ComAir Alumni

[Crabtree]

I am interested if there is any ComAir Grads on this board. I am looking at the school and would like some first person opinions on the program.

And while we are at it.......are there any Meza Grads? I am interested in this school as well. I think it is in Fresno Cali.

Thanks!!

 

[bigsky]

I attended Comair in 1992. I personally thought that it was a very good school, although I am sure there have been many changes since then. I am not that familiar with the Mesa program although I believe that it is a quicker route to an airline job. Possible someone who is familiar with the program may have some info- I do know that I had a friend who was a beech 1900 captain and he told me that many of their graduates were hired by Mesa. As I understand they get hired with very low time.
The ab initio program is through San Juan College.
According to Air Inc., You may be able to obtain some info by calling 505-326-5909( this is the number shown for the ATP course but I am sure they can send you in the right direction)

 

[bobbysamd]

MAPD

I instructed at Mesa Airlines Pilot Development in '93 and at the same time taught ground school at San Juan CC. You earn your ratings at MAPD and an Associate Degree at San Juan. You'll finish with about 300 hours, including 10 hours of turbine. Grads who have toed the line and watched their Ps and Qs get an interview with Mesa Airlines. I don't remember the cost, but I'm sure it's at or near $40K-plus.

You can't really classify this program as p-f-t because you ARE receiving your initial training. I guess you could call it pay-for-interview because of that particular pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I remember how focused students were on corraling "the interview," and for obvious good reason. As a consequence, they were under a lot of pressure, and perhaps to the detriment of their learning experience. Students were always under close scrutiny from the Chief Instructor and if they acted even the slightest bit out of line they could forget about getting "the interview."

I remember having one student who felt the world owed him. Wrong attitude for aviation. He was very overbearing and none of the instructors wanted to fly with him. Just the same, he was still in the running for "the interview." Well, lucky me, I got him. He wasn't too bad at first and was a decent student. Then, he started making impossible demands on my time, which I refused to honor. He refused to be scheduled on weekends, which were two of my regular workdays. Then, he stopped being scheduled. Finally, he started being scheduled again. On his IFR cross-country, while on a clearance on MY ticket, he started arguing vehmently with me about aerodynamics. I was putting a different spin on something the Assistant Chief Instructor told him. The long and short of it is this student was permitted to finish the program but was denied the interview.

The flight training is decent. Students learn Mesa line procedures from the beginning, in A36 Bonanzas and B58 Barons, so the transition to the 1900s is logical. There was no spin training, which, I realize, is not required for Private and Commercial. Nonetheless, I felt spins would have been appropriate for students who are practicing solo stalls in the Bonanzas.

Mesa's program really does work. It does get people into the right seat of a regional airliner at 300 hours - as long as you stick with the program. I'd like to hear how people have fared who went through Mesa but did not get "the interview."

http://www.flightcareers.com/

 

[Blutarski]

I can't comment on the financial aspects of attending the Comair academy but can tell you that in my new-hire class at Comair we have twelve in the class and six are from the academy, all with just over 1200 tt and in the mid hundreds multi time. They all paid the price to get their ratings then became instructors there to get to the 1200/200 mins for Comair, interviewed and were given class dates. I don't know for sure but believe that they were guaranteed an interview with the company. To be quite honest, given the hiring pool Comair now has to choose from I was surprised at how many of these guys are in my class; I had expected to see more high-timers. With that said, every one of them is extremely sharp and will probably make fine line pilots and eventually captains when they get the time to upgrade. Best of luck in making your own decision. -Bluto

 

[publisher]

TV

In their interview on AvCareer.TV, they indicated that they wanted a mix of experience levels in their classes.

While there may seem like a good many high timers out there, many are in the furlough ever zone.

 

[Crabtree]

Wrong School

Has anyone heard of or had any experience with Mazzei Flying School?

 

[Caveman]

RE: Mazzei Flying Service

I was a student there and a CFI there. IMHO they are the best bargain in flight training in the country. They offer a price guaranteed training package in writing and they deliver, IF you do your part. What is required of you isn't unreasonable but you will have to work fairly hard. They are legit and they run a legal operation. Their website is www.flymfs.com. You can also call them at 1 800 622-8687. Send me a private message if you want more info. I highly recommend them.