Recent comments in /f/springfieldMO

arcticmischief OP t1_jbqp0u9 wrote

Reply to comment by ibanezartmetal in Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

A family member (who did flight training 50 years ago, haha) did some acrobatic training, mostly for proficiency and recovery ability, and said it was absolutely worth doing, even though he had to conquer severe butterflies. I’d be in the same boat, but I know I’d be better for it.

Good words. I’ll have to chew on that, though!

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Big-Weed t1_jbqoj0l wrote

Reply to Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

If you have the time for a bit of a drive, then try flight training in Lebanon or Bolivar or another small airport nearby. Rental hours, instruction fees, and fuel costs are much cheaper and you aren’t in class B airspace.

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ibanezartmetal t1_jbqleha wrote

Reply to Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

I would suggest Fulltron or EAS. Both are great. I started at Fulltron and moved to EAS due to scheduling issues (Fulltron was down to 1 plane and 1 instructor for a while).

Fulltron requires all PPL students to do spin training, some folks are uncomfortable with that, but I personally enjoyed it. I am really enjoying the structure EAS has and the folks over there, but they are a little more expensive.

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PM_YOUR_PUPPERS t1_jbq3zks wrote

Reply to Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

I did some hours through EAS right before the pandemic and I liked their setup. It's smallish, at the time they had 3 different fixed wing single engine you could rent out, didn't really have any issues getting booked and the planes seemed well cared for, no mechanical issues and my pre flight was never an issue.

I know it's a drive but I'd call them up, good group of dudes.

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robzilla71173 t1_jbq12bj wrote

Reply to comment by arcticmischief in Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

The guy that did their website when I was there wasn't really an employee, just a pilot who hung out at the hangar all the time and helped out with the site and youtube channel, so sometimes the links were hit or miss.

Here's more detail on the BBQ, looks like it's being put on partly by the local EAA. These are fun, they make some fine homemade ice cream for desert. https://www.fulltronaviation.com/eaa821/

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arcticmischief OP t1_jbpztiz wrote

Reply to comment by robzilla71173 in Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

OK, interesting--I had found a link to Fulltron earlier that was dead, so it must have been an erroneous link or a temporary DNS glitch or something. Glad to see they're an option, and thanks for the recommendation! (Will fix my post above in case anyone else stumbles across this in the future.)

And the BBQ sounds cool. Good opportunity to check them out!

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robzilla71173 t1_jbpza09 wrote

Reply to Flight school recommendation by arcticmischief

I'm in the same boat, went back a couple years ago after a similarly long hiatus and got close to my checkride, but had some health and financial issues that sabotaged it. I'm looking at going back this year.

I was flying out of Fulltron and I plan to go back there, really enjoyed the small school atmosphere and they were pretty nice and professional. Definitely a very pro general aviation vibe and the owner is an aerobatic pilot, so it's really fun to just talk flying with him. I think the instructor I had (Joseph) may have moved on, which is a shame because he was really good. Overall I was very happy with them and the training environment. I can confirm that they're still open at the downtown airport (saw them flying this morning) and according to their website, they're having a bbq on March 25. If you're interested in checking them out or even just meeting local pilots and CFI's that's a good way to do it, it's how I got to know them originally two years ago. It looks like they probably did buy out Springfield Flying Service, because the website now shows them as managing the whole airport. https://www.fulltronaviation.com/

Sky Adventures is unfortunately closed. I saw that someone had bought their fleet and was planning to keep the airplanes available as rentals.

Premier is still there and is obviously pretty top notch. I think most, if not all of Fulltron's instructors (along with Sky Adventures when they were open) were Premier grads. With them you get the advantage of getting used to the Class C environment. That being said, you can get a lot more landings per hour at smaller airports so it's just up to what someone prefers. I've seen the same advice about sticking to Part 61 schools if it's just a hobby.

Pro Flight is definitely out of business. I don't know much about EAS.

Anyway, I definitely recommend Fulltron. I had a good experience and I plan to go back this summer. If you want to check them out just give them a call or go by their bbq in a couple of weeks and I'm sure someone will give you a look around.

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