I am glad to hear that you had a good intro flight and that you have made a decision.
As for training part time, I think you are absolutely correct here. Now I have never been a Police Officer and do not pretend to know anything about the job, but something else to think about trying to work and fly at the same time is that Cops are tasked with making split second, life and death decisions. Decisions to take somebody else’s life or to protect your own and make sure you come home to your family. I would hate to see you make a mistake on the job because you were fatigued. Please understand that I am saying this as somebody that is very pro-police, I can only imagine that your job is very stressful and that you always need to be at your best for it.
AF is a well established school with a good reputation, but they do not in any way specialize in accelerated training. I have never met a single airline pilot that came from AF, I have met many ATP grads.
Please keep us updated as you go through the process.
I’m glad you figured out that the combination of work and flight school can be quite the burden. Like you, I had strong aspirations to do both flight school and be in EMS full-time. Then it transitioned to part-time. After struggling, I decided to go per diem and flight school full-time. The longer I have been in this program, the more I understand how its just not a possibility. If you qualify for a high enough loan, you are able to take out $2K a month for living expenses. This has greatly reduced the stress of monthly bills. With CAX coming up, CFI follows right after which means four weeks away from home.
Keep us updated on your progress and reach out if you need help!
Deposit has been submitted and start date confirmed for June 20th at Morristown, NJ. Received my tracking for my school items. Still hasn’t hit me yet that I made the plunge! Super excited though!
The feeling is quite surreal when you do that first deposit. I still catch myself sometimes surprised that I am actually doing this. It gets more and more surreal the further you get in the program and the more checkmarks you have.
Today I put my two weeks notice into the Chief of Police. Let me tell ya, huge weight off my shoulders! Huge support behind me from my wife and my family which goes a long way! Now I can fully focus on studying for my written exams before my June 20th start date.
I bet that was an interesting feeling. I am sure you are looking forward to this next phase of your life.
That being said, thank you for all you did for us as a Police Officer. I sleep much better at night knowing that people like you are out there to keep us safe. While that job has changed greatly, there are still many of us that really respect Police and are thankful for the role they serve.
I appreciate your kind words! I had a good career, 7 1/2 years on the job. Was fortunate to get some great training and to be certified in many different things.
But to be honest, I’ve never been more excited to start my training towards an airline pilot. I can equate it to the excitement I got when I was drafted in the MLB draft. A childhood dream, and an experience I will never forget.
But this is all brand new to me so the reading and the videos are actually quite enjoyable.
You’ve already had quite a life of excitement, it’s cool to think there is still much more to come! Keep that attitude through training especially when it gets tough.
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Just an update. Since my start date is June 20th at Morristown NJ, I’ve been studying Kings School private pilot lessons and reading over the PHAK along with the ATP elevate videos. Setting my alarm at 7am everyday to study for about 4 hours. Then going about my day. After dinner, I watch about 1hr of videos and take some notes then go to sleep and do it all over again the next day. I’ve almost completed all the videos and will take a couple practice tests to make sure I’m consistently scoring in the high 80’s-90’s range. According to my ATP schedule it says I would be taking the PAR written on 7/11.
I know @Adam says taking the written exams are just a box to check off, but do you think I should take the written that day and get about a months of ground and flying instruction while at ATP so I understand it more, or just study the material like I am now and just get it out of the way.
@Police2Pilot awesome job attacking the study material. The dedication you’re showing now will serve you well going through the program. That’s exactly the kind of time and dedication it will take to be successful and you’re starting that habit already.
The written exams need to be done as merely an item on a checklist. I know it sounds counterintuitive but you need to just use rote memorization to knock out the written exams. Download any study prep app in the App Store like ASA or Sportys PAR test prep (for the IRA on you’ll use Sheppard air test prep). You can get just as high of a score and take a fraction of the time to complete using this method. Knocking them out early frees up your time during the program to focus on studying ground knowledge and prepping for your flights. The studying you’re doing in the PHAK and the elevate videos will help you for your foundational knowledge and for the oral portion of your checkride.
Thanks Hannah! I’m wrapping up the Kings school Private and using what I learned there to quiz myself using the learning mode on the Sportys App. Is a lot of the questions from the Sportys app on the FAA written? Everyone I talk to keeps saying just memorize the information haha.
It sounds like you found the method that works for you! I would recommend if you can take the PAR written as soon as you feel confident in your ability to score well; Don’t sit too long on the material as it can get blurred and then you don’t score as great.
