Hey everyone,
For those going at the California branch, what are you thoughts? Of the school and housing. As well as the expencies of training in California?
Which one?
Tory
Either or friend, generalization is what I’m looking for.
Well, they don’t call it Sunny California for no reason. So, weather was hardly an issue. I spent most of my time in Sacramento and Hayward (now Livermore). Good airspace for training. Both smaller locations, but wasn’t an issue. Someone sent me a picture of Sacramento’s training center. It got a makeover. I don’t even recognize it anymore. Livermore is new too.
I don’t know what housing in Livermore is like. Like I said, I was at Hayward. Sacramento’s housing was 8 minutes from the training center. I enjoyed it. Walking distance from the grocery store. Nice neighborhood.
I spent a few weeks in Riverside and Long Beach. Congested airspace but the CFIs know how to get the job done.
Tory
Keep in mind that ATP tries very hard to standardize their locations as much as possible. While the physical buildings of course differ from one location to the next, the student experience should be fairly uniform.
Chris
From mostly everyone I’ve talked to, there doesn’t seem to be much variation between locations. Your biggest variables are going to be equipment (archer vs 172. GNS 450 vs G1000 etc), airspace, and weather.
I’m training at a very busy class C airport and literally the only complaint I have so far is that probably 12-18% of my billed hours so far have been spent on taxi ways and run ups. Yes, I’m probably better at coms than someone with the same amount of hours who trains at a non-towered airport, but by the time you’re a CFI you should be proficient in coms regardless of where you train. Then again, given the option I would not be training at any other location, so it’s not a deal breaker but definitely something to consider. If you’re a student who needs more time to become proficient, that time on the ground could really add up against you in the long run.