It’s finally that time after lurking on this forum for God knows how long.
I graduate college in May and have already begun the steps to be enrolled in flight school. I’ve gotten my medical with no problems, received an offer from Sallie Mae (have not accepted it yet, still reviewing all my options from other lenders), and have scheduled an introductory flight at my local ATP location for January 15th (changed from the 14th due to weather). To say I’m nervous is an understatement, but I look forward to asking plenty of questions when I take the tour of the facility. I’m also looking forward to accepting a funding offer and officially scheduling a start date so I can get started on my writtens. Goal is definitely to get all of them done prior.
Remember your Admission Flight is not a test, have fun and be open-minded. It is an opportunity for you to see if you would enjoy flying along with being able to learn from a flight instructor. Remember Chris posted a thread on questions to ask:
Please let us know how the introductory flight goes and if you have any questions that we can help you with.
February 1st update. At this point, I’ve taken my introductory flight. It got delayed about a week due to weather, I guess I’m getting a taste of the plans the weather will have for us.
Additionally, I have accepted my loan terms and scheduled a start date with ATP for June 12th, after I graduate college. Deposit has also been made, they gave me the old price as promised.
I look forward to receiving my materials from ATP in the mail, and I intend to knock out as many writtens as possible prior to starting, as well as the ATP Orientation study modules. Very lucky to have a testing center about 10 minutes from me at college right now. The nerves are still running free from willingly accepting a loan of such magnitude but I know it will be worth it.
I appreciate all of the mentors’ advice and the time and effort they put in daily to help other aspiring pilots like myself. This website has been an invaluable resource for me and I look forward to keeping you all updated with my progress.
Thanks for checking in, as you see weather is a huge factor in our everyday flying. As you progress through the program there will be days that you can do ground/simulator events when one minute it was flyable weather and the next hour its not.
June 12th is a good way away to get cranking on those writtens as you said. I think you could get almost every single one completed. The ATP Orientation modules are a requirement to have completed so focus on those first and since you have time, you could space it out over a week to not overload yourself or factor into your current schedule.
I look forward to seeing progress updates and your experiences.
Nice! After all this time participating on the forum and soaking up knowledge, it’s your turn to step in the ring. June will be here before you know it. Appreciate the last few months and make sure to share a pic after graduation.
My start date happened June 12th and I’m on my way with no hiccups. Almost finished the first week and starting TOLs tomorrow. I’ve been spending a lot of time at the training center really trying to soak things in and sitting in on other students’ sims and grounds when I can. Prior to enrolling, the reviews of ATP I read listed many negative things, some of which I found to be true (kind of) and some not. For example, some mentioned that ATP is a fire-hose of information. It definitely is, especially packing in the Elevates into the first two weeks, but I’m managing with it and I don’t mind it too much. On the other hand, I often read many instructors were very hands off and unhelpful especially when it came to grounds. I can’t speak for other training centers but the instructors here are extraordinarily helpful both in the plane and out. At least at our smaller training center, it feels like a tight-knit group.
In other news, KMTN is having Republic visit on the 22nd, quite exciting for a smaller training center like ours. I’m obviously very low time and not even technically a pilot yet but I still intend to sit in on that. The nerves I mentioned prior are starting to go down as I get into the groove of things but surely will increase as I get closer to solo and checkride time. Mostly uneventful update though, which I think is good. Thanks again to all of the mentors’ advice, it has been immensely helpful.
Also, while taking a break from studying, I took a look at the changes since I set my start date. Wow have they changed. Admission flight isn’t free anymore? A pre-enrollment interview with admissions? Training location premiums (these popped up right after I set my date so I definitely dodged a bullet)?
Seems everyone and their mother wants to become a pilot these days!
Awesome news! Glad to hear everything is going well in your first couple of weeks. It is definitely a firehose of information at first, so speak with your instructor and organize how you approach the mountain of material. There are some great study guides out there that can help keep you on track. I’m also really happy to hear that you are having a great experience with the instructing team at your location. When I was a student and an instructor, I felt that ATP had some of the best instructors in the country. Continue to feed off of them and spend as much time in the training center as you can!
It is perfectly normal to be nervous at the start of training, don’t let that stop you from enjoying the training. Now that you’re entering the TOLs phase, it can be challenging period for some students. Keep your head up, think positive and build with each flight. Be patient! Nobody expects you to be perfect. Flight training is supposed to be fun!
This is one of those moments where you will look back in your training and think to yourself “look how far I’ve come” and “why was I so nervous and here I am.” MTN is a nice location, love seeing the A-10’s come out of there and flying around, every time I go to Easton or Bay Bridge, I always end up flying over MTN. It is never “too early” or “low time” to sit in on an airline visit, they are meant to be informative and help you make decisions along the way. Sit in as many as can, join webinars when ATP offers them of airlines presenting, you will LEARN a LOT. Use ATP’s resources because that is one of the biggest benefits while being a part of the ATP family that not everyone takes advantage of. This is why we always say, “do your research” for the flight school you want to attend, not everyone has the benefits you now have at your fingertips! Enjoy your training, relax - take time to yourself, and most importantly, HAVE FUN and MAKE MEMORIES.
I look forward to seeing a solo picture when the day comes!
