San Diego Flight Training International - San Diego, California

Jan Kosman

Now that I am done with SDFTI, there are several things I have to say……

BUYER BEWARE!! DON’T DO IT!!

First, I deeply regret not having red the reviews before starting my son’s flight training at SDFTI. The reviews are the only place you’re going to get the truth because Phil will say anything to get you to give him your money. I trusted him and I shouldn’t have. He makes promises, none on paper, that he can’t and has no intention on keeping.

What does it say about a Flight School that rarely has working equipment most notably broken down airplanes? We frequently had to wait for weeks before being able to schedule a training, stage check or check ride flight in the one or two planes that might or might not actually be airworthy. In the meantime, we were seen as a cash cow so my son was scheduled to repeat dozens and dozens of ground lessons and simulator trainings, I’m sure many of which were overkill and unnecessary.

The professionalism was notably absent from the top down with the exception of their FAA interface, Oliver and a couple other instructors. Over the years I watched as the only instructors with any semblance of self-respect and integrity collected Flight hours so they could get out of SDFTI as soon as possible. Some of the instructors were never held to a professional standard, not necessarily their fault, as they had a very poor example to follow. The instructors dressed better than their boss did, and having stayed in house during most of my son’s lessons, I overheard a lot of goofing around, abysmal language, and bad behavior and attitude coming from some instructors.

As I read a few other reviews, I thoroughly agree that Phil is only in it for the money. The office and “classroom” spaces are in no way impressive, clean or conducive to a learning environment. Many of the instructors are very obviously only there struggling and toughing it out merely to gain sufficient hours to move on to work for local airlines… I learned that often their paychecks are no good even if they do happen.

When my son’s flight instructor left to fly for Skywest, he was assigned a flight instructor who barely spoke English (what the heck? ) and so the Flight School wasted thousands of dollars of his instruction time and money because he couldn’t understand what she was saying. When I addressed it, Phil acted as if he was thoroughly unaware,…… Shocking. We should have been refunded the money they wasted from his account and it became obvious that was never gonna happen.

They continued to take money from his Flight account, and yet the funds were not applied where he was being charged. For instance, plenty of money was withdrawn to pay for the instructors and yet the instructors were not paid. I wish I had caught on to this long ago.

The final straw happened when we were about to take a two week family vacation and Phil demanded several thousand dollars be put in my son’s account before we left. I never should’ve trusted him, I never should’ve done it, because when we got back, that’s when we learned that instructors had not been paid for some time, They had refused to come to work until they could be paid…(good for them!) and that he was shutting down the Flight School, disabling further training. We were returning expecting my son to be scheduled for his final check ride for instrument rating. I made a plea to cash out his account so that we could get him finished with his instrument rating elsewhere and thus far have gone through biweekly promises to refund our money. Never happened It’s been more than four months so far and I feel as though Phil has essentially STOLEN thousands of dollars from us. I didn’t want to have to do this, but it looks like I may have to go to small claims court, and even then there’s no guarantee I will ever see all that money.

In summary, run as fast as you can from this Flight School. You will regret it if you don’t.

ابو حسوني

I was studying there. The treatment was very bad. They also stole my remaining money. The fraudulent school principal, whose name is Phil, did it.

Twix tree

The pros and cons of this school you must know before enrolling.

­Pros
- Flexible training environment
- Your money is made worth only if your instructor is Oliver
- In house examiner
- PSI testing center in the school

Cons
- Unprofessional training environment
- School is very disorganized
- Four barely airworthy C172 aircraft
- Not an accelerated school, contrary to what they claim.
- Refunds are extremely difficult to obtain if you decide to withdraw from school!

Before enrolling in this school, you may be quoted a course fee / timetable that entices you to enroll right away. SLOW DOWN, though! Remember that the remedy for impulsivity is “Not so fast, think first!” Consider your options carefully and read the evaluations left by previous students.

The school claims to be able to provide a Part 141 accelerated training program. This claim, however, is unrealistic. A 1:6 instructor-to-student ratio is not uncommon. Instructors here are frequently unmotivated and tired, and they merely instruct to meet the airlines' 1500-hour requirement. This is because they are constantly overworked. Instructors are usually frustrated of teaching since they must cope with a few overseas students who cannot read, speak, or write English well. To make matters worse, most instructors are frequently paid with rejected checks from management. As a result, instructors aim to milk students for flying hours as quickly as possible in order to leave for the airlines to end their misery at this school.

The primary educational tools used in this school are the Jeppesen training syllabus and reading materials. It is certainly a great book you should read. Keep in mind that you must guarantee that your instructor precisely follows the syllabus and not at his or her discretion. If you don't, you'll be repeating lessons all the time. Meaning more $$$.

Before taking your FAA checkride, you must pass three oral and flying stage checks. There is a long wait to take a check because there is only one examiner who can perform the evaluation.

When the three oral/flight stage checks are conducted, students will be greeted by a very strict examiner. When results are unsatisfactory, the examiner typically sends students back for further subpar remedial training before allowing them to retake the test. Your planned completion date will be delayed by an additional one to two weeks, depending upon the availability of resources to retake a stage check or checkride. While you wait, please keep your skills up to date by taking extra flying and ground lessons. That will be an extra $5000 please!

There are only four training planes, and only two of them are "suitable" for checkrides. All planes have subpar avionics. Remember that all of these planes must meet annual / 100 hours / and persistent wear and tear caused by excessive usage on a 4:20 ratio which means the planes are often grounded.

This school does not provide a conducive learning atmosphere for both students and instructors. And it is simply a means of extracting as much money as possible from you while putting in as many hours as possible for your instructor. As a result, there is a high turnover of students who are either stuck in stage checks or are simply tired of their games and opt to complete their training elsewhere.

For those who are interested in pursuing a career in aviation or flying as a hobby. I can't emphasize enough how important choosing your flight school is. Only when there is a solid training program in place, CFIs who are willing to teach, and adequate resources. You will then be guaranteed success and a more enjoyable flying experience. You should choose your Part 141 school wisely, because if you switch halfway to another Part 141 school, you will be penalized. Only 50% of your flight hours will be recognized on the other side. Therefore, If you value your time and money you should know what to do with this information provided.

Anthony Pinto

As a relatively fresh student with decades of fascination for the sky and multiple contacts within different flight academies, I must say this place is undoubtedly the best I've ever had contact with. The science of flying is cold, concrete, unforgiving, and objective.... the only difference between schools and experiences is WHO you learn from and their character. That said, Kathy at SDFTI earned my utmost respect and admiration. When it comes time for more training hours - this is the only place I'll go from here on out. Thank you. My appreciation goes far beyond the capabilities of any silly star rating.

Davin and Irene Bennett

I am a Seventh day Adventist Christian and also a medical Missionary in the Philippines since 2011 who decided to come to America to get my Pilot training (PPL and IR) to go back to the Philippines and volunteer as a Missionary pilot. I have searched through the whole America for 2yrs looking for a school that would change my status from tourist to a student and upon a visit to San Diego I google flight school near me and SDFTI was 18miles away and top of the list, to be honest I called in first and I spoke to the President who answered the phone ( the norm). The school caught my attention because of the word "International" I was not surprised at all with the outcome. I was scheduled for a meeting with the president in 5 mins of our phone call. I went in and guess what my status was changed, I was enrolled and I started my training in less than 1 month after that visit. I did read the reviews on google earth and I found it to be a LIE that this school is ripping off the foreign students. Of all the shool's I applied to this one was the cheapest. Since I have been studying here I have no regrets at all. The instructors do work as a team, they all function as one inspite of their individuality. I am originally from Jamaica and most of the staff and students have visited my country so it was so easy to get along with everyone there. They always have time to listen to your individual needs. My religion never gets in the way of others at all, the respect is seen and felt. We are a family, president is very very humble, flexible and downright caring if you ask me. I can hang out with the mechanic at the maintenance hanger anytime and always learn whats going on with our airplanes. The planes are not perfect but trust me they are in tip top shape 98% of the time and if anything goes wrong we always have our mechanic a call away. I love my school. I find no fault with this school, all my challenges is always on my part (financially, getting the hang of flying, etc) I look forward to finishing up my training as soon as possible and I will always remember my first day at this school. Its hard to be late when you always get a text and an email of EACH schedule class be it flight or grounds. This school is perfect for all those who value their lives enough to want a safe, family oriented learning environment. From finding housing to enrollment to finishing your training SDFTI is not a flight school for you, its a family of aviators that you have not met as yet but we are looking forward to meeting you. Come and join us

J S

I just got my private pilot license last weekend and I can’t say better things about this flight school. My instructor, Oliver is a wonderful teacher who is super kind and patient. The front office is also helpful and kind. Everyone here is a community and I felt very welcome transitioning here from Washington. There’s a ton of international students as well, who all have different perspectives on flying. Since there’s many students, there’s an opportunity to form study groups and learn from one another. Looking forward to instrument training at SDFTI!!

Elijah Shemar

On the 15th of April I got my PPL here, with 79hours under my belt. Now I'm off to the Philippines to volunteer as a missionary pilot for the rest of my earthly life. I'll miss the Sdfti family of aviators. God bless you guys and thank you again for your continuous improvement over the years.

beach wood

A WARNING TO ALL WHO ARE ENROLLING IN OR INTERESTED IN THE SCHOOL.

An honest assessment of the school by a former student. Prior to enrolling in this school, I read the previous reviews on Google and Yelp, but I disregarded all the warnings about the school's quality because I assumed that they had changed their ways over the years and that things were now better. Regrettably, I can now confirm that the majority of negative reviews continue to be accurate. The only thing that matters to Phil is money, and the only thing that matters to the instructors is accumulating hours so they can work for the airlines.

With Phil serving as the ringmaster and the instructors serving as his clowns. Be prepared for a journey designed to extract money from you by distracting you with circus games. They prey on international students because they can grant visas and expect them to be naive enough to participate in their games. Their most notable feature is that they have an in-house DPE who can conduct a check ride without requiring you to find an external DPE. This privilege is granted to a select number of schools, which is baffling given the poor quality of the aircraft and the way the school is managed.

This school lacks structure, resulting in frequent instructor churn. The simulator is garbage with old equipment and software.

Above all, THE AIRCRAFT ARE BARELY AIRWORTHY! SDFTI has a mechanic on staff at Montgomery Airport. However, they simply repair the plane to the point where it could fly for another week before breaking down again. The interiors and avionics of the planes are in disrepair, with seats falling apart and doors collapsing. Even though there are four planes, two of them frequently break down, so you must compete with other students to use the remaining planes. The silver lining of all of this is if you want to fly an aircraft outfitted with the latest technology from the 1960s, this is the place to be!

Many former or even current students can attest to the school's bad behaviour, and I could say a great deal more negative things about it. I wish the school would change its ways, but it is highly unlikely given that reviews from years ago are still accurate. If you still wish to fly with this school, I hope you'll now make an informed decision. As I wished someone had given me before attending the school.