A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step

Congratulations! Great work and thanks for the update!

Chris

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It’s about time! :wink:

Nice job… oh and nice shirt.

Adam

Congrats!!!

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LOL, that was an awful uniform violation but I was so out of it, I didn’t care. I will make sure to tuck it in for the next checkride :blush:

Congrats, Sergey! Great picture!

Tory

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Officially an instrument rated pilot! 3 months and 19 days from start. Had two checkrides rescheduled but today was a perfect day to fly. Now onto crew training and complex aircraft training between the holidays!

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Congratulation! That is an awesome achievement. Thank you for the update.

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Congrats, Sergey! Nice job!

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Well done Sergey!

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I wanted to give a quick update on my progress in the program so far. It has been exactly four months now since I’ve started as a “0-hour student” at ATP. In that time I’ve been able to achieve a PPL and an instrument rating. I stayed over for the holiday break and was able to get a bit further ahead of my schedule receiving my complex endorsement by flying the Seminole (new ATP program format), as well as completing my crew prep and passing my crew evaluation ground and flight portions. By the time everyone else was returning from break, my semi-capable instrument rated self belonged to Flight Ops and I was officially on crew. Since the start of crew segment I got to fly to and from FXE, and today and tomorrow I was scheduled to fly to and from Dothan, AL and Savannah, GA. Here’s the neat part… as in most things in life, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. By the time we were due to go back to DAB today, the winds at DAB picked up above ATP crew minimums. I made a decision to wait for a forecast update, as a wind decrease was projected shortly. That 45 minute delay meant we wouldn’t make it back to DAB before sunset and the mission was scrubbed. Flight Ops was very helpful in coordinating another short leg for the day, and we overnight in Tallahassee tonight, with trips scheduled for Columbia, SC and back to Daytona for tomorrow. It may be just a small taste of the “real pilot life”, but it was really cool to operate as a crew in coordination with the ATP dispatch process. I think crew is appropriately scheduled in the program. It allows us to build confidence and experience in structured ADM, and gives us the positive experience of going and seeing new places. Most of all, it’s a great bonding experience for ATP pilots who have to rely on each other’s skills to effect a successful outcome of a mission.

After crew, next on the schedule is my SE Commercial checkride which is only 2-3 weeks away from end of crew, followed by CFI school. Time really does “fly” when you’re having fun and stay busy.

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Sergey,

Nice work staying ahead and putting in the extra effort. Those are the things that will serve you well in this career and set you apart. That “small taste” is what I’ve been talking about for years and one of the major factors that sets ATP apart. At virtually every school out there you’ll formulate a plan the day before or morning of. Plan it, check weather etc but there’s also an expectation that “this is what I’ll be doing today”. To others the small change in plans may not seem like much BUT it’s just enough to take you out of your comfort zone and after it’s done leaves you with a great feeling of accomplishment and confidence. By far my favorite part of the program. When I was done was when I finally felt that I really was a pilot.

Good stuff!

Adam

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I’ve talked to several students and CFIs about this and heard EXACTLY verbatim what you said: after crew is when you finally feel like a “real pilot”. Good stuff!

Greetings everyone! Another milestone in the books— Commercial Single-Engine Pilot rating achieved. 5 months and 3 days from program start.

Now I will be starting CFI School at the DAB location on February 25th. Onward and upward… :man_pilot:t2:

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Like a boss

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Sergey,

That is awesome! Congratulations and thank you for the update.

Chris

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Nice job, Sergey!

Nice socks, too. :sunglasses:

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Being that the socks are the only unregulated part of the uniform, I wish more airlines would give away airline “swag” in that form :grin::wink::wink::wink:

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Congrats Sergey! Thanks for all the updates! Now will you get a ME add on to your commercial or is that automatic if you have the ME add on already to your private?

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Thanks, Tom! The program was restructured in October of last year to streamline it and make it more logical in a way. I received my complex training and endorsement required for my Commercial checkride in the Seminole, but the ME Commercial added rating now comes after I go through CFI school and take my CFI Initial and CFII rides. Then I will switch to the Seminole to get the rest of my multi hours by getting the Comm ME and MEI. I was actually one of the first two people at DAB today to take the Comm SE initial checkride.

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Ladies and gents… well, it happened. It was the longest checkride of my short aviation career, but after a nearly 12 hour day (6.5 hour oral/2.9 hour flight/1.5 hour debrief), I am now a newly minted CFI. 6 months and 22 days from program start… I have a new appreciation for all of you that have earned this certificate!

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