TAB Express
Hi 310
I've been lurking on this forum for a month or so, and I've been surprised at the snide PFT remarks being thrown at TAB Express unfairly. I decided it's time I registered and responded.
As was pointed out to you, check out
http://www.tabexpress.com and see if the place has the kind of program you want. I assure you there is no PFT going on there other than you would find at Comair, FSI, or any FBO. You pay for your flight training, and that is it. There is no passenger/freight/cargo hauling on any flights. TAB Express is nothing but a flight school. You can go from no flight time to Comm/ME/Inst just like any number of FBO's or "Academies".
An Army helicopter guy recently trained there and got hired by Colgan. He had a good amount of total flight time, got his basic fixed-wing Comm/ME/Inst somewhere else, and found that with very little fixed-wing time, he was not really hirable anywhere. He came to TAB and took a course that got him a bunch of King Air simulator and (I think) 25 hours of flight time. I don't call that PFT. Just like Timebuilder said in another thread, he might get a Lear type someday. It can be used anywhere. This guy got some ME time in a pressurized turbine airplane flying in a multi-crew environment on the airways in a bunch of actual weather. He could use that for any corporate/airline job. Colgan liked that and hired him. TAB has no connection with Colgan, although they might like to. Colgan came down and looked at the operation several months ago. They hired about 4 students with 450 to 500 total hours. The students had to go through the entire Colgan training (and reportedly did great). They don't get any credit for anything they've done at TAB. There is no PFT aspect to the training at all.
THERE IS NO PFT GOING ON AT TAB EXPRESS!!
The only difference is that there is no emphasis (not even a program if you want it) to get a CFI. Therein lies the TAB Express difference. The philosophy of the place is that if you want to fly for an airline, why not train like you're going to fly. Instead of continuing on for a CFI, you continue your training by getting a bunch King Air simulator time, and 100 hours of actual flight time in the King Air. All of it is multi-crew/CRM/exactly like the airlines.
How do I know? I'm a captain for Delta, and I instruct part-time at TAB in the King Airs, and I guarantee you I would not associate myself with anyplace that did anything unscrupulous in any manner. I feel PFT was a scourge on the industry. There currently are not many PFT places left. Gulfstream is probably one, depending on your definition. On another thread on this board there is a discussion about Southwest. I am really surprised that the hard-core anti-PFTers that will quickly get overly righteous and indignant about PFT, they are for the most part perfectly comfortable with the Southwest type-rating requirement. I am too.
I will try and frequent this forum and answer questions about TAB Express, or anything else about flying. I'm just a "line pilot" there and not trying to sell the place to anybody, but I work there because I like the concept and the operation. I've got 2-1/2 years until age 60, and I started working at TAB this spring to develop it into a retirement job. I only do some sim training and mostly actual King Air training - what the company bills as LOFT or IOE flying under the tutelage of some of us airline types (we've got about 3 furloughed Delta guys working there right now). So, I might not have answers about the primary training readily available, but I can tell you about the King Air part of the program.
Fire away!!!
Bob, the TriDriver
P.S.: Timebuilder, I couldn't get into college either and had to go to a "trade school" and get a military education as you did!!! USMA '70