A day in the life of a 90 day career pilot student
- Thread starter Heath
- Start date
IndianaPilot
Well-Known Member
Hey Heath...or anybody for that matter....when you graduate the ACPP, how much multi PIC do you have ?
posted many times:
[ QUOTE ]
At the end of the program about 130 will be PIC. All time in the Seminole is PIC, once you have the Private Multi add-on.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
-200 Hours Logged Time
-190 Hours Multi-Engine Time
-75 Hours Multi-Engine Cross-Country
-62 Hours Multi-Engine Instruction & Flight Checks
-Up to 3 Hours Citation Jet
-50 Hours Multi-Engine FTD
-10 Hours Single-Engine Time
[/ QUOTE ]
Just try a little search and I am sure you can find more.
[ QUOTE ]
At the end of the program about 130 will be PIC. All time in the Seminole is PIC, once you have the Private Multi add-on.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
-200 Hours Logged Time
-190 Hours Multi-Engine Time
-75 Hours Multi-Engine Cross-Country
-62 Hours Multi-Engine Instruction & Flight Checks
-Up to 3 Hours Citation Jet
-50 Hours Multi-Engine FTD
-10 Hours Single-Engine Time
[/ QUOTE ]
Just try a little search and I am sure you can find more.
Heath
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the long delay between updates. It's been really busy, as you can imagine.
Alright, so here's the latest.
3/2, Wednesday - Day 3
Was a little bummed this morning. Got in bright and early to discover that my instructor was gonna be burning some Cessna time. So, I hung out in a study room and worked on my daily quizzes while they were out. Got done through day 27 (there are only 33, so I'm nearly done, yeah!).
Upon their return, we did lunch and then got to do an hour each in the sim. It was much tougher than I expected. The controls on the Frasca are very touchy and not as forgiving as a real plane, so you have to be on your "A" game or you'll constantly be fighting between maintaining altitudeand holding heading while simultaneously running checklists and performing maneuvers. We practiced slow flight, power on and off stalls, take-offs, and landing procedures including all required call-outs.
One suggestion I'd make for those thinking of or starting the program - memorize the checklists while "chair flying" the plane. Get a cockpit picture from the website and figure out or have someone show you where the controls are. Then sit at the dining room table and while calling out the checklist items, move your hands where the controls would roughly be. This will make all the difference in the world. Having the checklist memorized, then searching for the stuff as you say it and trying to maintain control at the same time is mentally taxing!.
All in all, a very good day.
3/3, Thursday - Day 4
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
Flew 2.0 to Dalton, made some touch & go's for practice and then came back to FTY. We had lunch and then did 1.5 each in the sim.
The sim was WAY smoother the second day. After getting a feel for where things are located in the cockpit, the checklists are much more smooth and natural. Today we did slow flight, power on and off stalls, engine outs on take-off roll, after rotation and in flight, steep turns, emergency descents, and Vmc. I felt really good about my ability to control the sim today and stay ahead of the airplane. Yesterday it felt like the plane had taken off while I was still on the runway waving!
Now, I am its master!
So, a very good day, but at its end I am mentally drained. Almost through the commercial material and should be ready for the commercial written by week's end. And for the real excitement, tomorrow, weather permitting, my first actual time in a multi-engine!
3/4, Friday - Day 5
Today was a really great day! Got in bright and early at 8am. We both went in for an hour each in the sim to do one last review of what we were about to do in the airplane. We each demonstrated slow flight, steep turns, power on and off stalls, emergency descent, and Vmc. After finishing the sim work, ATP's Citation showed up with some guys doing their 3 hour tours! Got to go out and take some pics of the exterior, then Joe, the instructor let us in and we got to check out the cockpit and get shots of us sittin' in it, pretending we had a clue what we were doing!
We then did lunch. After losing rock, paper, scissors Brian got to go up in the twin first! (Actually, he had to pick his kids up from school, so I agreed to let him go first while I waited, being the nice guy I am.)
So finally, at the end of the day, I finally flew my first 1.9 MEL, in 721CK, affectionately known as "2-1-chicken-killer!"
It was very cool! Much smoother than the sim. I did all the maneuvers we practiced and felt really good about them. A couple of more practices to keep my altitudes dead on and I'll be really confident about Monday's checkride. I never busted 100', but got a little closer than I'd like. When my instructor demo'd the landing, I was surprised at the speed the nose comes down after touch down. It certainly doesn't float like the Cessnas! But, after 3 landings at Cartersville, it felt really comfortable landing it. Came back for the final landing at FTY and made one of the smoothest, prettiest landings I've ever made, laid the nose wheel down smooth as silk. Hey, I think I can fly this thing!
Lots of fun! Very exciting day. I can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
Later,
Heath
Alright, so here's the latest.
3/2, Wednesday - Day 3
Was a little bummed this morning. Got in bright and early to discover that my instructor was gonna be burning some Cessna time. So, I hung out in a study room and worked on my daily quizzes while they were out. Got done through day 27 (there are only 33, so I'm nearly done, yeah!).
Upon their return, we did lunch and then got to do an hour each in the sim. It was much tougher than I expected. The controls on the Frasca are very touchy and not as forgiving as a real plane, so you have to be on your "A" game or you'll constantly be fighting between maintaining altitudeand holding heading while simultaneously running checklists and performing maneuvers. We practiced slow flight, power on and off stalls, take-offs, and landing procedures including all required call-outs.
One suggestion I'd make for those thinking of or starting the program - memorize the checklists while "chair flying" the plane. Get a cockpit picture from the website and figure out or have someone show you where the controls are. Then sit at the dining room table and while calling out the checklist items, move your hands where the controls would roughly be. This will make all the difference in the world. Having the checklist memorized, then searching for the stuff as you say it and trying to maintain control at the same time is mentally taxing!.
All in all, a very good day.
3/3, Thursday - Day 4
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
The sim was WAY smoother the second day. After getting a feel for where things are located in the cockpit, the checklists are much more smooth and natural. Today we did slow flight, power on and off stalls, engine outs on take-off roll, after rotation and in flight, steep turns, emergency descents, and Vmc. I felt really good about my ability to control the sim today and stay ahead of the airplane. Yesterday it felt like the plane had taken off while I was still on the runway waving!
So, a very good day, but at its end I am mentally drained. Almost through the commercial material and should be ready for the commercial written by week's end. And for the real excitement, tomorrow, weather permitting, my first actual time in a multi-engine!
3/4, Friday - Day 5
Today was a really great day! Got in bright and early at 8am. We both went in for an hour each in the sim to do one last review of what we were about to do in the airplane. We each demonstrated slow flight, steep turns, power on and off stalls, emergency descent, and Vmc. After finishing the sim work, ATP's Citation showed up with some guys doing their 3 hour tours! Got to go out and take some pics of the exterior, then Joe, the instructor let us in and we got to check out the cockpit and get shots of us sittin' in it, pretending we had a clue what we were doing!
We then did lunch. After losing rock, paper, scissors Brian got to go up in the twin first! (Actually, he had to pick his kids up from school, so I agreed to let him go first while I waited, being the nice guy I am.)
Lots of fun! Very exciting day. I can't wait to do it again tomorrow.
Later,
Heath
Heath
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you for the blog. Great insight on what to expect from ATP.
[/ QUOTE ]
You're welcome. Someone did it for me, and I greatly enjoyed it. I actually enjoy doing it. I'm thinking now I might start a blog on a permanent basis.
[ QUOTE ]
I would like to know why you decided to wait on your writtens. Don't most people advise to get them done before training begins?
[/ QUOTE ]
Well actually, I would have liked to do it that way. But, once I made the decision to pursue ATP and got a start date, I had four days before I started my time building and we had 37 hours to burn in one week. So there just simply weren't enough hours in the day to have all of them done in a week. Further, ATP's instructions are to show up on day one with the supplement committed to memory and ready to take your instrument exams, which I did. And, after now being in the program, I can say that you have lots of "in-between" time to knock out the other exams. I've completed the commercial portion of the Jepp Inst/Comm book this week and finished reading the Gleim Commercial test prep this week, so I'll be ready for the exam Monday or Tuesday after my Multi checkride.
But, if you have more than a week before your start date, by all means, study for and take the writtens in advance and you'll have more time during the program. However, it's very possible to do it as ATP prescribes, showing up ready for the instrument, and then taking the others as you go along. They just require you to have all the writtens out of the way before you start your x-country phase, which is about a month after finishing the multi checkride. So, if you take the instrument on day one, you've got about 6 weeks to take three more exams. One of them, FOI, you can learn in a weekend of study, the other two are easily learned in a week each, as they're just basically building on what you've already learned in your private and instrument writtens, just a little more depth.
Later,
Heath
Thank you for the blog. Great insight on what to expect from ATP.
[/ QUOTE ]
You're welcome. Someone did it for me, and I greatly enjoyed it. I actually enjoy doing it. I'm thinking now I might start a blog on a permanent basis.
[ QUOTE ]
I would like to know why you decided to wait on your writtens. Don't most people advise to get them done before training begins?
[/ QUOTE ]
Well actually, I would have liked to do it that way. But, once I made the decision to pursue ATP and got a start date, I had four days before I started my time building and we had 37 hours to burn in one week. So there just simply weren't enough hours in the day to have all of them done in a week. Further, ATP's instructions are to show up on day one with the supplement committed to memory and ready to take your instrument exams, which I did. And, after now being in the program, I can say that you have lots of "in-between" time to knock out the other exams. I've completed the commercial portion of the Jepp Inst/Comm book this week and finished reading the Gleim Commercial test prep this week, so I'll be ready for the exam Monday or Tuesday after my Multi checkride.
But, if you have more than a week before your start date, by all means, study for and take the writtens in advance and you'll have more time during the program. However, it's very possible to do it as ATP prescribes, showing up ready for the instrument, and then taking the others as you go along. They just require you to have all the writtens out of the way before you start your x-country phase, which is about a month after finishing the multi checkride. So, if you take the instrument on day one, you've got about 6 weeks to take three more exams. One of them, FOI, you can learn in a weekend of study, the other two are easily learned in a week each, as they're just basically building on what you've already learned in your private and instrument writtens, just a little more depth.
Later,
Heath
GaTechKid
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
[/ QUOTE ]
Ya missed me. I came by the office that morning to schedule my commercial checkride and CFI start date. See what happens when you go and do that real flying stuff.
[ QUOTE ]
I finally flew my first 1.9 MEL, in 721CK, affectionately known as "2-1-chicken-killer!"
[/ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
[/ QUOTE ]
Ya missed me. I came by the office that morning to schedule my commercial checkride and CFI start date. See what happens when you go and do that real flying stuff.
[ QUOTE ]
I finally flew my first 1.9 MEL, in 721CK, affectionately known as "2-1-chicken-killer!"
[/ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
Heath
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
[/ QUOTE ]
Ya missed me. I came by the office that morning to schedule my commercial checkride and CFI start date. See what happens when you go and do that real flying stuff.
[/ QUOTE ]
Aww, too bad. Well, I'm sure I'll see you around soon.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I finally flew my first 1.9 MEL, in 721CK, affectionately known as "2-1-chicken-killer!"
[/ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too funny! What happened?
[ QUOTE ]
OK, revenge! Showed up this morning and it was my turn to burn some Cessna time while Brian, my co-student, had to burn some chair time!
[/ QUOTE ]
Ya missed me. I came by the office that morning to schedule my commercial checkride and CFI start date. See what happens when you go and do that real flying stuff.
[/ QUOTE ]
Aww, too bad. Well, I'm sure I'll see you around soon.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I finally flew my first 1.9 MEL, in 721CK, affectionately known as "2-1-chicken-killer!"
[/ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Too funny! What happened?
Heath
Well-Known Member
Update!
OK first let me skip ahead to today and brag that I am now officially a multi-engine pilot! Woo hoooooo!
Now, on to the journal entries to let you see how I got there.
3/5 Saturday - Day 6
OK, chickens one day, feathers the next. Today Brian, my co-partner flew first because he needed to leave earlier for a family obligation. While he was out flying, I practiced in the sim. Blew away all the maneuvers and felt ultra confident. Then, as the afternoon passed the winds got progressively worse and worse. By the time I got up, it was 31018G27! Not a huge deal taking off on 32 at FTY, but when we got in the air it was REALLY bumpy and I was HORRIBLE on my maneuvers! It was really discouraging. I felt like the wind was blowing me up and down until Chad took the controls and did the maneuver spot on in spite of the winds!
Then we went to Cartersville to try some landings. When we got in the pattern the wind was blowing the plane all over the place. Chad decided to take the controls to see what the conditions were like before having me land it (the crosswind at VPC was a direct 90 degrees to the rwy and 10G18). It was extremely nasty and we decided to just head on home and save the training time for tomorrow when the winds would be better. Flew back to FTY where it was still nasty bumpy and 31015G25. The landing was a challenge with the gusts and Chad had his hands right on the controls ready to take over in case I botched it, but I did manage to make a landing that the controller came on afterwards and said, "Nice landing!"
That was the only up side of today's flight. I left feeling really discouraged. If tomorrow doesn't go better I'll really be worried going into the checkride on Monday.
3/6 Sunday - Day 7
Today went MUCH better! Got to go to church as my flying was in the afternoon. Did 2.6 of practicing maneuvers and added single-engine landings and short field t/o and landings to the mix. The air was smoother and I nailed the maneuvers and landings pretty spot on. I'm still adjusting to the wider pattern the Seminole flies compared to a Cessna, but its not such a problem that I'm making bad landings, just occassionally start base a little too high and have to adjust to be stabilized before turning final and hitting 400 ft so I can make the "Gear Down - Stabilized" callout.
Came back and did 30 minutes in the sim and nailed every situation perfect there, too. All in all I'm now feeling really confident that barring some brain fart where I miss something on a checklist or forget to put my gear down that I'll pass the checkride in the morning. Still a little nervous, though.
3/7 Monday - Day 8
SUCCESS! Passed the checkride with no problems. I was REALLY nervous. I was fine at first, but the weather was deteriorating and the examiner wanted to finish my ride quickly so he'd be able to do Brian's too before the clouds dropped too low. So, he was barking out orders at light speed, "Turn here, pull the pattern tighter and get down quickly, pull the throttles completely to slow it down faster, but don't lose any altitude!" By the time we were done, I was a nervous wreck! But, when I shut it down, he turned to me and shook my hand and said, "Great flight! You're a good pilot. You handled the plane really well out there."
The oral portion was a snap. So, its official, I'm an ME pilot!
Time to go celebrate!
Later,
Heath
OK first let me skip ahead to today and brag that I am now officially a multi-engine pilot! Woo hoooooo!
Now, on to the journal entries to let you see how I got there.
3/5 Saturday - Day 6
OK, chickens one day, feathers the next. Today Brian, my co-partner flew first because he needed to leave earlier for a family obligation. While he was out flying, I practiced in the sim. Blew away all the maneuvers and felt ultra confident. Then, as the afternoon passed the winds got progressively worse and worse. By the time I got up, it was 31018G27! Not a huge deal taking off on 32 at FTY, but when we got in the air it was REALLY bumpy and I was HORRIBLE on my maneuvers! It was really discouraging. I felt like the wind was blowing me up and down until Chad took the controls and did the maneuver spot on in spite of the winds!
3/6 Sunday - Day 7
Today went MUCH better! Got to go to church as my flying was in the afternoon. Did 2.6 of practicing maneuvers and added single-engine landings and short field t/o and landings to the mix. The air was smoother and I nailed the maneuvers and landings pretty spot on. I'm still adjusting to the wider pattern the Seminole flies compared to a Cessna, but its not such a problem that I'm making bad landings, just occassionally start base a little too high and have to adjust to be stabilized before turning final and hitting 400 ft so I can make the "Gear Down - Stabilized" callout.
Came back and did 30 minutes in the sim and nailed every situation perfect there, too. All in all I'm now feeling really confident that barring some brain fart where I miss something on a checklist or forget to put my gear down that I'll pass the checkride in the morning. Still a little nervous, though.
3/7 Monday - Day 8
SUCCESS! Passed the checkride with no problems. I was REALLY nervous. I was fine at first, but the weather was deteriorating and the examiner wanted to finish my ride quickly so he'd be able to do Brian's too before the clouds dropped too low. So, he was barking out orders at light speed, "Turn here, pull the pattern tighter and get down quickly, pull the throttles completely to slow it down faster, but don't lose any altitude!" By the time we were done, I was a nervous wreck! But, when I shut it down, he turned to me and shook my hand and said, "Great flight! You're a good pilot. You handled the plane really well out there."
Time to go celebrate!
Later,
Heath
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
[ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ah yes, chicken killer. We ALL have stories about that plane. I assume the heater died on you? The last time I flew it, it had a 10 degree per second bank to the right going. We let it get to about 75* one time. Thanfully (for me anyways) 1CK has been staying on the east coast so I haven't had any more fun times.
Ethan
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ah yes, chicken killer. We ALL have stories about that plane. I assume the heater died on you? The last time I flew it, it had a 10 degree per second bank to the right going. We let it get to about 75* one time. Thanfully (for me anyways) 1CK has been staying on the east coast so I haven't had any more fun times.
Ethan
Heath
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ah yes, chicken killer. We ALL have stories about that plane. I assume the heater died on you? The last time I flew it, it had a 10 degree per second bank to the right going. We let it get to about 75* one time. Thanfully (for me anyways) 1CK has been staying on the east coast so I haven't had any more fun times.
Ethan
[/ QUOTE ]
Chicken Killer still has the right-banking tendencies, the heater seemed alright, though!
OK
3/8 Tuesday - Day 9
Did 2 hours of ground instruction on holding pattern entries and holding, then off to the sim where we spent two hours with Robert and Chad playing ATC and calling out patterns for us to hold. For the first hour I was flying and Brian was co-piloting drawing out the patterns, deciding the proper entry method, and keeping up with the times. After an hour, we switched seats and Brian flew while I co-piloted. While we had our share of bobbles here and there, all in all I felt really good about the flying both of us did. Single pilot would certainly make it more challenging without an extra brain and set of hands to help out, but I'm feeling confident that I can do this, provided I don't go insane after about 20-40 hours in that fiberglass humming box!
Gonna do some x-country flights in the afternoons starting tomorrow to burn off the rest of my Cessna time and help break the monotany of sim flying. I'm spending the balance of this afternoon doing Commercial exam practice questions so I can take it tomorrow or Thursday.
Clear skies,
Heath
[ QUOTE ]
That [censored] tried to kill me one brutally cold night. It was one of the harshest 2.X hours of my life.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ah yes, chicken killer. We ALL have stories about that plane. I assume the heater died on you? The last time I flew it, it had a 10 degree per second bank to the right going. We let it get to about 75* one time. Thanfully (for me anyways) 1CK has been staying on the east coast so I haven't had any more fun times.
Ethan
[/ QUOTE ]
Chicken Killer still has the right-banking tendencies, the heater seemed alright, though!
OK
3/8 Tuesday - Day 9
Did 2 hours of ground instruction on holding pattern entries and holding, then off to the sim where we spent two hours with Robert and Chad playing ATC and calling out patterns for us to hold. For the first hour I was flying and Brian was co-piloting drawing out the patterns, deciding the proper entry method, and keeping up with the times. After an hour, we switched seats and Brian flew while I co-piloted. While we had our share of bobbles here and there, all in all I felt really good about the flying both of us did. Single pilot would certainly make it more challenging without an extra brain and set of hands to help out, but I'm feeling confident that I can do this, provided I don't go insane after about 20-40 hours in that fiberglass humming box!
Gonna do some x-country flights in the afternoons starting tomorrow to burn off the rest of my Cessna time and help break the monotany of sim flying. I'm spending the balance of this afternoon doing Commercial exam practice questions so I can take it tomorrow or Thursday.
Clear skies,
Heath
IndianaPilot
Well-Known Member
sweeet
sounds like your having a blast down there !!! cant wait to start
aloft
New Member
[ QUOTE ]
Another interesting thought about the citation time...i've heard a story about a guy that went to ATP, and logged the 3 hrs and also put it on his resume...and this pretty much caused him to almost hang himself in the interview. Because he made a big deal of it, making it stand out on the resume as turbine time, logging it, etc.......they expected him to be able to back it up...and since it was really just a very basic orientation..his knowledge wasnt the best.
[/ QUOTE ]
Precisely why the SIX hours the program used to offer in a King Air 90 was the better deal, IMHO. You can't learn squat in 3 hours, but in six, things start to sink in. Plus, some of that was actually turbine PIC since no type is required, just AMEL.
Another interesting thought about the citation time...i've heard a story about a guy that went to ATP, and logged the 3 hrs and also put it on his resume...and this pretty much caused him to almost hang himself in the interview. Because he made a big deal of it, making it stand out on the resume as turbine time, logging it, etc.......they expected him to be able to back it up...and since it was really just a very basic orientation..his knowledge wasnt the best.
[/ QUOTE ]
Precisely why the SIX hours the program used to offer in a King Air 90 was the better deal, IMHO. You can't learn squat in 3 hours, but in six, things start to sink in. Plus, some of that was actually turbine PIC since no type is required, just AMEL.
ananoman
New Member
Either way, it doesn't really matter. Nobody is going to be impressed with with a few hours of turbine time when someone only has 250 hours anyway. It is more about having fun for the students and about finding a clever way for the owners of ATP to add some 'bonus depreciation' to their tax return.
IndianaPilot
Well-Known Member
Yeah ananoman....i've heard guys say that the citation ride is more of like a huge carnival ride at that point....and pretty much like a reward for completing the program. Still is gonna be awesome though
TaterSalad
New Member
I assume you guys are still going to Clyde for the checkrides? If so, on your next checkride tell him Nathan Woodward says hi. He probably won't remember me, with so many going people through there, and I never did anything particularly memorable on any of his checkrides, but maybe.
aloft
New Member
[ QUOTE ]
Yeah ananoman....i've heard guys say that the citation ride is more of like a huge carnival ride at that point....and pretty much like a reward for completing the program.
[/ QUOTE ]
A reward that you have to pay for is no reward. That's like someone giving you a birthday present and then asking you to reimburse them for its cost.
Yeah ananoman....i've heard guys say that the citation ride is more of like a huge carnival ride at that point....and pretty much like a reward for completing the program.
[/ QUOTE ]
A reward that you have to pay for is no reward. That's like someone giving you a birthday present and then asking you to reimburse them for its cost.