Ground Schooling

Training Craft

The training aircraft is where you practice in the air what you've learned on the ground. High wing or low, it doesn't make much difference. What's important is how well the airplane is equipped and maintained. It's also important that the school's trainers are dedicated to training and not to rental.
How many trainers a school has depends on the number of active students. Generally speaking, one trainer serves four or five full-time students. This ratio may be higher with part-time students. Another consideration is the fleet's mix of primary, advanced, and multiengine trainers.
Because trainers are flown often and sometimes hard, how a school maintains its training fleet is important for both safety and scheduling. Asking questions about maintenance policies and procedures should be part of every school interview.

Flying Instructors

A good flight instructor is important because your life will be in his hands and will depend in the future on what he or she teaches you. Don't hesitate to ask questions about the training and experience of the flight instructors. You might ask what the average flight hours are for licence and what the pass/fail rate is among the instructors. (A pass rate of 100 percent doesn't indicate good instruction.) You might also talk to some of the other students at the school to ask about their flight instructors.
Your primary instructor should be at least a certificated flight instructor (CFI). Ensure that your instrument instructor has an instrument instructor rating (CFII). Instrument training received from a non-rated instructor can cause problems when it comes to meeting FAA requirements.
A good way to get acquainted with your instructor is to take an introductory lesson (not just a demonstration ride). During your lesson, assess your instructor's attitude. Only you can determine what personality best fits yours, but you want an instructor who expects perfection, who will work with you until it's achieved, and who cares about you as a person as well as a student.

Costs

Learning to fly is expensive. But remember, you're investing in your education, in skills that will open new worlds and opportunities. Flying is an activity of purpose, productivity, and pleasure. It's also a never-ending learning process and as with all education, your initial training provides the foundation.
Looking at the bottom line, you'll notice that, adjusting for location and differences in training programs, schools more or less charge about the same. Only you can determine if what you get for your money is fair. As with any other major purchase, if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. It may be worth considering training in a foreign country or another state as there is considerable variance in pricing, accommodation & living expenses. If training locally consider the cost of drive time to the airfield.
You may also consider the experience of the CFI. Some have less then a thousand hours & some many thousands. Some are willing to teach you full auto's to the ground & some won't. Some high time CFI's can command & get considerably higher fee's.
When comparing costs, make sure you're comparing "apples with apples." Some schools base their prices on the FAA minimum-time requirements, such as 40 hours for a private certificate. Others base their prices on a more realistic figure that's the average of what their students accomplish. Some include books and supplies, ground school, flight testing, and FAA written examination fees. Others don't. In other words, read the fine print, and ensure you're making a comparison of equals! You can easily pay $700
Because most schools require partial or full payment before training begins, financing your flight training, especially if you are in a professional pilot program, will be your greatest challenge. Some schools offer financing, and most have financing and loan information. AOPA, for example, offers its Flight Funds loan program to its qualified members. Schools also offer "block time" prices if you pay for a certain amount of training, or flight time, in advance, which can often offer substantial savings.
Some schools guarantee their training - that you'll earn your certificate for a fixed price no matter how long it takes. Read the fine print carefully, because many of these guarantees expire after so many flight hours. If you haven't achieved your goal in this time, the school will still train you, but you'll have to pay for the training that takes place above the guarantee's ceiling.
Also inquire about refunds. Most schools require that you pay for part or all of your training in advance, which prevents you from training and running before the bills are paid. But if you must stop training for some reason, you should know if and how much of your money will be refunded.
Unless your instructor's fees are part of a "package price" program, know how you are charged for his or her educational services, and how much you're charged for aircraft rental. Aircraft rental and the instructor time are usually charged by the Hobbs meter, which is a timing device activated by oil pressure. If the engine is running, so is the meter. Even if you're sitting on the ground, you're still charged for it.
Also learn if the instructor is paid for pre- and post-flight briefings in addition to flight time. These are crucial parts of every lesson, and if the instructor is not paid for them, you may get abbreviated briefings before you start the engine, and then get the rest of the briefing while the engine and the meter are running.
You will probably do most of your training in a R22 but some prefer Bell 47 or Schweizer if manual hand throttle rpm training is required . R44 and turbine licence add ons may also need to be considered in the cost/training/convenience equation.

The Final Choice

What flight school you ultimately choose depends on the quality training you desire in a method convenient to your schedule. In earning your private pilot's certificate, you will have achieved a "license" to learn. Aviation is an ever-changing activity, and good pilots are always learning.
Perhaps the final deciding factor between several schools that are running in a dead heat is personality. Like people, schools have personalities. Some are deadly serious, while others are more familial in nature. Only you can select the one that matches your personality. But above all else select one who really know's & lives his stuff. Which CFI would you choose as your pilot if the aircraft got into a really hairy situation? Maybe he's your man.

Checklist for Choosing Flight School