Rainier Flight Service

I was a student there a few years ago, and my experience for most part was positive. I had a great instructor(Cory) who oddly previously we were colleagues at my employer. They have very knowledgeable check airmen, and eventhough I was failed twice for stage check, my ego wasn’t shattered to the point that I could say that he wasn’t fair in his decision to fail me, which I think, later on made me a better pilot. Although I’m im not training there anymore, I give them above average marks. My only negative opinion of the place was lack of availability of instructors and aircraft. You really had to plan ahead for getting instructor/flight time, and it was hard to keep the rust away. So, take that for what it’s worth. They have a wide range of different aircraft there. So if you’re in the market to rent, pretty good selection, it’s there, as long as it’s not one of the modern C-172s(G1000 or SP). But overall, nice, well run place.

Top notch aircraft and instructors (Personally recommend David). They helped me get my CFII training effectively and efficiently. Jim and Kevin worked with my schedule to accommodate me for my checkride and we’re attentive throughout the whole process. The facility, training equipment, and knowledge Rainier has assembled is guaranteed to make any student pilot successful.

Rainier has been a great place to start my aviation career. I started out as a student in 2018 and in 2019, came back as an instructor and it has been a great place to break into the aviation industry!

Didn't see any real good training. Bad organization and inexperienced instructors. Loose 4000 with them and didn't get any real knowledge!

Half way through I switched instructors because mine left for an airline (common) but did not get to pick my new instructor even though I was working w/my current 1 to transition smoothly. I was promptly told my new instructor was selected for a reason. The reason? He needed students, not necessarily because we were a good match. I paid for 2 flights to “demonstrate my skills” for this new instructor which was upwards of $400. Then started the cycle of getting recommended for a stage check, failing a stage check (which costs more to get evaluated), have more practice flights to then have to pay for the stage check again. I was constantly reminded I could not switch flight schools because I was training on the 162 and hardly any other school had that so to leave, I would have to start on a completely new aircraft.nI persevered but not without leaving at 77.9 hours, $19,000 later, not including ground school cost & membership fees.I chose the 162 because it was cheaper to rent by the hour than the 172. If I had trained on 172, I would be upper 20k, pushing 30k. I didn’t even get my PPL w/no end in sight!nIt’s the little things adding money, not just the repeated failures. I was often the first flight of the day but would have to wait 10-15 minutes to get my plane fueled up (which gets added onto paying for instructor ground time)nnI’ll be transparent. I, as a student was also working full time/going to school full time so I was balancing a lot. Flying 1-2 times a week, then upped it to 3 times a week once I continuously failed my stage checks. However, I whole-heartedly believe I was strung along, financially & in my training.nnI really thought my first instructor was amazing, he came with a plan, was flexible with scheduling, and had a teaching style that was solid. (I did stage 1 & 2 with him)nMy second instructor was perhaps more strict but very knowledgeable. He helped me get the numbers & maneuvers in standards without guesswork. I really thought getting recommended by him for my stage checks would leave me a strong student but all my failures were at the tail end( I did 3 & 4 with him). Towards the end, my poor instructor was overloaded w/ students you would have to schedule 3-4 weeks in advance (fingers crossed) to schedule a lesson or directly coordinate with him to shift his schedule. He worked from 8 am-6pm every work day back to back with students. The problem with that is that if I came across a failure then I would have to wait the time for a lesson, which I then would lose proficiency, to fly with my instructor, then get re-recommended. I often booked more than a month in advance on practice flights, just to be sure I could fly. I was at the flight school for over a year and it took tremendous amount of determination to not get discourage and throw in the towel with all the hurdles Rainier kept throwing at me.nnI purposely waited until I was out of the school to write this review because I was unsure if leaving it would place me in a bigger cycle Of being stuck and strung along for more money. I look at all the great reviews on Google and can’t help but think all these older men have DEEP pockets and ample amounts of free time. So if this is not you, I would recommend another flight school.nnI never did get scheduled for my FAA exam (even though I passed stage 4) and was told to keep coming in regularly to maintain proficiency. No timeline. So I decided to leave. What’s next for me? Switching flight schools to get trained on the 172. I expect I’ll leave with a certificate in hand having spent no more money than Rainier would have gotten if I would have stayed the additional 2,3,4 months? to stay proficient and test. Rainier simply does not care about their students and I’ve gotten to the point where the patience has ran dry with the cycle of being stuck and strung along for more money.nnI know this review is long and there is a chance that Ranier will comment to try to discredit my true experience but ask yourself this; I have nothing to gain or lose by sharing my story with you, is the same for Rainier?