Stick & Rudder’s new website look.

[DesertFox4]

I spend a little time each day going through our site sponsors websites looking for new items or services.

I just clicked on Stick & Rudder’s site (http://www.stick-rudder.com/) and found a totally new look. Lots of great info for those contemplating a trip to Idaho and flights in the most exciting backcountry aircraft and with the best Kitfox flight instructors available to man. Take a look.

Thanks for helping so many of our TeamKitfox members over the years discover how to safely get the most performance and fun possible out of these incredible aircraft.
Well done Paul.

[rv9ralph]

I just visited S&R new website. Looks great. It is worth a click.

Ralph

[efwd]

Nice update to the website. "Tailwheel Only" flight school. Hmmm. Apparently there are a lot of people building conventional gear these days. 2020, I will be scheduling a week of vacation for that "circuitous multi day backcountry" trip. Hopefully the weather is good enough to get current here in the next two months.

[Flybyjim]

Very nice update on the web-site

[Rik]

Nice site but $225/hr is STEEP.

[rv9ralph]

Rik,
You can go to Livermore California, rent a Cessna 172 for $180 an hour and pay an instructor $75 and hour, same as you are complaining about and what do you get. Basic instruction in a basic aircraft. I lived there, was based there and do not think they gave your the same quality of instruction as you would get at Stick and Rudder. Stick and Rudder gives instruction in the latest model of Kitfox in country you would not find in your area.

Ralph

[Rik]

Rik,
You can go to Livermore California, rent a Cessna 172 for $180 an hour and pay an instructor $75 and hour, same as you are complaining about and what do you get. Basic instruction in a basic aircraft. I lived there, was based there and do not think they gave your the same quality of instruction as you would get at Stick and Rudder. Stick and Rudder gives instruction in the latest model of Kitfox in country you would not find in your area.

Ralph

Ralph, all due respect but your trying to compare San Francisco Bay Area prices with Idaho prices.

I know it’s an off the grid kinda endorsement too but Bay Area CFI rates are not the same CFI rate in Idaho are they? I paid $70/hr (in Marin) years ago for my CFI and I was in a newish 172 with a glass panel and it is close to what S&R are charging in a KF.

Got my TW in a citabria and the instructor was only $50/hr so I get what your saying but it’s no where a fair comparison. He’s getting it b/c he can. Block rate in a certified aircraft is only $60/hr in Boise for the CFI.

[rv9ralph]

We are talking about specialized training. And yes CFI rates are high all over, if you haven't read, there is a shortage of CFIs.

S&R does specialized training. No other flight training establishments use Kitfoxes. For the builder/new owner, S&R is the only way to get qualified type training. As to S&Rs backcountry training, their fees are in line with other specialized training centers, in Idaho and other locations.

Ralph

[Esser]

Nice site but $225/hr is STEEP.

There planes take one of a beating being ab initio trailwheel training and back country flying. Do I think it’s expensive? Yes, I feel all flight training is expensive. Do I think it was worth the money? Absolutely.

It was a lot nicer to hit a fence post in the bank country with their plane instead of mine

[DesertFox4]

CFI’s are not created equal. CFI’s with Paul’s experience that are still teaching are few. Training in the Idaho backcountry is available about 6 months out of the year. The desire from pilots that want to learn to fly into that demanding country is growing exponentially. CFI’s qualified to train to any kind of safe level is in the hen’s teeth catagory. Training in high performance STOL aircraft even more so. Good pilots recognize their own limitations. Some have no clue and end up statistics on a government chart. Stick & Rudder training keeps pilots out of government statistical charts. That’s good for all of us. Complaining about what the most successful new flight school business model in the last 25 years charges is ridiculous. Doing it on the open forum that Stick & Rudder helps pay to keep on line and free for all of us to enjoy is just ungrateful and will not be tolerated.


Pilots from all over the world come to Idaho to train with Paul and his instructors. We who are in the States are blessed to be so close and have easy access. Crikey, can you imagine what it takes to travel from Australia to
to train with S & R? That’s true commitment to bettering one’s self. No one is going to invest to that level to fly with a mediocre also ran flight school. They’re expecting something exceptional. They’re expecting the very best in the world, and they get it.

*** Now, if any of our members have contemplated flight training with Stick & Rudder, email soon because slots for backcountry training for 2019 are already filling. Those that require training before first flight of your newly or near finished Kitfox projects and/or require a tailwheel endorsement should also plan to email Paul ahead of time for available slots.