Originally Posted by
Flyhayes
I have yet to meet a pilot through an ATP-like program that was a very well rounded aviator. To their credit, they can produce a product over a remarkably short period of time. However personally find I find the quality of the product to be lacking.
Certainly there are the few 2 year duds out there who compare poorly to a few 90 day wonders. But that's kind of like comparing which of two turds more resembles a flower.
To strive for the best is a good trait, more pilots should strive for that. But remember, no matter what you strive for, you don't know what you don't know until you know it.
just my tarnished 2 pennies
Yes, judge me based off the program I attended, not my abilities or real world flying experience
Sounds like a great plan... I kid, but seriously, don't be in a hurry to judge people based off where they went to school - everyone has their reasons for doing things the way they do, and we all met the same PTS standard on our checkride days. (Hopefully.) I have met smart/stupid Riddle pilots, UND pilots, ATP pilots, and those who came from small part 61/141 flight schools. I would be highly surprised if you could find an actual correlation (And still, that doesn't mean causation..) between quick school and flying ability.
Regarding do you retain the knowledge... Well. In my case I wasn't rushed through ATP as fast, 5 months to do their 3 month program due to some delays with instructors, and so the pace was frenetic at times but it helped me. Certainly in terms of learning physical skills, muscle memory, etc are all strengthened when you learn every day vs once a weekend. I initially got my private pilot the "once a week or every other weekend" method and the retention was far worse. Did I need to brush up on some instrument stuff before my CFI interview... Yup I was a little rusty on a few things. But I knew what I was weak on, and I studied it, and got the job. And teaching students you are constantly reviewing everything anyway.