Letters to the School

Email from Mark Sandorf
April, 2013

Dear IFR -- Dwight was my tail wheel instructor, as well as my twin rating and commercial rating instructor. He was my mentor in the Super Cub, and we flew together all the way through to aerobatic competition in the Extra 300L. To say that he is an excellent pilot, teacher and most importantly, friend, is and understatement. Calm, cool, professional, and very experienced, you cannot find a better choice for your training, or a more genuine individual to call friend !

Mark Sandorf

Letter from Brett Sailsbery
September 27, 2011

Mark,

Just wanted to drop you a note to say thanks for the help and great instruction a couple weeks ago. You really have a professional operation going there. I am back in South Dakota and have been flying my tail off. I included a couple pictures for you and the guys...

I have been in search of a good S or V-model Bonanza over the last couple weeks. I have also been looking at Turbo Arrows. I've found a few that are worth the money....most are overpriced, as expected. Do you have any suggestions on whether a Bonanza or Arrow would be a better fit? Arrows are a bit more economical from what I have researched.

Hope all is well in Austin. Happy flying!

"Steak"
Brett Sailsbery
B-1 Pilot
Ellsworth AFB South Dakota

July 14, 2011

Hi Mark,

Wow…hurts to lose one out of the fleet but thank heavens (and a strong airplane) that everyone survived with only bruises. I used to live right at the base of Pioneer Peak.

I’ve put 500 hours on my Husky, including trips down to the Caribbean and of course many hours in the Arctic. Your instruction gave me a solid base to begin my education – although it’s sobering to realize, even after three years of flying one, how much there is left to learn. Perhaps that is the enduring allure of aviation – it never grows old.

Say hi to Dwight!

Best Wishes,

Mark Helmericks

N365AK

Letter received by Mark R. Richard, 
Richard Oil Company Oil and Gas Operators, Kansas
(before beginning training program)

May 16, 1994 

IFR Flight Training School
Aviat Austin Aero, Hanger Two
Robert Mueller Airport
1901 East 51st Street
Austin, TX 78723

Dear Mark,

My wife Terri just got back from Austin last week, where she was able to rent us a Townhouse on the far North end of Austin. It is actually in the Round Rock school district, so out children will go to Round Rock School, which we were trying for. We have decided to rent for up to a year to give us time to know the area and where we might want to buy a home. I appreciate you sending me the information on the listing that you found in Round Rock.

I am certainly looking forward to getting started with my training and it appears at this time that we will be in Austin the 1st week of June. As soon as we get settled I'll give you a call and coordinate when to come in and get started. Since I was down in Austin I have been flying approximately 2-3 hours a week mostly all of which are cross country hours. I have also been working a little on IFR procedures with my local instructor here in Chanute. Those instructional hours probable only total approximately five. I have however read the whole Jeppesen IFR Training Manual and am currently going over it and reading it a second time.

Let me briefly go over the facts for your information on why I chose your flight training school over the other four that I have visited. All of the other training schools without exception use flight instructors that were on an average of 25 years old. Several of these instructors whom I talked with were not as knowledgeable in certain areas as I am and this is a major concern of mine. They did however state that stage checks would be performed by Senior Instructors, however the major part of the instruction would be handled by one of these young instructors. After spending a few days with you and Brett I came away with a very secure feeling that I would receive far better training than any of these other schools. All of the other schools stressed a hurry up and get through with the training type of atmosphere and a lack of attention for quality training. Several of the graduate instructors at Flight Safety in Florida had never flown out of their immediate area of the United States. I feel like after going through your training that I will be equipped to fly anywhere in the United States that I choose to. I was also very impressed with the amount of time that you personally spent with me and all of your follow up work. Many of these other schools I never heard back from and the only way that I could get questions answered, were to initiate the contact myself. I'm sure you have in the past and I encourage you to in the future to handle your other perspective students similar to the way you handled myself. Yourself and Brett Mercer and the city of Austin as a home and training location vastly outclassed the other schools that I visited in trying to choose a quality flight training center.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Richard

October 4, 1996

IFR Flight Training School
Aviat Austin Aero, Hanger Two
Robert Mueller Airport
1901 East 51st Street
Austin, TX 78723

Dear Mark,

I would like to take this opportunity to express to you my thoughts about the excellent program you have developed at IFR Flight Training School. My expectations and needs were fully met by you and all of your excellent staff instructors who I had the opportunity to work with.

Prior to attending your school, I visited three of the nation's most renowned flight training schools as well as all of the schools in the Austin area. I had made the decision to change careers and wanted to get the best training I could and to pursue it as quickly as my abilities allowed. I visited at length with instructors of the schools and toured their facilities. I spent three days at a popular Florida flight school and quickly concluded that if I attended their training program that I would become just another number.

After seeing for myself the different programs and comparing them to IFR, there was no doubt in my mind which program would enable me to be the best pilot I could be. I felt like you and your school would be able to get me further and faster to my goal of becoming a professional pilot. I met no one better qualified or with higher standards than yourself for preparing a person for a rating or career. I was especially impressed with your aviation contacts and the personal attention you give all of your students throughout their aviation programs.

I was right! After receiving my Learjet training in Dallas I was very pleased that I had taking the extra time working on my ratings at your school instead of the rushed programs that your competitors were trying to sell me. You were so right when you told me that anyone could get a rating, but when it was time for an interview or being faced with some sort of challenge, many people fall short due to poor initial training. My instructors at SimuFlight commended me on my instrument skills while flying the simulator in adverse situations. I attribute this directly to you Mark and to my training I received at IFR Flight Training School with your constant guidance.

I would also like to thank you for spending the extra time with my family and me to help us get settled in Austin. It is always hard to make a move but thanks to your introductions to local doctors, dentists and friends we very quickly felt at home here in Austin. Your friendship has meant a great deal to us.

I would also like to thank you for spending the extra time with my family and me to help us get settled in Austin. It is always hard to make a move but thanks to your introductions to local doctors, dentists and friends we very quickly felt at home here in Austin. Your friendship has meant a great deal to us.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Richard

Letter from Phil Auldridge 
BENCHMARK Flight Center, Hawaii

Mark Wilson
IFR Flight Training School
P.O. Box 2006
Round Rock, TX 78680

Dear Mark: Thanks for taking your afternoon to show me and my wife around your facility. I got some great ideas and inspiration from our conversation, and have already incorporated a few of the maneuvers you discussed in our training syllabus.

I've enclosed a copy of our instrument training syllabus in hopes that it might prove of some use to you. When your new syllabus is completed, if appropriate, we would appreciate the opportunity to review it.

Best wishes for a prosperous year.

Sincerely,

Phil Auldridge
President

Timothy F. Snipples
Advisory Technical Marketing Specialist
IBM Network Computing Software
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

May 18, 1998

Ron Weber
IFR Flight Training
Austin Executive Airpark
811 West Howard Lane
Austin, TX 78753

Dear Ron:

Thanks again for helping me finish and obtain my instrument rating during my stay in Austin. I was able to put the new rating to good use in my trip back to Chicago this past weekend when there was an overcast layer hanging over Austin throughout the morning.

I appreciated your flexibility in scheduling and your ability to develop a custom lesson plan. You also provided good feedback throughout the training on what I did well and what I could practice more. I found these comments not overly critical or judgemental, but genuinely helpful.

Dwight also did a good job in preparing me for the checkride, particularly for the oral examination.

Again, thank you for your help.

Regards,

Timothy F. Snipples

Mark Wilson
IFR Flight Training School
PO BOX 2006
Round Rock, TX 78660

Dear Mark,

I just wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed working with you and your crew in getting my certificate.

In particular I want to say that Mark Richard is a real asset for your school. His calm and gentle teaching style reflects well on the philosophy of IFR Flight Training School. His excellent grasp of the entire teaching process is very much appreciated by those of us trying to learn how to live in the air. The constant and consistent emphasis on safety in all aspects of flying will serve me well in the future.

The thoroughness of the training and the attitude of all at IFR made the actual checkride seem almost easy and that is certainly the way that it should be.

I hope that I will be able to continue on with an instrument certificate and you can be assured that IFR will be the school of choice for this.

I would also like to thank you for spending the extra time with my family and me to help us get settled in Austin. It is always hard to make a move but thanks to your introductions to local doctors, dentists and friends we very quickly felt at home here in Austin. Your friendship has meant a great deal to us.

Yours truly,

Andrew Galewsky

Letter from Robert W. Eli,
Texas Crushed Stone Company,
Georgetown, Texas

October 31, 1994

Thank you for helping me get my BFR. I enjoyed flying with Mark Richard, he helped me a lot.

Hopefully, I can arrange to fly with him in out 201 and get some training again in that model.

Thanks again,

Robert W. Eli

Mark,

I just wanted to let you know that I passed my instrument rating checkride on March 12th. The ride went pretty well, despite it being a turbulent, windy day.

I found our simulator sessions to be both fun and very helpful in mastering the basics of instrument flight. Thank you very much for your assistance to me in getting this rating. I'm sure I'll be back from time to time for proficiency training.

Sincerely,

Jim Howard

Leander, Texas

Letter from Melinda A. Walton,
Austin Chapter 99's

February 23, 1993

Dear Mark Wilson,

The Austin 99's would like to thank you for the use of IFR Flight Training's ATC 610 flight simulator. Our presentation, "She's a Pilot?!" at the Math & Science Network's Expanding your horizon program was a success. We presented three one hour sessions to nearly 50 young girls. The girls grade 6 through 9, all enjoyed flying the simulators. We even had a repeat participant from last year's presentation.

Your generosity means a lot to the 99's and to the young girls. Thanks again for the use of the simulator.

Sincerely,

Melinda A. Walton
Chairperson
Austin Chapter 99's

Letter from Cole Reed

August 15, 2005

Dear IFR,

I am writing with a minor complaint.

I contacted IFR several weeks ago to discuss flight-training. I explained that my goal was to eventually complete Airline Transport Pilot certification to enable me to change careers and work as a pilot for scheduled airlines.

I visited your facility and met with a member of your staff. We reviewed the instruction philosophy at IFR and discussed how much time I would be able to devote to study and practice. I left that meeting feeling significantly more informed though I must admit, I was caught off-guard by your pricing.

I've visited several flight schools in central Texas, comparing staff, facilities, resources, and curriculum, and naturally comparing prices as well. I've even spoken with college-based aviation program directors who's first comment about IFR is that you offer an amazing instruction program, but their second comment is that such an extensive program is inherently expensive.

I met a second time with one of your instructors and I made it clear that I am not looking for a hobby, or a sport, I am looking for a career in aviation. During this meeting your staff demonstrated a simple example of how many other schools quote minimum prices for minimum qualifications as a pilot. They explained that many other programs target FAA certification as a goal, and that those minimum standards lend themselves to their minimum prices. Your instructor showed me the standards of training required by the FAA and then showed me the far more stringent standards of your school's curriculum.

This was a particularly impressive demonstration of the differences between IFR and the other schools that I had spoken with. I had not disclosed my personal objective with regard to training standards. Being a "satisfactory pilot" or passing the FAA certification exams is of no interest to me what-so-ever. I am looking for a level of instruction which will make me an excellent aviator. I differentiate the two in my mind by thinking that nearly anyone can be taught to "pilot" an aircraft when everything is going right, even a machine can do it (autopilot) but being able to safely handle an aircraft when things are not going well requires the skill of an "aviator", and that is what I am looking for; the skills that lead to the confidence of knowing that I will be able to perform with excellence, not merely adequacy. So again, I was impressed but still apprehensive about your prices.

I read several articles about choosing a flight school, few mentioned price at all and those that did, said to take price into consideration but not use it as a primary deciding factor. The Airline Pilots Association recommends focusing on the curriculum exclusively and leave price and location completely out of the criteria. The Airplane Owners and Pilots Association emphasizes curriculum and instructor qualifications. While I was beginning to understand you unapologetic pricing, I was still concerned with how much higher it was when compared to other schools.

I spoke with independent lending sources and the pricing differential became clear when they asked if I was looking for recreational training or professional training. It occurred to me that in the past, having an applicant tell me that they had received the least expensive training would not have been a motivator for me to hire them; but seeing them demonstrate exemplary training rather than merely sufficient training would definitely have made them far more likely to be employed by me. That is what I want to show my prospective employers and clients.

My concerns about price were eliminated when I expressed them to the lender and they simply said that they routinely approve very comparable amounts for students of professional flight academy's all over the country. To have an independent third party tell me this was very persuasive and comforting to be honest.

My complaint is simply this...you leave me no choice. There are no options other than IFR. Comparing schools, staff, and curriculum, I was unable to find any other school which met my criteria for training to become a professional aviator. I like to have choices, but in this case there are none. Your school is the only one that meets my needs. I mentioned that it was a MINOR complaint.

I look forward to being a student at IFR, and to eventually being an IFR Graduate. More-so, I look forward to the training which will allow me to feel that my life, my family, and my passengers are as safe as they can be. With the age-old advice that "You get what you pay for" echoing in my mind, I cannot be confident in the level of training provided by the other schools that I have interviewed; especially having compared the training curriculum of the various schools.

Please thank your staff for meeting with me, and convey my very specific gratitude that none of your representatives ever tried to "sell me." Your team provided me with clear and concise information which was easy for me to understand and compare. And with flight schools on practically every corner, offering training that will get me a license, it was refreshing to see a school like IFR which offers career training in which FAA Licensure is merely a step along the way, and not the objective.

My financing for training is in process right now, and I'll see you in the cockpit soon.

Looking forward to my wings,

Cole Reed

Letter from Mark F. Sandorf

May 2011

I have been a pilot since 1983, and did all of my advanced training at only one school, Mark Wilson's IFR Flight Training School. They are located at the Georgetown airport. I met Mark back in the early 1990's. He was an Army aviator, and the most professional flight instructor I had ever met. After spending my first hour with Mark, I knew that his school would give me the best training for the money, and that the first time I went charging off into bad weather, by myself, I would truly be prepared for it. Since that time I have "upgraded" my license from private to commercial, and added multi engine, and sea plane ratings over the years, as well as extensive aerobatic and tailwheel training. I have owned everything from rag and tube Super Cubs to Unlimited class aerobatic airplanes, and the world's fastest piston twin, so I feel qualified to tell you a few things about flying. First, it's expensive. No two ways around it. Whether you want to fly for a living, travel for business, or just fly for fun, you are going to have to love it or you won't finish, because it will take some serious money to get to the point that you have enough hours to be a safe pilot. Second, flying is dangerous if you are not properly prepared, and trained, and your equipment must match the mission profile. To skimp on any of those three is to invite disaster. That's where Mark comes in. He isn't the cheapest out there, but he is the best. He is thorough. He is detail oriented, and all of his instructors are highly skilled professional pilots with tens of thousands of hours, not kids trying to build enough time to get a "real job" flying somewhere else. They charge more per hour, but you get way more, and in the end I think it ends up costing less because you get the benefit of all those years of flying experience. Let me tell you, the first time you are in a bad situation, and your training saves your bacon, you will understand what I am saying. I can think of three situations in particular, that I have been in that I can honestly say that, had my skills not been absolutely sharp, and my training been absolutely top notch, I would not be here today.

Anyway, I'll get down off my soapbox and stop preaching now. If you're serious about flying, be serious about your training, give Mark a call, and go meet him at the school. You'll be glad you did...

Blue Skies !

Mark F. Sandorf