If you're looking to get the coveted Airline Transport Pilot rating, or a type rating, prior to or…read moreeven without going to fly for the airlines, this is definitely the place to go. Please reread that first sentence. I had passed my ATP/CPT course a few years ago, but still needed to do the checkride. Initially I was going to do my checkride, like several of buddies had, in an ancient twin. In Vegas the ride would be in a Beechcraft Travel Air, built before America's entry into the Vietnam War, too small for a 6-3 man like me, hotter than BLM hatred, with a tiny little Garmin GNS-430 for navigation that is partially obscured by the throwover yoke. The cockpit was so small that a control check left my knees feeling like I had been roughed up by loan shark debt collectors. Combined with the Vegas climate, the heat was so bad that I had lost 3 pounds before the run-up, and actually kept a towel around my neck to keep the sweat out of my eyes once airborne. I never got comfortable and confident enough in this old bird to want to fly it on the most important FAA checkride of my flight career. I then looked at picking up my ATP certificate flying a slightly bigger Piper Apache based out of Wichita, but the trainer/owner was a screaming former Luftwaffe fighter pilot. Needless to say I did not respond well to being demeaned by a sociopathic German martinet and his Planet of Apes approach to aviation instruction. And the real trouble with the Travel Air and the Apache is that they are worthless when it comes to engine out missed approaches, which is a mandatory ACS maneuver on the ATP evaluation. In these old birds, the reality is that if you actually were to lose an engine, you'd better have a runway close by because you won't get far. The angry Berliner mentioned above even said if you get to approach minimums with an actual engine out and the field is not in sight, your best chance of survival is to violate Federal Aviation Regulations and continue the approach and pray you can find the runway or Target parking lot to plop down on. This is a real world consideration. As as many of you mid-western pilots already know, Kansas gets foggier than Joe Biden's memory.
So to get my ATP certificate, I finally turned to Flight Training International. I so wish I had gone there first. Transitioning from the tired and smelly flight decks of Seminoles, Travel Airs, Aztecs, and even Twin Diamonds, to a gleaming new Airbus A320 full motion simulator is like going from a ratty skateboard to a Harley Davidson Electra Glide. Yes, it costs more, but the training is well worth it and you will leave FTI as a better pilot, poised for the future, and with your ATP certificate in hand. FTI has two locations: Miami and Denver. I chose the latter. The staff there is incredible, and they will work tirelessly with you to help you get you that certificate. I owe special thanks to my instructor and check airman, both of whom flew full military careers, and then two decades each as airline captains. They know their stuff, they are patient and extremely knowledgeable professionals, and because of their efforts, along with the rest of the staff at FTI Denver, it was the best aviation training experience of my career. Thank you FTI.
