Originally Posted by
AbortAbortAbort
I did a flight for the flight school that shares our building when they were really hurting for MEI's with a gentleman who had gone to ATP (checkout for rental). My only memory of the flight is that when practicing Vmc, we got down to the speed, he ran out of rudder, then slammed the rudder a few more times, and looked at me and said "it won't stop yawing".
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think they're inept at teaching - I've flown with a couple other ATP guys and found them to be fairly competent (safety pilot time aside
), but this guy stuck in my head the minute he said that.
For getting your ratings and getting out it's not a bad value, just remember that you're going to have that stigma of being from a cookie cutter, zero to hero school. If you want to believe that they're going to offer you a job once you graduate, that's your perogative. You won't get the quality, in-depth training that you'd get in a collegiate program, and your instructors are probably all going to be low hour timebuilders who could care less about your training. Ten years down the road will it matter where you went? No. But when you start looking for that first job after you aren't hired as promised at ATP, is your potential employer going to take you, the 250 hour wonder pilot, or are they going to take somebody with an equal amount of time and four years of aviation study?
I see your point. I'm not a fan of the inexperienced CFIs and the cookie cutter label, but I've been to college. I have a BS degree in Aviation Maintenance. I have a full time job as an A&P. They should see some dedication through that. At this point I just need to get my ratings, and at the most affordable price possible. There do seem to be a lot of stories about bonehead pilots that have trained with ATP, and there is something to be said for that. But I wonder how many of their graduates are now flying for the regionals and working towards their upgrade or even flying with the majors?
I think that ATP type schools attract so many people who THINK they want to be pilots. When you Google search airline pilot, or flight school what is the first advertisement that pops up? Flashy logos, interview guarantees, lowest price guarantees, etc. I view myself as more than just a dreamer at this point. I've established myself in the aviation industry, and now I'm just trying to research the best way to make this happen. It's a tough road...
I think for now I will continue patiently waiting to add some ratings through my Civil Air Patrol membership. If things don't progress as quickly as I hope they do through CAP I might have to wave the white flag and take on the debt for one of these programs.
Of course is the first thing that appears in google. The more you pay for a webpage the higher they appear.
If you want your ratings, do it. That's all you're going to have, ratings not knowledge.
Knowledge comes with time and studying in dept. Also comes with experience, not total time. I know 3 guys that went to ATP, neither of them passed any airline or part 135 IFR interviews. I'm talking that guys that failed with Ameriflight (for emb120 FO), American Eagle, Colgan, etc...
Not to be negative man, but it's better if you take your time to study, and prepare yourself as a Professional Pilot. You can do it in 6months, great. But I assure you that in a year and a half you'll get more experience.