Where do I begin. Well, for starters, the people who run this pathetic excuse for a flight school are unethical. They were charging me more than the agreed upon rate for a while while assuring me that any overcharges would be applied to our agreed upon price. That, of course, was a lie, for when I finally declined to continue paying at an inflated price which was far above the agreed rate, they refused to refund me anything that was overpaid.
Second, the prices they do charge are OUTRAGEOUS... I mean, they're almost laughable. Consider this: the flight school is located in a fairly remote, fairly small town -- Dover, Delaware. I lived in Dover so this is not a slight to Dover; I like Dover. But Dover, DE isn't New York, Los Angeles, or Miami. Yet, remarkably, the prices they charge to rent their planes are actually quite a bit more expensive than marquee airports in those cities. (I know from personal experience in both LA and NY; but don't take my word for it, just go on any FBO's website and see for yourself.) They charge $115 per hour for a Cessna 150. Justice Aviation, an FBO at Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles charges $98. And to add insult to injury, Phill-Air's 150 is a real beater. The thing had all sorts of problems, which was probably due in no small part to how cheap the owners of Phill-Air are.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the flight instruction you get there is not even third-rate. I wound up terminating my flight training with Phill-Air when I was about half-way through getting my private pilot license. I completed the training at an excellent school in Maryland. (Mind you, Phill-Air was only 5 miles from my house, and I dropped them to drive over 60 miles to the Maryland flight school... that should serve as some indication how awful Phill-Air is.) The CFIs at the new school had to re-teach me just about everything; my instructor at Phill-Air had given me instruction that was flat incorrect. She'd say something, and I'd get confused because I read to the contrary in the Jeppesen textbook, and she'd just respond that the book must be wrong. UNREAL! And this is not the sort of instruction you want to get wrong - flying can be incredibly safe, or incredibly dangerous, depending on the pilot. No thanks to Phill-Air, and thanks to the other school, I got my private pilot license and am now working on an instrument rating.
Consider all this when making the important decision of where you want to learn how to fly or work on a rating. read more
