Just made my account, my name is Daniel Davis I am 24 from Nebraska. I am currently a Sergeant prison guard. In September of 2020 I left for army basic training and finished AIT in May 2021. growing up I always knew I wanted a career helping others so I decided I would do so in law enforcement and wanted to be a cop. I do enjoy my job, but I think there is better. My roommate boyfriend is currently a Captain for Alaska and just got offered a job with FedEx. he has been helping me out a lot with starting this career change. it is scary to go from debt free to almost 100,000 in debt but I do think it will be worth it. I took my introduction flight a month ago and logged 40 minutes of fly time so far. only 1460 more to go. I plan on attending Kansas City or Denver ATP in March. If anyone has attended those locations, feel free to tell me about your experience. I like many others have so many questions and every day I think of a new question, so I plan to ask as them come. A few of my questions are listed below. I plan to keep everyone updated on this post and reply with my experience going from zero to graduate.
What is the most challenging part of ATP?
What is the best way to build your 1500 hours? (beside instructing)
Do airlines require a degree?
How can I prepare for flight school?
What is the student to instructor ratio?
What is the pass rate for ATP? I don’t think ill fail because I am a hard worker and a quicker learner but that is a concern.
What is the most challenging part of ATP?
Honestly the whole program is challenging. Flight training is difficult and compressing what usually takes years into months makes it more so. Different individuals find different sections more or less challenging but really each has its own unique factors. Plan on working harder than you ever have for 7mos.
What is the best way to build your 1500 hours? (beside instructing)
Flight instructing. You asked what’s “the best way” and that’s what it is. It’s consistent and reinforces your skills daily. While there may be other routes few come close.
Do airlines require a degree?
Regional Airlines, Low Cost and Nationals carriers do not, Majors do.
How can I prepare for flight school?
We always advise people to complete their Written exams prior (if possible, not required) to lighten the load but really the best thing you can do is relax and enjoy the down time as you won’t have any once you start.
What is the student to instructor ratio?
Honestly I’m not sure (admin might chime in) but you you will have a single instructor who’ll you’ll be working with primarily. You will not be fighting for attention.
What is the pass rate for ATP? I don’t think ill fail because I am a hard worker and a quicker learner but that is a concern.
I believe the current pass rate is approx 80% and has been for a while. In most cases it really is a failure to put in the work. If hard work doesn’t concern you then you shouldn’t worry.
Welcome to the forums. Thank you for the introduction, it helps us to better answer your questions. Now, let’s get to them:
Everybody has their own opinion on this, but I think the most challenging part of any flight training at any school is the instrument phase. It is learning to fly a whole new way and can be a difficult skill to learn. That being said, I have flown that way for so long now that going back to pure visual flying would present its own set of challenges.
Instructing really is the best way to build time. There are other jobs out there, like banner towing, flying sky divers, etc, but the thing with those jobs is that you will not learn much from them. On the other hand, instructing means that you, as the teacher, are constantly learning and passing that knowledge onto your student. Instructing makes you a much better pilot and in my humble opinion is the best way to build time.
The regionals and low cost carriers do not require college degrees. The major airlines like Alaska, United, etc do require degrees.
The best thing you can do to prepare for flight school is to get, or all, of your written exams complete before starting the program. That being said, I certainly would not delay a program start date over written exams as the program is designed for those to be accomplished while enrolled. Get Ahead By Taking FAA Knowledge Tests Before Starting ATP / ATP Flight School
I am not sure, I have asked somebody from admin to chime in on this. I can tell you that it is very low and that you will spend most of your time working with a few select instructors.
ATP’s rate for students completing the program is 80%. This number is for students who enter the program with no flight time. The pass rate for students entering the program already having the private pilot license is 90%, which makes sense as those students have already been vetted by the FAA and successfully passed a checkride.
Good questions. Let us know how else we can help you.
Adam and Chris have provided valuable insights to your questions, so I would recommend referring to their replies on challenges, degree requirements, and other ways to build flight time.
Across all locations, we strive to keep a 2:1 student to instructor ratio. That being said, our instructors typically build around 80 flight hours a month. Coming in from zero flight time, there is an 80% success rate through the Airline Career Pilot Program.
I know you mentioned that you are interested in either Kansas City or one of our Denver locations. If you want to come out and tour one of those facilities, give us a call at 904-595-7950 and we would be happy to set it up!
everyone is saying to complete the written exams before, but no one really explains how it is done. Do I need to study and take the test on my own? Does ATP provide the study materials, or do I need to buy my own? I have the time to study but I don’t do well learning a new topic on my own. I am a hand on learner and I fear I won’t do great on the test from reading without getting hands on knowledge.
If you enroll and pay your deposit you will receive the study materials. If you want to start before that you need to purchase them yourself.
Regardless of whether you take the exams prior or not, you will be studying for them on your own as they’re not part of the curriculum. These tests are purely academic and there really is no “hands on” for the information. Further you need to start embracing the concept of self study. Flight school is not HS or even college. Both ATP and then the airlines require a tremendous about of self study and offer very little hand holding. Working on the written exams is actually very good practice.