What criteria should you use to evaluate the best school for you?

Once you have a list of flight schools that you want to consider going to, make a list of questions to ask. Your questions should include the following:

Track Record

Does the school have a reputation for producing well-qualified pilots? Where are their graduates now — are they working in airlines?

Aircraft

What kind of fleet do they have and are they enough to support their students? Does their fleet have advanced glass cockpit avionics or old conventional steam gauges? Are their aircraft equipped with life preservers, fire extinguishers, etc.?

Flight Instructor
How many flight instructors do you have and how many are full time vs. part time?
This is important because it will determine how available the instructors are. If most of the instructors are part-time, it means they have a full time job that will sometimes take precedence over your flight training. If your flight instructor is a part-timer, make sure your schedules mesh.

Maintenance
Is their maintenance provided by a reputable shop authorized to service the aircraft type on their fleet? There’s nothing more frustrating than showing up for a flight and then having to cancel due to a maintenance issue. Flight schools that have their own maintenance facility are good about keeping their airplanes in airworthy condition.

Safety Record
Have they had any fatal accidents or training incidents due to negligence or incompetence?

Credentials
Are their certificates current and appropriate for the training provided? Checkout this Training Certifications for pilots.

Ground School
Do you offer ground school classes? If not, how is flight classes handled?
Most of the learning you will do will be on the ground. The flying is for practicing maneuvers and to develop your muscle memory. Since many instructors are interested in building up flight time, they will leave most of the ground school up to you. The ideal setup is a school that offers their own ground school. If you can’t find one, invest in a good home-study program available online or in pilot stores

Integrity
Do they strictly follow civil aviation rules and regulations or do they take short-cuts, overlog, or skimp on quality?

Runways
Longer runways provide an extra safety net for student pilots in case of an emergency. How long are the runways and how many are close to the base of operations? How busy are the runways — do you have to wait a long time because of traffic? Do they have air traffic control, radar, instrument landing systems, etc.?

Location
How far is the school from the city, malls, the beach, international airport? Is it in a safe location with easy access to transportation?

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