hawgdriver

I know there are a lot of guys that have been looking for an ATP location. I just finished my ATP today in Jacksonville. I did the 2 day program and passed but I felt rushed to get the training done. I had my written done before getting there. It's 2 flights of 2.0 and then off to the check. The oral exam consisted of a few system questions, V speeds ect. Lasted about 20 min. As for the flying, I didn’t feel as prepared for the check ride as I would liked to have been. I have about 100 hrs in a Seminole and I'm a MEI but the last time I flew one was about 10 yrs ago. I thought that the flying would be the easy part. My first flight was not as good as I would have liked but it was a steep learning curve. The 4 hrs was just about right to get me ready. The examiner was by no means giving me a break because of my experience. During the check he did everything to overload me and see how I'd handle the "stressful" environment. I think the ATP program was good and you get what you pay for. If I were to do it again I'd do the 10 hour program. I think it's about $1000 more but I'm sure my comfort level would have been better taking the check with a few more hours. Hopefully this helps some of the guys out there trying to make the decision on where to go.

p3gator

I also went the All ATP route at KCRG earlier this year, using their 2 day program. I did not have previous time in a Seminole. Concur with hawg, a very compressed 2 days.

- Memorize the V speeds, and the short checklists. Be familiar with the supplement to answer the oral questions.
- I downloaded the approach plates for KCRG and reviewed the approaches prior to the class/checkride. On my check ride we did ILS, VOR and GPS approaches into KCRG.
- GPS/COMM SELECTOR. I felt very uncomfortable with the plane's navaids, and GARMIN setup (ie, never used it before). Time spent on my own, day 1 to get familiar with selection/setup saved me time/pain on my checkride.

Also dealt with the "overload" environment for the check ride that Hawg mentioned. Definitely put me through my paces, from malfunction, to approach, to missed, to holding, to single engine, to approach, etc. Fun times

I think the 10 hour program would have been overkill, but may have also improved my comfort level in the Seminole. Best advice I have is to take advantage of Day 1 and the two flights, and spend the extra time there to button smash with the Garmin in their ground sim.

P3bubba

I also did my ATP in Jax in April. I did the 2 day course. I definitely did not feel that the training received was worth $2500, but I passed my checkride, so I guess it works. I showed up on day one, had 20 min of ground school, 20 min of sim, then a 30 min wait for first flight. Don't let the instructors off easy. I was told that "I was good and ready for checkride" after about 15 min of flight and wanted to land after 1 hour of flight time. We then took a two hour lunch and came back for 2nd flight. This time I told the instructor exactly what I wanted to work on, which was the Garmin system, local approaches, and emergency procedures. All in all, I was disappointed with the level of service.

As for the checkride, my guy freely admitted he is a yeller but wasn't feeling good. So as the previous post say, be prepared to be stressed. Just get through it, rumor has it they have never failed a military guy.

Good luck.

CubiclePilot

Are ya'll paying out of pocket? I found this little gem buried on their website...



ATP Flight School: VA Approved Career Pilot Training for Veterans

VA Benefits Unavailable

ATP’s flight training programs are ineligible for students’ VA benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill and the newer Post 9-11 GI Bill.

Benefits Cut for Flight Training

In 2010 and 2011, the US Department of Veterans Affairs significantly changed their regulations around flight training and flight schools. Under the new rules, ATP cannot participate in the VA program.

No Plans for VA-Approved Program

ATP has no plans to offer a VA-approved flight training program in the future.

What Flight Training Options Do I Have?

Consider holding on to your benefits and applying them towards your bachelor's degree. When it comes to your flight training, ATP still offers the best value, with financing available at highly competitive rates.

Thank You

We appreciate your service to our country, and regret that we cannot process VA benefits for our military veterans.

Ray Blaszak

They stopped doing the VA program because they got sick of filling out the paperwork yet they still have a 141 program at KCRG. They bought an existing 141 schools in the Pensacola and Panama City Beach area but the FAA supposedly starting looking so they scrapped it and started from the ground up. For as much military students as they get I think they made a huge business mistake.

Grumble

If you're in the FL Panhandle area I can recommend a better ATP location that is VA approved, and cheaper than AllATP.

Sheppardair for the written prep all day long.

Ray Blaszak

Sounds like you both had Ernie Stange. I had him for multiple check rides.

Dynasty22

LOL. Did Dwayne Brown use to do checkrides at ATP? Or was it just Rich Tillery, Walt, and Ernie?

UNCPHILLIPS

Grumble, who did or do you have for this?

Ray Blaszak

At the moment the main ones are Ernie and Tillery. We all have our theory about Ernie. He's actually quite a fun guy. I was one of the few people who actually got him to do fun things in the plane and talk about something outside of aviation.