ATP update: It has been a while since, ATP has kept me very busy
Commercial checkride passed on 06/19/2024, currently 3/3 pass rate so far, CFI zoom sessions next on the 27th.
Keeping this post short since CFI stage is the busiest stage, continuing to study!
Brandon
Brandon,
Thanks for checking back in, glad to hear things are going well. CFI Academy is a quick one, as some call it - âa bear.â Goodluck, please let us know how the CFI ride goes!
Brady
Brandon,
That is fantastic news, congratulations! I am so glad to hear how well you are doing. Please keep the updates coming!
Chris
Great work so far! Thanks for the update⊠now get back to making your lesson plans! 
Hannah
Quick update from cfi,
After making into the final mock flight, with countless hours on lesson plans as well as teaching. I noticed that I have difficulties explaining information. I was good at teaching commercial students, but not day 1 students.
I made a self assessment to myself, I decided to discontinue cfi. I needed more time.
I will plan to find a low time pilot job or continue with cfi in the future. But for now, I will be starting multi soon.
Brandon
Brandon,
Sometimes it is best to know our own limitations and when to stop when we are ahead. Good luck with your career, thank you for the update.
Chris
Brandon,
Being able to self critique is a valuable skill. Good thing you did it before entering a check ride you couldnât get through. There are plenty of other flying jobs once you get your multi. Pipeline/aerial surveying is one of the best gigs for pilots in your position.
Hannah
Brandon,
Can you give us a little more explanation as to what you think you are struggling with in the teaching aspect? Is it the delivery or explaining the steps of landing from basic? Have you consulted some YouTube videos to see how they explain it and if you could adapt/inquire some of their methodology into yours?
While right now may seem like the appropriate time to focus on the rest of the program and defer CFI, I am happy to hear youâre open-minded in giving it a go later in time. Your chances of being a CFI are not over! You found adversity and this is a great time to demonstrate how you bounce back. This will become a great story for an HR panel if they ever ask you about a time to self-reflect yourself in a difficult time.
Brady
Absolutely Brady,
So the main reason was simply not being able to break down the knowledge. I struggled to explain and word out information to day 1 students. As I was practicing more and more, I realized I am actually more of a cognitive person. From your question, I was struggling with the delivery part of the teaching.
As me and my instructor had a talk, we both agreed on I was not ready to take the checkride within 1 week of being endorsed.
Youtube is actually a valuable resource that I have neglected, I should of used this resource more often.
While it is unfortunate I deferred CFI, I treated this as a learning experience. I was so focused on learning about knowledge, I ignored learning about myself on what was the best method for me to succeed in CFI.
Brandon
Brandon,
Sorry to hear it didnât work out at CFI academy. It seems like you are very open and honest about what you struggled with, and that is a good positive from this situation. I would suggest (and it sounds like you are planning on it) continuing to work towards your CFI on your own time!
One piece of advice that I offered students heading into the CFI phase, that might help, was to take note and read how the Airplane Flying Handbook and the PHAK describe the topics you plan on teaching. While you may know the subjects in more detail than those books contain, the language and diagrams are written to be concise and easy to understand for a new pilot. And I found that if you use the verbiage that is used in the AFH/PHAK, the student is able to better understand the material. If what you taught them in a ground session matches the material in the books, it enhances the âunderstandingâ level of learning. As Brady mentioned, YouTube can help you see how others teach the material and you can find what things you would like to incorporate in your own teaching method.
Best of luck with multi!
Roscoe
Brandon,
This is the most important takeaway here, self-critiquing and learning from personal experience, which you can promote students (when you become a CFI) to prevent - neglection of all available resources. Just like there is a PA-44 app on the App Store that you can study and prepare for the Seminole. 
I think drawing out diagrams and talking through things are much easier than just discussing about it. If you could find a fill-in-the-blank diagram that could lead to discussion, I think you may find it easier to teach a Day 1 student to land. A lot of emphasis on a Day 1 student is the airplane is going to look like itâs going to impact the runway, but thatâs why we transition (I avoid word flare) and slow the descent rate to prepare for touchdown. A great landing starts with a good traffic pattern, being on speeds, altitudes, and sight picture is key to a successful landing. Many students early in teaching landings fear the airplane is going to crash or get tense on the controls and cause the landing to be rougher than it would if they were to loosen up.
Brady
This is also a key takeaway! Half the battle is knowing what you need to study but the other half is knowing what you need to do to be successful. I canât stress that enough. In this industry you will constantly be challenged with learning new airplanes, new company manuals and new ways of flying. If you know how you learn and what you need to do to be successful, the material changes but your process stays the same!
Hannah
Hi everyone,
As of now I am writing this on the way to the airport. I have finished my comm multi checkride and I have completed the atp program. Unfortunately it took twice, I full scaled on the one engine inop for the instrument approach for the glideslope, learned my lesson to become a better pilot.
As of now I will probably find a job and work on cfi at the same time.
Overall my experience at atp was great, met awesome people and made friends.
Atp has fast track me to become a comm multi instrument pilot within 1 year.
Program start 09/25/2023
03/16/2024 ppl checkride
05/23/2024: instrument rated
06/19/2024: commercial single engine
08/29/2024: commercial multi unsat, recheck 08/31 passed.
Each phase has its difficulties and challenges. Some I have made through, some I needed more time.
ATP has the ability to get you a checkride fast and that was the good thing I liked from atp. You meet people from different stages in life and you share your culture and experience with them.
Private:
Its a long experience for me due to delays and weather but I sticked with it and my instructor said that I was his best private student, being able to study all the time due to delays which gave me a strong foundation.
Instrument:
Me and my instructor got along and there are definitely plateaus in the beginning of stage, but I enjoyed my time. My instructor was also the regional instructor, he used my crew time to other locations for checkride prep and evals. Studying was not too bad, got through this phase in 2 months.
Commercial:
Commercial was fast, training for me was a month for me. It was a refresher for private since I had
Majority of the knowledge from private. And breezed through.
CFi:
I self deferred but I put my best effort and realized I need more time to practice teaching. My time at cfi was grinding every day but was not for me.
Comm multi:
It was a fun plane being able to go faster, but this phase was more of understanding multi engine aerodynamics and systems and I enjoyed it but unfortunately I had a bad flight during my checkride and rechecked 2 days after and passed.
Long post but time to move on from atp and maybe I will run into my previous instructors and friends I met in the program.
Fly safe,
Brandon
Brandon,
Thank you for your summary and recap at ATP, itâs been a pleasure seeing your journey through ATP, Iâm looking forward to hopefully seeing you checking back in with progress as you venture forward. You said it best here: âEach phase has its difficulties and challenges,â and youâre absolutely right. Everyone learns differently, everyone studies different, and lastly, everyone tests differently. I know CFI was a bear to you, but when you finally go back and pass that checkride, youâre going to be able to apply your experiences (good/bad) and ensure that you give your students your all. Thanks for sharing your experiences and journey again.
Brady
Brandon,
I wish you well in your future endeavors. Please continue to check in with us as you advance through your career.
Chris
Hi everyone,
I am coming back to check in because I got my first aviation job!
I will be flying Cessna 310s with an aerial survey company. I will be an camera operator but since I am also rated in the plane I am able to log time for reposition flights as PIC and also like crew stage when I am a safety pilot. I am excited for this opportunity and very grateful for this as well!
Brandon
Brandon,
While itâs great you landed your first aviation job and I donât want to rain on your parade, I do need to be honest.
The 1500hr Rule isnât just a box to check. The idea is for you to build not only time BUT experience. I often say getting hired by an airline is easy. Getting through newhire training is not. The airline expects you to show up day one with not simply 1500hrs of flight time, but some REALLY SHARP instrument flying skills and frankly I do see how operating a camera or acting as safety pilot is going to accomplish that goal?
Again itâs great youâll be getting paid to fly but please remember at some point you really should look for a job where youâre ACTUALLY doing some real flying. Itâs not just quantity but quality of hours that matter.
Adam
Roger that Adam,
I am going to do the best I can to remain IFR proficient and will file IFR if I can.
Brandon,
Iâve been preaching lately, to be successful through airline training you will need to not only be but stay proficient both in the airplane and outside. As Adam mentioned, itâs not just about quantity, you also want to ensure you keep up with your stick and rudder.
Please let us know how things are going as you continue your journey!
Brady
Brandon,
Thatâs exciting! Your first job is a big deal and can be a stepping stone. Youâre getting hours and making a pay check again but do keep in mind what the guys said. Maybe putting in a few months as a steady camera operator can get you the gig of full time pilot. That would be the quality time weâre talking about.
Hannah