Yes, this place employs a "fast track" approach to the FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification,…read moreand there is not a lot of instruction. There was a session going over common math problems at the beginning of the class (probably an hour or less), and then you are taken to a classroom in the hangar and are shown the best method of studying the guides to prepare for the tests. After that, you're kind of on your own, as far as studying. The value here (GREAT value) is having computer terminals in the classroom that are loaded with practice tests for the General, Airframe, and Powerplant exams. Once you have studied the entire study guide, you begin taking practice tests on the computer. Once you can consistently pass the test with about an 85% (not set in stone, you can take the FAA exam whenever you feel ready), you are taken to the FAA exam room in the same facility. This, to me, was worth the price of admission. Being able to take the exams immediately after spending hours or days studying the material ensures that it will be fresh in your mind. I was able to easily breeze through all 3 exams with passing grades.
Once you've taken and passed the written exams, you are run through a "what to expect" for the Oral and Practical exams. This is not in depth, and they don't teach you how to use tools or perform tasks, but I didn't really expect a lot of hands-on. If you're taking this class, you are already a mechanic, and should have a pretty solid understanding of aircraft maintenance. If you are not already a mechanic, and are not familiar with aircraft maintenance, then this is not the place for you. This is designed for people (usually military mechanics) to get their FAA certification in a week or 10 days based on knowledge that is already possessed. If you don't have the knowledge, then you need one of the full 18 month classes for people just trying to get into the profession.
The O&P prep consisted of a list of typical questions, and the references to find the answers if you feel uncomfortable with any of the questions. This is not a "guaranteed" list of questions, it's just a list of possibilities that students have seen in the past. It was helpful, but I probably would have been fine without it.
The school will schedule your O&P from a pool of local DME's. Like the other reviewer, I was paired with Pete Borneman as my examiner. Yes, the write-up about him had some strict rules (no hat, don't ask for breaks, arrive early), but I found Pete to be a nice guy. He was direct and to the point, and seemed like he didn't want to waste time on nonsense. I'm good with that... I don't have time for nonsense, either.
My oral exam consisted of me sitting with him in his office while he shotgunned questions at me. Keep cool and answer the questions and you'll be fine. The Practical exam consisted of about 9 hours of aircraft maintenance tasks, inspection, forms, logbook entries, sketching defects, etc...
I will say the O&P was not easy. But if it was easy, everybody would be an airplane mechanic, right? It definitely wasn't anything that should be beyond the capabilities of a mechanic with a solid background in aircraft maintenance. I passed the O&P and was given a temporary A&P certificate by Pete (My permanent FAA certificate arrived in the mail less than a month later).
Went back to the schoolhouse to let them know that I was done, and they helped me take care of all the paperwork to file my GI Bill claims. This is also a very valuable service that they provide. The staff at Heritage Flight Academy is very knowledgeable about the GI Bill claims process and will take care of just about everything for you if you're using the GI Bill to pay for the tuition.
Overall, this course was well run. I liked the self-paced tempo, and the availability of experienced staff members to help out/answer questions if you have any. The benefit of having the FAA exam center right there in the facility is tremendous!
Well worth the time, money and effort expended.