What is the difference between a private flying school and college flying program?

All civil pilot training was once provided only by private schools--after the Second World War, civil pilot training took off as private flying school flourished under the guidance of ex-military pilots. In the 1970s, colleges and universities started getting involved by "creating" degree programs which somehow connected "professional flying" to "business education"—even today, most colleges and universities offer degrees or diplomas in "aviation business"—it takes very little imagination to know that skills and responsibilities of flying a large transport aircraft have little ressemblance working in the accounting or sales office of a large corportation. The pilot qualifications earned by students at private flying schools (flight tests and written examinations) are identical to those earned by graduates of a avaition business college or univesity program, and more pilots are recruited from private flying schools than from avation business programs (ATAC, Human Resource Study of Commercial Pilots in Canada, P. 41).

 

The key to success for private flying school graduates is that their training is focused purely on pilot skills and knowledge—they are not bogged down by classes in accounting, marketing, or business communication. While college degree programs in aviation business can take four years—consumed primarily by non-aviation related courses--private school graduates receive the identical pilot qualification in as little as six to eight months—primarily through the focus on flying and groundschool.

 

A major problem with aviation business programs is access to flying time. There is so much class time required for non-aviation courses, that there is little time for actual flight training. The average flying time of a professional pilot is approximately 1000 flying hours per year—an average of 3 hours per day. Aviation business students receiving a total of 200 hours flight training spread over four years and fly an average of 6 minutes per day. Private flying school students completing a six to eight month course fly an average one hour per day.

 

One of the oldest business avation programs in Canada is Seneca College in Ontario. It was found during a study of student success that approximately 70% of Seneca student pilots drop out of the program before completion—this is the problem with factory production: students fall through the cracks.

 

But the real cost of business aviation programs is astounding—the same pilot qualifications at the University College of the Fraser Valley cost as much as three times more than that of a private flying school ($90,000 for a Commercial Pilot Licence endorsed with a Group 1 (Multi-engine) Instrument Rating).

 

Link: Aviation Business Fees, UCFV.