- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
I guess I will start posting here since I told my parents I'm done being lazy, and according to my grandmother, I quote, "need to start pursuing my pilot dream of mine." Is it better to just go to a local school and treat becoming a pilot at school like a job, or is there some big chain of schools doing it better than everyone else? I was recommended ATP, but I need to find out more. I live in Hawaii, so all advice is welcome since I will most likely be moving to go to flight school. Thanks in advance because the more I look into this, the more I need clarification.
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 08:54
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2024 02:44
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
How old are you and what's your ultimate goal in learning to fly
22, and the ultimate goal is to be a commercial or cargo pilot. Not picky, as I just want to fly for a career.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 09:04
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
Adding to this very good advice, if this really is going to be your thing and you’re ready to go from 0 to 100, I would go ahead and get your student pilot medical certificate.
The ‘medical’ is a basic ~150$ fully body physical exam you’ll have to keep current your entire career. You technically don’t need it yet but I think it’s best to know you don’t have anything medically disqualifying (god forbid) before going 5-6 figures in debt for flight school.
If you decide to go that route and go to a pilot mill, tons of us here can give you more advice on the subject. It’s what I did and I’d do it again.
I’ll get this and do one of those one hour flights to see if I want to be fully invested. I’ll also start checking out some cadet schools. Thanks!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 20:01
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
I'll send you a PM shortly but here's an effortpost about my time at ATP. I'm not sure what has changed since my time there (2018-2022) so take it with a grain of salt.
My experience with ATP was a net positive. I did the full program from zero time through MEI and then instructed with ATP for the majority of my time building up to 1500. I found that in general, you get what you put into the program - if you really make an effort to excel and make sure you communicate your needs early and often to the instructors and managers you’ll do well and have fewer sources of frustration than most. I did my training and instructing out of Sacramento (KSAC), which was a smaller training center and my experience was likely very different from that of someone who attended a larger facility like Mesa Gateway (KIWA) but the vast majority of instructors care about your success as do the managers and training support personnel. Most of my issues and frustrations came from aircraft availability (seems like when one goes down for maintenance they all decide to break down in solidarity), weather delays and DPE availability. Most of this has improved a lot and maintenance at ATP is great. Instructor quality can vary a lot since they’re all mostly inexperienced but the program is so structured that it greatly mitigates it until they get more hours under their belt. ATP isn’t shy about swapping instructors if it isn’t working out due to personality issues or whatever it may be but they will try to address any issues before swapping out, which is understandable. The Training Support Manager for the California region was very responsive throughout my entire time as a student and as an instructor which made life easier whenever an issue did arise. Instructing for ATP can be challenging - it is incredibly structured which is helpful and you have a strong support network to help you excel but there is very little flexibility to do things your own way and there are pretty tight goals for keeping students on track. It’s like working for any large company - change takes a long time to implement.
If the 100h ME program still exists I don’t really think it's worthwhile unless you either want to go fly corporate or Part 135 ASAP or you want the guaranteed MEI position - and even then it’s not required to be an MEI at ATP. I would recommend checking out ME rental costs at other flight schools if you want to build more multi time for a corporate or 135 job and compare that to the extra cost at ATP. There are a lot of instructor opportunities at ATP if you want to do more than be a line instructor - MEI positions usually require some instructor experience before they put you through multiengine indoc and you can also apply for a Lead Instructor position if you want to play a bigger part in managing the instructors and overall training. I took on both roles and they have extra responsibilities but add interesting challenges and cool flying. The MEI life gets to be incredibly repetitive, you essentially only fly the same 6 maneuvers over and over again - some people love it as you get great at it and some get sick of it eventually, like I did. As a Lead Instructor you get to fly with students in all phases of training which makes it incredibly varied and, in my opinion, fun.
SAC has ME aircraft and a sim but I did hear that ATP was planning on centralizing some ME training so I would highly recommend that you get very clear answers on any additional costs that may be incurred if you have to go out of town for extended training.
Fleet type and simulator availability varies wildly between training centers. It's a good idea to ask what the specifics are at each location you're interested in attending.
I did opt for a partial loan from Sallie Mae and self funded the rest of it. I opted for the variable rate loan which ended up being fine because I didn’t take the full amount and was able to pay it off early, which is good because the rate was coming up quite a bit in the past few months. I do have a couple of friends who refinanced their Sallie Mae loans successfully so there is that.
On top of all that I would also budget at least an extra month on top of the planned training footprint to account for delays. Two months would be safer for sure.
ATP partners with Sheppard Air test prep software and it works well. It's all based on rote memorization, which I absolutely hate, but it also works well. With a program like ATP I suggest you view the written exams as something you need to get out of the way so you can start actually learning the material. I also recommend you ask about getting the written tests out of the way and how it would work. You get the test software for free when you're enrolled so I'm not sure if you can get it prior to starting or if ATP will reimburse you for getting it done early. Worth finding out. That said, it is perfectly possible to do the writtens while going through the program, so don't stress too hard about it.
One more thing to consider is that ATP has a Part 141 Program out of Mesa Gateway (KIWA) partnered with ASU. Could be an option if you want to get a degree during your flight training. As mentioned above, this will allow you to get a Restricted ATP license at 1000h if you get a Bachelor's or 1250g if you go for an Associate's.
So far, I was looking at KSAC or KLGB. Thanks! Yeah, I may transfer credits over if I end up pursuing my full bachelor's. I feel as if California is my second home since it's so close to Hawaii (flight-time-wise). Also, I have some family out there, so housing would not be a factor at all. Thanks for the information!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 21:09
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
I think the guys here have steered you in a good direction. I wanna add something important. You will have to be very self motivated and disciplined. You’ll have to study on your own consistently. You’ll have to show up regularly even on days you don’t feel like it. Accelerated courses are intense. I was in your same shoes almost 20 years ago, early 20’s and lazy. It wasn’t easy finding the strength. But that poo poo has to end. You’ll have to find the willpower to “become an adult”, because ATP is not gonna hold your hand. And they will gladly take your money even if it’s clear that you don’t have what it takes to make it to the finish line. You don’t wanna waste your family’s resources and then spend the rest of your life regretting that you didn’t complete this. So make sure you are ready for this not just financially but mentally.
If you do go through with it, you have amazing opportunities ahead of you. It will take you just a couple of years to achieve what took me ten years, just because the industry timing is great right now. It’s a prosperous cycle for pilots. Rolo and I were talking about this when we met a few days ago. You’ll be very fortunate, don’t squander it. Keep coming back to this thread regularly to post your progress, your struggles, and your success. If you persevere, it won’t be long before you’ll be giving us news about your first solo flight, then your first check ride, then your first job. We’ve been here for guys who started from 0 and are now working at legacy airlines. Make sure you’re the next one. Make us proud, boy 
Yeah, I realized a while ago that I can either A. Be a lazy POS that lives off my parents and does nothing with my life or B. I can fulfill my late Uncle's wish, he told me last year, and go out into the real world and become a pilot. Option B is firmly the position I will be taking.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 21:39
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
I like your attitude, just make sure you are doing it because you want to (which is what it sounds like).
I dealt with two parents who were trying to live vicariously through their kids by sending them through training. One of them didn't seem to want to be there, and it was uncomfortable for everyone involved.
This has been a dream of mine but due to some lucky decisions and some smart decisions, school is feasible now so, I gotta attack the chance.
Sounds good, strike while the iron is hot. Get started ASAP. My advice is that you get your medical certificate early so that you can iron out any issues that come up. Then complete your PPL knowledge exam as early as you possibly can. Just get that poo poo out of the way and focus on flying and on learning the important stuff.
Yeah, I'm scheduling a medical for this upcoming week. Gonna knock that out immediately since they don't have a wait list at the moment.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 22:14
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
Medical is done. Now, on to applying for ATP.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2024 17:23
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2024 02:44
|
|
- A Sneaker Broker
- Feb 14, 2020
-
Daily Dose of Internet Brain Rot
|
For anyone who has flown a Diamond Aircraft: how was it?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2024 03:21
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2024 08:54
