What can a prospective student do to protect themselves financially when committing to a flight school?
More Information
Many reasons why you should conduct your flight training with Harv’s Air Pilot Training.
Weather for flying is excellent. On average we have 330-320 visual flying days a year.
With the addition 172 S C-GJOX to our fleet I could not help but marvel at how the 172 has...
Manitoba does NOT have HST! Manitoba does NOT have the fees and burdens of the “Private Career Colleges Act”! Save...
Taildragger and Aerobatic online checkout course Free to all potential and existing students. Go here and email adam@harvsair.com for the...
Find out more about student loans and if you’re eligible.
Harv’s Air welcomes students from around the world. It’s an honor and privilege to have students travel to our school from abroad.
Our student apartments and houses offer comfortable home-style living close to Harv’s Air. Fully furnished, they give the feel of a home-away-from-home.
Read more about income tax procedures for Canada.
Renew your Instrument Rating on a flight simulator! Are your instrument flying skills getting rusty? Is your rating expired? We...
See a direct comparison between the Recreational Permit and Private Pilot licence.
Rates and quotes for flight training. Buyer-beware! Our flying rates include fuel, headset, insurance and oil. The rate includes what...
Listen into Air Traffic Control for our favorite airports! Excellent for getting used to ATC phraseology and procedures. Steinbach South...
See a chart showing the average path for a professional pilot
Read some more about how to pay for the courses at Harv’s Air.
Learning to fly requires some theoretical material taught on the ground. We call it ground school. We offer 2 ways...
Check out courses for the 152, 172, 7ECA, Multi, Warrior, and Diamond DA40 are free to all customers and potential...
Harv’s Air desires to be a good neighbor and uses the following procedures. Circuit procedures: take off and landing practice...
Our combined multi-engine rating and instrument rating course allows you to get your rating with the greatest cost efficiency.
How do I get to your flight school?
Read out FAQ about getting your license.
Find out more about the Joint Aviation Authority of Europe and what you’ll need to know to study at Harv’s Air.
What is the procedure to convert my licence to a Canadian licence?
There’s never been a better time for international students to fly with Harv’s Air.
Harv’s Air is please to announce our new Integrated Pilot Courses! Commercial Pilot Commercial Pilot with Multi Instrument Frozen Airline...
More information about Instrument ratings and the respective groups.
Instrument Rating Training in the 21st century For a while now we’ve been working on renewing our instrument rating course....
How do I start? What’s the procedure?
Holiday Hours 2012 January 1 Closed Good Friday Closed Easter Sunday Closed Victoria Day Open 8:00-5:00 Holiday Rates Apply Canada...
What can a prospective student do to protect themselves financially when committing to a flight school?
The last few years have seen Harv’s Air grow at an amazing rate. Since our expansion to St Andrews (Winnipeg)...
Flight Tests and Standards. In 2010 our school completed approximately 450 flight tests. I would have done at least 150...
What are the factors that help you choose a flight school? Are you considering all the facts?
Some essential rules to keep in mind when flying at Harv’s Air.
Find the answers to your most common questions about learning to fly at Harv’s Air.
This is the process to convert an FAA pilot licence to a Transport Canada licence. If you don’t have an...
Our 2005 Diamond’s DA40 is a low-wing 4-seat composite airplane that is suitable for everything from primary flight training to...
In this page we will try to guide you through the maze of information that is available to best get you a JAA pilots licence.
Announcing: Red Bird Flight Training Device What: Red Bird FMX Full motion flight training device. This is the first flight...
We take pride in our airplanes and are constantly working to keep the fleet up to date and in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition.
View a spreadsheet of our rates. All rates are wet (with fuel), insurance, headsets and in Canadian dollars.
Harv’s Air Service is a family owned and operated air service with two locations, Steinbach and St. Andrews.
What is it like to a fulltime student?
Now that we have “new and improved” internet access at CYAV, we are excited to bring back the Online Booking...
Locations
Steinbach:
Steinbach South Airport
Box 1056
Steinbach MB R5G 1M8
CANADA
Phone: +1 (204) 326 2434
Toll-free: 800 HARV AIR
Fax: +1 (204) 326 4182
email: info@harvsair.com
Steinbach.HarvsAir.com
St. Andrews (Winnipeg):
St. Andrews Airport
601 Club Road, Unit 100
St. Andrews, Manitoba R1A 3P6
CANADA
Phone: +1 (204) 339 6186
Toll-free: 800 HARV AIR
Fax: +1 (204) 339 6289
email: StAndrews.HarvsAir.com
Flying School Financial Stability
Over the years I have very much appreciated the confidence that our customers have placed in us. Confidence that has some sending us thousands of dollars before they have even met us or seen our operation. In the case of some foreign applicants this is a requirement conditional to the granting of a visa to come and study in Canada. The Canadian government may ask for evidence of funds deposited in a Canadian bank showing that funds are available to complete the desired training.
As president of Harv’s Air over the years I have also heard of many student pilots depositing large amounts of money at flight schools in Canada and in the USA only to find that the school was not able to deliver promised training or worse yet to go out of business altogether leaving the student locked out with his or her money tied up in some hopeless tangle. Any hopes of a refund are usually between unlikely and impossible.
What can a prospective student do to protect themselves from such a terrible situation? Do your research! How long has the flight school been in operation? Do they own or lease their aircraft, hangars, offices and other related equipment? Do they ask for large amounts of money upfront with the promise of discounts or gifts if this is done? Are references or testimonials available of students who have trained there in the past? Can you spend the time and money to personally check out the school and talk to their staff? Can you afford not to do this?
Be aware of organizations that ask and encourage that large sums of money be paid upfront! Although flight schools are not a bank in that you should owe them money, likewise they are not a bank in that they should be sitting on a lot of your money. Sadly there are a lot of schools spending today’s money paying 2 month old bills (or older). Unusually bad weather, sudden increase in costs, 9-11, SAR’s or just about anything may be enough to push some of these businesses over the edge.
Prepaying large sums also means you lose control. What incentive does the school have to serve you if they have your money already?
Again I say, do your homework, check things out. That way you can be confident that the training organization you pick will see you through all your training.
Happy Landings
Harv Penner
