How to choose a suitable flight school

I found my flight school through an article in a Dutch flight magazine. This for me was a first clue for the quality of the school. If it would be some shabby school on an airfield in the middle of nowhere then why would they write about it, right? Then I contacted the writer of the article and he told me some stuff about the school. He also gave me the name and phone number of a Dutch instructor who taught there. So I called him and he gave me a insight view of the place.

Obviously another good way to find a flight school is via the internet. But be aware! Nice flashy ads don’t mean good quality.

The options in choosing a school are seemingly endless. But let that not overwhelm you. There is a good way to make your pick. First narrow your list down to a few schools that offer what you want. Then get as much information as you can about those schools.
For example what I have done is ask the school for references. I have asked for email addresses of former students so I could send them an email to ask what they thought of the school. You can use Google to search for any articles on the web about for example accidents that happened with planes of the school. The timeliness in which they reply on requests for information is also a pretty good indicator for the quality of the school. It would be odd for them to never answer any emails wouldn’t it? Still, it does happen and it has also happened to me.

There are some forums on the web which can give you a pretty good indication. Do a search on the forums to learn what other people’s experiences with the school are. If not all the information you need is available, then start asking questions yourself. Most forums are free to join and other members will be glad to help you in any way they can. This way you get first hand honest info.
A really good forum is for example http://www.pprune.org.

I finally decided on Orlando Flight Training in Kissimmee, Florida. They have plenty of experience with foreign students, the comments I got form former student were mostly positive and I could start when I wanted to.