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Since you jumped in yankee_one this goes for DCA as well as Pan Scam.
i am not anti academy at all. I could go to one if I wanted to, however i am not a big fan of being owned by Key Bank for the next 20 years.
All this "jet-direct", "full glass", "train in a turbine", "bridge program", and "CRM prep" stuff is a bunch of bullsh*t and you know it.
The majority of people at the airlines never went through this meaningless crap yet they made it just fine. The only reason these programs are invented by the adademies is to make more money by makin people think they need all this "special training".
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Wow, that sounds like a pretty uniformed opinion!! So what I hear you saying is that the exposure to the advanced systems, crew resource management, and LOFT training does nothing to set and individual apart from the guy that built all his time in a 172 at ye' ole FBO, and does not have the same experience? If that is what you are saying then I totally disagree.
How can anyone discount the value of spending time in a CRJ simulator, or even just the exposure to advanced systems? Think about it this way... Two guys with the exact same number of hours, exact same formal education, just made it through the interview and are now in ground school at the regional airline of their choice. On the first day, a 4 inch thick systems manual for the CRJ 200 is dropped on their desk. Close behind is the checklist and procedures manual. Intimate knowledge of both manuals is required by the end of the week. On top of that, both prospective employees will be required to successfully complete a sim checkout at the end of groundschool in an advanced sim. Who do you think has the better chance of being successful? The guy that discounted the academy experience as a scam, or the guy that sat through a mock CRJ ground school, has studied the advanced systems, and has spent many hours in an actual advanced simulator? Who is going to be able to handle the multi-crew environment better? The guy that has built time taking his friends up and showing them around the friendly skies, towing banners around town, or even just being a CFI? (I am not discounting the experience of being a CFI.) Or do you think the guy that spent the time working w/ a partner in the simulator cockpit, running through the multi-crew checklists and procedures? I pick the later.
Yes, it might have cost me a pretty penny, but the experience I happily paid for, is going to help me out a ton when I am sitting in a regional ground school. I will know what to expect, and understand what is expected of me.
I tell you what... If by some chance you are sitting next to me in ground school (provided you are pursuing an airline career), I will happily do what I can to help you catch up when you are completely overwhelmed because the learning curve is so steep. Deal??