CAPT Program: Questions and Answers

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Doug,

Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to directly answer any questions about the program.

As a veteran of many free-wheeling forums, I will not only carry my headgear but also an asbestos suit.
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The silvers haven't been made of asbestos in a while now!
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Also CAPT is like everything else at ERAU, much to expensive!

For $80,000 I could go to my local college, get my CFI/MEI, BUY a C-150, fly it for 1200 hours, buy 100 hours in a twin.

After all that, I would meet pt 135 mins, and could start flying for a living.

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Yo Seth! How about answering that? It's not a financial question, it's a why should anyone go to CAPT when they can get a lot more bang for their buck elsewhere?
 
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Also CAPT is like everything else at ERAU, much to expensive!

For $80,000 I could go to my local college, get my CFI/MEI, BUY a C-150, fly it for 1200 hours, buy 100 hours in a twin.

After all that, I would meet pt 135 mins, and could start flying for a living.

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Yo Seth! How about answering that? It's not a financial question, it's a why should anyone go to CAPT when they can get a lot more bang for their buck elsewhere?

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While I haven’t priced buying, operating, and insuring a Cessna 152, your approach is certainly an option to gain 1300 flight hours. I don’t know how much time it would take to get that many hours. Our program is approximately 14 months.

Pilots choose CAPT because of the concentrated, comprehensive academic / flight training program. They receive approximately 1600 hours of instruction. This includes a systematic and disciplined training regimen leading to a type rating in a high-bypass, turbofan, full glass, auto-throttle, autoland jet.

Additionally, they complete the program with their ATP written and dispatcher written.

While CAPT has an excellent program, it is not for everyone. There are a number of very good flight schools. We encourage our applicants to investigate all of the options and seek the training that best suits their needs. Any approach that gets you into the air is a good one.

Regards,

Seth
 
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While I haven’t priced buying, operating, and insuring a Cessna 152, your approach is certainly an option to gain 1300 flight hours. I don’t know how much time it would take to get that many hours. Our program is approximately 14 months..

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Well I wasn't thinking about buying an airplane, there're are places that rent a 152 for $37/hr. I know, I've been there. They also wouldn't need 1300 hours, 1,000 would do nicely. Spread over 14 months, that's just under 72 hours per month, really not that bad.

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Pilots choose CAPT because of the concentrated, comprehensive academic / flight training program. They receive approximately 1600 hours of instruction. This includes a systematic and disciplined training regimen leading to a type rating in a high-bypass, turbofan, full glass, auto-throttle, autoland jet.

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No offense, but that DC-9 type rating doesn't mean much. There aren't any regionals that could use that type rating, and it doesn't do much good without actual time in the type, but I'm just repeating what's been said all over this and other boards already.

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Additionally, they complete the program with their ATP written and dispatcher written.

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I paid a grand total of $125 for my ATP written including study guide, and passed with a mid 90s score. Why should I have paid a university top dollar for that?

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There are a number of very good flight schools. We encourage our applicants to investigate all of the options and seek the training that best suits their needs. Any approach that gets you into the air is a good one.

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Agreed. I'm glad you don't think CAPT is the only way.

Thanks for participating!
 
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There're are places that rent a 152 for $37/hr. I know, I've been there.

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Where? I will go buy 100 hours.
 
Ok, so I'll ask the first hard question.

Why? The flight program, in reference to other collegiate flight programs, was good, but was desperately in need of some revamping, but I'm curious as to why ERAU leaned towards the 142 side, rather than taking what it did well, and improving it, and taking what it failed at and making it better?

My complaints? training was altogether too mechanical/theoretical. I was taught to do a certain maneuver at a certain power setting at a given power setting -- which would garner a particular peformance value from the aircraft.

The most important thing I learned after leaving the training environment and entering the professional aviation environment was 'doing what you had to do to get the performance that you wanted" our ofthe airplane. I spent more time my first year as a commercial pilot worrying about pitch attitudes and power settings than I did figuring out "Well, if I'm five knots slow and descending, well pitch up and add power".

Sliding back to the premise of this reply, how does diving into part-142 going to make a better generation of pilots?
 
I think ERAU's premise for the 142 program is that it would give its graduates more multi-time and thus make them more marketable towards regionals and Part 135 companies. I can see how this work in theory but I'm really not sure of its success in real life. For example, once an ERAU student would complete is PPL-ASEL, he would instantly start working on his PPL-AMEL as opposed to his instrument, like every other flight school in the US.

I can sorta understand the theory of why they would want to switch to a 142, but its success is another question. I have friends that have spent over $10,000 to get their PPL-AMEL, and it has taken them all school year. Because of the hurricanes, Riddle only had like 6 seminoles all year, not really enough to handle the abundant number of multi-students.
 
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My complaints? training was altogether too mechanical/theoretical. I was taught to do a certain maneuver at a certain power setting at a given power setting -- which would garner a particular peformance value from the aircraft.

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(Rented Northaire 172, landing PRC.)

ME: "Uh...dude... we're not going to make the runway unless you add some power."

RIDDLE ROOMMATE: "My power is set."
 
Well, I guess the density alt in DAB and Prescott must not change much......

Meanwhile, I hop in a 172M today, go full power, and at Vy, I'm looking at 100-200 fpm climb. Talk about a sucky day.
 
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For example, once an ERAU student would complete is PPL-ASEL, he would instantly start working on his PPL-AMEL as opposed to his instrument, like every other flight school in the US.

[/ QUOTE ] This is not as uncommon as you might think. FSI does the multi private before the instrument rating as well. I also know of other schools that do this. It makes sense. You need multi hours anyway. So why not do your instrument in the twin?

I think there is confusion about being a 142 School. I know Riddle has thought of this, but doing your multi private before instrument has nothing to do with 142. A 142 school uses simulators or FTD's to accomplish much of the training. Any type rating you get at FSI or Simuflight is done at a 142 training center, and they use a simulator for 100% of the training. Some of the large schools have thought of doing this for primary training as well. The school sees a benefit in no weather delays and that the care and feeding of a FTD/Sim cost less than an aircraft (the actual cost of the sim/FTD is often comparable to the aircraft). From a training standpoint I think it is good to have a FTD that accurately models the airplane you will be flying and has the same avionics. I also think that part 61 and 141 contain enough allowance for the use of a sim/FTD and reducing actual flight time from current requirements would be very harmful.
 
Downside to the 142 (as mentioned above) is that all the extra ME time you got is more or less the same as getting SE since it's in a simulator. From what I've heard (so take this for what it's worth, which might not be much), most of the training at ERAU done under 142 is in the sim, then you spend like two flights (including the checkride) in the actual plane. So, you wind up with only about 40 hours actual time in aircraft by the END of the program. Although, that's the ERAU main program, not the CAPT program.
 
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Downside to the 142 (as mentioned above) is that all the extra ME time you got is more or less the same as getting SE since it's in a simulator. From what I've heard (so take this for what it's worth, which might not be much), most of the training at ERAU done under 142 is in the sim, then you spend like two flights (including the checkride) in the actual plane. So, you wind up with only about 40 hours actual time in aircraft by the END of the program. Although, that's the ERAU main program, not the CAPT program.

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Incorrect, sir. I just left riddle and almost got a chance to finish my private multi and i had about 12 hours in the sim and about 13 hours in the seminole. I still had two more lessons followed by the check ride, but was done with the sims. Don't get me wrong, I still think the program was total crap, which is why i left.
 
They really went the wrong way with the 142 thing. It seems to have made a bad situation worse. I just hope people realize what's going down and get out before spending too much.

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to finish my private multi and i had about 12 hours in the sim and about 13 hours in the seminole

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Guess what, that's 13 hours Multi-engine. Could have been 25. Good on you for getting out of there.

Out of curiousity, how much was the sim per hour?
 
So you think the ERAU program is crap or the CAPT program is crap? Just curious. I am finishing my junior year in high school and will be applying for ERAU Prescott in the fall. I dont see why people always bash ERAU and not UND either? I only see ERAU being bashed. Now, even though i want to go to Prescott, I still believe that the CAPT program isn't the smartest thing to do with the money that ERAU has, and am not at all interested in it myself.

Taylor
 
I think mainly b/c UND is more than just an aviation college. ERAU sorta has a reputation of trying to sell themselves as the "Harvard of the skies" when there really isn't such a thing. To the airlines, it doesn't matter if you're an ERAU grad or a graduate of Idaho State College as long as you have a bachelor degree in SOMETHING.
 
Ok, i see. Thank you for clarifying. I always thought it was the prices (UND's flight costs are just as much as ERAU), and tuition is expensive because it's private (CC is and expensive school to get a teaching degree from...it's private too). Thank you. Oh well, I hope i get accepted, then I'll see how i like it (or dislike) and go from there.

Taylor
 
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Oh well, I hope i get accepted

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I wouldn't worry about that. They (ERAU) will take anybody nowadays. It's all about the benjamins.
 
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Oh well, I hope i get accepted

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I wouldn't worry about that. They (ERAU) will take anybody nowadays. It's all about the benjamins.

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I can vouche for that! They (ERAU Daytona) accepted 95 percent of applicants for next year. 95%!!! It was such a huge jump in acceptance that housing doesnt have enough room to house them all, so they are bringing in trailers to make room for all the new guys! It's seriously ridiculous. There were enough idiots in my aeronautical science classes last year and now even more idiots are going to be in aero sci. Another reason why im done with that place.
 
Taylor, I have to ask you a straight up question. Why do you want to go to ERAU? I graduated from ERAU-PRC in 1982 and fly big jets for UPS now. If there is one thing I'd do different, looking back on things, it would be to NOT get a degree in aviation from ERAU.

The main reason I'm at this site is to make sure young folks like you understand how things really are in this industry, and what's really important. Not what you read at some big academy website or what some guy in marketing has told you. I hate it when I see guys repeating the mistakes I made 25 years ago. Just want to make sure you've thought this through and want to see what your thought process was.
 
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