reviews on ATP locations

SkyFlier33 said:
I though Frank was alright :cool:
Personally I got a lot out of CFI school in Vegas. It's by no means easy, but if you put an effort to it and study hard you shouldn't have a problem with Frank or on your checkride. Again, diligence is the key to successfully getting though any one of ATP's programs. It's up to you how much you'll make out of it.
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that's exactly it. I would recommend it to anyone and I to walked away having pulled a bunch of great knowledge from that school. Frank isn't there to make friends he has no time to be nice. He was flying his butt off when I was there on top of ground sessions. I really buckled down and studied, before and during the school and told myself I was doing it and finishing no ifs ands or butts.

Planeiscool I think I know who you are based on your sig. I know you studied very hard and really put fourth the effort my comments weren't a lick on you. You couldn't stay to finish and needed to get back to the wife and baby I respect that. There were a few of us who didn't go to the grand canyon, didn't party and get drunk every night, didn't blow off flghts etc. You were one of them and it showed.

That being said some people did struggle even with the effort put fourth. I dont know if people thought the class was gonna be easy and would be handed the certificates so they didn't prepare before or what but I had been prepping for months prior to going.

I got a lot from my 1 frank flight, applied what he toldme to and with the next flight I was able to get signed off for the practical. I really don't think people should need several flights with frank.

The only think I can say is back to the thinking outside of the box. I won't name names but his name rhymes with can lol. He was horrible. Too busy worrying about Hobbs time to teach I mean seriously. He was the worst part of my experience at ATP in VGT.
 
I didn't see things this way when I went through but it IS ATP's (or any other schools) fault if someone consistently busts a checkride. They shouldn't have been signed off. Sure, everyone has a bad day but even when I went through I saw a few people where the ATP style of learning just wasn't effective, but they'd get consistently signed off and fail. In the ATP forum I see these people instantly discarded as "bad pilots" or used as an example to make someone feel better about his or her own performance. Because someone learns more effectively in a different way than the ONLY way that is offered by one school does that mean that they're a failure or does that mean that the school is a failure for not being able to teach in more than one way?

You're not doing anyone a favor by signing them off for a checkride they can't pass. And then what if they do pass and aren't prepared to safely excercise the privileges of their new certificate?

I've never understood the kind of corporate culture that ATP has. It's almost that they say: "You should be LUCKY you paid us 50 grand. I don't have time to waste on you, just shut up and get through it. Hundreds of people before you have done it and if you are having trouble it is because you're obviously a failure."

This kind of attitude might fly 2-3 years ago when they were turning people away and making millions of dollars and signing options for D-Jets (where are these by the way?) but in the kind of downturn for flight instruction we have right now it is amazing, if they still operate the same way, that they have any takers.

I had fun at ATP. But I've seen people who didn't have such a good time, either. I just think that they (ATP) are going to have to market something besides "Get there fast!" if they want to stay in business. They've started this to an extent, creating new add-on courses that are in many cases very good deals. You've got to be more than the fast-food of flight schools in this day and age. Maybe their day will come again when people will put up with being crapped on all the while paying tens of thousands of dollars, but not too soon.
 
Inverted said:
that's exactly it. I would recommend it to anyone and I to walked away having pulled a bunch of great knowledge from that school. Frank isn't there to make friends he has no time to be nice. He was flying his butt off when I was there on top of ground sessions. I really buckled down and studied, before and during the school and told myself I was doing it and finishing no ifs ands or butts.

Planeiscool I think I know who you are based on your sig. I know you studied very hard and really put fourth the effort my comments weren't a lick on you. You couldn't stay to finish and needed to get back to the wife and baby I respect that. There were a few of us who didn't go to the grand canyon, didn't party and get drunk every night, didn't blow off flghts etc. You were one of them and it showed.

That being said some people did struggle even with the effort put fourth. I dont know if people thought the class was gonna be easy and would be handed the certificates so they didn't prepare before or what but I had been prepping for months prior to going.

I got a lot from my 1 frank flight, applied what he toldme to and with the next flight I was able to get signed off for the practical. I really don't think people should need several flights with frank.

The only think I can say is back to the thinking outside of the box. I won't name names but his name rhymes with can lol. He was horrible. Too busy worrying about Hobbs time to teach I mean seriously. He was the worst part of my experience at ATP in VGT.
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Nah mark, you are thinking of Andrew. this is matt. I only came away with MEI and CFI but I am not blaming frank for me not passing my CFII, that was totally my fault. I was more disturbed at his absolutely callous attitude towards one of the guys in my class who had a 7 hour oral for his initial. Then at the end of the oral the FAA Inspector says, "Well, you are right there. You know the material but I don't feel like you are teaching it as well as I'd like. If this were a year ago we would go flying but we have raised the bar some what." Then Frank says, "I do not have time to deal with your issues and I am going to make you wait an entire week before you can make up the ground." Then he made up the ground and was unable to get his recheck scheduled.

I agree that you have to study and be proactive, no disagreement there but this guy did that and he got reemed on his oral. I left with out my CFII because I ran out of money and had to get home but I can knock it out up here at the school I work for.

Good luck to you man,
Matt
 
Hey Matt,

I hear ya If I was him I would have got a lawyer involved. The way Frank treated him was BS any way you slice it. I cant defend that nor wouldn't. Did he ever finish? I dont know what it is about frank but some people he just gets a bug up his ass for and wont let up. I knew from reading that I didnt want to be a thumb that stuck out in the class because thats usually who he gives the most to.
 
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