Hey guys!!
First off all, I want to thank the mentors for constantly answering many common questions and being so patient with us newbies. You guys are great!!
Just about 2 hours ago, I took my intro flight in Tucson and let me say, it was amazing!! I absolutely loved it, only thing I didn’t like were the negative Gs, but I’m sure it’s not just me that don’t/didn’t like those. In that second it felt like a drop tower! BUT the whole experience was so fun. Just amazing to say the least, not enough words to describe it. The plane was the Cessna and the instructor gave me the chance to turn left and right, and go up and down lol. Of course he did the balancing, while I was turning. It was also cool to hear him talk to ATC and ATC talk to him, I also learned that after every response, you say the number of the plane you’re flying, well it seemed like after every response anyhow. The building of where they stay is so small, there is the main hall, and along it, there is the main “office” and the sim room, then a small classroom, but that is completely fine because I believe most of the learning takes place in the sky.
It was just an overall wonderful experience for someone who rode twice in an airliner, but the first time doesn’t count because I was a little kid. The 2nd time was just last august, during take off is when I fell in love with flying (believe it or not), and I’ve just been researching on here since then. Finished my last semester of college in Dec. and now I’m ready to take to the skies, if God allows.
Veleshia,
Glad you had fun! The "G"s (+ or -) are not something we as humans tied to the ground normally experience so of course they’re going to be a little unsettling.
Sooooo… what’s next?
Adam
Hey Adam!
I need to secure financing first, then get my first class medical. I would love to start March 1st if at all possible…as I read many times, I want to knock out as much written tests as I can before starting.
Veleshia,
Sounds like a solid plan. As questions come up (as they always do) you know we’re here to help.
Adam
I also hated this feeling/was afraid of it in the beginning, but it goes away after the 8th hour or so. Don’t worry about it.
Def get that medical first and foremost, as it will dictate if you may continue or not, so it’s very important. If no problem arises, you get it the very same day with no wait. You can knock every written out in a month if you put your mind to it, which is highly recommended. It took me about 2? Months to knock them out with a break here and there.
Good luck.
Moe,
While I appreciate your enthusiasm and applaud you on your success, completing the 6 required FAA Knowledge Exams in a month is a very tall order. I believe in the average most people need 2 weeks per test.
Nothing wrong with setting the bar high but we don’t want to set unrealistic goals for someone just starting out.
Adam
Veleshia,
Exciting news about the introductory flight, it’s a lot different being in the flight deck being an operator of the controls rather then sitting in the back of an Airbus or Boeing cruising across the lands.
The medical should be your next step, here’s a link to begin that process: MedXpress
- Register for an account and begin to fill it out, at the end you’ll receive a confirmation number, for safety measures, print out your form and take it with you to the AME
Once you fill out the form, your next step is to find an AME, AME Locator
If you’ve scrolled through a few other threads regarding financials, you’d recognize a trend, since our mentors are not licensed brokers, they can’t provide any financial advice, only recommendations on what they’ve done or experienced. Thankfully, ATP has a solid financial department, which you can contact them at (904)-595-7950. I spoke to Kirk months ago, I believe he’s still around!
Brady
Oh I read wrong, I thought the person wanted to start in Feb which is why I suggested the one month time frame to get it out of the way ha.
But I now realize they say March 1st, so I think it’s doable by that time. Either way good luck @veleshia!
Thank you so much Brady for the help with those links. And yes I heard so much about the famous Kirk, and I got to talk to him a while back, in Sept. He’s a super nice fella, however, I couldn’t do anything until I finished out my last semester in Dec. but finally I completed the big initial step, taking the intro flight. As I read many times that this was the first official step to take.
You must think me a supergirl if you thought I said Feb. 1. I heard that some of the writtens are like 750+ questions long!
Veleshia,
Yes, they are lengthy ranging from 600-1200 questions. After you get your financing and medical, since you’ve done your intro flight, you can secure your start date. From there, you will be sent a box full of study materials and access to your private king schools modules. Getting those completed should be your first priority and will help prepare you to take that PAR test prior to starting.
Such an exciting time!
-Hannah
Just wanted to update you guys about my current situation. I applied for the Sallie Mae loan back in September and I was denied and then I added the only cosigner I had and we were still denied for it. I applied again for a smaller amount without a cosigner the Monday after my intro flight and I was again denied. I can’t ask my cosigner again if she could help because we had a falling out. So financing is not secured and I talked to Kirk multiple times but there is nothing I could do as of right now in regards to getting the required funding in order to start training.
Hey, very sorry to hear.
I also applied to Sallie Mae one time alone and got denied. Applied a few months later with a Co signer and they approved almost the full amount.
Not sure how the system works, I did have good income, credit history for almost 10 years, assets etc. So it was odd why they denied me
I guess your best bet is to just work for a few years and have the money saved up. Or maybe find another Co signer with better income/credit/assets and try again.
There’s really no other way to pay other than with the cash upfront, or through a loan.
I also talked to him about a year ago after I got denied, tried his best to give me options, but there was really nothing else to do.
Veleshia,
Don’t give up, this may seem like a challenge and an obstacle in life, but being denied happens to a lot, ATP requires a large figure for flight training . Financing right now can be a challenge as lenders are looking a lot on risk with loaning money out due to the pandemic. I dealt with both Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo, being denied twice, but from my experience in underwriting with loans, there’s always a way around. In order for me to be approved they jacked my interest rate almost 5 points, claiming they needed more secure in order to overtake the risk…I called them out many times.
One piece of advice that I could offer is finding family members that may be interested to helping, sometimes you may have to explain the pros and cons for a family member to feel more comfortable, it may also be nerve-racking trying to even ask. I was scared at first, it’s a lot of money to have on a credit report showing that it’s an “open line.” If you have a local financial guru (like personal banker) in your hometown that you or your family use, talk to them and get a financial plan going that would potentially work something out in the near future.
It’s not the end game, trust me on that. I’ve had many obstacles during my financing application that I wish I never had. I’m sorry you had to experience the deny.
Brady
Thank you @Brady and @ATPhopeful, and I’m not giving up, God has shown me that this career is definitely for me, I’m just waiting for the solution to come.