My name is Paul and I’m a fairly new private pilot. I’ve wanted to join ATP for quite some time and I’m pleased to say my financing is approved, I have 78 hours logged, and my admissions flight is scheduled for this coming Sunday at KAPA (Centennial, CO).
Can anyone give me some advice on how I should be preparing for this first flight? All of my training so far has been in low-wing and the KAPA location trains in high-wing. I’m a little worried about this. I’ve been reading the training supplement trying to memorize the V speeds and Cessna specific differences. I’ve also been reading up on the PPL level coursework.
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have already done a great job preparing for the flight. My recommendation would be to relax, remember that it is not a checkride and that it is just as much of a chance for you to interview ATP as it is for them to interview you.
Enjoy the flight, even if the wing is in the wrong place (I like low wing airplanes myself).
The most important thing about your admissions flight, relax, have fun, and just be open-minded… don’t be afraid to ask questions. This is your time to ask the questions or anything that you haven’t seen answered on the forum or personally have for your instructor.
Thanks everyone for your input. Admissions flight went smooth and I had a blast. The instructor was awesome and showed me some instrument procedures so it was a little more than an intro flight, which is exactly what I wanted. I’ll be calling the main office tomorrow to lock in my class date.
Excellent news, I am so glad to hear it. Please let us know when you have a class date scheduled so we can start pestering you to work on the written exams
Seems like you had what I like to call, the ATP experience. Did you get a chance to talk to anyone today to schedule your enrollment? Like Chris said, we always like to pester everyone about getting a head start on your written exams.
Start date is July 10th at KAPA. I’ve already been getting familiar with Sheppard Air for Instrument and now that I have a date set I’ll be taking it a bit more serious.
Again, thank you all for your support and interest. It means a lot for us trying to get started.
I am glad to hear that you have a start date scheduled, that is exciting news! I am glad that you are starting in on the writtens, that will be a huge help to you in training.
Please remember that we are always here to answer questions or help in any way we can along the way.
I’m reading that I’ll need to be able to pass a private pilot checkride when I show up for training. I have very little experience in a Cessna, I might be able to get a couple of hours with my old instructor before hand. How much should I worry about this part? Will there be an actual practical exam or just an oral?
If you’re starting the program with credit for your PPL you need to be a current and competent PPL as you’ll be diving right into your Instrument training.
While there’s bound to be some adjustments to be made transitioning to a different airplane, you are licensed to fly single engine land are you not? ATP also included the Cessna POH with your training materials. Between the 2 you shouldn’t need too much time to make the adjustments, again provided you’re current and competent. I wouldn’t worry unless you’re not.
I wouldn’t worry about the private pilot knowledge if that is still proficient. Just focus on studying the Cessna Supplement because you’re playing catch up with the airplane. You’ll have one TOL day and jump right in to Instrument specific training with the expectation you are comfortable and proficient in the airplane.
I would recommend for Day 1 stuff to have reviewed and able to complete the Oral Review questions in the back of the Training Supplement for your aircraft. Make sure that you also complete your ATP Orientation videos which will also be a review for material.
If you’re starting in as PPL make sure that you are current like Adam mentioned, if it’s been more than 24 months since your last checkride, make sure to have completed a flight review prior to coming to ATP. Your admissions flight nor training at ATP is a flight review, it is training flights.
I’m only 3 months past my checkride, but I ran out of money during my training and had to get real creative in order to finish. Because of that I haven’t flown much at all since my checkride. I will make sure I get 1-2 more flights in before I start to make sure I’m ready.
I think because there is so much to study I have a hard time prioritizing whats important in the short term. Which is why I asked the question in the first place. It’s also true that I’m probably over thinking it. Anyways, thanks again for the advice!
