PACE program
I am a current student in the "19-week" program...it's actually called the PACE program. To get in, you must have at least an associate's degree (they prefer a 4-year degree), 250 hours, and your instrument and commercial. I strongly suggest having your multi rating also. It was a requirement until recently. You also have to interview to get in, and for what it's worth, there were several from my interview date that didn't make it.
After being accepted, the PACE program is basically 12 weeks of ground school, which includes a multi-engine course, an instrument refresher course, and most importantly, a CRJ systems class similar to the one Mesa uses for its initial training (same powerpoints, manual, videos, etc). During this 12 weeks, you do some flying in a Baron and a Baron sim (Frasca 242). They estimate 10 hours in the plane and 20 hours in the sim, but if you are proficient and prepared, you won't need that much time. I would estimate 6-8 hours in the plane and 10-12 hours in the sim, but like I said, it all depends on how proficient you are at multi-engine instrument flying.
After you finish the ground school classes and the Baron flying, then you move on to the full-scale CRJ sim. (MAPD actually just got the sim in this week.) The CRJ sim training consists of Crew-Systems Integration (CSI), an oral test, then 40 hours actually flying the sim, including a module of line-oriented training at the end. The syllabus is actually designed to replicate the initial sim training Mesa uses to train its CRJ pilots. The whole CRJ sim portion is supposed to take 2-3 weeks.
After finishing the jet sim training, you are guaranteed an interview with Mesa. Historically, people from the program have done much better on the interview and in training than guys off the street. I'm not sure if the 97% figure is totally correct, but basically, it's your job to lose. I would still say the figure would be no lower than 90%. As long as you stay proficient and take the interview seriously, you have a job with Mesa. Then, especially if you're assigned the CRJ, almost all of the groundschool and sim training is review.
Now for the catch, the only thing that I see as misleading is the timeline they give you. 19 weeks may be technically correct if you add up all the training time, but it's not necessarily 19 consecutive weeks. There may be a lag between finishing the ground school and Baron portion of the PACE program and starting the CRJ sim. Right now, I'm looking at at least 2-3 months between the two. Even still, it's quicker than any other route to the regionals.
As far as cost goes, the tuition with San Juan college for the ground schools was $300. The Baron sim is $90/hr, the Baron is $206, the jet sim is $175/hr, and instruction is $25/hr. I'm not completely sure if you have to pay for all 40 hours in the jet sim or only for 20 since it's half left seat, half right seat. That would make a big difference in the cost of the program, but even assuming that you are charged for all 40 hours, I would estimate the program costing closer to $10K as opposed to the $12K they quote. They just want students to have enough money to start with so they don't have people drop out.
To ease your mind, no it's not just a scam. People from Mesa Pilot Development do get hired. The entire program is pay as you go, so you don't have to make a huge payment up front. Also, MPD is a division of Mesa Air Group, so they're not going to go bankrupt and shut their doors without warning or anything.
Anyway, you can also check out
www.flightcareers.com/pace/htm but it's a bit outdated. If there are any questions that this novel didn't address, let me know!
Kevin
[email protected]
Disclaimer: This info is only about the PACE program...I know nothing about the ab initio program that Mesa also offers, except that it is MUCH more expensive!
