Negative experience, not to be repeated I hope

[Sam Rutherford]

A friendly reminder that you should always check on:

Credentials (certs in date etc.)
Deadlines (sustainable, not passed by in a cloud of excuses)
Paying in advance to then receive neither service nor refund
Recourse should the works done prove to be shoddy, and need rectifying by another

If you have any doubts, ask for proof of anything claimed.

I have had a bad experience with someone, and would prefer that others are not exploited in the same way. You can PM me for details.

Fly safe, Sam.

[aero101]

Yes, Sam, as I CFII myself, there are some out there, including some of the canned program schools, that take advantage of people and are only after that almighty buck!! Especially stateside, as Alaska Aviation community is so small, word would travel very quickly up here and you probably wouldn't last long in the business!! It's still always worth a little investigating, and I've found that it's a lot safer to pay as you go, with maybe just a small deposit to comfirm appointment in some cases. Unfortunately, I also see many students make appointments they don't keep, which ties up resources that could be used, if student just would make that phone call and cancel. Not sure what happened with you, but it's a shame to have been put through something like that, where it didn't work out to your satisfaction!

[Sam Rutherford]

Hi Jim,

Actually, it was with an A&P who posts on here - but you're right, the 'advice' for whatever it is worth is always to research before committing your hard earned dollars/pounds/euros etc.

Fly safe! Sam.

[formerpacerdriver]

Agreed on all above.

My two cent's worth: pay for one instruction session, and see what their teaching style is like. First, I'm paying to learn, so if I don't understand how they approach a problem, I'm not going to learn very well. Second, I will NEVER AGAIN pay someone to yell at me. (I was young back then, but am wiser now.)

[aero101]

Dano
Yes, I know the feeling, had an instructor once hollered at me, just frustrated me more, and made things worse!! Will never happen again... There used to be a pilot examiner up here, same thing, tended to get easily excited and start hollering on check rides, used him once for a student, never again... Had another student outside, paid for P/P License Course in full, they would move on to next lesson no matter what, after 3 young instructors, they had him doing X-country dual work, but had never taught him to land or solo yet. When he tried to get money back to move to another instructor, they told him they'd credit him for aircraft rental. Well I ended up with him, backed the truck up, taught him to land / solo'd him (one of the most difficult tasks I'd ever done and took all my knowledge, ended trying other instructors methods, etc but finally made it happen with this individual), and suggested he go back and use his credit on his long X-country. Of course this other school refused to do that unless he rejoined their program, so ended up out several hundred dollars of 'Credit' and never looked back!! Later, he finally passed checkride, and has been steadily flying for years now, but was one of the most challenging students I'd ever had... Sometimes all it takes is changes in the approach until you find one that works!!

[Sam Rutherford]

Great to get the PMs, if you haven't already been in touch, feel free to ask for more info if you wish.

Fly safe, Sam.