Should I Instruct at Transpac or U.S. Aviation Academy?

ajm757

ajm757

Well-Known Member
I have interviews with both schools coming up. Looking to join either one by the beginning of March. I'm currently a CFI in NJ who need to build some more hours. I have about 600TT and 100 Multi. Which school can get me those precious ours faster? Transpac or U.S. Aviation? Most of the ads they put out say 80-100 a month, but I wanted to see if anyone who has worked at either one has an opinion on how many hours you can fly and the QOL in general. Thank you
 
Honestly, they are probably both the same. The only thing I can tell you about US Aviation is Dallas has tougher weather than AZ. I'm at TransPac right now. January had about 4 days of cancellations due to rain, once this month and now we're in high 80's and clear skies. Besides weather, I can give you a lot of details and picky opinions about Tpac if you'd like in a PM.

I was in Dallas actually about 6 months ago and met some people that knew US Aviation pretty well. Heard you get to fly a lot but I also heard some sketchy details about their maintenance. I can't really comment further if that's true or not because I wasn't there (take it for what it's worth). At TransPac you'll need your CFI-I. Right now if you don't have it they will pay for you to get it and they give a $5k sign-on bonus compared to US which is $2k (I think). If money is something important to you (as it was to me) you'll be salaried at TransPac giving you that cushion that you don't need to worry about flying as much where as US is hourly....so when you work harder than I do you'll get a better paycheck but when I work less I'm technically getting paid more.

Hours wise, during PPL stage here you'll pull about 60 a month. December I got 72, January I got 52 (including an entire week off for stage checks). Once you go to IR (3 months after PPL) you'll be pulling about 90+ a month, x-country most flights, almost all night time. Some guys work 6 days and pull 120-160 a month. You get 10 hour duty days and 12 hour rest period max. Some weeks I literally work 5 hours a day for the entire week, some weeks I really do work 50 hours. Depends really. US Aviation has South American international students (I believe) where as we have Chinese and Vietnamese international students...heard that it really doesn't matter when you compare the two.

If you want my honest opinion, if you have some dual given try looking at CTC or CAE as well. They typically pay more but want 200 dual given (which I didn't have at the time). It really isn't a bad gig here. Most weeks I fly about 15-20 hours and I'm still doing PPL with my guys. You get set to a certain class so almost all your flights are with your guys and you can work with them from PPL all the way up to CPL (need MEI). It makes it a LITTLE bit easier. That's about it that I can comment. If you read some reviews online, it's not as bad as they put it. Some instructors do really get scheduled 10 or 9 a day minimum so maybe I'm in a luckier class than them but for the most part it's not that shabby here. Weather is great, maintenance program is really good for the amount of work these planes have, and students are usually well mannered and driven. If you need 900 hours, you can probably pull that in 12 months here on a 5 day schedule. If you really grind it out you could probably do shave a few months off but to me it's not worth the minimal pay and sanity.

Message me if you need more details.
 
Yes you should. I've been very impressed with Transpac's programs and have absolutely no question that safety is paramount in their operations. If you haven't had enough sleep, you don't fly. If you're not feeling well, you don't fly. If the weather's bad, you don't fly. If something's wrong with the plane, you come back in, grab another one and they fix the one you squawked. I've heard of other operations where no one wants to down a plane because it takes weeks to get if fixed. This is the number one reason I think that you should instruct at Transpac.

Number 2; you build a ton of hours. I've watched a lot of instructors build 1000 hours in a year, and now they're flying for a regional. I've heard of instructors going to CTC for the additional pay, but they're not getting near the flight time every month and some are even looking at going to Transpac for that reason.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
 
tcco94 said:
Honestly, they are probably both the same. The only thing I can tell you about US Aviation is Dallas has tougher weather than AZ. I'm at TransPac right now. January had about 4 days of cancellations due to rain, once this month and now we're in high 80's and clear skies. Besides weather, I can give you a lot of details and picky opinions about Tpac if you'd like in a PM.

I was in Dallas actually about 6 months ago and met some people that knew US Aviation pretty well. Heard you get to fly a lot but I also heard some sketchy details about their maintenance. I can't really comment further if that's true or not because I wasn't there (take it for what it's worth). At TransPac you'll need your CFI-I. Right now if you don't have it they will pay for you to get it and they give a $5k sign-on bonus compared to US which is $2k (I think). If money is something important to you (as it was to me) you'll be salaried at TransPac giving you that cushion that you don't need to worry about flying as much where as US is hourly....so when you work harder than I do you'll get a better paycheck but when I work less I'm technically getting paid more.

Hours wise, during PPL stage here you'll pull about 60 a month. December I got 72, January I got 52 (including an entire week off for stage checks). Once you go to IR (3 months after PPL) you'll be pulling about 90+ a month, x-country most flights, almost all night time. Some guys work 6 days and pull 120-160 a month. You get 10 hour duty days and 12 hour rest period max. Some weeks I literally work 5 hours a day for the entire week, some weeks I really do work 50 hours. Depends really. US Aviation has South American international students (I believe) where as we have Chinese and Vietnamese international students...heard that it really doesn't matter when you compare the two.

If you want my honest opinion, if you have some dual given try looking at CTC or CAE as well. They typically pay more but want 200 dual given (which I didn't have at the time). It really isn't a bad gig here. Most weeks I fly about 15-20 hours and I'm still doing PPL with my guys. You get set to a certain class so almost all your flights are with your guys and you can work with them from PPL all the way up to CPL (need MEI). It makes it a LITTLE bit easier. That's about it that I can comment. If you read some reviews online, it's not as bad as they put it. Some instructors do really get scheduled 10 or 9 a day minimum so maybe I'm in a luckier class than them but for the most part it's not that shabby here. Weather is great, maintenance program is really good for the amount of work these planes have, and students are usually well mannered and driven. If you need 900 hours, you can probably pull that in 12 months here on a 5 day schedule. If you really grind it out you could probably do shave a few months off but to me it's not worth the minimal pay and sanity.

Message me if you need more details.
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I appreciate the detailed response. I'm already a II and MEI, so hopefully that will help there. I'm looking into the March 7 class. Recruiter told me a 5 day work week with an average of 80-100 hrs/month. Do you think having the II/MEI will allow me to pick up an extra student if one of mine cancels or on my scheduled day off? One more thing: any recommendations on apartments in the area? I've never been to Phoenix, so this is something I'll have to figure out, hopefully before I make the commitment. Thanks again
 
kryan11 said:
Yes you should. I've been very impressed with Transpac's programs and have absolutely no question that safety is paramount in their operations. If you haven't had enough sleep, you don't fly. If you're not feeling well, you don't fly. If the weather's bad, you don't fly. If something's wrong with the plane, you come back in, grab another one and they fix the one you squawked. I've heard of other operations where no one wants to down a plane because it takes weeks to get if fixed. This is the number one reason I think that you should instruct at Transpac.

Number 2; you build a ton of hours. I've watched a lot of instructors build 1000 hours in a year, and now they're flying for a regional. I've heard of instructors going to CTC for the additional pay, but they're not getting near the flight time every month and some are even looking at going to Transpac for that reason.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the response. Transpac is looking better by the day! I have a interview via Skype, then if it goes well, off to Arizona I go.
 
ajm757 said:
I appreciate the detailed response. I'm already a II and MEI, so hopefully that will help there. I'm looking into the March 7 class. Recruiter told me a 5 day work week with an average of 80-100 hrs/month. Do you think having the II/MEI will allow me to pick up an extra student if one of mine cancels or on my scheduled day off? One more thing: any recommendations on apartments in the area? I've never been to Phoenix, so this is something I'll have to figure out, hopefully before I make the commitment. Thanks again
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Okay your situation is good and bad. You have an MEI which means they are probably gonna throw you on the Seminole faster because we are short MEI instructors. You have to go through standardization each 12 months for each stage of training you are teaching (PPL, IR, and CPL). New hire class is just PPL but they will probably throw you in CPL right after if you have the MEI. Pretty sure you won't be able to "fight it" either.

During CPL, instructors get usually around 40-60 hours to be honest. Lots of sims. I've heard some getting 60 or 70ish at most and some getting 20-30. All depends...but CPL course has lots of sim time, unfortunately.
The 80-100 hours a month is what you'll see in IR alone. Not PPL or CPL. I already told you what I've got in PPL and my guys are almost at checkride. IR is where those numbers come from. You possibly could pull more if you are willing to work 6 days a week (they make you take 1 day off for rest, so you can only work a 6th day). If you are PPL, CPL, and IR stanzed then for sure you can pickup any flight on your day off. I am not IR stanzed yet until my guys go to checkride, so I only have the option to pick up Archer maintenance flights and PPL flights.. no IR or Seminole maintenance flights (even though I have my CMEL).

It's a good gig but please don't come here and only care about the hours. You're gonna need more motivation to teach international students than that and you'll instantly be pissed off when some months are slower than others. Those instructors typically walk around the place and hate everyone around.

This should help you for apartments. Keep in mind there is a CHD campus. Just look on google for apartments for both locations. They might need instructors at CHD but either way if you want DVT or CHD let them know in the interview. Good luck and if you need help for interview questions just message me.

https://transpacacademy.com/gettingStarted/gettingStarted_housing.php
 
tcco94 said:
It's a good gig but please don't come here and only care about the hours. You're gonna need more motivation to teach international students than that and you'll instantly be pissed off when some months are slower than others. Those instructors typically walk around the place and hate everyone around.
Click to expand...

Very good point. Or they do get the hours and the students suffer because they don't put in the extra time and care to help them. Failed check rides aren't good for anyone, the students, instructors, or the flight school. All of the students at Transpac are pretty good kids and hard workers. Sometimes I think they try a little too hard, but it's always fun to see the smile on their face after they passed their check ride.
 
tcco94 said:
Okay your situation is good and bad. You have an MEI which means they are probably gonna throw you on the Seminole faster because we are short MEI instructors. You have to go through standardization each 12 months for each stage of training you are teaching (PPL, IR, and CPL). New hire class is just PPL but they will probably throw you in CPL right after if you have the MEI. Pretty sure you won't be able to "fight it" either.

During CPL, instructors get usually around 40-60 hours to be honest. Lots of sims. I've heard some getting 60 or 70ish at most and some getting 20-30. All depends...but CPL course has lots of sim time, unfortunately.
The 80-100 hours a month is what you'll see in IR alone. Not PPL or CPL. I already told you what I've got in PPL and my guys are almost at checkride. IR is where those numbers come from. You possibly could pull more if you are willing to work 6 days a week (they make you take 1 day off for rest, so you can only work a 6th day). If you are PPL, CPL, and IR stanzed then for sure you can pickup any flight on your day off. I am not IR stanzed yet until my guys go to checkride, so I only have the option to pick up Archer maintenance flights and PPL flights.. no IR or Seminole maintenance flights (even though I have my CMEL).

It's a good gig but please don't come here and only care about the hours. You're gonna need more motivation to teach international students than that and you'll instantly be pissed off when some months are slower than others. Those instructors typically walk around the place and hate everyone around.

This should help you for apartments. Keep in mind there is a CHD campus. Just look on google for apartments for both locations. They might need instructors at CHD but either way if you want DVT or CHD let them know in the interview. Good luck and if you need help for interview questions just message me.

https://transpacacademy.com/gettingStarted/gettingStarted_housing.php
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. Those CPL hours look a little low, but it looks like it all averages out in the end. Skype interview is scheduled for this Tuesday with a ppl maneuver lesson and a approach plate briefing. Shouldn't be too bad
 
ajm757 said:
Thanks for the link. Those CPL hours look a little low, but it looks like it all averages out in the end. Skype interview is scheduled for this Tuesday with a ppl maneuver lesson and a approach plate briefing. Shouldn't be too bad
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Let us know how it goes. Also know maneuvering speed. They'll ask about that.
 
Transpac. US aviation has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to MX. A friend of mine used to be a management instructor there and had few good things to say. Transpac on the other hand has a reputation for good equipment and better pay/QOL than most CFI gigs out there. Plus, PHX offers some of the best weather in the country, so you won't be sitting for a week wondering how you're going to pay your rent.
 
A150K said:
so you won't be sitting for a week wondering how you're going to pay your rent.
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And student loans...

Can't agree with this anymore. That's why I'll take teaching international students all day. I don't have to try and find a 2nd non-pilot job to survive.
 
A150K said:
Transpac. US aviation has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to MX. A friend of mine used to be a management instructor there and had few good things to say. Transpac on the other hand has a reputation for good equipment and better pay/QOL than most CFI gigs out there. Plus, PHX offers some of the best weather in the country, so you won't be sitting for a week wondering how you're going to pay your rent.
Click to expand...
I've he
moxiepilot said:
Also, since you're in NJ have you looked at ATP in Trenton as an option?
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i work at the other flight school at Trenton. Their planes barely ever fly at the that location
 
While it's not a huge operation, try heading over to Wings Field (LOM). You can easily get 60 hours a month in the winter and 90 in the summer. Clientele is affluent, mid 30-60's with lots of disposable income.
 
tcco94 said:
And student loans...

Can't agree with this anymore. That's why I'll take teaching international students all day. I don't have to try and find a 2nd non-pilot job to survive.
Click to expand...
After 2.5 years of instructing at a small FBO in NM on an inconsistent basis, I bit the bullet and taught international students in OK for a year. Flying upwards of 100 hours/month became very tiring after a year, but it got me where I needed to be to move on to the next thing; however, weather was frequently a problem in OK ( and I taught in the school's instrument program, so I had more flyable days than the Private guys, but there were still plenty that weren't doable), so I'd suggest AZ or FL over anywhere else for those looking for the most consistency in their paycheck.
 
tcco94 said:
Honestly, they are probably both the same. The only thing I can tell you about US Aviation is Dallas has tougher weather than AZ. I'm at TransPac right now. January had about 4 days of cancellations due to rain, once this month and now we're in high 80's and clear skies. Besides weather, I can give you a lot of details and picky opinions about Tpac if you'd like in a PM.

I was in Dallas actually about 6 months ago and met some people that knew US Aviation pretty well. Heard you get to fly a lot but I also heard some sketchy details about their maintenance. I can't really comment further if that's true or not because I wasn't there (take it for what it's worth). At TransPac you'll need your CFI-I. Right now if you don't have it they will pay for you to get it and they give a $5k sign-on bonus compared to US which is $2k (I think). If money is something important to you (as it was to me) you'll be salaried at TransPac giving you that cushion that you don't need to worry about flying as much where as US is hourly....so when you work harder than I do you'll get a better paycheck but when I work less I'm technically getting paid more.

Hours wise, during PPL stage here you'll pull about 60 a month. December I got 72, January I got 52 (including an entire week off for stage checks). Once you go to IR (3 months after PPL) you'll be pulling about 90+ a month, x-country most flights, almost all night time. Some guys work 6 days and pull 120-160 a month. You get 10 hour duty days and 12 hour rest period max. Some weeks I literally work 5 hours a day for the entire week, some weeks I really do work 50 hours. Depends really. US Aviation has South American international students (I believe) where as we have Chinese and Vietnamese international students...heard that it really doesn't matter when you compare the two.

If you want my honest opinion, if you have some dual given try looking at CTC or CAE as well. They typically pay more but want 200 dual given (which I didn't have at the time). It really isn't a bad gig here. Most weeks I fly about 15-20 hours and I'm still doing PPL with my guys. You get set to a certain class so almost all your flights are with your guys and you can work with them from PPL all the way up to CPL (need MEI). It makes it a LITTLE bit easier. That's about it that I can comment. If you read some reviews online, it's not as bad as they put it. Some instructors do really get scheduled 10 or 9 a day minimum so maybe I'm in a luckier class than them but for the most part it's not that shabby here. Weather is great, maintenance program is really good for the amount of work these planes have, and students are usually well mannered and driven. If you need 900 hours, you can probably pull that in 12 months here on a 5 day schedule. If you really grind it out you could probably do shave a few months off but to me it's not worth the minimal pay and sanity.

Message me if you need more details.
Click to expand...
What was standardization like and how long did it take before you were assigned full time students?
 
ajm757 said:
What was standardization like and how long did it take before you were assigned full time students?
Click to expand...
Stanz is 2 weeks...3 tops. I got random students right when I was done. Then had a week off to get assigned a team. After that week I got my own students assigned (4 is typical) and still have these guys. I'll go to IR with them (and their class) but once they go to CPL on the Seminole I won't be their instructor anymore because I'm not MEI.
 
tcco94 said:
Stanz is 2 weeks...3 tops. I got random students right when I was done. Then had a week off to get assigned a team. After that week I got my own students assigned (4 is typical) and still have these guys. I'll go to IR with them (and their class) but once they go to CPL on the Seminole I won't be their instructor anymore because I'm not MEI.
Click to expand...
I got the job. Thanks for your input and also to the others who gave advice. I chose the March 7 class date. So pumped!
 
That's awesome! Congrats! Let us know if you have any questions about Phoenix or Transpac that we can help you with. Feel free to private message me.
 
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