I’m in my senior year of high school and I am looking at graduating and attending ATP the going to college. How do I know if this is the right place for me? I am currently working on my PPL and am getting a hang of the controls and flying the plane very well. My instructor tells me I handle the plane great. I was just curious on how much studying is needed on the daily basis? How much time for flight blocks? Also what can I do to get a head start on everything? Just what are some things overall I can do to figure out if this is the right thing for me? I have a great passion and determination for flying.
Nico,
Go to my “Flying the Line” section and look at an article called “Questions For Any Prospective Flight School”, it will help you know which questions to ask to see which school is best for you.
ATP is a full time, highly condensed program. This sounds cliche, but you should be studying any moment that you are not flying. Your typical day will consist of a few hours in the airplane or simulator, then the rest of it studying.
Keep in mind that ATP requires two years of college, two years of work experience, or a PPL before enrolling.
The best thing that you could do to get a head start is, after you pick a flight school, start studying for and taking your various written exams. Having those completed before training is a huge leg up.
Chris
Nico,
That is a hard question for us to answer. Everyone is different and I can’t
say for sure because I don’t know you personally. The other mentors and I
know that ATP is not a one size fits all kind of program, and I appreciate
the question, but that is a question that you have to answer for yourself.
With the information provided on this forum and the ATP website, you should
be able to decide if ATP is a good fit for you based on what you know about
yourself. When you shop for clothes do you ask the clerk if it will fit you
or do you just try it on to see for yourself?
I can tell you that ATP requires a lot of self discipline and minimal
distractions. So, if you are willing and able to commit 100% of your time
to flight training for nine months, you have a better chance of completing
the entire program, but that is about all the help I can give you at this
point. Discovering your abilities is part of the process and you won’t know
until you try.
Tory
Thank you everybody for your responses. It is a great help!