I plan to start the fast track program in July but I’m curious about purchasing an iPad and the other training materials now. I applied for additional financing to cover the cost of those materials, so if I buy them now can I still get “paid back” with the loan money once I start the program? I assume this won’t be an issue since the loan is approved for the total amount and I’m on the hook for all of it, but I’m curious how ATP handles that money with regard to purchasing the iPad and such.
Also wondering about getting an upgraded headset to start using now while I finish up my PPL. I rolled that into the financing as well.
Hope this makes sense. Any insight into how ATP pays out the loan money for the additional materials would be helpful.
As a recent student with financing through a lender for ATP, I can say ATP’s finance and account department does a fantastic job with disbursements. If you look under your “account” tab, you’ll see a bunch of prospect disbursements and projected account balances. They will send you a text message when disbursements are made to your personal bank account or the debit card, also reminding that funds may not be available for a few days.
I had the extra monthly income that was distributed monthly in the beginning. I had purchased equipment prior to starting ATP so I basically “refunded” myself and kept record of how much I spent so I could balance my personal checkbook out and put the remainder for an emergency situation. If at any point you’re “overbalance” during program, ATP will issue a refund to you through the ACH/EFT which you can expect a credit to your bank account/or the debit card.
Don’t hesitate to contact Finance or Accounts through ATP with any questions about disbursements. They can explain how the setup of your account specific is.
Absolutely, there’s tons of headsets, do your research. Some would say to go and get a Bose right away (because you can’t go wrong with the comfort and quality), but check out Lightspeed and David Clarke’s. I have a pair of David Clarke’s and I enjoy them, no issues.
iPads, again tons of options, depends what you want to do with it and type of mount (if any), etc. It is a hard game being a consumer during this time, trust me.
Thank you for the input! I’m leaning towards the newest iPad Air. No idea about headsets. I know Bose is a good name in general. Will do some research.
Any suggestions for iPad case? I’m a fan of kneeboards…
Well, I was not going to say anything, but now I have to… I am not a fan of the Bose headsets, I feel that they produce a strange humming noise that to me at least is more annoying than aircraft noise. I would try them out before spending the money on them. I will say that most people seem to really like the Bose.
Thanks for weighing-in, Chris. I had a feeling this was coming based on the previous post.
I would prefer not to throw down $1000 on just about anything unless I’ve had a chance to try it out. Just saw Sporty’s has a test flight guarantee so I’ll probably give it a go and see how it feels.
Noah,
I will tell you, I wasn’t a fan of Bose when I first got them. Everyone told me to get them and that the price is worth it so I did. I was just starting out my flight training and the noise canceling made my motion sickness worse. So I flew almost 4 months without using the noise canceling feature. They are still one of the lighter and more comfortable headsets around. Then once I had more experience and rarely got motion sick, I started using the noise canceling and I will say I got used to the slight hum but the quietness helped drastically hearing ATC during the instrument phase. Students I had without any noise canceling headsets seemed to struggle more with atc readbacks mostly due to not hearing and understanding them.
If you know someone that would let you borrow and try them, do that first. From my experience, people who buy cheaper headseats early on tend to go to Bose later so you end up paying for two. But rarely does someone get the Bose and not like it enough to buy another one.
Seriously you really need to give them a try. Quiet (I think the strange humming is ALWAYS in Chris’ head along with the voices!), light and stupid comfy. They also have terrific service. There are 2 kinds of pilots, those with Bose and those who wish they had Bose!
I’m thinking I’m going to order a Bose from Sporty’s and try it out. I’ve had trouble hearing ATC before with my current basic headset so I think the ANR might be big for me. If I don’t like it I’ll send it back.
I’ve used noise-cancelling headphones before and I think I know the hum Chris is describing (either that or we’re both haunted by some kind of tell-tale heart situation). I’ve also experienced some weird equilibirum effects at first, which I think might be what Hannah is talking about. I’ve found I got used to both pretty quickly so I’m hoping the Bose will work well for me.
Lightspeeds are great but they are not TSO certified which are not supposed to be used at an airline. At $850 I would find another $150 and buy a Bose.
So I know this ended up being about Bose and it’s “sponsored” pilots
But you mentioned training materials as well and you get a package of books and materials when you pay your deposit. I don’t think you can say “can I get $20? I already have my FAR/AIM”
Here is a list of apps I’ve bought over the course of ATP, you may feel they’re not worth it. I found it to be extremely helpful with my studying. ATP doesn’t include these in their materials, buts always good to know what options are out there that could be a little extra.
FAR AIM App - carrying the book is fun and all, but at my fingers tips I could really type in keywords to find what I was looking for.
LiveATC - I could listen to traffic anywhere in the world to enhance my communication practice.
Hold Trainer - I sucked at holds, the G1000 made it easy, but for practice I used this app.
Piper PA-44 Trainer - when it came to the Seminole (Multi-Engine), this app helped me visualize and see how things worked rather then just a video explaining the system.
I’m sure there’s a ton others I missed, I’m curious to see if anyone else has found a few other apps that are useful that even I could use or give as advice for my future students.
I am a fan of good old fashioned David Clarke headsets. But if you have had difficulties hearing ATC, then you m might want to invest in something more robust.
Thanks for the list, Brady. Looking forward to loading up my new iPad once I get it!
Chris, I’m using a basic David Clark right now and I do struggle a bit to hear ATC at times. ANR is really enticing because I feel like I’ll be a lot more confident when I’m not straining to hear instructions. Is it just the Bose ANR that you don’t like or do you think it’s ANR in general that causes the annoying hum?
