FLYING Magazine
Question: I have been trying to finish my private pilot certificate for the better part of three years. The delay is a combination of factors: work, family, and the fact I am a “bucket list” pilot and the flight school is geared toward people training for the airlines. I’ve tried different flight schools, but they’re pretty much the same, and I rarely get on the schedule more than once a week. Because of this I am considering a concentrated finish-up program. It means going out of state to a place with more VFR than we have here, which would be a good thing. However, I’ve heard and read so many mixed reviews about them I am now rethinking the choice. What is the best way to navigate a finish-up program?
Answer: Before you commit, go through your logbook with a CFI you trust to make sure the required experience is properly logged and double-check your math. You do not want to be the pilot who shows up with 2.8 hours of night experience when the requirement is 3.0. Double-check the distances of the cross-country flights to make sure they meet the minimums required as measured by a plotter on a paper sectional.
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Make sure your knowledge test is still good—it’s valid for 24 calendar months. Make sure the endorsements are correctly worded (your CFI should use the most recent version of Advisory Circular 61-65 for that) and verify your solo endorsement is still good and won’t expire while you’re at the finish-up program.
Your knowledge should be such that you should arrive with the ability to pass the oral portion of the check ride.
Is your flying to check ride standard or close enough that three to five hours of dual instruction will get you there? Or more? Many programs simply have the applicant fly mock check rides until they meet the standards. The quality of instruction can vary from place to place, instructor to instructor as well.
Having the requirements met and the skill and knowledge doesn’t guarantee you will take your check ride. There’s always a chance the ride will be weathered out, or the aircraft could develop a maintenance issue that will result in cancellation of the check ride.
Remember once you get the endorsement you can take the check ride wherever you can find a DPE. I say this because one of my former clients went to an out-of-state program and didn’t get to take the check ride due to a maintenance issue, and he couldn’t wait around for it to be fixed. The recommending instructor told him he would have to return to the out-of-state flight school to take the check ride because the CFI’s endorsement was only good in that state because the instructor was new.
This was incorrect information. Because a pilot certificate is a federal certificate, the endorsement for the check ride is valid in all 50 states.
One last thing: Never pay a lump sum up front. Ever. Most of the negative reviews of these accelerated programs talk about paying up front and not getting the training or a refund. Good luck!
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