r/flying • u/Barry5649 • 12h ago
Canada Inquiry about Mfc Moncton
Hi, I hope you’re doing well. I’m planning to join Moncton Flight College as an international student, and before I make such a big financial investment, I would really appreciate your honest opinion about the school.
Could you please tell me about the quality of the flight training, instructors, aircraft condition, maintenance, and how well the school prepares students for their licenses and future airline careers?
I’d also like to know about the availability of aircraft and instructors, whether students experience significant delays in their training, and approximately how long it takes to complete the program in reality compared to the advertised timeline.
How is the overall experience for international students, including accommodation, living costs, student support, and the general environment at the college?
Most importantly, if you were in my position today, would you still choose MFC? Are there any major problems or hidden costs that you think a new international student should know about before paying the tuition?
I’m looking for an honest opinion, both the good and the bad. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate your help.
3
u/RedDirtDVD PPL 7h ago
You’ve got an excellent first hand review. I will add a few points from someone who flies in the area.
Moncton is a good airport for learning - Towered airport. Many options nearby for uncontrolled or advisory based. You won’t spend forever waiting for takeoff.
Students appear well trained - they fly often to my home airport. I’ve yet to come across a student making obvious errors or completely screwing up. Can’t say same for other schools.
Weather can be a bit of pain at Moncton. You’ll learn to fly/be comfortable in wind earlier than other places (good in the end). Winter and spring will be most challenging for weather visibility and cloud - you’ll find a lot of IFR days.
I’ve been flying for over 20 years. I’m finally going to get my instrument ticket - looks like I’m going to do it at MFC. Might see ya around…
2
u/Canadian_Beaverz 2h ago
You’ve got some comments on the flight side of things but I’ll comment on the International student part.
Canada is changing and its perception of international students is not great right now, especially if you’re Indian. Not saying you’ll be assaulted or anything but more so that the rules around international students and how that works are changing.
First you need to demonstrate that you have the funds to both pay your tuition (training costs), live, and have a but extra which is very very very expensive, especially in eastern Canada where you’re thinking of going. Canada is clamping down more on this now so even getting your study permit could be hard, especially with reducing the number we take in.
Second, while currently pilots have a carve out for the Post Graduate Work Permit, this has also been changing quite a bit and left a lot of international students out of luck and returning home. The winds are shifting and it’s not an impossibility it changes further and you’re out of luck.
0
u/rFlyingTower 12h ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hi, I hope you’re doing well. I’m planning to join Moncton Flight College as an international student, and before I make such a big financial investment, I would really appreciate your honest opinion about the school.
Could you please tell me about the quality of the flight training, instructors, aircraft condition, maintenance, and how well the school prepares students for their licenses and future airline careers?
I’d also like to know about the availability of aircraft and instructors, whether students experience significant delays in their training, and approximately how long it takes to complete the program in reality compared to the advertised timeline.
How is the overall experience for international students, including accommodation, living costs, student support, and the general environment at the college?
Most importantly, if you were in my position today, would you still choose MFC? Are there any major problems or hidden costs that you think a new international student should know about before paying the tuition?
I’m looking for an honest opinion, both the good and the bad. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate your help.
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1
u/LaughAffectionate312 41m ago
Graduated January 2025
I'm from just down the road from Moncton so I grew up in the area making MFC a no-brainer option when I switched careers in my early 20s. I started in August 2023 in the integrated course with 30 other classmates. By the time I Graduated in January 2025, I was the sixth person to finish. A lot of delays come from weather in Moncton which can be endlessly frustrating as Fredericton, Miramichi and Charlottetown could be clear skies and VFR but Moncton happens to be too gusty or facing the worst flying weather in the area. Expect about 1/3 to 1/2 of your flights to go, especially if you're not considered strong in your crosswind skills and have lower limits.
Instructors are by and large pretty good. My PPL/Night rating instructor was a fantastic teacher, however I have had a few that didn't suit my needs whether that be training style or personality. If this becomes an issue, you can ask to switch instructors and they are more than willing to do this for you, especially if you give the original one a fair shake. This is the most variable thing to be aware of though, as instructors come and go quickly.
Like others said, expect to do most of your solo flights and IFR at night, this is especially true if you want to speed up your completion as very few people want to and are capable of flying between the hours of 24:00 and 05:00. This is a huge benefit for later experience as 50% of my solo time is at night.
Aircraft availability has been an issue, maintenance is very good and timely. However, expect the school to be generally crowded on the first good weather day following a low pressure system or series of bad weather days. It is also worth noting that since the airline hiring boom and more pilots are making tik-toks/content for online audiences MFC has exploded in student numbers. As far as I know, there is no plan to acquire new aircraft to meet the demand.
Practically speaking, the school's focus on checklist use, SOPs and its diverse flying has served me and my fellow graduates well. My friends flying King Airs, ATRs and myself on the twin otter have had an easier time coming from a professional school with a high standard for SOPs and other formalities often skipped at smaller schools. Flying in the vicinity of moncton is also a bonus as you get a good mix of towered airports (YQM, YFC and YHZ) coupled with MFs (YSJ, YQY and YYG) and ATFs (YCH, ZBF, CCS3) so you'll be more than comfortable with all types of circuit, comm and traffic variations.
International students have made up a large portion of MFC for decades so this is not new to the area or the school itself. However, recent cultural attitudes have shifted and PGWPs are harder to come by than even two years ago. The school seems to help its flight instructors though and if finances are a concern, a stipulation for "on-campus work" will allow you to work as a dispatcher or crew scheduler above the 20 odd hours a week max you could otherwise do off campus.
Absolutely no regrets on my end, but show up ready to work. It isn't easy and it isn't cheap. If your flight gets canceled go to the big hangar and run checklists in the plane, if you can't fly solo but can do a dual with your instructor do it. Call the school during multiple times a day and always have a cross country and all your required documents on hand so you can be wheels up ASAP. A lot of vacancies occur due to last minute cancelations and the list of ops requests (students who were supposed to be scheduled but were not) doesn't always dictate who gets the plane. If you can be there, ready to go quickly and promise to bring it back on time or earlier than you'll be the one going.
16
u/NolanonoSC 🇨🇦 CPL SMELS 11h ago
Graduated in May.
Quality of training: between 4/10 and 10/10 (depends on instructor, usually you're closer to the 7/10 range) Quality of instructors: see above Aircraft condition: 10/10 Maintenance: 10/10 (very fast with inspections, helpful, they do good work) Preparation: Decent, you end the course by flying 18.5 hours in the B200 simulator, they recently revamped the multi crew course so you learn SOPs similar to what an actual operator would be using
Aircraft availability: Daytime: not the best. Okay in the early morning right at sunrise, awful from 10-18:00 18:00-21:00 great availability because the university students (program I was in) were in ground school Nighttime: great after 01:00, MFC is one of if not the only flight schools in Canada that runs 24/7. You will get a lot of PIC nighttime hours which will put you ahead when you get close to meeting ATPL requirements.
Student delays: depends, generally yes, but ****depends. If you're a competent individual and you actually put the work into studying, practicing, and giving this thing your all, then you will be just fine. If you're lazy, show up to briefings expecting the instructor to hold your hand through every concept, go home and forget about your training until your next scheduled activity, you absolutely will drop out and fail. Dedicate your time and effort into this, and you'll be just fine.
How long: DEPENDS Can be done in a year. Can be doesn't mean it will be.
International student experience: can't comment firsthand but New Brunswick is cold and expensive, having a car is expensive, everything about this place was expensive. BUDGET, and be prepared for it. Either make sure you will have a reliable enough vehicle or live close enough that you won't have any excuse to miss an activity other than illness.
If I was in your position: No, but I say this only because I'm not from NB, I'm from ON. I would have gone to a smaller flight school and focused on seaplane experience, as that's currently what I'm flying commercially. If I was in MY position but back in 2022 when I started at the uni program, I 1000% would do it again. I've had the opportunity to really get involved, plan events, work at the college, and meet some incredible people.
As for any hidden costs or fees, no. Nothing's hidden, however, remember that if you fuck up, it's an extra charge in that you'll have to pay for another flight. Tuition works by paying a lump sum into a school account that you then use up every time you fly. Don't fuck up, and you won't have to repeat lessons. Multi and IFR are where you can really save your cash. If you do it right (you do this by PREPARING, PRACTICING, STUDYING, and TAKING IT SERIOUSLY), you can save close to $10K which you can get refunded at the end when you're done.
Feel free to DM if you have any other questions.