Originally Posted by
manchild
So, I owe a reply to this thread after getting it done. First off, not going to debate the whole "get your ATP at a regional" thing nowadays due to the costs. Everyone's situation is different, and you get what you pay for.
FTI has an _excellent_ program. It's run by all current and former LCAs, and it was probably the best aviation training I've ever had. They have a staff that wants to give back to fellow aviators, and it shows. Yeah, the new mandated ATP-CTP syllabus could probably be tailored to an individual's background, but seeing as we got our sim time for it in the A320, and then rolled into the A320 for the practical, it was all good. After all, the ATP-CTP is expensive because of the sim requirement so keep that in mind.
The best part about it is the real experience of flying an airliner to validate anyone's predisposed notions about how "easy" or "boring" it is. You will not get that in a light twin, and trying to learn flows and run real checklists properly with real emergencies is time well spent. And doing it in the 2200-0200 sim slots will give you appreciation for aviating with chronic fatigue.
Anyway, that was my experience. Not sure if this will benefit my resume, but I really enjoyed the investment.
That's cool that you feel like you got your money's worth flying the sim and the real plane. Please don't take this as an attack on what you did because that is not my intent...
The fact an experienced military pilot needs to do anything other than send a self addressed stamped envelope to the FAA for their ATP is stupid. That A320 training will mean 0 to you when you get your 737 or MD88 out of indoc. Even if you get an A320 the company will likely have at least slightly different procedures than what they had at the sim. Practicing chronic fatigue is like practice bleeding, both are stupid propositions and don't make you any better at it when it comes time to be tired or bleed for real (and that very real fatigue could lead you to busting your ATP check ride, wouldn't that be awesome). I highly advocate getting your ATP in the most painless and inexpensive method possible.
Again, if you desire the full blown bells and whistles option and can afford it, more power to you but don't fool yourself into thinking that option will either get you hired or make you a better airline pilot down the road.