Its a SHAME

[shinysideup]

I posted this at the end of a very long thread, I think it deserves its own spot.

It is a shame to not know a thing about being in command of an aircraft, and have a CFI.

It is a shame to have flown only Cessna 152, 172, 172rg, arrow, seminol, and CRJ
Tell me that is a better qualified person then someone who has experience in over 40 ac from Cessna taildraggers to Barons, to King Airs, to Beech Jets, to etc.
Doesn't make sense to hire someone out of the academy to me???

Its a shame that people who go through these programs have never flown a prop aircraft outside the state of Florida.

Its a shame that they teach students not the responsibilites of their private pilot license they are working on, and instead, "don't worry about it, you will never use it at the airline."
Instructors...DO NOT FORGET that your students will become private pilots and will be allowed to fly an aircraft from coast to coast (not from Titusville to Tampa, but from Miami to Seattle) YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TEACH THESE PEOPLE THE THINGS THEY NEED TO KNOW TO DO SUCH THINGS... It may not be in the DCA books, but guess what
THE FAA OVERRIDES THE DCA BOOKS

ITS A SHAME THAT PEOPLE EVEN AFTER READING THESE POSTS WILL STILL PAY ABSURD AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR TRAINING THAT WILL NOT TEACH YOU HOW TO FLY, BUT HOW TO BE A MACHINE THAT CANNOT THINK ON THEIR OWN....I CAN TEACH A MONKEY TO FLY AN AIRPLANE.... I CANNOT TEACH A MONKEY TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE IN COMMAND OF ANY AIRCRAFT OF ANY SIZE... THAT REQUIRES PRACTICAL REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE, OF WHICH DCA CANNOT OFFER

Still want to go to DCA.... Good luck with that

 

[H46Bubba]

Hmmm. Let's see. I'm not here to promote DCA as I do feel that there are some issues with the school,but..... Your post has some pretty bold statements. I would agree that there are some students who never fly a prop aircraft out of the state of FL. In all actuallity most students that come to DCA already have their private certs or advanced ratings. Yeah the academy adds certain "airline" things to the training regimine, but every lesson plan has been reviewed by the Orlando FSDO and has been approved by them.Last time I remember everything I've been tought has been from the PTS to PTS standards.

I've got more to say, but I need to go catch a flight to CVG. I'll respond to some more of you diatribe when I get back.

 

[ananoman]

You will have these problems in any acclerated program. It would be nice to fly all over the country and fly many different types of aircraft, but this is not really feasable for most schools and would end up adding even more cost to the program.

The same goes for flying outside FL, I went to FSI in Vero Beach and it takes a long time to go out of state in a Cadet. To get to Savannah and back was about a 3.5 hr flight. The farthest I took students was Charleston, SC or Hilton Head for the 5 hr cross country in the Seminole during the Commercial Multi. To go to Charleston and back was a 6 hr flight. Some would go as far as New Orleans, but you had to have 2 students in the same step.

The truth is when you graduate these programs you still have very little experience. This is where being a CFI comes in. After being a CFI for a few hundred hours you really start to learn to be a pilot and make judgement calls. This is especially true when being an instrument instructor. When most people get their instrument rating they know just enough to be dangerous. After you spend a few hundred hours flying around in the system you are a much better pilot.

It is easy to make fun of some of the 'Airline Oriented' parts of the training. And you would be right to say that a place like DCA is probably not straight foreward in all the marketing propaganda, but the pilots they turn out are probably as good as any. I will also tell you that I had many students at FSI who came with their private who barely ever used any kind of checklist. We had specific checklist that had to be memorized, (line up, climb, cruise, descent, before landing) and I do not think that this is too much to ask (but you should have heard them moan!). The same goes for the emergency checklist. You do not want to be looking for the POH if the engine is on fire. Some of these students would be in for a rude awakening when they go for training on a large aircraft and they end up with a stack of 100 note cards filled with memory items and limitations.

It can go either way. I know there are very good instructors in the 61 world. If you are lucky enought to live near an FBO with good aircraft and good instructors, great. If not, then for many the academy route is valid.

 

[chrisdahut1]

Whoa, easy there!

I think ananoman summed it up quite nicely. Flying from coast to coast is not easy when in a light aircraft and paying a small fortune for it. Many pilots, if not all, have very little real cross country experience when they move up to bigger aircraft. This is due to the range limitations of smaller equipment, and is a problem for academy and non-academy students alike.

The academy vs. non-academy route is a debate that could go on for ever. Having experienced both myself, I like...both. Each way will achieve the desired result, and neither produces a more competent pilot. However, these days if I had to do it again, I would almost definitely skip the academies due to the outrageous costs.

As for the rest of your post, I think it was uncalled for. I like a good debate, but a lot of what you wrote was incoherent babble and insults. I'm actually surprised that myself and others actually took the time to write some positive replies.

 

[H46Bubba]

Okay now that I've been home to sunny San Diego and I've had time to surf some choice waves, drink some beers, and relax. I would like to say that we aren't going to be private pilots. We're going to be Commercial/ATP pilots.

There are plenty of pilots out there flying in the regionals who haven't had turbine time or flown a Beech Jet. Most didn't come from the academies, but from your local mom and pop FBO. If you can pass the Commercial FAA Written/Practical, and are Instrument qualified, there should be no problems safely flying cross country. Airline ground school, IOE and the time from then on will take care of the rest. We all agree that DCA marketing sucks. Why question the training? Believe me, if it were sub-standard, I'd take my money and run.