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Anyone have info on PIC aviation services


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36 minutes ago, Dream to fly said:

Looking to speed up my IFR training.  This getting stuck because of clouds is really getting old.  PIC Aviation Services was mentioned here at my FBO.  Anyone have any good or bad on their training program?

Depends on your learning capability and experience. If you are comfortable with handling the plane, have a good understanding of performance numbers, it should work for you. The PIC program is intensive. You eat, sleep and dream IFR for 10 days. People I know who have gone through it, have either loved it or hated it. Some of the haters were because of the personality clash with the PIC instructor (some people just don't respond well to being yelled at :) ) and others found their learning capability was just not at the level it needed to be to take full advantage of it. Those that loved it are the ones who have a good comfort level with their plane, have understanding of the electronics and performance and may even have some hood time already done.

I seem to recall they want you to have the written done and you need to block off the 10 days to be dedicated to the process. Find out who the PIC would be for you and ask questions.

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I used PIC about 8  years or so ago for an instrument refresher course, two days they came to my home field, they sent a Mooney G1000 specific program pilot, it was a great refresher I believe it depends on the instructor you get, I wouldn't do it again mainly due to the chance the personalities don't mesh, my guy was ok, kind of expensive, although it met my objectives for getting comfortable in hard IFR.

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I used something similar yet different...

I went American Flyers.  Their 10 day program is intense. But, when I ran out of time around day 8... it wasn’t a problem to come back the next weekend to finish...

They are a full scale school that can work around your schedule.  And, they are well prepared to do a 10 day cram session....

Looking backwards, it probably would have been better to use my own plane, and spread the pain over a couple more weekends...

Holy cow, that’s a lot of info and procedures to have memorized perfectly....

Best regards,

-a-

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Good topic.  I'm also very interested in learning more about PIC vs American Flyers as an intensive IFR "finish up" option- maybe a 3-4 day long weekend, not the full 10 day course.  I'll never find that block of time. Since my training is going pretty well right now, I'm in no rush to change what I'm doing. I've accumulated ~16 hrs time in my plane with a Mooney-qualified CFII and have met most of the requirements, besides the 40 hrs.  Doing some training up front this way seems good for becoming proficient with power/configuration idiosyncrasies and instrumentation in one's own plane. However, I could see getting bogged down toward the end and benefiting from an immersive approach for the final checkride prep rather than continuing to work on it a couple hours here and there.  

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Dev,

A Really easy visit to KMMU (Morristown, NJ) for AF...  set up a discussion, probably spend an hour there....

There is a fair amount to see and try out...  they are heavy on the flight sim aspect.  Since the IR is so much communication, and procedure following,  best to get this stuff underway in the sim first, then bring it out to the plane...

See if you can speak with a CFII or two while there...

I was surprised with their level of documentation... every class, every achievement, every learning moment, documented...  this allows you the freedom to use another CFII, when your schedule changes abruptly....

I haven’t been there in a few years, so these details may be a bit stale... I got the IR then the O, the next month... I trained pretty heavily over the holiday week at the end of the year.... busy schedules, crummy winter weather, and cramming knowledge...  no issues (related to the school)

Best regards,

-a-

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If you do go with PIC make sure that you are prepared to give the program your undivided attention.  I took the course about 20 years ago with an instructor that came to my home, but I was trying to run a business part time while training full time.  It didn't work out for me.  I ended up going to an excellent 10 day IFR training school in Kansas (GATTS) that forced me to stop thinking about the business and pay attention to the training.  It was the best flight training I ever had.

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I used PIC to get my rating 30 yrs ago so they have been arround.My instructor was an ex Sac pilot and we did the training in 10 days ...I needed an extra day because I failed the first check ride do mainly due to fatigue and personnel relationships stress in my life at the time...( breakup with girlfriend).Its good ,if you can be totally committed..

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