly ever got a call, even when my instructor had to cancel at the last minute. There must have been cobwebs on that phone in the school office, it hardly seemed to get used.
I was a fool to not change schools, and I regret it (I did make a stink,more than one, but nothing changed). Remember the bottom line:
they work for
you. No students, no school. It's that simple. You don't have to be a jerk about it, but if you are too nice, the might walk all over you. If you're not getting what you're paying for, take your money someplace else.
All that being said, even owners can tell you that show-stopping airplane problems, like weather issues and family/work conflicts, never seem to happen at a
convenient time...
Get used to it... it's part of the game.