It's official, no longer intersted in ASA
ASA called this morning to "update their database." Told them I was no longer interested. I should have asked about class dates, but they woke me up and caught me off guard. Oh well, that's life I guess. To be perfectly honest I don't feel like I'm ready to go to ASA right now. It's not that I don't think I could do it, but I'm not instrument current and I know for a fact the first time I got into that plane I would probably be overwhelmed by the radios and everything else because I haven't flown in so long. Last thing I flew was a two seat Diamond out of Long Beach. I could fly the plane, but everything else sucked big time.
Onto the latest comments. First, another airline. None of the airlines accept laterals. I know marketing was trying to see if Pinnacle would take me, but nothing ever came of it. That was the ONLY alternative they offered me. I tried the Business Jet Direct and that just turned into a big cluster. And I used my couple hours of extra time in the sim before I left. Regardless, I don't want to shell out another few hundred I don't have to get back to Vero to do it.
Cost of the ERJ sim is about $1000/hr. The training I was getting in LGB on the EMB-120 was worth about $12,000 as I recall. I'm sure bigger and better planes cost more.
As for blaming FSA, I don't blame them. But considering I invested over $80,000 in flight training there I'd expect more than, "It's out of our hands." I think more people could have been involved. Someone should have said, "I don't care if you only want 4 direct track in a class. They spent their money to work for your airline, you're having classes so get them in already." If I was good enough to hire in the first place then it shouldn't matter how many direct tracks are in the class.
The instructor ratings...that was mentioned while I was still in FL waiting. As i recall the CFII was $2000-3000, and MEI about the same. So lets say $6000. Who wants to give me the $6000 to get those ratings??? And I do mean give, not loan. Sure it may only be a couple grand, but when you only have about $200 to your name that's a little hard. I tried to get an instructor job, but since I hadn't flown a PPL maneuver in over a year they wanted me to get 3-4 hours practice before they'd go any further. Again, a few hundred I didn't have to spend.
I've been keeping this quite, but here is a cold hard FACT. Between my student loan and my father (cause he convinced me to do the direct track and loaned me the money) I am about $150,000 in debt. Lets see the break down....Flight training: $80,500, Interst to date: $20,000, father: $30,000 ($22.5k for direct track, the rest for other things like moving and paying off my student loan since I can't do it right now). That leaves about $20,000 for living expenses. Did I blow some of it on stuff I didn't need, yes. But the majority went to bills, food, etc.
"Sounds like a threat to me. So Badco can't express his opinion now without worrying what FSA management thinks? This whole site is about freedom of speech and telling it like it is. Badco shouldn't have to worry about it."
How's this for worrying about FSA management...they can take a flying leap. I was going to say something else but it would probably get edited. Scovgard, Wakefield and probably Haland need to go. From what understand they were on their way out when the big wigs from NY decided to fire all the part time people instead, which included a lot of GREAT ground instructors. By all means, go to FSA to do your training, its great. BUT don't do direct track and don't work there until they are gone. The only way I'd recommend DT now is if you are given a 100% guarantee that upon completion of the program you will be in the NEXT available ground school.
WELL, that got a little long. Believe me when I say I'd rather be flying than going back to law enforcement. I LOVE to fly. It has been my first choice of careers for as long as I can remember, law enforecment was a distant second. I wish I could still do it, but due to money and timing it just hasn't worked out. It's not like I didn't try. I'm not religious and I can't say I believe in destiny, but maybe things really do happen for a reason.
Blue skies and fly safe everyone.
:insane:
