The pursuit of The Right Flight Training School/Organization (FTO) has to be done very intricately, keeping in mind the avenue of aviation. You do not want to fall into a haste trap and hence it is important we look at the exact dots to focus on. 

The first step towards finding the ideal FTO for yourself is to have a concrete idea of your requirements, a detailed structure of the focal points and then shortlisting the schools that match the criterion. It is of utmost importance that you find out every detail about the flight schools you are considering and make a check list to tick on. 

This article sorts out the important questions you need to ask in order to choose the right Flight school/Organization

 

An Established Organization:

An established organization and experienced instructors can help shape the right attitude and provide you with optimal training and knowledge. If you have ATPL integrated training on your mind, you need to be very careful in selecting a school that has the fleet, simulators and required facilities. The proficiency of a pilot, and shaping his vision about aviation should be their top priority. These are the list of things you should look for while shortlisting a potential FTO:

• The choice of aircrafts should be A1. Your FTO should have the best-in-class fleet of aircrafts to ensure the best flying training

• The instructors should be well experienced

• The training program should be able to brief and debrief prior and post lessons

• The infrastructure - including airstrips, and accommodation

• The equipment used – Simulators, training material, study material etc. should be of high quality

• A competitive yet enthusiastic environment that dwells on thriving and shaping the best future commercial pilots

Take a good tour and clarify all your queries that you probably have collected over the course to gain clarity of thought. It is extremely important that you have done your research on the training methodology, syllabus facilities, and various other factors in the quest for your pilot aspirations.
 

The Training Environment:

An important thing to consider while choosing an appropriate FTO is the training environment. Preferably go for a FTO that has held its grounds for years. 

One such way to ensure that the school you are choosing provides with proper training, safety and other components, go for facilities tours. This will provide you with a proper overview of the sense of the operation. Check on whether the aircrafts are maintained properly, the age of the aircrafts used, the design and reliability of the aircrafts, the management of defect reports, the overall cleanliness. While on your facilities tour, boldly ask for all the required information to satiate your queries. You can even come in contact with previous students in order to know about the nooks and corners.

Connecting with former students and alumni will help you gather personal testimonials and a picture of your future with the particular FTO. It will give you an insight if the pre-existing training conditions fit your checklist or not.

It is important that flight schools have proper infrastructural advantages and operate from suitable airports. There should also be advance simulators that ensure the parallel footing of both theoretical and practical knowledge of the students. Check everything, each specification, the environment inevitably plays an important role in the shaping of your vision, proficiency and personality.
 

Budget:

Flight training can dig a hole in your pocket and this fact comes bearing no surprise. However, there are various ways through which you can pay for your flight training. There are 2 types of programs: an integrated and a modular program. An integrated program is comparatively expensive comprising of degree courses and flight training components, the payment for this may be paid annually or per semester basis.

On the other hand, a modular training comprises of ground schooling and flight training. The payment method in this program is rather flexible.

Once you do your extensive research on various FTOs you will be able to draw comparisons between the prospective training schools of your choice and the division of cost, like: the charges per hour, extra ground instruction training, and so on. This will give you an idea and help you choose an FTO that gives you best of both the worlds: an informative, vision-oriented training and budget friendly.

Another factor that is of key importance is that there are 2 types of programs: an integrated and modular program. An integrated program is comparatively expensive comprising of degree courses and flight training components, the payment for this may be paid annually or per semester basis.
 

Career Opportunities:

Your aviation journey should start with you envisioning a proper path down the line. Therefore, it is important for you to choose an FTO that helps you gain perspective and helps you secure a job. 

There are various flight schools that coordinate with airlines and provide good paying and secure job offers. 

It is very important that you have cleared your conscience about your career path and choose the right program for yourself.
 

Aviation Forums:

The rapid growth in the aviation industry and the aspiration for commercial pilots to be trained in India has set a bar for the FTOs. The competitive hustle ensures these academies to stay at an equal footing with top FTOs globally, keeping in mind the 3 major requirements: infrastructure, instructors and the fleet. Thereby, an aviation forum can be of great use to you. These forums discuss broadly about the training process, the selection process, the infrastructural and other facilities of various FTOs. 

But you have to be careful with one thing, in aviation Forums, people generally are opinionated based on personal experiences. These opinions are mostly objective and to the point, and thereby may help you gain a better perspective about an FTO. But you should actively filter out the unnecessary promotional or biased opinions and concentrate on the facts.

 

Becoming a pilot comes with huge responsibilities. One should be enthusiastic, proficient and competent. The shaping of a visionary is molded majorly during their training at the FTO. Therefore, choosing the correct FTO is very challenging yet extremely important. The directions, training, instructors, environment altogether will help determine the pilot you become. The ability to take calculative decisions at the right time, fostering proper discipline and building the right attitude. We hope you choose the best FTO.