Originally Posted by
Pilotpip
PTS requirements aren't hard to achieve.
And yes, some of the people I've met that have gone to ATP/DCA make me think that it's not as hard as you seem to think or try and build it up to be. Hell if I did nothing but fly and study without having the other issues associated with life there I could do my ratings that fast too.
I'd be concerned if my first experience in winter, or thunderstorms, or actual was as an instructor. You should be too becuase there's no way you've seen that much in only 9 months of flying.
As with any school some people do slip through the cracks and progress on to get their ratings. However in my year I have seen many people leave or asked to leave because they couldn't get past a lesson or a Stage Check. The group I started with at DCA in December '07 had thirteen students in the class. Today only five of us are left. The other eight either quit or were asked to leave.
As for me I do not think DCA was all that hard. I believe that with enough training anyone can fly an airplane. I was at Part 61 but left to come here because flying is not the only requirement to get a rating. Learning all the associated knowledge pertaining to aviation is a must. I feel that DCA prepares you very well in that departement.
As for your comment about not having experience dealing with everything and anything that can happen to you as a CFI because "you got your ratings so fast". Well that's a load. With good solid training and a good head on your shoulders you will know what to do when the time comes. I'll give you an example. I did not know how I would react to being shot at until the first bullet whizzed by my head but the training I had received prepared me quite adequately on how to respond. Here I am alive today!