First ... this thread is off topic and should be in the O'Club:p
As far as I know, Panam (if the one in FL) is a good 141 flight school. The few people I know from Panam didn't really complained about flight instructors, aircraft maintenance/disponibility, sillabusses or school management.
Other major flight school in Florida :
- ATA (Orlando Exec), like Cit said stay away from it. Would it be from the flight instructor side or student side, I eard only complaints.
- Flight Safety (Vero Beach), from single engine to anything that flies, 30+ academies around the world ... they are well oiled to provide flight training. I met several people trained by them, none complained. Very professional.
The down side may be a "walk or die" attitude. Better work your butt off, if you fall behind the learning curve they kick you out.
- Florida Institute of Technology, I know this one prety well as I was a student there and flight instructed for them for more than a year. They used to have some major problems in organization but they corrected it. They still provide a very professional training but if you ask me it's going down more and more.
As a flight instructor, I have been ordered to pass students when they would definatly not deserve it... then asked why I passed them when they ran off the runway.
FIT is pretty expensive too. They have no airline partnership but most ex FIT fly for CoEx, they like us. Good bunch of CFIs there, but the chain of command is not to be trusted. FIT can teach monkeys to fly, meaning that even if you are a total moron, they will not fail you and will keep teaching till you pass.
- Embry Riddle (Daytona), it's the typical pilot factory. I eard good things about them and the usual complains associated with those big schools. (instructor availability, number 15 for take off (sitting idle on the taxiway while money runs away, lack of personal assistance)
- Phoenix East (Daytona), 80% are foreign students, 40% arabics. The boss is arabic too and wanted to hire me for free for two years. Students seemed to like it, instructors too, personaly I didn't when I toured the place.
- PhillAir (Daytona), small 141 school. Doesn't look professional at all, suffered numerous accidents/incidents. People were very kind when I toured the place, good athmosphere.
- Tamiami (Tamiami I think). No idea but I eard some kids who liked it.... I hope it's Tamiami the name of the school.
STAY AWAY FROM : International Flight Training Academy. The guy is a crook. Both students and CFIs got in trouble moneywise with S.Fisher.
When you choose a place, go there and talk to students AND flight instructors. Only them know what is going on, trust nothing else.
You can choose "the local flight school part 61", but you will definitly notice a difference in the professionalisum. The school listed above will mostly squeak you with being on time, the procedures of the schools, be unforgiving with the manoeuvers, the regulation, the safety, the manuals, the operation ... but after all it's only what Airlines are about. Now if you don't care about airlines job and really want to learn the proper way of flying and how to stay alive, go to your flight instructor of your local airport
Hope this helps... remember it's my POV, others may have a different one.
