Originally Posted by
sigep_nm
Its been a pretty good bet because for a while that was the only way availalbe besides the military. I guarantee that those numbers are shrinking, and they should, because most FBO's dont have the resources to provide training in TAA's. The FBO of the future will be for recreational flying, while the so called "pilot mills" will serve their purpose of creating professional aviators. That being said, ATP is a joke. Can you seriously tell me that someone can gain the experience necessary to be a professional aviator in 90 days? Have fun flying for pinnacle.
There are two FBO operations in my city providing training in TAA's. One has an FTD set up for training on the equipment. That being said, I am sure that not all FBO training operations will have the money to put a TTA in their rental fleet.
The point behind places like AllATP's is not for the pilot to get experience, its for them to get their ratings quickly. That way, they can spend their time seeking the neccessary experience elsewhere. Personally, I think there is value in both approaches (FBO or pilot mill).
To the original poster: You have lost confidence in your CFI. IMO, you should end the relationship and move on. He should have been informing you on your progress all along, so the timing of your solo shouldnt have been a surprise. Keep in mind that the student carries some of the responsibility for progress. I only have limited experience as a CFI so far, but I have experienced situations where my students show up for a training flight unprepared, which only hurts them.
I know a few *very* experienced CFI's in my area that have the opinion that if you teach exactly to the regs and PTS, it would be difficult for a student to solo in less than 20 hours. I also know a couple of people that have soloed in quite a bit less, in one case, 8 hours. So, time to solo certainly can vary by quite a bit.