Current or former students?

n2o2diver

New Member
Are there any current or former students from this school?
Could you post your views of this school.
Anyone completed the program and gotten a job with 375 hrs?
 
Come on, not 1 student current or former has anything to say?

I hope this isn't a case of, if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything.

Please comment positive or negative!
 
I'm hoping to visit them around the 3rd week in July. I spent about 30 mins or so on the phone the other day with Steve D. plus I've had some support from other readers concerning this place so we'll see.

Dan
 
The thing about this school that scares me it their ad. "We want you...and the regional airlines will want you." Should probably read, "We want your money....and in a few years after you have over 1000 hours, the Regionals will want you, maybe." They list American Eagle at the bottom of their ad. As far as I know, Eagle is not hiring. I don't see any other regional hiring someone directly out of this program, no matter how much Sim and CBT training they have. 100 hrs of King Air would be nice, but your CFI, CFII, and MEI would be more useful. A traditional flight training program will better prepare you for instructing in light planes. This is the first flying job you are most likely to have.

A few years ago, this program might have been an option. Today, things are different. Why spend weeks learning 737 and Beech 1900 stuff when you will not be flying one for several years, if ever. By the time you make it to the Regionals, you will have forgotten alot of what you learned. Unless you know someone who will hire you to fly their King Air as SIC after you graduate, I don't see any reason to go there.
 
They really need to update their ads, then. They are working directly with a couple of BE1900 airlines right now (not Gulfstream!!!)

But I appreciate that reality check at the end. Even with 1000 hrs I don't think any regional is going to "want" you
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What they "want" is the product, not a person. They want the result of the training. It's important to remember that these ab initio deals only work when you stay with the group. If you go off on your own you no longer have any value and in fact you lower the value of the rest of the group. Do not call up chief pilots and try to make your own deal!
 
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I'm hoping to visit them around the 3rd week in July. I spent about 30 mins or so on the phone the other day with Steve D.
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Steve D. is the former ATA "SALES REP" (who ........, Don't even wanna go there), I checked out the school few months ago, Nice King air 90s but; you get about 360 TT hrs
around 160 in the Kin air, and you do most of the training in the Level 6 Sims which aren't that great(with 4 TVs aound you instead of Proj), and you end up paying 64K.
I also heard a lot(Nothing good) about Tabexpress from other schools which I never heard about ATA.

Good luck!

P.S. I did my homework before I gave 75k to ATA, but i guess I didn't do a good job!
 
Well that adds up to 80k doesn't it?

Your living expense was confiscated by your lawyers. The lawyers representing the "students" confiscated that account from Key Bank and is using it as a "retainer."

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure the ATP program did not require all the money up front. I know if you took airstage II you had to pay the whole $45k.
 
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What they "want" is the product, not a person. They want the result of the training. It's important to remember that these ab initio deals only work when you stay with the group. If you go off on your own you no longer have any value and in fact you lower the value of the rest of the group. Do not call up chief pilots and try to make your own deal!


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What the hell are you babbling about?
 
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What the hell are you babbling about?

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Is this a friendly, non-inflammatory request? I don't think so!

At ATA several "pilots" ruined relationships we had developed with airlines by calling on their own after being instructed several times not to. The airlines are not interested in 300 hr pilots individually. They are interested in a group of pre-trained, ab initio pilots who are a product of a particular program.

[/babble]
 
$20k living expenses.
The ATP program was $65k, they had $10k discount for people who register before FEB 28th.
I got 75k from key on feb 20th (55,700.00 cost of the program), Key sent two payments to ATA on 21th and 24th ($37,500.00 each).
 
Vaid I'm really trying to make sense of your figures. I must be missing something.

ok I see that 65k - 10k discount + 20k living = $75k. I check you there.

But where does the $55,700 com from?

By the way check with Key's attorneys and I believe you will find out that all they did was "transfer" the money in to an ATA account which was later closed and confiscated by a court order. The majority of the money that you sent in was included in that court order and is now being held as a "retainer" by the various attorneys involved in this case.

It seems criminal that they can hold money earmarked for living expenses!

A really, really bad deal. The only people who will make any money at all out of this tragedy is the lawyers.

I understand all the Williams filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I haven't read chapter 7 thoroughly but I understand it basically means "dead broke."

Are you also a member of CAP Flying? I think you flew with one of my students last weekend (John.)
 
I should of explained better; there was $200 admission fee and $500 for one on one ground instruction.( At the time I was a full time student at UCF and unable to attend all the ground schools)


About your comment on my living expenses(20k); Key bank is holding me responsible for the $75,000.00, and $20000.00 does not make a difference to me when I can't even make one payment on the loan.

And yes I did fly with one of your students.
 
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I understand all the Williams filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I haven't read chapter 7 thoroughly but I understand it basically means "dead broke."

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Pretty much. As a person that actually had to file CH 7 last year (wife got laid off TWICE in one year, and I was working at Sea World for peanuts), I would not recommend it. I WANTED to go to ERAU, but now I can't get any kind of loan under the sun. The sad thing is, I don't see HOW the Williams had to resort to CH 7 when they had all that money from the students. There are even a couple of old ATA 172s on E-bay (Great trainer it says!).

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Are you also a member of CAP Flying? I think you flew with one of my students last weekend (John.)

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I'll probably be in that group next month. A friend of mine has been flying their planes, and they seem pretty well maintained. I like the 172R, and I want to get checked out in the Arrow, too. Might even try to get my Multi over there.
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