Originally Posted by aerospacepilot

Rickdb, atpwannabe, and anyone else considering ATP,

Training at ATP IS NOT faster than training at an FBO. The nice part about training at an FBO is you can train at ANY pace you want. So if you want to get your instrument-MEI in 89 days, you can do that (faster than ATP). If you want to get your instrument-MEI in 120, you can do that. 10 months, you can do that. Want to take a weekend off to go skiing? Want to take a weekend off to spend with your wife/family/gf/friends, you can do that. At an FBO, you set the pace. There is nothing saying you cannot go as fast or FASTER than training at ATP. The pace is up to you.

When you ask an FBO how long it takes to go from private to MEI, they will quote you how long people usually take to get those ratings, going at their OWN pace. That is why there is this vicious rumor that training at an FBO is slow. Honestly, if you want to fly two 1.5 hour lessons each day (3hrs a day), you can go private to MEI in 90 days (as opposed to the 150 days as quoted by ATP). Personally I think both of these are way too fast. While I realize you are a little older, take your time with flight training. You are paying tens of thousands of dollars for it, you should at least LEARN IT. If you do the 150 day fast track at ATP, you will not learn everything that you should. And this will come back to haunt you at some point in your flying career.

If you train at a local FBO instead of ATP, you will save TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. My estimate for training at a local FBO with reasonable prices is about $35,000. You don't believe me, then send me some rates at your local FBO (1980 C-152, C-172, Piper Warrior, some complex airplane, Piper Seminole, or related aircraft), tell me how much instructor costs, tell me what the monthly dues/joining fees are, and I will give you a darn good estimate. And I believe it will be close to $35,000. At ATP, you will pay $64,000 for the EXACT SAME flight training. That's an extra $29,000 you don't have to spend. Lets think of some things you can buy with that extra $29,000 you will save from NOT going to ATP.
Take a two week trip to Europe.
Buy a new iPhone and service plan
Buy a brand new flat screen plasma TV
Buy a brand new top of the line computer
Eat out at a fancy restaurant once a week for an entire year
Take a 7 day cruise in the carribean
And still have over $10,000 left over to spend at your discretion.

Don't throw away $29,000 extra to get the same flight training you can receive at a local FBO.

Go to a local FBO. Train at your own pace. Fly when you want and don't fly when you don't want to. ATP should not own you. A local FBO does not own you. You can make your decision about how fast you want to train. I say take about 8 months (instead of 5 months at ATP). Soak in that knowledge. Enjoy your training. And above all, save TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS