GingerDan
Well-Known Member
Hey everybody. This is my first post here. I have a question regarding ATPs two Fast track options as the title suggests. Here's a little background and info about me before I ask the specific question or you can skip to the last paragraph for the question.
I'm 35 with a wife and two young kids. I live in Las Vegas and currently work as a Flight Attendant for Southwest. I have my PPL with 59 hours but I haven't flown in almost 20 years. My ultimate goal is to obtain my necessary certificates quickly and make it back with Southwest also as quickly as possible.
The current plan is to get the 21 hours at an FBO and start ATP with PPL credit. I have some reservations about ATP but I'm not sure I can afford an FBO (because loan repayment starts immediately and personal loan periods are shorter). I'm still working on sorting out this part of my quest.
Here's the question: There is one thing I've noticed when looking at the regionals' hiring requirements - most of the ones I'd prefer only require 25 or 50 ME. So, why would I spend $10,000 more for the 100 ME when I may not actually need it? In the current pilot market, is the 100 ME really necessary? If I do CFI work, I'm bound to get 10 more ME hours while I build time, right? And if I work for Scenic doing Grand Canyon tours, I think that's all ME so I'll have an abundance. If you compare a 10 year loan for $55,000 to $75,000 (that's program cost 40/100 plus check rides and equipment), the payment amount is different by roughly $100 per month. So, are 60 more hours of ME worth $100 a month in loan payments?
Thank you,
~ Dan
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm 35 with a wife and two young kids. I live in Las Vegas and currently work as a Flight Attendant for Southwest. I have my PPL with 59 hours but I haven't flown in almost 20 years. My ultimate goal is to obtain my necessary certificates quickly and make it back with Southwest also as quickly as possible.
The current plan is to get the 21 hours at an FBO and start ATP with PPL credit. I have some reservations about ATP but I'm not sure I can afford an FBO (because loan repayment starts immediately and personal loan periods are shorter). I'm still working on sorting out this part of my quest.
Here's the question: There is one thing I've noticed when looking at the regionals' hiring requirements - most of the ones I'd prefer only require 25 or 50 ME. So, why would I spend $10,000 more for the 100 ME when I may not actually need it? In the current pilot market, is the 100 ME really necessary? If I do CFI work, I'm bound to get 10 more ME hours while I build time, right? And if I work for Scenic doing Grand Canyon tours, I think that's all ME so I'll have an abundance. If you compare a 10 year loan for $55,000 to $75,000 (that's program cost 40/100 plus check rides and equipment), the payment amount is different by roughly $100 per month. So, are 60 more hours of ME worth $100 a month in loan payments?
Thank you,
~ Dan
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
