Delta Connection Academy
07-12-2006, 02:41 PM
#1
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Delta Connection Academy
Has anyone recently been to DCA and how was your experience.I am looking to go there due to the fact that Teri loans seems to be the best option for me to get financed.Is it a good school and any advice would be appreciated.
07-12-2006, 03:21 PM
#2
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Dude, or duddette, are you serious? Maybe you haven't been on this board long enough but DCA is like the number topic of the flight training section here. I suggest you do a search and you will find all you need to know about that POS school.
07-12-2006, 04:16 PM
#4
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Posts: 33
DCA is extremly high in price and plus i have heard stories of management treating students like dirt. They make your weekly schedule for you and if you have to reschedule they say no. they might guarantee an interview but not jobs. their 97% job placement is based on instructors not students who started the program. Go to ATP!!
07-12-2006, 04:23 PM
#5
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In terms of flight academies, I would highly recommend either ATP or Skymates. My plans are to attend ATP, although in terms of cost & training, Skymates is just as comparable. Both offer 200 hours of multi-engine time. With DCA your ME time is minimal at best; less than 50 hrs.
atp
atp
Last edited by atpwannabe; 07-12-2006 at 04:56 PM.
07-12-2006, 07:29 PM
#6
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"With DCA your ME time is minimal at best; less than 50 hrs"
But with DCA you have a guaranteed interview. Plus, they are owned by Delta. Doesn't those things make it worth the extra money?
But with DCA you have a guaranteed interview. Plus, they are owned by Delta. Doesn't those things make it worth the extra money?
07-12-2006, 09:35 PM
#7
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Originally Posted by de727ups
"With DCA your ME time is minimal at best; less than 50 hrs"
But with DCA you have a guaranteed interview. Plus, they are owned by Delta. Doesn't those things make it worth the extra money?
But with DCA you have a guaranteed interview. Plus, they are owned by Delta. Doesn't those things make it worth the extra money?
07-12-2006, 11:28 PM
#8
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"Plus the best part is they offer guaranteed interviews with airlines that are not currently hiring, in fact one is furloughing"
Ah yes, but those ads are so slick, don't you think. Furloughing? What on earth does that mean? How could they advertise a hiring agreement with an airline that is laying off pilots? Just doesn't seem right....
Ah yes, but those ads are so slick, don't you think. Furloughing? What on earth does that mean? How could they advertise a hiring agreement with an airline that is laying off pilots? Just doesn't seem right....
07-13-2006, 08:40 AM
#9
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well there are ups and downs with every school, I know first hand that DCA puts out damn good quality pilots. Ive met CFIs that graduated through the ATP program, sees as if they could not instruct their way out of a wet paper bag. ATP just prepares you for checkrides, no in depth stuff. Did my MEL thru them.
07-13-2006, 08:42 AM
#10
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FutureSWA,
You might recognize part of this post. I copy/paste it on this board ALL the time because so many people ask about flight academies VS. FBO's. I wrote this post specifically comparing Delta Connection Academy (DCA) because DCA is the worst of the major flight academies. Anyway, here is my perspective.
My recommendation would be to do your licenses and ratings at an FBO. It will save you at least $20,000 for the same training. At DCA, you will pay $55 an hour for instruction. At an FBO you will pay about $35 an hour for instruction. The flip side, when you want to instruct to timebuild, DCA will only pay you $14 an hour. The FBO will pay you $25-35 an hour. BIG DIFFERENCE! At DCA, you will pay $105 for an old cessna, while at an FBO you will pay $80-90 for an old cessna. At DCA you will pay over $200 an hour for a multi, while those cost about $150 at an FBO. As crazy as these prices are, the place where these academies make their money is ground school. If you take the hours of ground school divided by the total cost, it works out to like $20 an hour for a class of 10-20 people. Sometimes their ground school classes cost more than classes at Harvard or Stanford! That's too much!!!
That is why I recommend an FBO over an airline academy. It is much cheaper, you will make more money, and the training can be accomplished in the SAME amount of time.
If you want to go to an airline academy, Delta Connection is the worst. The major academies cost almost the same. But at DCA, you fly old cessna-172's instead of new cessna's or pipers at Pan Am or Flight Safety. At DCA, the only multi time you get is for your multi engine rating, and your MEI. So you get hardly any multi time. At flight safety, you do your instrument in a multi. At PanAm, you do a multi engine routes course, where you get 40hrs PIC ontop of your other ratings. At ATP, you get lots of multi time, and consequently lots of MEI time. Either way (Flight Safety, PanAm, ATP) you will be closer to your 100 Multi that you will NEED to go to an airline. You can't get that at DCA!
You mentioned your financial status as a reason you want to attend DCA. THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!! DCA is the most expensive way to get your licenses and ratings. The only people who should maybe consider DCA are people to who "money is no object." Obviously that is not you. So why would you want to pay $20,000+ MORE for the exact training you could get at a local FBO. I don't want you to wind up in the shoes of...
I am a regional FO... I make $20k a year...I can't pay my loans...I hate life...Why the hell did I go to DCA!
Hope this helps.
You might recognize part of this post. I copy/paste it on this board ALL the time because so many people ask about flight academies VS. FBO's. I wrote this post specifically comparing Delta Connection Academy (DCA) because DCA is the worst of the major flight academies. Anyway, here is my perspective.
My recommendation would be to do your licenses and ratings at an FBO. It will save you at least $20,000 for the same training. At DCA, you will pay $55 an hour for instruction. At an FBO you will pay about $35 an hour for instruction. The flip side, when you want to instruct to timebuild, DCA will only pay you $14 an hour. The FBO will pay you $25-35 an hour. BIG DIFFERENCE! At DCA, you will pay $105 for an old cessna, while at an FBO you will pay $80-90 for an old cessna. At DCA you will pay over $200 an hour for a multi, while those cost about $150 at an FBO. As crazy as these prices are, the place where these academies make their money is ground school. If you take the hours of ground school divided by the total cost, it works out to like $20 an hour for a class of 10-20 people. Sometimes their ground school classes cost more than classes at Harvard or Stanford! That's too much!!!
That is why I recommend an FBO over an airline academy. It is much cheaper, you will make more money, and the training can be accomplished in the SAME amount of time.
If you want to go to an airline academy, Delta Connection is the worst. The major academies cost almost the same. But at DCA, you fly old cessna-172's instead of new cessna's or pipers at Pan Am or Flight Safety. At DCA, the only multi time you get is for your multi engine rating, and your MEI. So you get hardly any multi time. At flight safety, you do your instrument in a multi. At PanAm, you do a multi engine routes course, where you get 40hrs PIC ontop of your other ratings. At ATP, you get lots of multi time, and consequently lots of MEI time. Either way (Flight Safety, PanAm, ATP) you will be closer to your 100 Multi that you will NEED to go to an airline. You can't get that at DCA!
You mentioned your financial status as a reason you want to attend DCA. THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!! DCA is the most expensive way to get your licenses and ratings. The only people who should maybe consider DCA are people to who "money is no object." Obviously that is not you. So why would you want to pay $20,000+ MORE for the exact training you could get at a local FBO. I don't want you to wind up in the shoes of...
I am a regional FO... I make $20k a year...I can't pay my loans...I hate life...Why the hell did I go to DCA!
Hope this helps.
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