All Atps Cfi<cfii<meii

[tedmills]

So, seems like a few people have an opinion on ALL ATPS. I am considering going there for my CFI ratings, the 14 day program. I am worried that getting all that info down in 14 days may be very difficult. I am 47 years old so i don't learn as fast as you young guys. Any opinions?

 

[Smash312]

My advice is to DO IT. Really I did CFI and MEI in one weekend. It works if you need to do it fast.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

You will have to do a lot of work to prepare. You can still learn at your own pace as far as the knowledge stuff. You just better not expect them to hold your hand once you get there. They are basically preping you for a check ride. They are expecting you to come fairly proficient in flying, know your stuff backwards and forwards, then they will tailor it to jive with what they KNOW is going to be on the check ride. They tend to deal with only a couple examiners and know what to expect.

I did my ATP in Sacramento and I was very happy. But I was ready.

SS

 

[cforst513]

don't do it. at least, not for all 3. what i would do is get your first rating at an FBO somewhere, then once you get the ins and outs of instructing, if you still want to, think about a fast-track place like that. this way you'll go in with a good base of knowledge and many of concepts won't be foreign to you. i understand the age thing, though, and why you're conscious of it. but that would raise another red flag, if i was you: what if you can't hack it halfway or 3/4 of the way through? what sort of a refund will you get from this place? pilot factories like all-atps scare me. i was talking to the owner of a major flight school (many locations around the country) last night and he, too, shared my sentiment about places like all-atps. if you go in already knowing your stuff front, back, AND upside down, then this could be the place for you. but i think going in it blind would make you more of a liability as an instructor than an asset. another thing to think of is retention of the information. if you study something over a long period of time, you'll retain it much longer and more thoroughly than if you 'cram', a.k.a. take a 14 day course for 3 ratings. i wouldn't do it if it was me, but i have the luxury of only being 22 and having to support me and 6 fish. that's it. good luck with your choice, but be careful, and if you go, please keep studying once you're done... for your student's sake.

 

[cforst513]

*one more thing: i was looking at your profile, and it says you're just a private pilot. you planning on doing your commercial (and maybe instrument) any time soon or do you have them already? you need your commercial to be an instructor.

 

[dueguard1]

Did the 14 day course at FTY... IF TIME IS AN ISSUE IT'S DEFINETELY THE WAY TO GO...was sent all the materials (Seminole POH, AFHB, all PTS's, etc) about three weeks prior (If I were you I would ask for a class a few weeks later so you can get in some good study time) the class was great, it was pretty much an all day affair everyday so don't plan on anything outside of the course once in class for 14 days..Like it was already mentioned they train you for the checkride, and they even keep gouges on the examiners they use.....Good Luck!

 

[FlyingToIST]

My advice,
get your CFI first... build some experience instructing. You cannot believe how big of an eye opener that one is.. Most of the flight schools give employees discounted rental rates; most cfis don't charge other CFIs for their currency, next license type of work..

14 days is too short to go through all of these licenses. you will lose most of it by the 3rd week if you don't get hired ride away..

Also, age has got nothing to do with it. If the issue is building time, you can get your CFI and work at the FBO while you are working on your II and MEI. That's a better route..

My. $0.02s

 

[MTpilot]

It worked for me!

Do it, the 14 day course works if you are prepared and having all your ratings makes it easier to get a job and you will have more opportunities as an instructor.

 

[AAflyer]

don't do it. at least, not for all 3. what i would do is get your first rating at an FBO somewhere, then once you get the ins and outs of instructing, if you still want to, think about a fast-track place like that. this way you'll go in with a good base of knowledge and many of concepts won't be foreign to you. i understand the age thing, though, and why you're conscious of it. but that would raise another red flag, if i was you: what if you can't hack it halfway or 3/4 of the way through? what sort of a refund will you get from this place? pilot factories like all-atps scare me. i was talking to the owner of a major flight school (many locations around the country) last night and he, too, shared my sentiment about places like all-atps. if you go in already knowing your stuff front, back, AND upside down, then this could be the place for you. but i think going in it blind would make you more of a liability as an instructor than an asset. another thing to think of is retention of the information. if you study something over a long period of time, you'll retain it much longer and more thoroughly than if you 'cram', a.k.a. take a 14 day course for 3 ratings. i wouldn't do it if it was me, but i have the luxury of only being 22 and having to support me and 6 fish. that's it. good luck with your choice, but be careful, and if you go, please keep studying once you're done... for your student's sake.

Excellent post! I had years of flying experience, had let my CFII expire and went back for my MEI. It has taken a great deal of time to RELEARN concepts and TEACH them well (a good understanding, not just rote responses). I am all for banging out your ATP in 2 days, but less we forget as an instructor we are not merely building time, we are also the guardians of our profession.

AA

 

[C425Driver]

I agree with the people who said get your CFI first then do the rest on the fast track. There's way too much info to cram into a 14 day course. In 14 days you may be able to learn the right answers to pass the practical, but they can't make a good instructor out of you in two weeks. Take the time at an FBO to do your CFI right, then do the crash courses for your add-ons. You will find that if you hone our CFI skills first then do your add-ons the transition will be much easier. I'm not knocking ATP - I did my MEI with them and I was very pleased. I had a few hundered hours CFI experience and multi time under my belt when I went there and it was a relatively easy transition to the MEI.

C425Driver

 

[cforst513]

Did the 14 day course at FTY... IF TIME IS AN ISSUE IT'S DEFINETELY THE WAY TO GO...was sent all the materials (Seminole POH, AFHB, all PTS's, etc) about three weeks prior (If I were you I would ask for a class a few weeks later so you can get in some good study time) the class was great, it was pretty much an all day affair everyday so don't plan on anything outside of the course once in class for 14 days..Like it was already mentioned they train you for the checkride, and they even keep gouges on the examiners they use.....Good Luck!

this is bullshit, man. simple bullshit. i don't even know how to respond to that. send a decent DE in there they're never used and i wonder what the pass rate would be. do yourself a favor and go to an FB0. don't get prepped for a checkride - actually LEARN the stuff!!!

 

[minitour]

this is bullshoot, man. simple bullshoot. i don't even know how to respond to that. send a decent DE in there they're never used and i wonder what the pass rate would be. do yourself a favor and go to an FB0. don't get prepped for a checkride - actually LEARN the stuff!!!

ya know what tho....at that level (Prepping for CFI) it really comes down to the student.

If you put in the time as a student studying, late nights reading, researching and most importantly asking questions like "why"...you can learn most of it in a short time. I felt like I was 110% ready for my CFI oral/ride and I got VERY little prep for the CFI flight portion. Although I did my CFII as the inital and the 141 required (I think 15) hours mandated a certain amount of flight time, I was ready for the oral just from studying.

I seriously think it comes down to...do you want to instruct? If so, you'll do the work and always keep wanting to learn! Can teaching the flight maneuvers and practice for the flight portion of the practical be done in 14 days (for all 3)? Sure...absolutely!

Can the knowledge to be a good teacher be learned in 14 days? I don't think so. You need to have the desire to learn the knowledge as well as actually LEARN it before you get into a program like that.

-mini

-mini

 

[Smash312]

To be honest with you, yeah I did the whole ATP cfi/mei in a weekend thing. Worked great for me. Got a job the day after I finished - but it doesn't matter how LONG you took or how QUICK you did it, but until you don't have the practical experience of teaching you don't know what works. PERIOD. So my 2 cents is that just get the tickets and you'll learn on the job. Very few people are so called 'naturals' on the job anyway - the vast majority learn on the job. 99% of the instructors I've spoken to have said the same. So this said - does it REALLY matter how fast you did the course. What - you'll be even more book smart if you do it over a period of 2 months?? Does studying for a CFI ticket for 2 months mean that you'll never have to consult a book or another instructor to teach? Hell no! What does it matter (or prove for that matter) if you take your time anyway? It makes no difference. I suppose the difference is in the attitude towards the profession of instructing, not in how long (or short) it takes you.

 

[John2375]

What's the odds of ATP hiring you after the program? Do they give preference to those that do the whole 14-day course? Does it boil down to them asking your CFI instructors how they think you'll fare as an instructor and if you get a good recommendation, you're in good shape and if not, gotta look somewhere else? I'm definitely considering doing the program since I work better in those conditions - setting a goal to do something over a set-period of time and then going and executing the "mission"
Both my private and instrument training kind of dragged on over a couple years, but for my commercial I saved up, went to the FBO where my favorite CFI worked, told him I had set aside 10-days, so let's do it - whatever it takes.. We flew a couple times/day knocked it out in 9 days and it was great. I agree w/the "gouge" on the DE's// I did my multi @ATP and they definiltey made sure you knew what was going to be asked, and when I had my oral, it was *exactly* what I was prepared for...of course a multi-oral is quite a different story to the CFI-oral...

 

[Prof. ATP]

So, seems like a few people have an opinion on ALL ATPS. I am considering going there for my CFI ratings, the 14 day program. I am worried that getting all that info down in 14 days may be very difficult. I am 47 years old so i don't learn as fast as you young guys. Any opinions?

I have known some instructors who went to All ATPs and have been shocked at how little they know. I don't throw away their resumes, but they seldom move from the bottom of the pile, either.

I'm not saying that all of their graduates are like this, but a significant number of them are.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I have known some instructors who went to All ATPs and have been shocked at how little they know. I don't throw away their resumes, but they seldom move from the bottom of the pile, either.

I'm not saying that all of their graduates are like this, but a signifcant number of them are.

This is my theory on instructing these days. Too many of us go from zero time to instruction with only a few hundred hours of experience. Then we turn around and teach others how to fly, and thus the cycle begins all over again.

And yes, I am one of the ones I mentioned above. Nature of the industry right now.