Introduction

[ChrisT-VA-1208]

Hi Ken -

I'm 26 and decided it was time to choose a career that I will enjoy. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Mathematics Minor with only two years of experience from required co-op work. This showed me that while engineering was fun (at least I thought the school work was) that the actual job was barely hands on. So I figured what better than to find a job that I would actually be using my training every time I work and do something that sounds challenging yet fun at the same time.
I've loved planes, airports, and anything concerning them for years. As a kid my dad would take me to CVG (before the big Delta Terminal remodel and strict security) because we could sit in the terminal and watch planes come and go. Anytime I travel I make sure to get window seats right behind the wings to watch what happens anytime the pilot moved the plane. Closest I've been to flying myself was after I was pushed out of a plane at 12,000ft. Of course, with another person strapped to my back and a couple of parachutes. Being in the air and traveling is such a thrill to me.
Anywho, just sayin hey and that I'm lookign into ATP as my choice for training to reach my new career.

Tyson
(yeah, I prefer to be refered to by my last name)

[Republic Airlines Ken]

Tyson,

How are you? Thanks for your intro. Well, if you've jumped out of a perfectly good plane, you've got one up on me! Ironically, I turned down an opportunity to do an Army jump school class in college one summer (static line jumps) and instead took an engineering internship at Sikorsky in Stratford, CT where I came to about the same conclusion as you - while engineering has some very cool aspects, and wandering around the factory was amazing, the day to day practical application of it for the average engineer can be a little more dull. Well, to each his own.

Let me know how I can be of help. There's a lot of good info spread out amongst all of the forums here, and hopefully they'll answer some of your questions and bring up ones that we can answer or give our own opinions on.

Happy holidays!

-Ken

[ChrisT-VA-1208]

Hey Ken-

Thanks for the welcome. Thought I would update you. Since I have zero hours and the 150day fast track would be my option I went ahead and scheduled a discovery flight at a local flight school up here just outside Norfolk, VA. Went up in a practically brand new skyhawk with a glass cockpit, only had about 20 hours on it. Thankfully I didn't have to jump, or be pushed out of it. I loved every minute of it. The time just flew by. The instructor, a retired navy pilot, had me do some turns and get comfortable with feeling whether we were climbing or descending without looking at the gauges. It seemed like we were only up a couple of minutes before we headed back to land. I wanted to go back up and do it again and can't wait until I get the chance to.

Anyway, I read in one of the coach's forum that ATP won't take you until you have 2 hours. So, would I need to go back out and schedule more time? Also, the website says that they you would have to successfully fly a flight simulator. I would assume that is just to check that you have a least some ability and not just crash anytime you took the controls.

Thanks,
Tyson

[Republic Airlines Ken]

Hey Tyson,

Where did you fly out of? I did my private pilot cerfiticate out of KPVG (Hampton Roads) and lots of flying around Norfolk, but boy it's been a while now. I mostly flew in old beater Cessna 150s and 152s that were probably relics of the 1960s - a single shaky VOR needle, some poorly backlit gauges... but fun to fly! In fact I've never been in a glass panel single yet, but I really want to get up with my wife in one soon.

As for the required 2 hours, I just spoke with Eric in the main office, as I'm not as familiar with all of the prerequisites for the full program with private pilot cert. There's currently no requirement for 2 hours, so you're fine there. The important thing is that you got up in an airplane, got a small feel for it and decided that this is something worth pursuing further. You're going to learn an absolute ton in the private pilot portion of the program and it's understood that you may be beginning with little aviation related knowledge.

Also, the PC flight simulator issue is more for your own comfort - not a testable requirement. A very basic understanding of what makes the plane go up/down/left/right, and what the "6-pack" of gauges in a normal aircraft are and what they do will help break the ice and make the cockpit less foreign to you when you first hop in. So, you don't need to demonstrate your "mad skillz" in flying inverted under the eiffel tower in microsoft land... but it helps if you've tooled around with a PC sim a little bit.

If you have specific questions about locations and availability, you can give the main # (800-255-2877) a call. Other than that, if you have general questions of any kind, let me know!

and have a happy new year!

[Republic Airlines Ken]

oh, and you'll definitely want to get your aviation 1st class medical.

You'll need a medical no matter what once you start flight training. The 1st class medical is the one that's the most restrictive and required for the airlines. It's very straightforward if you're generally healthy with no significant medical issues, but you certainly want to know beforehand that you're all set once you're finished with training!

[ChrisT-VA-1208]

Thanks for all that Ken. I guess I was just a little confused from when I talked to the office and what I was reading. A little upset I won't be showing off my really cool loop-to-hurls in a 737.

Anyways, I flew out of Chesapeake Regional (CPK). I originally was supposed to go up a week ago but the weather changed and there were 700ft ceiling that ended up clearing up a couple hours later. We flew out over towards Lake Drummond and the Great Dismal Swamps. The glass cockpit was cool once we figured out how to get it all on. Even the instructor had only been up in it a couple times and still was getting used to what knobs needed to be turned to do what.

As for the 1st class medical, I've got that scheduled for next week. The only thing I'm concerned about is my color vision. I just have a couple problems sometimes with the colored dot tests but I can see the difference between red and green and everything. I'm sure that I will be ok but just worried because this is really what I want to do.

[Republic Airlines Ken]

Let us know how the medical goes. There's no need to rush yourself on these things, and the color tests are a little bit subtle, (some of the hearing tests are pretty darn hard to hear too) so take your time.

That's funny that the instructor was not completely familiar with the glass cockpit either. For years and years, the standard "6 pack" of gagues was found on just about every plane. The FAA has and had testing standards tied into them and everything - but with all of the different types of glass cockpits, training and checkrides can be a little more varied. But most (not all) of the aircraft you'll likely eventually find yourself in are glass cockpit so it's good to see some of it here and there.

[ChrisT-VA-1208]

Ken

So, its been a little while so I thought I'd give you an update. First of all, I got my medical certificate but I'm a little confused. I showed up and filled out the application, checking both 1st Class and Student. After being taken to the bathroom to fill a little cup, I was taken to the exam room and had my blood pressure checked by the nurse. Before the doctor showed up I was looking around the room at all the photos and articles on the wall which are about this doctor and the trans-atlantic flights he's made. Finally he comes in, talks to me from the other side of the room (hearing), checks my pulse and listens to be breathe, asks me if I've been to a doctor for anything or taking any medication. Lastly, he gives me a vision test in a machine similar to the ones they use at the DMV. Then he talks to me about where I should go to get my PPL around town and just goes into talking about his articles. That was it. Shouldn't there have been a lot more to it? I know I'm fine right now, but that just seemed like a really short check over. Also, I checked the medical certificate and they did give me a 1st class one not a 2nd or 3rd. I'm wondering if I should go to another doctor who isn't so concerned about showing off that an article was written about him because I don't want my next exam to show something this guy didn't even check to begin with.

Otherwise, I took a voluntary lay-off at work since they were looking to cut back and I knew I wasn't going to be staying around anyways. I have plenty of time to get ready to start. I'm looking to start on May 4th because I've got a couple weddings to go before that which would I really want to go to. I'm going to go next Tuesday to take a tour and talk to people there and hopefully send in my deposit right after that so I can get my books and take my time to study and get ready for all the tests.

I can't wait to get started.

[Republic Airlines Ken]

Hey Tyson,

I've been to a number of different doctors for my medical and there's definitely a wide spectrum of personalities and methods out there. I've also had the "whisper from across the room" hearing test, and other times I've put the headphones on to listen for beeps. The eye tests have been pretty varied as well. Having gone through a military aviation medical (which makes you feel like a lab rat!), the civilian 1st class medicals are a breeze.

If you woud consider yourself a pretty healthy person and don't know of anything that you should have let the Dr know about, I'd say you're just fine. Keep in mind that a 65 year old has to pass the same medical to fly, so it's stringent, but not overly so. A first class medical is what you need, and if that's printed on the paper, then you're there. I'm in fairly decent shape, run and ride a lot, and don't smoke, so many of my medicals are more of a chat with the Dr than anything else (and a bunch of paperwork, and parting with $80-$100+ )

And you'll also find many of the AMEs do fly on the side and love to talk about it, so I'm not too surprised about the article he posted. It may just be a good ice breaker for some of his patients.


As for getting started, it sounds like you're moving along quickly! Let me know how I can help along the way. Also, Mark Menendez in this forum is posting almost daily on his progress and experiences at ATP on his blogsite http://clearedinbound.blogspot.com He's several weeks into the program, so it may give you one person's perspective on the process. If you have the time to prep beforehand (which it sounds like you will) there's lots of material that you can cover to make the program go as smoothly as possible. Stay in touch.