mark wrote:
"RapidRonnie" wrote in message
ups.com...
abripl wrote:
With your enthusiasm and past experience you should be able to pass
your private training.

The main issue is your health. Is it OK to pass the FAA medical. For
FAA medical standards see http://www.leftseat.com/FAAforms.htm

Also expect to pay about $6K for your training. The average training
flight time is more like 60 hours and not 40.
That's because most civilian flight training is an unorganized joke.
40 hours is more than enough in a structured program. How many hours do
you think Air Force UPT consists of?


You also realize that the Air Force has a selection process that only takes
a very small percentage of the applicant's. Out of that they are under no
obligation to help out those selected. If a student struggles for any
reason, the military just washes them out.

As a military flight instructor (and a former student) I have experience
on both sides of the classroom and cockpit and so I respectfully
disagree with the last statement of this paragraph. This is not to say
I completely disagree, the reality is in the middle. It depends on a
lot of things, but "struggles for any reason... just washes them out" is
far from true.

Military training has some unique advantages. It is condensed so
students have to "relearn" less on each flight. The threat of washing
out is a great motivator, although that stress is also an impediment to
learning.

Yes there are many areas where civilian flight training could be improved,
but to paint the whole industry as an unorganized joke is both inaccurate
and unfair.

I agree with this.

I think that both systems (civil and military) success depends more on
students than instructors. A good student will be successful in either
system, a good or bad instructor can make or break an OK student, and
finally a bad student will likely fail no matter what. No absolutes
though

I think you'll find differences in organizational culture (don't I sound
like a bean-counter) between different civil and between different
military schools. I also think you'll find some brilliant, some
mediocre, and many "in between" examples in both. Neither is perfect,
but we're talking apples and oranges.