Wanting to start with PPL credit. Advice?

Airline Pilot Questions & Answers
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Hello everyone!

I am touring a few locations in Texas in the coming weeks, but am going to be attending ATP in April. I currently have my PPL and 72 hours in my log book, however, it has been 1 year since I have flown. I do not want to start from scratch and do the full ATP course, but I feel like I should definitely get a refresher done as well as knock out my writtens before starting.

I am considering a flight review at a local flight school, and possibly shelling out some money to rent a plane for a few hours to hit the 78 hour mark. Is this my best route, or does ATP offer a “refresher” of sorts?

Thanks in advance!

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Zachary

I was in the exact same situation and ATP did a great job getting me back up to speed in very short order.

I recommend you give them a call and have a chat. They should be able to work out something that works for you.

Adam

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Thank you for the quick response, Adam. It is great to hear that ATP will accommodate my situation, I will be giving them a call in the morning.

Have a great night.

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Welcome Zachary,

I agree, I would start with ATP and see what they’d be willing to offer.

A BFR is also a great idea. While not required, it is strongly recommended that you are current and proficient. Credit for Private students jump straight into Instrument training. Do yourself and your CFI a favor and come in ready to take a PPL checkride and you’ll be golden.

Tory

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Zachary,

Welcome to the forum.

If you are a bit short of the 78 hours, ATP will offer the time at a rate of $250 per hour. Contact the admissions department for more information on this.

I certainly would not start from scratch, just get the time you need and make sure to use that time as a refresher course.

Chris

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@Adam , @Tory , @Chris you are all great. A semi-related follow up. I would value each of your feedback.

TL:DR - If I have my PPL but I haven’t flown in a while and am quite rusty, would you recommend spending the time and money getting current with a local CFI instead of starting from scratch with ATP?

More detailed:
I’m considering a career change and going the ATP route. I have my PPL, however I’m not at all current, got it about 10 years ago and am short a few hours on both the 78 and the 8 hr xcountry.

Personal circumstances prevent me from starting for 2-3 months at ATP, at which point I’d be able to devote fully to it, 7 days a week. I’ve read everything you have said, “seniority, seniority, seniority”… I know, I know… I’m in total agreement, but 2-3 months is my timeline of when I can start.

MY QUESTION: My current thought is to spend the next 2-3 months flying with a CFI at a local airport as needed, refreshing myself with all the books and kingschools info I still have, and using CFI’s guidance on getting current again. The CFI I found also does BFR’s. I can devote myself a great deal to flying and studying, only not the 100% “all in” of ATP at the moment.

From your experience/best knowledge you can share, does this seem like a good idea? Feel free to say “yes, no, or hell no” at any time.

While starting from scratch puts me in ATP mode on Day One, my thought is I will spend nowhere near 20k that it would cost to start from scratch with ATP. I didn’t spend anywhere near 20k when I got my PPL the first time. (of course I get you don’t know what kind of pilot I am)

Can you offer thoughts, feedback, suggestions or things I’m not seeing?
Also, @Hannah @JLascomb @kcbaker appreciate you too!

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Steven,

Think of it this way. ATP has 2 programs, one that gives you ALOT of credit for having your PPL, and one that doesn’t. If you start from scratch it adds 2 mos to your training AND gets you to the 78hr requirement. They then will be starting where you are. It’s safe to by allowing you to save 2mos (and $20k) ATP has the right to expect you to show up with more than a card saying you’re a Private Pilot. They expect you to BE a PRIVATE PILOT with the skills and knowledge which should go with that title.

With that in mind, I think spending the next few months knocking the rust off, refreshing your knowledge and banging out some writtens is a splendid idea.

Adam

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Adam, 100%. Heard enough third hand even in the short time I’ve been asking around, stories of people with PPL coming in cold and not be ready. With respect to my safety and ATP’s time, want to be 100% prepared. ty!

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Also, Adam do I remember from an old post you saying you were in a similar situation? Many years since you got your PPL and then got back into it through ATP? For some reason that pops in my head.

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Steven,

I was in a similar situation as I had gotten my PPL but didn’t do anything with it for almost 10yrs. There was no forum at the time so I called ATP directly with the same question. They told me I needed to get my knowledge up to par but at the time they had a new instructor at my location without any students yet (things were much quieter back then. They said if I wanted to and could show up a week early, I could fly with him and he would get me ready at a pretty reasonable rate. I’m not sure that’s still an option but you could def call and ask.

I just figured since you can’t start for a few months you might as well make good use of the time.

Adam

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Steven,

I would not start over with ATP, but I would certainly spend some time and money getting truly current at your local flight school.

True story: Up until last month, I had not flown for a year. When I got back in the cockpit, I had one decent landing, one that was bad and another one that was so incredibly awful that I texted Adam and told him that I had no business ever flying an airplane again. Adam talked me out of quitting my job and just as he predicted, I did fine on my next trip. My point is that you will be very rusty when you first start out again, but it will come back quickly. I bet within 5-10 hours of flying your are doing fine. I am a huge fan of this book for brushing up on the knowledge portion: Oral Exam Guide - Private Pilot - MyPilotStore.com

Good question and I am glad that you are thinking about this.

Chris

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Steven,

Just adding my voice to the choir. I think getting your BFR ahead of the program is exactly what you should do.

I taught a handful of pilots that weren’t current and it was challenging for both parties. Granted these students didn’t do ATP’s refresher course either. They jumped straight into instrument.

Regardless, if you have the means to do so getting a BFR is never a bad idea.

If you have any spare time, you could also look at getting ahead by completing the IRA, FII, and maybe the CAX if there’s time before you start ATP’s program. You can find all the details about how to do that on ATP’s website.

That said, priorities first. BFR, then writtens (if time).

Tory

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@Tory @Adam @Chris Appreciate everything and the encouragement.

Tory, yes also was thinking the same thing. Not delaying my start specifically to take the writtens, but since the timing may work out anyway, having three months to study and prep- I might as well study and prep.

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Steven,

Yes, by no means delay your start date for writtens. But if you have time, get as many complete as possible.

It sounds like you have a good handle on things. Let us know how else we can help you.

Chris

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Steven,

Hello! Sorry I was late to the party on this thread! Sounds like you have a great plan in place to get current and proficient ahead of your start date.

Let us know if there is anything we can do to help. As always, please keep us updated on your progress. We love to see it!

Hannah

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