What to ask a flight school before you sign

The acronym on the certificate isn't the whole story

ATO or DTO is the first question that comes up in any discussion about choosing a school, and rightly so — it's worth knowing which ULC oversight regime an organisation operates under, and whether its declaration or certificate is actually listed in the register. But for a PPL(A) candidate, that acronym settles exactly one thing: whether you'll be able to continue at the same place later toward a CPL, IR, or instructor ratings (that needs an ATO; a DTO's scope stops at basic licences and a defined set of class ratings). Beyond that, the licence at the end is identical, and the differences you'll actually feel during training — aircraft availability, continuity with an instructor, how costs are billed — have nothing to do with whether a school is an ATO or a DTO. We cover the full comparison of the two forms and their scope separately; here we assume you've already checked the legal status, and move on to the questions that actually decide whether a given school works for you.

How the money is actually structured

Don't ask "how much does this cost" — the answer is always "it depends." Ask about structure instead, because structure can be compared across schools even when the underlying numbers differ.

The first distinction is a wet hourly rate (fuel included) versus a dry rate (fuel billed separately, by consumption). Two schools can quote what looks like a similar base rate and end up with a very different real cost per hour aloft if one prices wet and the other dry — always ask which method a given school uses.

Second: if a school sells a "package to licence," ask for a breakdown of exactly what it includes. A common trap is a package priced on the Part-FCL minimum (45 hours), with no margin for repeated landings or the extra hours most students end up needing — every hour above the package is then billed separately, often at a different rate.

Third: landing and handling fees. Ask whether the hourly rate covers fees at the home aerodrome, and how billing works when flying takes place away from base — and for PPL(A) training it will, since cross-country flights landing away from base are part of the syllabus. Also ask about any fuel surcharge triggered by rising fuel prices, and whether the instructor's ground time — briefing and debrief — is included in the hourly rate.

Fourth, and often overlooked: what happens if you damage the aircraft. Ask directly about a deposit or an excess on damage — whether such a mechanism exists at all, what its upper limit is, and whether it's written into the agreement rather than just applied "as a matter of practice."

Fifth: what happens to prepaid, unused hours if you stop mid-course or the school suspends operations. You want a specific answer — a pro-rated refund, transfer to another person, an expiry date on the prepayment — not a general reassurance.

Finally, ask whether the price list is publicly available and how often it changes. A school with no trouble showing its price list usually has no trouble billing clearly during the course either.

Fleet and availability

The number of aircraft tells you less than the number of students per aircraft — a small fleet serving few students can offer better availability than a large one overloaded with enrolments. Ask for both figures, not just fleet size.

Also ask what happens when an aircraft goes in for maintenance or a repair — does the school have a backup of the same type, or do flights simply stop. This matters especially at single-aircraft aeroclubs and small DTOs.

Seasonality is another point: spring and summer are peak enrolment at most schools, and schedules get tight. Ask what availability looks like in season, and whether in practice you can book a flight a week ahead, or have to grab open slots as they appear.

Instructors

Ask how many instructors work at the school on a regular basis, and whether they're full-time or mostly weekend hobbyists. The number of instructors translates directly into how flexibly a weekday flying schedule can be arranged.

The key question, though, is different: will you fly with one assigned instructor for the whole course, or with whoever happens to be free that day. Continuity matters — an instructor who knows your weak points and pace teaches more effectively than a rotating cast repeating the same notes from scratch. If a school works on a rotational model, ask how progress notes are handed off between instructors.

The aerodrome you'll actually fly from

A controlled aerodrome means radio contact with a tower and learning to operate in organised airspace from your first flights — valuable experience, but also more procedure and sometimes a longer wait in the departure queue. An uncontrolled aerodrome gives more repetitions per hour of flying but less exposure to working with air traffic control. Neither is "better" on its own — ask which the school uses, and whether you'll also fly from the other type at some point.

Surface (grass or hard runway) and circuit traffic density also matter — a busy aerodrome means more waiting between flights. Ask about the distance to the training area (the farther you fly before the exercise starts, the more paid time goes into transit), how the school handles winter operations, and what airspace you'll actually be learning in — that shapes your habits long after you hold the licence.

Theory — who runs it, and what happens as the ULC clock runs down

Ask what form the school's theory preparation takes: an organised in-person course, online materials, or "work it out yourself and we'll enter you for the exam sessions." None of these is automatically wrong — but you need to know what you're signing up for before you pay for a package that assumes self-study.

This is a good place to recall how the ULC clock works: theory is 9 subjects, a 75% pass mark in each, and all of them must be passed within 18 months of your first attempt, with a maximum of 4 attempts per subject and 6 examination sessions overall. A completed theory pass stays valid for 24 months for the purposes of the skill test. So ask directly what the school does as that clock starts running down — does it track your attempt schedule with you, or is that entirely on you.

That naturally opens a third path: you can prepare theory on your own, at your own pace, using an app built on the ULC exam question bank — and engage the school only for what it does best, the flying. Plenty of students combine both: an app for theory between flights, the school for the practical side. We cover the full path to the licence separately, including how theory and flight hours actually interleave over time.

The skill test

Ask whether the school has a standing arrangement with a specific examiner, or whether you'll need to find one yourself — that difference can add weeks between your last training flight and the test. Also ask who covers the examiner's fee and the aircraft rental for the test, and how quickly it can realistically be scheduled once your instructor signs you off as ready.

The agreement and the paperwork

Before you sign, read the agreement for four things. First — cancellation terms: can you stop mid-course, with how much notice, and with what financial consequences. Second — the weather-cancellation policy: does a weathered-out flight simply get lost, roll over to another date at no extra cost, or count as an expected buffer already priced into the package. Third — the rules around a no-show on your part, including any fees.

Fourth — how training records are kept: does the school maintain a training file and logbook in a form you get to keep once the course ends (or if you switch schools mid-way), or does the paperwork stay solely in the organisation's archive. This matters at every step that follows — from the skill test to any further ratings down the line.

Red flags

A few signals worth pushing on, or worth taking as a reason to keep looking:

• The school avoids showing a price list or the agreement before you pay a deposit.
• No one can give a clear answer about what happens to prepaid hours if you stop.
• It's unclear whether the ATO/DTO status the school advertises is actually reflected in the current ULC register.
• Pressure to sign quickly or pay the full amount upfront before you've had even one introductory flight.
• No clear answer on a deposit or excess for aircraft damage.
• Very high instructor turnover, or reluctance to discuss who you'll actually be flying with.

What to ask on the phone before you book a visit

Before spending time travelling to a school and talking on site, a few questions are worth asking by phone or email first — they quickly filter out schools that won't be a fit:

• Can the status (ATO or DTO) and ULC register number be verified right now, and what is that number?
• How many aircraft are currently active for training, and how many students are enrolled?
• Can a flight be booked a week ahead during the summer season?
• Is the price list available to review before a first visit?
• Does a new student fly with one assigned instructor, or on rotation?

The printable checklist

The list below pulls every question from this guide into one place, in a form you can print and bring to the meeting, ticking off the answers as you go.