With so much hatred in the jaaaayyyy c, it's hard being an AMF traineeeee....
I'm in training at AMF right now. I got sick in the middle of training a couple of moths ago and had to leave to deal with that. My point is that in the time that I have left and returned, I can see changes occurring in the Training Department. There are people within the Training Department who care about generating results in training better than what have been seen previously. As far as chest thumping instructors goes; completely and categorically false. Both of my training classes have seen well established former military officers who have extensive flight time and leadership experience. I've had pilots in my classes who have well over 5000 hours of time. It's hard to chest thump when you're looking at an Air Force Lt. Col. who is going to AMF because they want to be home at night and not living out of a CHU, or a hotel room. Same goes for the 65 year old retiree who just retired from flying 767's for DHL. Beyond that, all of the instructors currently in the Training Department have flown the line.
There is no "Kool Aid" drinking here. Anyone who knows me knows that I am THE LAST person to sip anyone's kool aid. I will re-iterate that the people at AMF have been nothing less than honest and candid in their responses to questions that I have asked. They care about their people. They are working diligently to make things better and to foster a quality working environment.
The secret to training is simple; know your flows. Period. Know your flows, know your immediate actions items and know your emergency procedures. If you learn the flows in the SOP's when you get them 2 weeks prior to arriving in Dallas, you will get through training. If you're a pilot candidate, beg borrow and plead for the SOP's for the aircraft that you will be going into. Study them and know those without needing to think about it. The rest of training is the GOM and FAR's with a 60 question test at the end of the 1st week. Passing it is not difficult. Your flows are the priority, though.