Pan Am or ATP?

[j-bird]

After some brief research over the internet, I've discovered Pan Am and ATP to be some relatively good flight academys does anyone have any positive or negative feedback on either of these academys?

 

[User546]

Atp

If your a fast learner, and don't mind a really FAST paced program, I recommend ATP hands down. I never went there, but I know three guys that did, and I never heard one bad thing from them about it. Plus, they do almost your entire training in the Seminole, which means you'll build some great multi-time (which is ultimately the bottom line if you want to do this for a career.) Later on in my training, I started to regret not going there instead of where I ended up.

 

[User546]

I started out at Pan Am, and did my first two (PPL, IR) there. I will give Pan Am credit, they have a very nice fleet of airplanes, the mx was first class, and the knowledge they taught was very well. However at the end of the day, I feel that it was more of a "pilot-farm" then it was a flight academy. They have some very shady business practices, including charging you an instructor fee for 0.2 before and after each flight, which they call a briefing fee. So not only your paying for the instructor for the whole flight, your also paying an addition 0.4 for flgiht briefings you NEVER get (I got only one in the 8 months I was there.) This ended up costing me an addition $5,000 before it was over with - for absolutely nothing received.

And you can plan on it costing you between $80,000-$100,000 if you go all the way through. Of all the friends I made there and keep in touch with, not one person ever made it thru without having to take out a secondary loan to supplement the $80,000. I would kindly advise you to keep looking elsewhere.

And mind you I parted on very good terms with Pan Am, so I'm not trying to bad-mouth them - just giving you the facts.

Pan Am has genius of a marketing department, but nothing is as it appears when you get underneath the surface.

 

[350DRIVER]

Pan Am has genius of a marketing department, but nothing is as it appears when you get underneath the surface.

I second the above, well stated. ATP's is the same way, a boat load of money for not much in return.

You would be much better off, much cheaper, etc, by attending the Mesa Airlines Pilot Development Program (MAPD). Atleast you will have a job after the program is over and won't be 80 to 100K in debt. Be smart my friend, this isn't like buying a cheap used car.

http://www.flightcareers.com/

Be smart, I would seriously look into this option if I were you. Pan Am and ATP's surely wouldn't be at the top of my list.

good luck,

3 5 0

 

[flyifrvfr]

I like ATP. If I had to do it over again, I would go to ATP. After you complete your training, almost all in Seminoles, if the need is there, you may be hired by ATP as a CFII/MEI. You will get tons of multi PIC which looks great when you apply for the regionals. Even if ATP doesn't hire you, you will walk out of there with almost 200 hours or more of multi time. Get a CFI job somewhere for 1,300 hundred hours and your golden.

 

[wellerdoug]

I just finished at Pan Am. Took me 13 months. I finished w/ 300TT, 90 Multi. I was about 6K over budget, because I had a hard time learning how to land. Very please with the program. Never had a problem w/ admin, scheduling, or MX.

 

[bobbysamd]

Good 141 flight schools

I worked at MAPD and FlightSafety Academy and would recommend both. Both train you for your ratings but have different approaches.

MAPD is unique because you can interview at Mesa Airlines for an FO position upon graduation. It is not as easy as I just wrote it, though; a lot will be expected of you, demands will be made of you, and you will work hard. MAPD trains its students from the very first day of training to be airline pilots, as compared to most other schools which provide a standard Commercial-Instrument course. An A.S. degree in Aviation Technology from (fully-accredited) San Juan College is part of the deal - no exceptions. MAPD is an eighteen-month course. It does not offer a CFI program - which is understandable because your first job after graduation would, hopefully, be Mesa Airlines!

FlightSafety in Vero Beach exemplifies the standard and standardized Part 141 flight school. It has been around for forty years and was first known an initial training provider for Swissair and other foreign airlines. Ground school is adequate and flight training is excellent. FlightSafety does a great job emphasizing procedures and standardization, which will help you in your first advanced professional flying jobs. FSI is the only school I know that includes aerobatic and unusual attitudes training as part of the flight course. This, in and of itself, is good training because of the confidence you'll gain in dealing with upsets and unusual attitudes. The equipment is extremely well maintained, the facilities are excellent, and the people who are now in charge of the place are first class. FSI students who earn their CFIs at the school can work there after graduation - though there may be a long waiting list right now. FlightSafety carries great name recognition in the industry. FSI is expensive, but I feel you get value for your expenditure. Finally, as opposed to MAPD, FSI is about an eight-to-nine-month course and there is no degree.

The most important thing you can do before choosing a school is to visit it, and try to speak to people other than those the "career consultants" (salespeople) provide you. I understand that MAPD will provide non-rev travel to Farmington from any point in the Mesa system.

Hope that helps some more. Good luck with your choice of flight school.

 

[RedheadCFI]

This is a very interesting topic, but remember you are comparing 2 different types of schools here. At pan am you're going to recieve ground school and a lot more formal training. I went through pan am 3 years ago and it was a great experience, I finished in just under 7 months, but everything was new, under different management, and much different. I would suggest attending the deer valley campus if you're under the FAA program since that campus does not deal w/the international contracts making the FAA the top priority. I completed a program at all atps in stuart, and I can tell you that I felt the instructors were lacking a bit of extra knowledge there. I am not saying that they were not certified or completely competent to fly and train but it seemed like they only prep for the checkride and are not necessarily taught the material, and the same is passed on from one instructor to the next. If you are capable of being discplined and learning all the ground knowledge yourself I'd say ATP would be nice. However, if its been awhile since you've been in school or you would like more formal ground training then paifa might be a better option. ATP is nice because you grow up in a seminole and teach out of one for the next 1,000hrs. Even though pan am will take longer to build the multi engine time as a cfi, they also has a good placement program (2 chi-ex guys just placed at 600hrs, along w/a half dozen at express jet, and a few more at skyway) that may allow you to move onto an airline wo/having to spend a long time as a cfi. The pay for CFI's is much better at paifa than atp, regardless its still nothing to write home about. This is just my 2 cents, I am not putting down either school because I feel both will definitely get the job done, I just feel that they are each set up uniquely and you should choose the one that fits you best. Whatever you do.. make sure you tour the school and TALK TO THE STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS before making a decision. If you want any additional info feel free to PM me.

 

[msuspartans24]

Stay AWAY from Pan Am!!

Just a bunch of money hungary businessmen who happen to be great at marketing.

If you are crazy enough to attend, go to the Ft Pierce campus, NOT DVT!

 

[Propsfullfwd]

Atp...