ATP vs Ari-Ben

bap327

New Member
Just read a post on the Ari thread and they stated that one reason that they did not attend ATP was that he heard from a DE that ATP put pressure on students to take the flight portion of the test even if they felt that they, the student, was not prepared.

Any current or former students want to weigh in on this?
I start ATP on 5 April so you know where I stand on the school!!!
 
The best way to overcome fear is to look it in the eye and do what you are afraid of? Works for the army in bootcamp right?

What I am trying to say is, I doubt they would put you up for it if they didnt think you would do well. Don't ATP instructors get cash bonuses if their students pass?
 
I believe the reasoning behind this is that most students when asked if they are ready to check say they aren't. The instructors know if you are ready or not but most students dont feel that their skills are up to it. My instructor told me the same thing. When HE feels I'm ready, it's time.
 
Many of my students have doubts before their checkrides, but who doesn't? I usually could not sleep the night before checkrides. When I am training a student I look for safety and performing the maneuvers within PTS tolerances. Unless I see a major issue, I sign them off for the checkride. Some students are dialed in from the beginning, and with some you really hope they keep it all together on the checkride. I drove my PPL CFI crazy wanting to fly extra lessons to feel "ready". I was still nervous on my checkride, and should have taken the checkride 10 hours and $1000 earlier.
 
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Just read a post on the Ari thread and they stated that one reason that they did not attend ATP was that he heard from a DE that ATP put pressure on students to take the flight portion of the test even if they felt that they, the student, was not prepared...

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First of all, that's complete hearsay!

Secondly, any DE who is stupid enough to say that about one of his customers will not be in that business much longer.

Thirdly, I think the whole story is fabricated. Nice try!
 
i wouldn't exactley say that it's "hearsay". your checkrides are prescheduled. dates are tentative of course but they are usually pretty much right on. when the day comes, you ARE taking the checkride. unless your sick or something. you can reschedule but your not going to get extra flight time. all flight time for ratings is pre-calcalculated. each student is alloted a certain amount of flight time for each rating. usually, you will take the checkride with enough time left for you to do another training flight in the event you fail. the flight time for your checkride is not included in your allotment of training hours. i can't remember what the hour allotments are. i believe for the multi-private add-onn it's something like 8 hours. i took the checkride at like 6. if i would have failed, i'd still have a two hours left for another training flight before the checkride. no you probably won't feel ready. most people don't. i know i didn't but i took them all on schedule and passed every one the first time. except for one. (cfi Initial). that was because of the oral not the flight. most of the people i encountered during my training busted at least one checkride. it's good for you, if you never make any mistakes, how are you supposed to learn.
grin.gif
 
No doubt, training and checkrides are scheduled in advance at ATP.
Just like the airlines do it!
When you get hired by an airline, you will get "X" amount of training, and then a checkride.

It's all about goals.
If I set a goal, and wait until the last minute to fear it, I won't have enough time to do anything about it. However, if I fear my checkride when training starts, I will be more dedicated to my training and get better results.
 
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Thirdly, I think the whole story is fabricated. Nice try!


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No doubt, training and checkrides are scheduled in advance at ATP.


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His story may well be fabricated, but I've recently heard the same thing from a well-respected DE. And it shouldn't be hard to believe--I mean, of course ATP puts pressure on students to take the flight tests if they aren't prepared! They schedule them months in advance and don't really let them postpone. That implies to me that their students that aren't ready are indeed pressured to take their rides.

Whether or not that's a good or a bad thing is debatable. I thought about ATP, but decided it was too much of a gamble. I wasn't confident enough that their program would work for me. Some people are, and it works for them, and that's great. Are ATP's methods inherently better at training pilots than other schools'? I've seen both good and crappy pilots from ATP, so I'd say not necessarily.

-Zach
 
A buddy of mine just got hired with SkyWest.
He was a former ATP student.
He told me the SkyWest interview was tougher than all of his checkrides put together.
I'd be surprised if anyone dropped out of the ATP career pilot program because the pace was too fast, and then went on to become an airline pilot.
 
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