My Name is Xuan (pronounced like soon) Tran. I have been enjoying my time on this forum and learning from others experiences. I am looking to change careers from insurance (P&C and Medicare). I am 37, turning 38 in October. I live in Hillsboro, Oregon which is about 25min to Portland. There is an ATP facility near the Hillsboro airport. I have a bachelors degree in Economics. I have 0 flight experience, but I have gone skydiving and taken commercial flights.
I am wanting to make sure I am adequately prepared for if I join the 7 month program, so I have made a guide for myself. To help keep my focus, I do not plan on working when I join. No kids, just my wife and 3 dogs. She was glad to hear Frontier has a partnership with ATP.
-Take an Intro Flight course (I have called places, just waiting for better weather)
-Have my First Class medical scheduled for 4/27. I have high blood pressure (hereditary) so am on 1 medication, but its been reading lower than maximum allowed. No other health concerns.
-After first or second bullet points, apply for loan w/living expense
-Take Admission flight (free after financing approved)
-Complete before class starts- PAR, IRA, CAX, FOI, FII, FIA using Sports Study and Sheppards Air (I pay for both or Sheppards is free access from ATP after deposit)
-Enroll in 7 mo class
-Become CFI instructor at ATP for remaining 1500hrs
-Work for commercial airline, like Frontier
If anything seems out of order or missing a step, please correct me. Any feedback is much appreciated.
Welcome to the forum. There is really no need to take additional intro flights if you are also planning on taking ATP’s Admissions Flight. You also could do the Admissions Flight before you get your medical, there is no need for a medical for that flight.
Other than that, your plan seems pretty straightforward and what we recommend, except one thing. The Hillsboro location requires students to start with credit PPL. This is because of the weather in the area. You would need to travel to another location to do the whole program from zero time, or get your PPL at another location and transfer back.
Thank you for responding. That is unfortunate to hear regarding Hillsboro needing a PPL prior. I did not see that on the ATP location page. I would prefer to save as much time and expenses as possible and receive my PPL during class. I kept reading 0hr airtime should do intro flight prior to moving any further to see if this is for them, which would also help with their chances for the Admissions Flight. I spoke with Tom M and Oregon does not seem to have any Admissions Flight available at this time .
Before my pursuit to aviation, my wife and I had discussed moving to Tucson, Arizona to be closer to her family and for more sunny weather (us Oregonians are Vitamin D deficient and seasonal depression is real). The Tucson facility would look ideal for zero time program. Tom mentioned schooling would start around June 19th and every Monday after that, but I would be looking towards an August start date.
I will be calling finance tomorrow and Sallie Mae seems more ideal to me since I’d rather not deal with the stress of making payments during school and can defer after schooling.
If you and your wife have some flexibility, moving to Tucson would allow you to start the program zero time. It’s recommended you stay in the same location for the entirety of your program but if you aren’t acclimating well you can request a location transfer.
I would start the process of getting a medical sooner rather than later. As Chris mentioned, you don’t need it for the Admissions flight but with any extra medical issues it might not be as straight forward as walking out with the medical in hand same day. It’s always better to give yourself some extra time just in case.
Thank you for replying as well. Luckily, we are flexible enough to make a move; she can still WFM in AZ with her work and we can sell or rent out our house. I would plan on staying at the Tucson location for the entirety of the program and for a CFI position, if one is available there afterwards.
I currently have the medical scheduled for 4/27, but am still calling around to find a sooner appointment.
It seems like I should take an Admissions flight soon after my medical passes and loan is approved. My concern with Oregon is not having one available at this moment. I know the loan has a 60 day acceptance window and then 12 months non obligation period to give me extra time.
If Oregon does have an Admissions flight in the next month or two and I do it, would I still be able to transfer to Tucson, AZ afterwards for the Zero time program? Or if Oregon does not have one coming up, Seattle would be the next closest drivable facility (about 3.5hrs). Seattle’s weather is similar to Oregon though, so possibly may not have one either. Am I left with making a quick flight out to a place just for the Admissions flight?
I would contact the admission department with that question. I know in the past, you could do your admissions flight in a different location than the one you enroll in as a student. But this was years ago and things could have changed since then. Give them a quick call and I’m sure you could clear it up.
Making some progress here. Sallie Mae loan has been approved. Just waiting to hear back from Tom in Admissions regarding my admissions flight question.
I’m a tad late to the thread, but it seems like everyone has already answered your questions well. I think the toughest part of the enrollment process is securing the finances and it seems you got through that nicely. I am pretty sure you are still able to do your admissions flight at a different location, but like Hannah said - Admissions would have the right answer. Please let us know!
Do you have a month that you are looking to start? Once you enroll, you’re given access to hundreds of resources, and we aways recommend getting a head start on the writtens.
I’m here to listen and take as much advice as possible so thank you for coming in as well.
I have been approved for financing and was informed I have 30 days to accept. I’m already visiting Vegas in May and so Admissions was able to schedule my flight on May 6th, during my stay. Admissions is aware I plan to school in Tucson. I am looking to start school on the first or second week of August 2023. I will want to hammer out those 8 written exams before then.
Update: I have received my medical, loan, completed admission flight, have my start date as of 8/14/2023 in Tucson, AZ, and purchased the iPad mini WiFi+cellular unlocked.
I am going through the student extranet now and watching all the orientation videos (62) and then the writtens after.
Great news. August should be plenty of time to get those writtens done. Please keep us up to date as you go through the program.
The orientation videos will not help prepare you for the writtens, crazy as it may seem. Focus on the Sporty’s Private Prep and the Shepherd Air for the rest of the writtens. The writtens really are bayou rote memorization.
• Bose A20. It’s lightweight, comfort (clamping force) and noise cancellation are all selling features to me and for the long run of my career.
• Ram Mounts EZ-Roll’r yoke for my iPad mini.
• VFD- Jiffyhood since it’d be easier while I have my Rx glasses on.
• Smith & Wesson dual beam flashlight so the buttons do not accidentally turn on in my bag.
• Travel bag- looks like a duffle bag for toiletries & clothing would suffice and a flight bag to keep my flight equipment separate (maybe the ATP backpack provided would work for that).
• VFR Sectional Chart- I did not see one for Tucson, but Phoenix option may be the one that covers it.
• Electronic E6B looks to be useful in addition to the one provided in our package.
@Xuanami I will be keeping track of your posts. I would like to know how the Tucson school is. I plan on also attending this school next summer. I have the luxury of already living here though🤙
I was briefly looking at the Bose A30 and when you said A20 it made me question it. Doing a little research and it does seem that the A20 is better received over the newer A30. I have no experience, but reviews seem to be rated more poorly with the A30’s. I was pretty shocked by the cost of the A30 so if I can save a few bucks and be just as happy with the A20 that is likely what I will plan to do as well.
Bose A20 over the new Bose A30… Three levels of ANC is not bad, given you continue to use the headset further into the jet experience.
For the IFR training hood, I would recommend Feather IFR Training Hood. I’ve seen students using them and even tried them on for myself, maybe give them a consideration later on if something with present hood fails:
Seems like you got on track, look forward to the updates as they come.
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Three levels of ANC is not bad, given you continue to use the headset further into the jet experience.