Flight school choices

So I have been trying to secure financing to attend flight school with ATP, with no luck. None of my co-signers panned out either. But, there is another flight school here in KC called ATD and I did get financing for them. It’s a 9 month program instead of 7 and it’s a $75,000 price tag instead of the 100. Do you think if I went through this school and became a CFI, that I could still try and do the Envoy Cadet program? I know they partner with ATP, but if I have the certificates and minimum hours for applying, would it still work? I was bummed I could t get into ATP, but I want to fly and I’ll make the dream happen one way or another.

Ryan,

First have you spoken with Kirk in ATP admin about your financial situation? If you haven’t you should.

If you did I would contact Envoy and ask them directly about other flight schools.

Adam

Ryan,

I checked out ATD’s website, it is rather sparse on information. What immediately jumps out at me is that they are quoting FAA minimum flight times in their prices, very few people are that good. I also do n to see any history of the flight school, any list of recent graduates, airline partnerships, etc. I would really do some research before going down that path.

Chris

Same as what Chris said. ATD’s prices are minimum hours, which will probably not be enough and why ATP is still my first choice. They do pay their CFIs better (even per the KC ATP folks) and while they do have some airline partnerships, they don’t have the extensive partnerships that ATP has. I don’t know how much they “partner” with ATP beyond doing their FAA writtens - but KC ATP is in the process of being able to do those soon also.

Adam,
I did speak with Kirk and he really didn’t have much more to offer. I have a foreclosure on my credit, which happened at the beginning of Covid, and my parents just have too much debt to income. Neither Sallie Mae or Meritize would approve. However, with ATD in KC, Meritize did approve :man_shrugging:t3:. So I will check them out and get my questions answered first before signing anything. And I will reach to Envoy today and see what they say about their Cadet program and being in ATD.

Ryan,

We can’t totally speak to ATD’s program since we can only gather the info thats reported on their website. I would agree with the others though, I would anticipate a bit more than the $75k due to a few extra hours per phase since the minimum FAA hours is difficult to achieve for most.

As for Envoy, looking at their cadet program website it seems like in order to get all the employment benefits (hire date, 401k, travel benefits, etc.) you have to be instructing with one of their partner schools. Unfortunately CFI positions are limited to program graduates from ATP’s ACPP, but you could get your trialing done at ATD and then pursue a CFI position with one of these partner schools listed to gain eligibility for the cadet program.

Hannah

Hannah,
Looking at the other regional partners for American, you can Cadet at Piedmont or PSA and not be limited to any certain school. So that’s good news for me! Because it looks like the ATD school will be my only choice given finances and life stage.

Ryan,

Glad to see you found a path that gets you to your goal. Feel free to stick around any ask any questions as needed!

Hannah

After going and touring the school, I have decided against it. It wasn’t very organized it seemed and they told me almost nothing about the training process. That’s a lot of money to waste if I can’t get the instruction that I need. So…back to the drawing board

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Ryan,

Sorry to hear you didn’t like ATD’s flight school. Have you heard of the TSS transition program at ATP? The TSS is a training support specialist that helps organizationally lead a training center. If hired, you need to commit to two years of employment. At the end of that period you will be approved for fixed rate financing and begin the program as a student. I hear these positions are very competitive but it’s worth looking in to.

Hannah