Pilot schools are plentiful in the U.S. These range in size from very small schools with just one or two instructors, to very large institutions. For example, the Smoky Mountain Flight Center in Tennessee is a small school, whereas the ATP flight school has 25 locations in the United States. Size is not an indicator of quality. It's a valid school if it is FAA-certified, regardless of size. You have to evaluate what your wants and needs are. If your goal is to fly a small airplane, a small school may satisfy your needs better than a large school.
All schools charge tuition. This varies from a few hundred dollars for a private instructor per lesson to several thousand dollars for a commercial pilot training school. Bear in mind for many schools, you have to rent the airplane. The Smoky Mountain Fight Center charges $122 per hour for a Diamond DA20. The larger schools have the cost of the airplane factored into the tuition. All schools have financing options for tuition, and it would benefit you to inquire how tuition is handled.
You may want to specialize in helicopter pilot certification. Specialist schools, such as the Bristow Academy, can train you to become a certified helicopter pilot. All certified schools have FAA-mandated training, so the variations lie elsewhere. Helicopter specialist schools run the gamut, from very large to small. For example, the Mauna Loa Helicopter School is a small school with on campus housing. The Bristow Academy, on the other hand, has four campuses, three in the United States and one in England. Another variation is the fleet of helicopters owned. The Mauna Loa School owns two Robinson helicopters, whereas the Bristow Academy owns 75 helicopters, including Schweizers, Robinsons and Bells. Before you make a commitment to any one school, consider all the factors, such as tuition, fleet size and housing.
According to the Aviation Flight Schools (AFS), about 170 schools in the U.S. provide the training to become a certified mechanic. These training programs typically require an 18- to 24-month commitment, with 1,900 hours of classroom time. In the area of certification, all schools must comply with minimum mandates. For this reason, only slight variations exist for mechanics' schools, the main one being the size of the school.