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Flight School like CAE Oxford for FAA ATP

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Flight School like CAE Oxford for FAA ATP

Old 08-06-2017, 01:23 PM
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Default Flight School like CAE Oxford for FAA ATP

Hello,

I am looking for a flight school similar to CAE Oxford Aviation Academy. I believe they used to have a program a while back for U.S citizens where they would issue FAA ATP's. Presently, they are only offering EASA ATP's and they only have partnerships with European airlines and none for the United States. Please note I've read almost every thread on airline flight schools on this forum. I have a few questions listed below that I would greatly appreciate a response:

1) Everyone states to avoid "pilot factories" or "pilot training mills". However, isn't every flight school in the U.S a "pilot factory"? Even Flight Safety International doesn't have entrance requirements like math test, physics test or personality exams. The only school that isn't technically a "pilot factory" is Aerosim Flight Academy (now named L3 Flight Academy) in Florida. They have a Wonderlic entrance exam, interview, and 250-word essay requirement. I just don't know anyone who graduated from here. However, the flight school at L3 Flight Academy can cost almost $100k which includes housing for 15 months, books and fees, and all ratings up to ATP.

2) I've looked at ATP Flight School as well, the only concern being that they don't offer a structured ground school similar to an academy. When I went to ASU, I remember students saying that ATP didn't prepare them for ground school exams since it was "self-study" and you had to complete the modules to prepare. Well this isn't necessarily a negative, I would prefer a structured ground school program where I could study with classmates and ask questions similar to college. However, everyone who graduated with me from my university and went to ATP did get an airline job with a regional carrier.

In summary, I do have a 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in an aviation related field from an accredited University. Since I can't find a school exactly like CAE Oxford, is there a flight school that is similar?

The ideal flight school would have the following attributes:

-Pathway programs to regional airline carriers with tuition reimbursement
-Partnerships with many local and regional airline carriers or business jet companies
-Structured and rigorous ground school programs with time to debrief after a flight
-Semi-modern aircraft with glass cockpit being a plus
-Flight School that will pay for higher ratings with a 1 or 2 year commitment as an instructor

Last edited by dtbecker; 08-06-2017 at 01:42 PM.
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Old 08-06-2017, 05:42 PM
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CAE doesn't issue FAA ATP's and they don't take self sponsored FAA students either.

Get 250 hours and a CFI, instruct your way to 1500 and any airline will pay for your ATP.
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Old 08-06-2017, 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Varsity View Post
CAE doesn't issue FAA ATP's and they don't take self sponsored FAA students either.

Get 250 hours and a CFI, instruct your way to 1500 and any airline will pay for your ATP.
Just to clarify, are you stating that it would be pointless going to a program that includes an ATP rating?

I've heard about Ryanair taking sponsored students long time ago but it was very rare and they had to prove that a U.S FAA student would be better than an EASA student.
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Old 08-07-2017, 06:18 AM
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In order to get an FAA ATP, you will need at minimum 1500 hours (reduced under some degree programs or with military flight experience). For this reason no one does 0-ATP like EASA in the United States. The typical career path is to earn you FAA Commercial and CFI. Then you work as a flight instructor, building time through flights with students to those ATP minimums.
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Old 08-07-2017, 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted by kingsnake2 View Post
In order to get an FAA ATP, you will need at minimum 1500 hours (reduced under some degree programs or with military flight experience). For this reason no one does 0-ATP like EASA in the United States. The typical career path is to earn you FAA Commercial and CFI. Then you work as a flight instructor, building time through flights with students to those ATP minimums.
Do you believe that an airline will care if my flight training was done Part 61 through ATP Flight School vs Part 141? I already graduated from a University so it would mean going for a Masters to get Part 141.
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Old 08-08-2017, 04:53 AM
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Originally Posted by dtbecker View Post
Do you believe that an airline will care if my flight training was done Part 61 through ATP Flight School vs Part 141? I already graduated from a University so it would mean going for a Masters to get Part 141.
No, as long as you meet ATP minimums and have a degree you fit pretty much any regional airline's hiring standards right now.
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Old 08-12-2017, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by kingsnake2 View Post
No, as long as you meet ATP minimums and have a degree you fit pretty much any regional airline's hiring standards right now.
Excellent, glad to hear that. On the other hand, do any of you have a list of internationally recognized flight schools? (They don't have to offer EASA but I would prefer a flight school that has recognition not only in the United States)

Essentially, Embry Riddle is well known in the U.S for aviation academics, and of course they have their Worldwide Program for online education, but they aren't internationally well known for their flight school. If you were to go to Europe and ask aviation students if they heard of Embry Riddle, most would probably say "no". (At least that has been my experience)

I have finally narrowed down my search to two flight schools that I will tour. The first being L3 Airline Academy (Aerosim) and the other being Flight Safety Academy. Yes, both are expensive but if you ever wanted to fly for an airline that accepts FAA ATP internationally you would be at an advantage with a flight school that is recognized across the globe.

I've been in contact with ATP but decided against them since they REALLY try to push their marketing tactics to the point where they called me more than once in a day, sent emails, and text messages to my cell-phone.
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Old 08-12-2017, 08:01 PM
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Originally Posted by dtbecker View Post

I have finally narrowed down my search to two flight schools that I will tour. The first being L3 Airline Academy (Aerosim) and the other being Flight Safety Academy. Yes, both are expensive but if you ever wanted to fly for an airline that accepts FAA ATP internationally you would be at an advantage with a flight school that is recognized across the globe.
Seriously, no one will care where you did your training. Once you get your turboprop/jet experience, and you want to go internationally, nobody is going to care where to got your Cessna/Piper/Cirrus experience.
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Old 08-12-2017, 09:18 PM
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Internationally no-one will give two rat sh*ts about Flight Safety or L3 flight school.
Just like ZR said, no-one cares where you flew the Cessna. Your jet hours matter.
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Old 08-13-2017, 07:37 AM
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fyi, aerosim is very much a pilot factory.
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