K&S or HPA, any thoughts or advice regarding 737 type?

[Guam360]

Anyone have general opinions or advice to either school for 737 type rating?

Thanks

 

[Jim]

Go to K&S and tell them I refered you. I could use the 50 bucks.

 

[Whale Rider]

I recommend K & S ask for Michael Sturgis.....AWSOME INSTRUCTOR!!!!!!!!! Everyone else is really nice and they get you through training Pronto!!!! Good Luck and Keep the Faith......

 

[walden]

Nothing to do with where to get the type...there's plenty of threads on that already.
I want to know about your call sign. Did you live on Guam? I caught my first wave at the marina. Never surfed Bali but always wanted to.
Best place I ever surfed was probably Costa Rica, Pacific side. Good fun.
BTW, I went to HPA and have nothing but the best things to say about them and their service.

 

[Guam360]

yea, spent 14.5 years of my life there. Surfed Boat Basin(probably where you refered to as the Marina), Ricks reef, Talafofo, etc. Bali is outrageous. Mostly lefts for us goofy footers. Learned to fly there, first job flying the awesome aircraft made by the Shorts brothers. First waves at Boat Basin, pretty ballsie, if it is big on the lefts, whew, reef was pretty shallow...

I surfed Costa Rica once last year February, 3 to 5 feet, Oeste, Playa Hermosa, Jaco, cool but no Bali, I have a hard time not comparing everywhere to Bali, even Puerto Escondido. PE is awesome, really quiet, cool to hang out, talk with travelers, simular to Bali.

I used to Jump seat on CAL every other month to Bali from Guam. Hot women, Hot waves, hot food...!

Thanks for all the replies about the type training, just looking for a good deal. Just wanna surf.

 

[AMRCostUnit]

One of my favorite bars was Barney's on Tumon bay. I think its a hotel now Love the color of that water...

Unit

 

[JTB]

Go to Higher Power Aviation!

I pondered which one to go to...in the end, I chose HPA. I realize K&S trains with SWA manuals, etc. But you cannot beat getting the excellent instruction in addition to the network that HPA has with SWA. Yes, while SWA will publicly state that all type ratings are the same. I cannot help but believe that the relationship that HPA has with SWA (mirroring cultures, etc) has some affect on whose getting calls. Not trying to downplay any of the outstanding type schools out there...but being an HPA grad and getting a call/interview in addition to 5/12 classmates makes me a believer not in just stats and quals, but relationship folks too.

fly safe,
jtb

 

[English]

I agree with jtb.

I went to K&S for my type and had a fabulous experience with them. I recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone getting a type rating. I also used Higher Power for some simulator instruction about 5 years ago. I met Mark Stearns recently and he was a very personable and nice guy. But, so were the instructors at K&S (Mike Sturgis - great instructor!)

While researching which type rating school to attend, the only differences I noticed (that mattered to me) were the payment methods each company accepted (K&S was much more flexible) and that the class sizes were smaller at K&S than at Higher Power (in general).

However, if your heart is set on Southwest, then Higher Power has a slight edge over K&S, IMHO. For that reason, even though I had the best experience at K&S, I'm sending my hubby to HPA for his type.

 

[AMRCostUnit]

BTW, I did K&S and was happy although I did the short course (5 days; need formal course and IOE that I got with AA)

Concur with the Michael Sturgis comment.

Unit

 

[JTB]

Assuming 737 type for SWA

I had read from what seemed to be an equal number of folks who had gotten types from HPA and K&S. What I looked for was efficiency, connectivity and cost. My previous post was assuming a pilot is inquiring about the the two companies, gearing towards SWA. My previous post was geared toward those looking to improve their chances at SWA. Based on what I've heard/read, both companies would be excellent choices to get a quality 73 type for other companies/opportunities. I was just posting my $.02 for HPA towards SWA. Hope that helps the original poster.

good luck,
jtb

 

[Guam360]

Thanks for the sincere thoughts, cheers!!

Ahhh, Barney's beach house!!

many nights between there and Tahiti Rama.

Where Tahiti Rama was is an Outrigger hotel and Barney's is now the site of a condo.

good times.!!

 

[P3 Tweek]

Mike Sturgis seconded!!!

Mike was an excellent instructor for me when I was there in PHX in Jul/Aug 2002. 5 Stars for K&S!!!

P3C Tweek

PS. I'm sure HPA is nothing short of excellent also from my readings from all here.................

 

[CWGrizwald]

K&S

I went with K&S. As mentioned earlier, Mike is an outstanding instructor, one of the best I've seen in 20 years. Also, the 200 sim is cheaper (it has a 300 auto pilot) and, although it is in the AWA sim complex, it is privately owned, by a great dude named Dave who let us go over time on several occasions. I probably got over an hour of free time. K&S is run and taught by retired and current SWA pilots, and the Phoenix Chief Pilot came in on his time to talk with us. All in all, world class training. I applied to SWA the night I got home from Phoenix and was called three days later, interviewed two weeks after that. Waiting the Jan DB. My two cents, for what it's worth.
Prost!

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

For folks that are looking for a SWA "connection" either K&S or Higher Power will do just fine.

For those that have suggested that HP has more of a line to SWA couldnt be more WRONG.

Trust me when I say that anyone going to either one of these schools will become " known" to the company.

Just consider anything you do or say while in training to be part of the "process" and be on your best behavior.

 

[walden]

Guam360...'pretty shallow reef'....yep, I still have scars from those days. Luckily I moved to Ft Walton Beach not long after and finished cutting my surfing teeth on a nice, sandy beach break.
Weirdest place I ever surfed: the Red Sea; Fujairah; United Arab Emirates. Ankle slappers to be sure, but the salinity of the water was so high it was easy to catch the tiny waves. The looks of the locals was worth dragging the board half way round the world. Got to surf North Shore and South Shore and Black's Beach in SoCal all on the same trip.
I didn't even know Talofofo had a break! I played in the falls when I went there.
Good memories....thanks!

 

[Guam360]

yea dude, on a big typhoon swell, from the East (where they creeped up from), talafofo bay was crazy sometimes, the swell would roll in and funnel in to the beach.

Ankle slappers, how funny, on the Gulf coast of Florida where i grew up, we called them Ankle snappers.

falls were alot of fun jumping off the top into a five by five pit deep enough to land in. crazy times.


did you ever swim in the natural pool at Inarahan? As a Navy Diver we used to go clean it out every year, of beer cans (Bubweiser cans).

 

[walden]

Inarahan was very nice. I never knew that you squidleys had to clean it out though! That's too funny.
All this talk of surf has given me a serious jones. Not much to be had in central Mississippi. Maybe I can get a cross-country to Patrick.....................

 

[Guam360]

Patrick's, second light, surfed there abunch too...

we didn't have to clean it out, we were apart of the Ship Repair Facility on big Navy, SRF was mostly civilians, so we took care of our SRF civilian local friends/co-workers, and they took care of us, ie, invites to local Fiestas, fishing, fish, shop materials, etc. so we did a few favors for the villages.

good talking to you, we have highjacked my own thread...