Linebacker35

Ive been getting information about the Delta Connection academy through Bridgewater state college. The flight program is run by delta connection academy while you get a 4 year aviation degree at bridgewater. Most of your senior year is done flight instructing(you have to interview with Delta before instructing) for about 800 hours. So it doesnt sound like one of those programs where you buy your hours. After which you get interviews with Chautauqua Airlines, Mesa Air/Midwest, American Eagle, ASA, and of coarse Com air, basicly any airline that has links to Delta. I was just wondering If anyone has taken/taking this program or does anyone know anything about it?

dittidano

DCA is very costly. From what I have heard, it cost around 80-85k. All you get is an interview, no guaranteed job at all. I think that you can find somewhere else that is just as good and cost a lot less; like 35-40k less. Check out www.nationalpilotacademy.com the program there seems to be really good. Best of luck.

dittidano

de727ups

"you have to interview with Delta before instructing"

I think you are mistaken, though, after looking at their website, I can see how you could be confused.

You never interview with Delta....period. Before you can instruct for DCA, and get the guaranteed interview, you have to get through a DCA standards class. I guess you could consider that an intervew with DCA. If you don't pass that, you don't get hired at DCA as a CFI, you don't get 800 hours as a CFI, and you don't get the guaranteed interview. Also, DCA guys who "graduate" from their program have around 1100 total and 200 multi. Those times are good enough for interviews at several regionals, making one wonder, what's the point of the guaranteed interview, anyway?

DCA is an expensive option that produces a competent pilot. The marketing fluff is the useless guaranteed interview. What they don't mention is to get the interview you have to work for them as a CFI at $10/hr for 800 hours. You can do just as well by training at an FBO while saving a lot of money and work at a flight school that pays better while working your way up to 1000 total.

If any of my info conflicts with your understanding. Please, check with your sources and get back to me. I'm confident that I'm correct and would love to be proven wrong. At another popular aviation careers website that I'm a mod at, DCA management requested that all posts that referenced them be removed. It wasn't a pretty sight. Can you imagine a flight school wanting to silence any mention of their name at an aviation careers website. How does that happen?

Also, national pilot academy looks to me like a scam. I've never heard of anyone going there and I'm not impressed by the claims made at their website.

Linebacker35

Yah I should have worded it better. From what the guy from the university told me was you interview for a flight instructure position, in which you are working for Deltaflight academy which is owned by Delta. And yah i know what you mean about how they probably pay you nothing to instruct for 800 hours, I think it would only be worth it if all that time is done in the senior year of university not after. That wouldnt be too bad make some cash and build up some hours while getting a degree.
Right now Im just trying to see what is the best way to get started. Im from Canada so its a whole differant system up here. The standard here is get licenses and go fly up north or in the bush for like 5 years to build the hours. So these flight programs and instructing to get hours is all new to me. But I want to get going down in the states and eventualy be working for a US airline. If you have any other advice, I would appreciate it.

dittidano

I personally do not know anyone that has gone to National Pilot Academy. I have talked to the rep several times. I know that he is going to tell a prospective student everything that they want to hear. NPA told me that the majority of thier graduates get hired on at skywest, I did not really believe him at that time. I ended up calling a pilot recruiter at Skywest; I asked her if she has heard of NPA. The pilot recruiter told me that she has heard of NPA and that they have a great program and she agreed that they do hire the vast majority of grads from NPA. She said that where you get your training doesnt really matter, however,most of the grads from NPA fit the criteria for employment. The cost there seems to be a lot cheaper than other big academies. The school there is 16 months long; you get ppl-cfi in 4 months and then instruct at the school for 12 months. It sounds pretty intense, the training is 6 days a week 8 hours a day. They pay thier CFIs 15 dollars a hour. Is this place a scam? I dont really know,however, I am going down to check it out real soon. You might want to look into it as well Linebacker. All I know that it a lot cheaper than DCA,RAA,FSA,ect. To good to be true? Ill try to find out and ill write a post on it. Sorry for the long post here, just trying to help a fellow brother out.

Dittidano

atpwannabe

In terms of all the responses, I guess I'll weigh in one this one.

I think it's up to the individual to see exactly what avenue or course of action is going to best meet their needs. If a person has the luxury of time, then take the route of building your TT at an FBO. If not, like myself (44 yrs old), then my options are few.

If I want to make flying passengers or cargo a career, I believe going to an FBO and getting my commercial w/instrument rating then transferring to a flight academy is feasible. That would save me 1000's. On the other hand, I could enroll in one of the academies from the start. Either way, I have to do what is best for me.

And last but not least, I truly believe that TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!!!

Just my thoughts.

aviator09

I guess I can put some info in on this one ..... I am currently enrolled in the DCA at bridgewater state college. I have a little insight from both sides on this one .. I started my flight training at a community college. They had a aviation program through a local FBO. The training was great and I knocked off my Private, instrument, and ME while there. I dont regret doing it at all. I got to do a lot of what I call "freedom flying" and what I mean by that is ... I could fly whenever I want, where ever I wanted and bring whoever I wanted to along. Now that I have transfered to the DCA, you usually fly on your set days of the week.. not whenever you feel like booking a flight. All the destinations are pre picked by the instructors due to Delta's strick rules about fueling, so the airport must have a DCA account there. They also do not let you bring passengers or rent planes whenever you want. But, the upside is they are very very professional at the accademy. They train you to very high standards at the DCA. I am still playing catch up to students with less rateings than me at the DCA. Due to at the FBO, they are teaching you to be CFI's and at the DCA they are teaching you to be airline pilots. The good thing is they interview you for a CFI job when your done and almost all the past students get hired. Not that you cant instruct anywhere else but atleast at the DCA you always have students and build hours very fast. Everything is very professional and well kept. Now that I have seen both sides of it I would def. say spend the money at DCA instead of training at an FBO. Or do what I did....FBO for half .. save money and then transfer in ???

ryane946

I did some serious research on these airline academies a little over a year ago, and personally Delta Connection Academy (Formerly Comair Academy) was the least desirable of all the major academies. I will explain below with 2 parts.

Part 1. An airline academy or a good FBO. I chose FBO, and I am happy I did. Here are a couple of numbers for you. I apologize because the DCA numbers are a year old, but if anything they've gone up, not down.
At my FBO, a 172 rents for$71 an hour for the late 70's/early 80's models.
At DCA, a 172 rented for $100 an hour, and they were the OLD models.
At my FBO, a duchess rents for $146 an hour.
At DCA, a duchess (actually, maybe a seminole?) rents for $200 an hour.
At my FBO, you pay $35 an hour for instructing, and once you are hired as an instructor, you make $35 an hour.
At DCA, you pay instructors $55 an hour, and once you are hired as an instructor, you make $14 an hour!!!
I think you get the same amount of training at a good FBO for a lot less money.

Part 2. If you decide to go to an airline academy, I would recommend PanAm, Flight Safety, or RAA over Delta connection. Especially now that Delta is in bankruptcy and Comair is downsizing, your guarenteed interview is not worth as much as they are at the other academies.

I would decide if you want to train at an FBO or airline academy first, and then decide between the major ones.
Hope this helps some,

Pilotpip

Ryane,

Are those rental rates at the FBO wet or dry? If wet those are damn good!

de727ups

"DCA they are teaching you to be airline pilots."

Makes me wonder how I ever became a successful airline pilot by just going to regular FBO's. I missed out on all that great "airline pilot" teaching...