I'm looking for some information from anyone who has worked their way through the CAP pilot program. I'm a private pilot and I'm looking to add some ratings whether it be through CAP or through other means. Before anyone gets too excited to flame, I've done some homework. I'm actually already a CAP member. I contacted a local squadron and their suggestion was to just come and sit in on a couple meetings, which is exactly what I did.

As other threads have mentioned it is kind of like a "man scout club." They discuss the news from the higher ups, the budget, calendar and usually have some kind of presentation or educational video to watch. I honestly haven't felt very welcomed, as none of the members have really talked much with me about the program or how to get started. There really doesn't seem to be much actual flying happening within the squadron either. I don't want to seem like one of those guys who think "Ooh, cheap ratings. Sign me up!" I will remain a CAP member despite where I do my training.

I'm basically trying to figure out the best road to gaining my ratings. I spoke with a local flight club that seem to have a very good community and have some really nice airplanes they are training out of. I have a strange weekly schedule, but it works out perfect for flight training. I could work through my IR as quickly as I want with them, but to the tune of about $6,500. I know CAP isn't a flight school and won't be quite as gung ho about training. Like I said there doesn't seem to be much flying going on, and as a new member there will probably be zero that I can actually log.

With the club I could do some safety pilot flying, and the guys there are all big time aviation enthusiasts so there's no problem finding a pal to split some XC time with. I'm paying for ratings one at a time so really time between ratings is no factor. They do some charter flights for their Commercial students and only hire CFIs from within. They have also expressed interest in swapping some of my time as an A&P for training... no details yet. It basically comes down to overall cost.

Does anyone know what kind of savings can be had while training with CAP? Again, I don't want to sound like some cheapskate, I really am interested in CAP, but deciding to train through them has seemed a little sketchy so far. I can be patient if the savings are good, not to mention they train out of a G1000 182T

Thanks.