I called Barbers Point Flight School a few months back to set up training to become a pilot--the owner never returned my call as he said he would, so I decided to use another school at HNL to get my cert.
Fast forward to this week, I decided to give it another go, this time as a renter--as I have come to the epic realization that I could potentially save .2 hours off each flight by flying out of Kalaeloa Airport vs HNL.
I wrote to through email, and was set up with one of their instructors to do a checkout flight, which is understandable due to insurance, etc. The Cessna 150 didn't seem to be in bad shape. I didn't get a chance to see the 172 due to maintenance.
After an uneventful checkout flight, I paid and left. Once I returned home, I scheduled my first solo flight via email because they do not allow access to Flight Schedule Pro, which I found odd, as every FBO/school I've encountered in the past give their customers rights to the schedule on FSP. It just takes all the hassle out of it. Oh well, I was excited at this point adjust the prospect of saving some money by flying out of JRF/PHJR instead of HNL.
Now this is where my experience started to go south. I showed up to the airport and wanted to confirm where the keys to the aircraft were stored. I could've figured it out on my own, but being the cautious new aviator that I am, not wanting to screw anything up, I called the number on the wall just to ask and make sure, since my checkout flight was done a week prior. A man identifying himself as "the owner" answered, sounding annoyed that I would dare to dial him with a question about his aircraft.
He then demanded to know whether I was checked out, at first I thought he meant checked out on FSP, which is a computer dispatch, but then I realized that he was actually referring to my flight with the instructor, to which I replied affirmative. He then questioned whether I had a logbook endorsement from the instructor, which confused me because I wasn't aware of any special endorsements needed of a certificated pilot in class and category to fly a Cessna 150. He then went on a rant, giving me a lesson about how he has 10,000 hours in all kinds of equipment, etc. So after pacifying him by telling him that I'm not trying to get into a pissing match with him over qualifications, he then goes on to clarify that his insurance company needs it to keep his rates low, which I get, but perhaps this could've been laid out up front, maybe even posted on the website under "rental requirements' to eliminate any ambiguity. Additionally, I would prefer not being talked to like his young son, even if I am a relatively new pilot.
Now if I was told all this beforehand during the paperwork shuffle we had during the checkout, I could've worked something out with him, but this phone tirade, plus the promise to call me back once everything got sorted out with his instructor (which by the way took 2 hours, I initially decided to just wait on the lanai of the flight school, but left after an hour of no call yet) after cemented my decision to stick with the school I learned to fly at in HNL for rentals. read more