In the next week I will have reached my first year of airplane ownership. My wife had joined a local flying club (the most activity happening at our class D towered airfield KJXN). The flying club at the time owned 2 Cessna 172's and to my knowledge were the cheapest rental 172's in the midwest (about $100 wet). The problem that she found was 1) there was only 1 CFI and he had no interest in teaching her anything, just logging time on his certificate. 2) in addition to the first problem, which is a pretty bad one, during flying season (summer) it was very hard to get on the flight schedule. My wife does shift work for a sheriffs department, thus every 2 weeks her rotation changes. She never has more than 1 weekend off per month and even that is not guaranteed.
So I thought I could resolve at least 1 of those problems by buying our own airplane. Then at least the airplane schedule would only be weather dependent. In the process of buying the airplane I got a CFI from Western MI university to ferry the airplane from Parkersburg WV to KJXN when we bought it. He was also going to be our CFI, but as it turned out, it took so long to finish off the students that he had at the university when we met him that the season was over by the time we got in 7 hours of flight time. Then he got hired by Delta.
Since October last year, we have not been able to find a single available flight instructor at KJXN. Whether independent, flying in the flying club, or for one of the 2 supposed flight schools at the airport. Neither flight school will respond to phone calls, voice messages, emails or text messages. Including the facebook pages of said flight schools, or their individual personal profiles. I find it amazing that any business can be operated this way and stay in business but in our current CFI crisis this is apparently the way it works. This is regardless whether we fly in their airplane or our airplane.
I recently, through a facebook search (CFI near me) found a local guy who had been commercial rated who was in training for his CFI ticket with one of the schools who will not respond to me, then I found out that he had been waiting for his check ride from the designated DPE for over 6 weeks. He had been my last hope, even though he would be a brand new minted CFI. Today he told me that he is moving to TN in 6 weeks and would not be doing any local training because it was unlikely he would even get his check ride before he left the state.
Today I found a facebook group "Michigan CFI" and I joined and made a posting that I was looking for an independent CFI to offer us training in our own airplane at KJXN. The post was viewed over 300x but no-one has offered to give us training. The schools typically referenced are usually 1.5-2.5 hours drive one way. Not a feasible proposition for someone who works 12 hour shifts with an already 50 min commute one way.
I have spent $5000 in hangar rental and a conditional inspection in the last year for 7 hours of seat time. This is clearly not sustainable. So I have decided that I will send my wife to South Africa for 4-6 months where she can do PPL training in new Sling sport airplanes for a package deal of about $5300. We will schedule it over the winter in MI when it is summer in ZA. She can do full time flight training, game drives, great white shark diving, whale watching and a million other things if she has time for it for a fraction of the cost of what is expected in the US. No-one wants our business, so we will take it elsewhere. Once she has her PPL I feel confident the advanced training will be more readily accommodated. She can at that point fly to whatever airport where instruction is available, which you cant do when doing primary training. If that doesnt work out, I guess there will be more trips back to the motherland...
In the meantime, I can take the lightning out of service and install the 150hp honda FWF and do the panel upgrades for IFR training so that when she has her PPL it will be ready to go. Good luck flight schools with turning paying customers away.
So I thought I could resolve at least 1 of those problems by buying our own airplane. Then at least the airplane schedule would only be weather dependent. In the process of buying the airplane I got a CFI from Western MI university to ferry the airplane from Parkersburg WV to KJXN when we bought it. He was also going to be our CFI, but as it turned out, it took so long to finish off the students that he had at the university when we met him that the season was over by the time we got in 7 hours of flight time. Then he got hired by Delta.
Since October last year, we have not been able to find a single available flight instructor at KJXN. Whether independent, flying in the flying club, or for one of the 2 supposed flight schools at the airport. Neither flight school will respond to phone calls, voice messages, emails or text messages. Including the facebook pages of said flight schools, or their individual personal profiles. I find it amazing that any business can be operated this way and stay in business but in our current CFI crisis this is apparently the way it works. This is regardless whether we fly in their airplane or our airplane.
I recently, through a facebook search (CFI near me) found a local guy who had been commercial rated who was in training for his CFI ticket with one of the schools who will not respond to me, then I found out that he had been waiting for his check ride from the designated DPE for over 6 weeks. He had been my last hope, even though he would be a brand new minted CFI. Today he told me that he is moving to TN in 6 weeks and would not be doing any local training because it was unlikely he would even get his check ride before he left the state.
Today I found a facebook group "Michigan CFI" and I joined and made a posting that I was looking for an independent CFI to offer us training in our own airplane at KJXN. The post was viewed over 300x but no-one has offered to give us training. The schools typically referenced are usually 1.5-2.5 hours drive one way. Not a feasible proposition for someone who works 12 hour shifts with an already 50 min commute one way.
I have spent $5000 in hangar rental and a conditional inspection in the last year for 7 hours of seat time. This is clearly not sustainable. So I have decided that I will send my wife to South Africa for 4-6 months where she can do PPL training in new Sling sport airplanes for a package deal of about $5300. We will schedule it over the winter in MI when it is summer in ZA. She can do full time flight training, game drives, great white shark diving, whale watching and a million other things if she has time for it for a fraction of the cost of what is expected in the US. No-one wants our business, so we will take it elsewhere. Once she has her PPL I feel confident the advanced training will be more readily accommodated. She can at that point fly to whatever airport where instruction is available, which you cant do when doing primary training. If that doesnt work out, I guess there will be more trips back to the motherland...
In the meantime, I can take the lightning out of service and install the 150hp honda FWF and do the panel upgrades for IFR training so that when she has her PPL it will be ready to go. Good luck flight schools with turning paying customers away.
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