I just want to say that this is in fact a legit business. I can't attest to any communication problems as I didn't attempt to call or email before booking my flight/class time. However, it was very simple to schedule an appointment via the website. There was only one date available, so I can see how that could be a problem for people with expiring Groupons who can't make the one available date. So far as I can tell, the whole business consists of just this one guy and his personal plane. He probably doesn't answer emails or phone calls because he is always flying. He says there is an average of about 30 people in the classes, and ours was a bit larger, so it looks like plenty of people are able to book their Groupons without a problem
Now for the actual experience. For the ground school, it turned out to be basically whatever he felt like talking about. The website says that it would cover what makes a plane fly, how pilots navigate, cockpit controls/instruments, how an airport works, what it takes to be a pilot, and more. This sounds like a very organized and thorough class. However, there is no structure whatsoever to the class. He did have a lot of time for questions, and since he does have extensive flight experience, he really knows what he's talking about. But there were no handouts or paperwork and no logical flow to the topics he was discussing. He covered how airports work and what it takes to be a pilot and somewhat touched on how pilots navigate. He said nothing about what makes a plane fly, but he did spend a fair amount of time on the current state of the piloting industry and the expected future of piloting jobs. The cockpit controls were explained by his 17-year-old friend as he sat in the plane pointing to the instruments. If you weren't standing right next to him, you had no idea what he was talking about or what he was pointing to. He was quite knowledgeable and knows his stuff, but again, no organization to the explanation. He also had everyone take turns sitting in the plane to look at all the controls and allowed ample time for people to ask questions about the different parts of the plane.
The flights are scheduled in groups of two. One person has the controls for half the flying time, you land, switch seats, and the second person has the controls for the second half of the flying time. This is how you get one hour of flying time and 30 minutes of you at the controls as stipulated in the Groupon description. There is not much of a method to the teaching aspect here either. If you take more initiative, you will do more with the controls. He doesn't outright have you do much other than turn a little bit. There is not much encourgement or instruction while flying unless you ask questions.
All in all, I would say it was a decent enough experience, and the flying was pretty cool. If you're looking to see if flying is something that might interest you, then this class is worth the Groupon price for someone to answer any questions you have and to get some flying time. If you're serious about learning to fly, I would look elsewhere. read more
