Experiances with ATP?

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

I will be looking to get my Multi time, and Instructor ratings in a few months. I've heard some good things about ATP, and their program. What are some of your experiances? Which locations do you recommend, if any?

Thanks for the info guys,

 

[AV1ATRX]

If you get a lot of responses to your question, most of them will be good. My experience with them was not good. In fact, it was one of the worst I've ever had in aviation, and that's pretty bad!

I went to them three years ago to do my MEI. I was assigned to a new instructor who had only had a quick checkout in the Seminole. He knew nothing about the plane or it's systems. Luckily I had passed my multi a few weeks earlier, so I had it all fresh in my mind.

To make a long story short, he tried to kill me. It was inexperience and a need to be cocky, and when I tried to get the rest of my money back they told me that I was wrong and that I wouldn't be getting any of my money back. I finally did, but I had to make several phone calls before I got the credit back on my card.

The incident where we almost died was on takeoff he pulled my engine at about 200 AGL and then slammed the wrong rudder (I can't remember which engine he pulled). The plane rolled and we started in. I managed to get control back and climb to pattern altitude. We had discussed pulling the engine at a low altitude before takeoff and I told him I wouldn't do it, even if it meant that he wouldn't sign me off for the checkride. (At the flight school where I did my multi, the FAA had forbidden us to pull engines right after takeoff because of safety concerns. I realize not every one or every FSDO feels this way, but it is the way that I feel about it and it was my money.) He pulled it anyway just to show me that he was "boss." He actually laughed at me when I told him the flight was over and we were going back to home base. Then the company owner (I can't remember his name) got on the phone with me when I called to voice my concerns about the attitude of the instructor and told me that I was wrong and I wouldn't be getting any of my money back, even though I still had about half left from the up-front payment. I finally got my money back, but I had to fight for it. I never yelled or talked disrespectful to the guy, but he sure had some nasty things to say to me.

Anyway, I know this will sound hypocritical, but I honestly do hate to say bad things about a company. I just I worry that somebody from there will get killed someday. I know that all of their instructors are different and they aren't all like the one I had, but it was the attitude of management that made the whole situation very, very bad.

There has been some previous discussions on this board about them and their practice of three people logging PIC on a flight - the pilot under the hood in the left seat, the pilot acting as safety pilot in the right seat, and the flight instructor in the back seat. This seems inherently dangerous to me and three pilots were lost last summer in a crash at a different operation out west that may well have been prevented if the instructor had been up front.

Remember how I said at the beginning of this epic that if anybody else posted they would tell you good things? They will also very likely flame me for what I've posted. The pro-ATP people have in the past not been receptive to criticism.

Rachel

 

[JeremyAV8R]

Thanks for sharing your experiance.

 

[bigD]

Jeez Rachel...that guy sounds like a total tool. Why would he touch the rudders to begin with? I've done engine failure stuff at 200', but if I didn't want to do it and my instructor pulled it anyway, I'd be pisssed.

 

[AV1ATRX]

Pissed is one of many emotions I was feeling at the time... Homicidal was another... (Just kidding, I was glad to be alive, mostly.)