737 Type?

[b757driver]

Looking @ all the posts, I would say HPA has the best reputation - not only for getting you through, but also in job placement which for some guys is a BIG deal.
I did mine @ PremAir & while their instructors were good, they did jerk me around several times with different dates and in the end sent me to MCO instead of SEA AT MY OWN COST!
More importantly, they are affiliated with a sister company, GAD, who share their offices and if you check their web-site, they have mission statements proclaiming "we are always looking for type rated pilots and F/Os for all series of 737"..."PremAir Students will get hiring preferential consideration for GAD flights".
Well, don't believe any of that spiel - it's all hype & I can prove it if you don't believe it. It is an "old boys network" enticing you to do training with them and you will be considered for p/t employment. Did not happen, and I have 3000 hours on the 737 incl. international and a type on 2 foreign licenses to boot! Bottom line, this company is ONLY interested in your money. DO NOT use PremAir. There are FAR better companies out there (already mentioned on this thread) who also look after you AFTER you have completed their course.

I noticed that PremAir was only mentioned once here and it was a positive posting. Like I said their training was OK, they certainly did not go out of their way to accommodate me or my other furloughees, took the money & never looked back. Based on my experience with them there appears to be an incestuous relationship between PremAir and GAD. I'd be glad to here it ain't so, but like I said, I do have some rather incriminating evidence that all is not what it seems.....

caveat emptor......Latin for....buyer beware!!!!!

 

[PTinbound]

HIGHER POWER all the way!

I just got off the phone with Bobbi at HPA, and I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that I went there back in the spring of 2001. I just called because I was at the laundrymat with Oakrbust this morning, and he thought it would be a good idea if I started looking at the SWA flows. But how could I do this with just an outdated -200 cockpit poster? I figured I could call down to HPA and see if I could buy one from them. Well, I called but they wouldn't let me buy one. She's gonna send me one, just like that. Because they are great folks down there, and they take care of you LONG after you go through the course.

 

[RJones]

PTinbound, are you close to Dallas? RJ

 

[PTinbound]

Geographically, no. Just in my heart.

 

[Duke Lefty]

ADDED TRAINING FOR NO EXTRA $ AT HPA

Mark Sterns of HPA recently told me about an addition to the Boeing 737 training course. He wrote: "Earlier this year we added (at no charge) an additional period in the Cockpit Systems Simulator (fully integrated CPT but with no motion, no visual) and also an hour of procedures training in it at the end of ground school each day."



The CPT is very nice! I have been in it myself. It is not a cardboard mock up, but a real fixed-base training device of a real Boeing 737 cockpit. The buttons and switches really work and is a fantastic way to learn flows and checklist procedures. Top it all off with the fact that there is no extra charge for the benefit!

 

[chase]

Additional Info on HPA

Not just for those looking for a type but for those who want a refresher in the 737, Mark & Joe offer a "free" review of any of the courses for ANY 737 type holder from any other school as well as HPA. Sit in, listen & participate in the lectures & get a free review regardless of where you got the type. If you go on Wed or Thur you'll get feed for free also at the Rangers ball park most likely. Not a bad deal.

Additionally, for those wishing to buy some sim time, Mark & Joe also offer sim time. I believe the rate is around $375 per hr but if you find another person to buy an hour, you'll get right seat for 1 hr & left seat for 1 hr. A third person can observe in the back additionally, I don't believe there is a charge for that but a "threesome" might be able to work a deal for a hr as CP, FO & observer & only pay the 1 hr rate (3 pilots x 1 hr of actual stick time and 2 hrs of great review while observing or flying as an FO). Call them to get the details.