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Great ATP Experience
If you can deal with flying into Presque Isle, ME or into Bangor and driving to Presque Isle there is a great ATP deal up there. A retired B-52 driver (Colonel) does ATPs. You have to get the written done on your own (I went to AllATPs), provide your medical, and proof of hours. I just brought my Air Force printout of hours and Form 8s showing where I became an AC. We basically did everything in one day. It cost me about $1100 bucks plus the cost to fly up there and rent a car and hotel but it was well worth it. Initially, I was turned off by having to go all the way to Maine but when I realized my written test was going to expire and I couldnt get in to AllATPs in time I gave this guy a shot and I'm glad I did. His name is John Trask. If you go to the Presque Isle, ME airport website I think his number is on there. Email me if you want to know more....
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I did the 4 day course at All ATP's in Riverside. Went in cold and did the full day cram study with their computer bank Q's for the ATP day 1 and the FE day 2. Fly with a CFI day 3 and take the checkride day 4. The examiner is retired Pam AM, REALLY military friendly, keeps a personal log with callsigns of guys, ect. Myself and 20 other pilots I flew with as IP's all went there with 100% pass rate. After the ride I asked the examiner about the apparent lack of "toughness" with the ride and he responded by saying that in his experience as an examiner, military pilots are at such a high level of performance and standards compared to the civ counterparts that the ATP ride seems easy. And it is, just don't bust a MDA, of course at 90kts you have all the time in the world to overcome the new scan in the Seminole.
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Anyone have experience with All ATP in Dallas? I'm looking to possibly knock out the ATP this fall when (if!) I go to KC-135 IP school in Altus and Dallas seems too close to pass up (when traveling from Mildenhall that is!).
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Originally Posted by Tanker-driver
(Post 12307)
Anyone know of a good place to go get an ATP rating? I'm military and have never really flown light twins, so I'm looking for a place that will take this into account. Most (95%) of my experience has been in turbofan, EFIS equipped aircraft on jet routes with a good amount of time spent in terminal areas. I've looked at 'All ATPs' and they seem to have a pretty good program, but I've heard a horror story or two about military guys getting sent to the checkride and being hung out to dry because they didn't know the ins and outs of the GPS or weren't intimately comfortable with prop levers. Are there any military friendly schools out there?
On a related note; are there any military folks out there who have been through this process that can recommend some good gouge to prepare? I'm looking at taking some leave this coming summer to accomplish this, so I've got a few months. Should I just bury my nose in the FAR/AIM, or are there better things I could be doing with my time? One last question for the civil or mil side: Does anyone know about converting a FAA ATP to an international license? I've heard that an FAA ATP counts as an ICAO ATP -- Can anyone confirm this? If that's true, then that leaves JAA. Are there any schools in North America that offer a conversion course? If so, what kind of a time/money investment am I looking at? Sorry to be so long winded!! Any info available would be helpful. Thanks! |
All ATPs is who I used back in 1999... they were awesome... quick, straight forward, and got what I paid for... might not be the most experienced instructors... but they guarantee you will pass... and I did... never flown a twin prop before taking that 5 day cram course.
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AllATPs in BHM(Jasper, AL)......can't go wrong with that place.
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Tanker,
As far as the testing goes, I recommend sheppardair.com, you pay $75, download their program and study. It's a very good study system, they boil it down to the essentials, and GUARANTEE a 90 or your money back. I know about 10 people who used this system, lowest score a 99. I went to CRM in Tempe for the ATP, arrived on Sunday, ground school, sim, training flight on Monday, checkride on Tues, back home on Tues night. It was $1995 when I did it, you need to have test done before you go. They are very mil friendly there, Joe Perry is the guy you need to talk to. Hotel at the airport is Thunderbird Inn, they are a block from CRM and a decent hotel and very reasonable as far as price. |
Cautionary tale from ATP land....
All ATP's in Dallas is fine. The written is just as everyone has said. Go to Arlington not Addison. The examiner in Addison (at least the one there 2 years ago named Norm) was kind of a tool and seemed to have a problem with military pilots. He hosed me on my checkride during the oral portion (didn't even get to fly) and told me that "You need more reciprocationg engine time." At the time I had 2500 hrs of multi-engine turbine time, all PIC and 1300 of if IP. I have never heard of another story like this so it was probably me stepping on my crank with golf shoes (the old kind) but at least one cautionary tale should find it's way into the mix here. The good news is in the long run if didn't hurt me. I'm now in IOE with a certain fractional ownership company and all it took was a 10 second explanation during my interview that I messed up and moved on. Good luck and take the FE the same time you take your ATP.
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Originally Posted by CAFB 04-12
(Post 341937)
Anyone have experience with All ATP in Dallas? I'm looking to possibly knock out the ATP this fall when (if!) I go to KC-135 IP school in Altus and Dallas seems too close to pass up (when traveling from Mildenhall that is!).
My recommendation for the ATP and FE written prep is Sheppard Air (http://www.sheppardair.com). It's completely online and they seem to do an excellent job of weeding out the questions so that you only see the real bank and don't waste time studying things you don't need to know. I think I missed one question on the FE test. Once I was ready, I just found a local FBO that offered testing and completed my tests there. Then I went to All ATPs for the flying. One thing I'll say about All ATPs, is that your experience really seems dependent on the location and examiner. Most people I know have gone to All ATPs and have widely varying experiences. For example, the evaluator I had couldn't have been more big picture -- in fact he even made the comment that this is the only time you're even going to need to worry about this piston stuff. Others have had examiners who were complete tools. I think the best thing is to check with buds who recently went through (since they turn over staff so much -- esp with regionals hiring) to get the gouge on the best locations. |
Sounds like Sheppard may be the way to go. Probably the cheapest too.
FlyHappy- How much did that FBO charge to take your test? We have a Sylvan Learning center near my house that I think can give the tests. At least they did back in 96 when I took my ppl written. |
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