Which campus did ygo to?
Delta Connection Academy
- Thread starter DonR
- Start date
Which campus did ygo to?
ILS37R
Well-Known Member
Ah, what the hay, I'll chime in, too.
If you're 99% of people, don't go to DCA. I'm sure there's 1% of the population that their program suits and for whom price is immaterial, but I have yet to meet anyone who fits into that percentile.
I went to DCA. I came out a pretty decent pilot for the hours in my logbook, but certainly no better than if I had had a good instructor at a local FBO.
But all the other crap people will tell you about DCA aside, here's the one thing I think should matter:
DCA takes the fun out of flying.
If you're considering DCA for training, your goal is obviously to become a professional pilot. As such, you'll have plenty of time in the future to be bossed around by management and forced to think of flight purely in terms of the mission.
Do you know what's great? The $500 hamburger. Working on your private, instrument or commercial, you do one of those mandatory cross countries and, when you get there, you sit down for a nice meal at the restaurant on the field... or maybe you and your instructor grab the crew/courtesy car and hit a local joint recommended by the FBO staff. Man, that burger is good.
You sit back in the chair thinking, "That flight was great. Now I get to relax, chat with my wingman here and have this nice burger." Because, damnit, you flew somewhere, you did something and now it's your moment to enjoy and let it sink in. You'll be on that cross country for the better part of the day; milk it for all the enjoyment you can.
In about a dozen cross country flights at DCA I had two $500 hamburgers. One when I was stuck for weather on my private solo and another on a night cross country when no one had the plane booked behind us.
DCA is a business that works on high-volume flight training. Planes are scheduled back-to-back-to-back. Almost every flight will be overfilled with things you have to do. Things other than being amazed you're flying a plane over Disney at 3500'.
C'mon, you're learning to fly! It's awesome. It's the best thing, ever. It should be fun. In fact, most people learn better and more quickly when they're having fun.
Don't pay DCA their 50% premium to get the joy sucked out of your new vocation.
If you're 99% of people, don't go to DCA. I'm sure there's 1% of the population that their program suits and for whom price is immaterial, but I have yet to meet anyone who fits into that percentile.
I went to DCA. I came out a pretty decent pilot for the hours in my logbook, but certainly no better than if I had had a good instructor at a local FBO.
But all the other crap people will tell you about DCA aside, here's the one thing I think should matter:
DCA takes the fun out of flying.
If you're considering DCA for training, your goal is obviously to become a professional pilot. As such, you'll have plenty of time in the future to be bossed around by management and forced to think of flight purely in terms of the mission.
Do you know what's great? The $500 hamburger. Working on your private, instrument or commercial, you do one of those mandatory cross countries and, when you get there, you sit down for a nice meal at the restaurant on the field... or maybe you and your instructor grab the crew/courtesy car and hit a local joint recommended by the FBO staff. Man, that burger is good.
You sit back in the chair thinking, "That flight was great. Now I get to relax, chat with my wingman here and have this nice burger." Because, damnit, you flew somewhere, you did something and now it's your moment to enjoy and let it sink in. You'll be on that cross country for the better part of the day; milk it for all the enjoyment you can.
In about a dozen cross country flights at DCA I had two $500 hamburgers. One when I was stuck for weather on my private solo and another on a night cross country when no one had the plane booked behind us.
DCA is a business that works on high-volume flight training. Planes are scheduled back-to-back-to-back. Almost every flight will be overfilled with things you have to do. Things other than being amazed you're flying a plane over Disney at 3500'.
C'mon, you're learning to fly! It's awesome. It's the best thing, ever. It should be fun. In fact, most people learn better and more quickly when they're having fun.
Don't pay DCA their 50% premium to get the joy sucked out of your new vocation.
