5 critical factors to consider while selecting a flying club.
We all say that the college, we get into, decides the future of our life. So, today is the day where you will be learning the factors that will help to make the most important decision of your pilot career, i.e., selecting a flying club. This decision will determine the duration, cost and the future of your pilot training. There could be a lot of factors that should be considered before deciding a flying club, but after doing all the research and the experience, following are the 5 most important factors to be focused on.
1.Approval of the respective country’s civil aviation authority.
The foremost factor to check is the authorization of the flying club by the country civil aviation authority. For example, if you want a pilot license of India, then you need to check for a flying club having authorization from DGCA (Directorate General of Aviation). There are many flying clubs, in India and overseas, which do not have any approval from the authority. You do not want to complete your flying from a not approved flying club; it will be considered as if you have not flown.
2. Cost of Flying per hour
The biggest concern of taking up the pilot course is the cost of the whole training, and the major part of fees is paid for the flight training. So, the second foremost factor in deciding the flying club is cost per hour. On an average, the cost per hour of flying for a Single engine is about Rs. 14–15000, and for multi-engine, it is around Rs. 35000. The flying club may charge more that this too; this is an average per hour cost. So, make sure you consult with different flying clubs compare the fees. The best place you can save money is by not taking ground school from the flying club, because they charge a lot and can be substituted self-study or classes (You can contact me for any guidance regarding the ground classes).
3. Duration of the course.
We do not want to be in a situation where we continue doing our training for infinite years. It is very important to find a flying club which takes the least amount of time. But, when you start searching for similar flying clubs, you will see that the amount of fees required for their training is sky high. So, you will have to look for a balance which takes lesser time for the whole course and comparatively lesser cost too. It usually takes about <1 year to finish your course, provided you have cleared all pilot examinations.
4. Availability of aircrafts
One of the factors deciding the duration of the course is, Availability of the aircrafts. This gets sub-divided into 2 more factors, i.e., student to aircraft ratio and availability of Single Engine and Multi-engine aircraft. When you plan to complete your flight training, it is always recommended to fly Single Engine and Multi Engine. There are flying clubs which have Single engine aircraft only and the rest have both. If you want to avoid changing the flying club in the mid-course, then it is better you select a flying having both kinds of aircraft.
And regarding the student to aircraft ratio, make sure that the ratio of Single Engine aircraft is not above 8:1 (i.e., 8 students per aircraft) and for multi-Engine, it is not above 4:1. This cannot be constant at every moment of your flight training, but should be around this number for the overall part of the training.
5. Availability of the examiner
How would you feel when finishes your whole flight training, and have spent a huge amount of money, but you do not find anyone who is eligible to take your flight test on that aircraft? So, make sure that every aircraft that you plan to fly and get it endorsed on your license, has an examiner; be it SE or ME. In addition, if you have an option, select an aircraft which has 2 or more examiners (in case of redundancy).
These are the minimum 5 things to check for while selecting a flying club.
Two important notes: Firstly, flying club will not give you any preference while applying for a job in a general vacancy, unless the flying club has any tie-up with any airline. What matters is the amount of knowledge and experience that you have got. Secondly, there are no scholarships from any flying club; you can talk to government for scholarships. Please do not hurry in selecting a flying club.
I hope this blog has answered your question. If you have any queries related to any stage of your pilot journey, feel free to connect me on LinkedIn or at 9920658597.
What other things do you think that should be considered while selecting a flying club? Let me know your views in the comments.
