Redbird Skyport

[shyampatel94]

Anyone heard of the Redbird Skyport in San Marcos, Tx? I am going to be a freshman at Texas State University and am going to start there full time PPL program. Has anyone been there or pilots that train there right now?

 

[asgcpa]

I met the guys that run it at the Redbird tent at Oshkosh. Interesting concept. Have used Redbird FMX as part of my training. Have been pleased with what I've accomplished.

 

[DavidWhite]

I kept my airplane there for a year, and got my CP-MEL tacked on. They're good folks.

 

[Archammer]

I was the test pilot for the Redbird Skyport ProFlight Academy program, and I can tell you that it was one of the best experiences. The facility and simulators are top of the line. They have extremely talented instructors, and because they are on salary, there is no stress!

Just walk in there and spend a half hour looking around and talking to the instructors and you'll be hooked. There are some other options that are very good here in Austin / San Marcos, but Redbird was the best choice for me.

 

[JimNtexas]

I'm going there tomorrow to fly my six approaches in their simulator.

The facility is super nice, and their airplanes are kept up as near as I can tell from looking ( I just use them for simulator training).

The single biggest feature of this school is that most or all of the instructors are on salary! That's almost unheard of in general aviation. This just has to attract a better class of CFI.

Their fixed price programs are also highly non-standard in the GA world.

 

[jesse]

have extremely talented instructors, and because they are on salary, there is no stress!

single biggest feature of this school is that most or all of the instructors are on salary! That's almost unheard of in general aviation. This just has to attract a better class of CFI.

What exactly about being salaried leads to less stress? Why would paying salary attract BETTER instructors? One could argue that you'd attract lazy ones that weren't mature enough or dedicated enough to realize they could build their own business and make more money.

That said, I've been through there, and it seems like a great operation.

 

[asgcpa]

As an aside , I believe they may have fixed tuition for ratings etc. That is unheard of.

 

[DavidWhite]

I'm going there tomorrow to fly my six approaches in their simulator.

The facility is super nice, and their airplanes are kept up as near as I can tell from looking ( I just use them for simulator training).

The single biggest feature of this school is that most or all of the instructors are on salary! That's almost unheard of in general aviation. This just has to attract a better class of CFI.

Their fixed price programs are also highly non-standard in the GA world.

None of their current CFIs had more than 1,000 hours when they were hired. They are good instructors, but I wouldn't say better. If I worked there I would rather be hourly.

 

[camel]

I went there from March through May this year, and got my PPL. I enjoyed it, the program is pretty structured. I paid a fixed $9995 for the PPL course, and that included the FAA examiner fee (they pay the examiner for the checkride).

San Marcos (KHYI) is a class D airport, which is nice when you're starting because you don't have the stress of a large airport. But eventually this becomes the one downside in my opinion. Now I'm flying rentals out of Austin Bergstrom (KAUS), a larger class C airport, and I had to get up to speed on dealing with more ATC frequencies, etc.

Long story short, I recommend RedBird. Go visit them, they're happy to show you around the facility.

 

[AggieMike88]

A tip to managing the increased number of frequencies, especially out of a busy class C.

Develop a cheat sheet

As you fly in different directions, write down the frequencies you're given (a good practice anyhow). Over a period of time, you'll notice the sequence of freq changes you're given are the same along that particular path of travel. And once you know the pattern, you can make your own reference card that shows the freq sequence you can expect for that route.

When I went to Dalhart from KDTO this Sunday, I started with "Regional Approach", Then FTW Center, then Shephard Approach, then a different Sector of FTW Center, then ABQ Center, then Amarillo Approach, and finished with ABC Center again. Each time, I wrote down the frequency as I was given it.

On the way back, it was, surprise, the same sequence and frequencies, but in reverse.

So now I have for my kneeboard the freq's I can expect whenever I travel in that general direction.