I thought I’d create a thread to track my progress through the program. By way of introduction, I am 43-years-old, married, and have a 13-year-old daughter who lives across the country. I have had several careers (Soldier, teacher, business owner) and many more jobs. Flying has been an interest of mine for most of my life, but I allowed time/money factors, misinformation, and personal assumptions prevent me from pursuing it as both a hobby and a career. That all changed about 4 months ago.
Through a lot of honest reflection and research, I discovered I wanted to fly part 135 and chose ATP (at least in part due to this forum) to help me achieve that goal. Once decided, I went all in figuring out financing, getting my medical, and knocking out the pre-requisites. One of the best things I did (again, thanks in large part to this forum) was complete all six written exams before my start date (check out this post). I met so many students today in various phases of the program who were so stressed about keeping up with the course material while also trying to study for the writtens. Thank you for the heads up, Mentors!
All that to say, today was my first day at KPIE! It was an easy couple of hours of admin, facility familiarization, going over the Student Extranet and ForeFlight, and applying for my Student Pilot License. My Instructor (Logan) gave me homework, so I stuck around for a few hours to study and got to meet some of the other students and Instructors, and Logan let me sit in while he reviewed check-ride questions with another student. All in all, a great day. Looking forward to Elevate tomorrow!
I feel like you should be holding one of those little chalkboard signs that says “First Day of School”
Thank you for posting about your experience today. I am rally glad that you took out advice and completed the writtens, that will serve you well in the program.
That’s what I was going for! Shame we didn’t have a chalkboard.
I will for sure keep updating this thread as I work my way through. Logan already has three sims and two flights scheduled this week on top of the Elevate classes. It’s about to get fun!
Nice “First Day of School” picture and a very nice writeup. I foresee a certificate in hand in approximately 2 months, looking forward to seeing the journey friend.
So, I’m sitting here waiting for the hurricane and thought I’d let y’all know about my first week at ATP. Short answer: It was awesome!
The Elevate classes are actually a really good refresher of what I learned studying for the writtens with the added benefits of being able to ask questions, explore scenarios, and gain deeper understanding and context. I know some people don’t like them, but they can be hugely beneficial if you choose to engage with them.
My Instructor, Logan, is great! His instruction is very thorough and personalized to my current knowledge and skill. He’s also got a knack for letting me mess up just enough to recognize I’ve messed up and then nudge me toward the correct solution.
We got in three simulator sessions and my First Flight! Every time I climb in that left seat I learn a little more, fly a little better, and grow in both confidence and competence. And I have so much fun! I even got to sneak in some personal sim time during an unscheduled early morning block. It’s amazing how much you can learn when no one is watching (like taxiing, and what happens when you just let go of the controls and let the plane fly itself ).
So far, the experience has been everything I hoped. The other students and instructors have been super supportive and helpful, willing to jump in and answer any questions I’ve had. The information comes hard and fast, but I’m learning harder and faster and have full faith in my ability to bring it all together and be successful here.
Glad to hear you’ve had such a great first week! That Frasca sim is awesome! Way more realistic than the one they had when I went through the program. Cool to see the technology evolve to enhance your flight training experience.
Wonderful pictures! The new simulators look awesome, very useful to have a mock-up of the actual flightdeck and be able to apply realism into your training.
So, it’s been a minute since I last posted, and what a weird minute it’s been. Things were going well for a few weeks, then I started having pain in my knee that wouldn’t go away and got worse over time. It got so bad that I ended up in urgent care. Turns out I have chronic tendonitis from the Army that flared up really bad. My instructor and TSS were very understanding and gave me a couple weeks off to heal up. Unfortunately, recovery has been slower than we’d hoped and will prevent me from keeping pace with the program. As such, I’m meeting with the TSS tomorrow to discuss withdrawing.
I want to emphasize that I only have positive things to say about ATP and would recommend it to anyone interested in becoming a professional pilot. The students and instructors I’ve worked with have been absolutely amazing. The program and resources are world class. I am simply unable to perform as required at this time.
I don’t really know what comes next for me. A lot depends on how my recovery goes. But I want to thank all of the mentors and contributors on this forum. You’re knowledge and insights have been invaluable. I wish you all the best and happy flying!
This is sad to hear, I know this has to be tough, but you seem in great spirits about it. However, this is not the end for your journey, Eli! Is there anything by your primary care or physical therapist on what could provide you strength and rehab the knee to regain strength/condition?
How far did you make it through private training? Hate to hear this news. I hope you can make a plan to come back again in the future! Rest up and keep us updated if you can!
