I am currently a line man at a local city airport and am going to start working on my pilots license soon. I am strongly considering ATP but am unsure at weather or not I should start at zero hours or not. I have found an amazingly cheep but respected flight club to learn at and have saved enough to afford a PPL and IFR rating there. I also have the opportunity to build hours in ride alongs with in planes such as king air B200’s and pilatus pc-12’s. All the pilots are former flight instructors.
My question is this: should I stay where I am and save money and build hours, or should I leave it to join ATP? And would I be even able to join ATP and become a flight instructor if I get my PPL and IFR from somewhere else?
Totally your call but I’ll give you my take. EVERY flight school/instructor has their own method and technique, obviously some better than others. If you’re considering ATP I assume it’s because you’ve heard good things or have seen the results. ATP was created other 30 yrs ago by airline pilots you train airline pilots and nothing else (if you noticed you cannot go to ATP and just get your Private etc). A large part of being successful in flight training is consistency. Starting off day 1 using ATPs methods, policies and procedures guarantees you that consistency throughout the program and in fact throughout all your flight training. Another aspect to consider is time frame. By going in with your Private and the required 80hrs TT (btw there is no credit for the Instrument rating so if you do go to ATP you’ll be doing that training again so I’d advise against that) you’ll shave 3mos off the program. Unless you can finish your PPL with the 80 hrs locally you’re basically pushing your career back that extra time.
Again your call but those are my thoughts. I appreciate the desire to save money but in the long run after you’re hired at an airline the delay will cost you considerably more in lost earning.
Thank you for that advice and the information about the instrument! And working at my airport i have met a lot of ATP graduates and even students and instructors who come for check rides. I have heard negatives as well though. My biggest fear is getting an instructor who really isnt passionate or serious about the instructing aspect. Is that a reasonable fear with ATP. And if that occurs, are there procedures to make it easy in finding another instructor?
If a student and instructor pair are not a good match, I would address your
concerns with the appropriate supervisor. If it is determined that there is
a valid reason for needing to change instructors, the change will be made.