ATP or Ari Ben

boomer81 · October 3rd, 2006, 01:11

Hey all,
My first post here and I am very curious to know which you all would prefer/recomend to me. Any and all information is helpful. Thank you in advance.....

DE727UPS · October 3rd, 2006, 01:35

Do you have military VA benes you want to use towards flight training? If so, I believe ATP is out. Why limit yourself to only these two schools?

boomer81 · October 3rd, 2006, 02:06

sorry, I was being a little vague in my question. I was considering the Mesa MAPD program, then decided that it was way too much money. So my second option was to get all of my ratings and possibly go through Mesa's Pace program. I was going to finish my ratings through a school that was going to take me about a year and a half. To me, that is way to long. So, my dad found some info on ATP and told me to look into it, so I have and it seems pretty good. IN the process of looking into it I stumbled upon Ari Ben and it also seems pretty good.

You ask why do I limit myself? Is there something else out there that you recommend? If you have any other advise on schools please let me know. Thanks.

Oh and for what its worth, I'm 25 just finishing my 4 year degree-non aviation related.

DE727UPS · October 3rd, 2006, 13:18

Check out Mazzei, www.flymfs.com
and Skymates, www.skymates.com
and White Air, www.flywhiteair.com

These schools, in addition to ATP and Ari Ben, have a folks who attend, or attended, that are active at Jetcareers. Also, some of these schools advertise at JC which means they are approved by JC management.

Check out local schools where ever you live at. You might be able to save some money by doing your private and IFR nearby while saving some of the advanced ratings for a larger academy.

I can't see a reason why a smaller school couldn't work with you to fly every day if you want to attack it full time. Weather can sometimes be a problem, depending on where you live.

Though the big academy websites don't want you to know about this, you can be quite successful in aviation by sticking with the smaller schools. That's how almost everyone I personally know did it.

Captain_Bob · October 3rd, 2006, 13:33

If you want to get it done quick with twin time, a guaranteed price, and within a defined time frame... then ATP.

If you are more flexible in the time frame, don't need or desire the twin time, and don't mind being flexible with your pay structure... then like DE says... check out the smaller schools.

Either way... keep your options open, visit the schools, ask the same questions across the board to each one of them so you have a firm base of information to compare them all to.

Asking in one forum which school is better will definately get you jilted results. Instead... like you have already partly done... you should list your situation, experience, and goals along with specific questions relating to flight training. That will keep the "Flight School Wars" down.

Everyone has an opinion and most times we all think ours is best. You'll see that come up quite often, (as you already have in here). What matters most though... is YOUR opinion.

The more you know...

Bob

boomer81 · October 3rd, 2006, 16:26

Thanks for all of your input, I really appreciate it. Also, for the record I do have my PPL. I did go to my local FBO and wasn't all that impressed with them. They weren't really sure how they were going to do their ground schools. One option they were thinking of was to do a crash course on the instrument for two weekends. But, they were still not sure. So I ruled them out. The other option is to finish at one of UND's satellite campus'. Only the aviation portion. But that is going to take another year-year and a half. Plus it will run about 25 grand for instrument to multi. I'm not against going there, it's just the time it will take. My original plan was to do this and then do the Mesa Pace program. Then my dad called and told me about the ATP. I am trying to do all my homework on these places, which is why I am here as well. There seems to be a lot of good information.
Thanks for your help

Airdale · October 3rd, 2006, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomer81

Thanks for all of your input, I really appreciate it. Also, for the record I do have my PPL. I did go to my local FBO and wasn't all that impressed with them. They weren't really sure how they were going to do their ground schools. One option they were thinking of was to do a crash course on the instrument for two weekends. But, they were still not sure. So I ruled them out. The other option is to finish at one of UND's satellite campus'. Only the aviation portion. But that is going to take another year-year and a half. Plus it will run about 25 grand for instrument to multi. I'm not against going there, it's just the time it will take. My original plan was to do this and then do the Mesa Pace program. Then my dad called and told me about the ATP. I am trying to do all my homework on these places, which is why I am here as well. There seems to be a lot of good information.
Thanks for your help

Set up a tour at one of ATP's facilities. Check out the airplanes, talk to current/ past career pilots and talk with the instructors. I lucked out and got to fly great airplanes, with an awesome instructor and I paid exactly what ATP quoted me and got all of my ratings in 4 1/2 months (did the self paced program) without a glitch what so ever. Do your research and make an educated decision on what you think you need. Also consider housing options. Some schools provide a place to stay, others don't. Having to rent an apartment while training can considerably increase the cost. There are a lot of great choices, so just be sure to make yourself aware of what all of the schools have to offer. And do a search on here to learn about which school(s) to stay away from!

boomer81 · October 3rd, 2006, 22:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airdale

Set up a tour at one of ATP's facilities. Check out the airplanes, talk to current/ past career pilots and talk with the instructors. I lucked out and got to fly great airplanes, with an awesome instructor and I paid exactly what ATP quoted me and got all of my ratings in 4 1/2 months (did the self paced program) without a glitch what so ever. Do your research and make an educated decision on what you think you need. Also consider housing options. Some schools provide a place to stay, others don't. Having to rent an apartment while training can considerably increase the cost. There are a lot of great choices, so just be sure to make yourself aware of what all of the schools have to offer. And do a search on here to learn about which school(s) to stay away from!

Thanks for your input. Which one did you attend? Are you still there instructing or are you with a regional or major? Basically, if you are completely done with ATP what are you doing now? Any and all info helps....

Airdale · October 3rd, 2006, 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomer81

Thanks for your input. Which one did you attend? Are you still there instructing or are you with a regional or major? Basically, if you are completely done with ATP what are you doing now? Any and all info helps....

I did the Private Pilot program in Jax, then the ACPP in Trenton, NJ. I completed the program and applied at 3 flight schools in the area, and was offered a position at all 3. Honestly I just wanted to learn a bit about those schools and was offered a job after they reviewed my resume. I ended up sending ATP my resume and got called back with a day and offered the job. I moved to Jacksonville for a little over a month before moving to Washington, DC to instruct there. I was in DC for almost 4 months and now I am instructing where I trained at. I started instructing with 250hrs TT and now I'm over 400TT. I haven't been flying as many hours as I thought I would, but in DC I instructed 90 day Career pilots and I averaged about 40-50hrs per month. I think Jax is really the only location that's really slammed busy. But I'm getting hours and enjoying instructing. Sometimes it gets frustrating with really tight checkride deadlines and written tests scheduled on what would have been a much needed day off. But overall, there could be worse places to work at.

Florida_Flyer · October 4th, 2006, 10:41

I've been involved with both schools. Ari Ben Aviator is just a cheap, Chinese copy of ATP. Both are about the twin time and the instructing job after you're done. ATP costs a bit more but is the real deal and will have you done three times as fast. Planes are better equipped and better maintained but instruction standards are no better, at best. Also the owner of Aviator is a little prone to temper tantrums; be careful! Overall, if you have the money take ATP, if not Ari Ben will get you where you want.

SIUav8er · October 6th, 2006, 02:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florida_Flyer

Also the owner of Aviator is a little prone to temper tantrums; be careful!

Care to elaborate?!? hahah!!!!

Gonzo · October 6th, 2006, 05:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIUav8er

Care to elaborate?!? hahah!!!!

The owner sometimes has a short fuse when dealing with people.

trvlr · October 7th, 2006, 12:00

I don't know how many of your have reviewed the Ari Ben web page but, spelling and punctuation is horrible.

I can't believe a school that uses a vehicle, such as a web page to introduce themselves, can be this unprofessional.

I'm sure they provide fine flight training but, for a perspective student I would personally use a keen eye when reviewing their business structure.

-Adam

Brent.Inc · October 8th, 2006, 01:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gonzo

The owner sometimes has a short fuse when dealing with people.

That cannot be too pleasant ><

robair73 · October 10th, 2006, 22:11

I say neither to all of them. Save yourself the trouble and do something else besides flying for a living. It's horrible, I hate it, I can't wait to retire!

PGT · October 11th, 2006, 00:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by robair73

I say neither to all of them. Save yourself the trouble and do something else besides flying for a living. It's horrible, I hate it, I can't wait to retire!

substitude X for flying and its something you will hear in 3423432 other professions

Florida_Flyer · October 11th, 2006, 10:19

Well SIUav8er, you probably wouldn't believe some of the stories I could tell you. I was at the school from 05 (Aviator) until part way through this year. Several students had made genuine criticisms of the school on JC and I was one of them. The owner put up a wanted poster in the dispatch area offering $5000 for any student that would turn me in. Various people knew who it was but there were no takers. I spent the rest of my time at the school a worried man. If he'd caught me, I'd have got my head ripped off. Check out my earlier posts, it's true.

Bottom line is that the Aviator, is just a Mom and Pop version of ATP. But remember Pop doesn't just pop, he explodes! And Mom? She keeps an urn on her desk with "the ashes of problem students" written on it! Honestly, it's true. Not exactly customer friendly huh?

I moved over to ATP and things got more expensive and the training might have been a little too fast at times. Things moved quickly though when at Aviator I'd have been bogged down in the MEI which seems to take guys forever. Best part of ATP was no friction with management. Looking back Aviator, wasn't that bad but if I did it again I'd have started at ATP.

killbilly · October 11th, 2006, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Florida_Flyer

The owner put up a wanted poster in the dispatch area offering $5000 for any student that would turn me in. Various people knew who it was but there were no takers. I spent the rest of my time at the school a worried man. If he'd caught me, I'd have got my head ripped off. Check out my earlier posts, it's true.

Wow....just....wow. It's one thing if you're an employee and doing that. But if you're a customer...well...I'm trying to think of the word that sums it up....

robair73 · October 11th, 2006, 12:34

I think "Jerk off" sums it up

blee256 · October 11th, 2006, 12:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by robair73

I think "Jerk off" sums it up

can you ever be nice you @$$hole.....haha

robair73 · October 11th, 2006, 14:16

Who me? I'm from Philly - I'm supposed to be an @$$hole.

Maximillian_Jenius · October 11th, 2006, 21:40

...Tradewinds!!!

Florida_Flyer · October 19th, 2006, 16:51

For those of you that are interested in this thread, I've posted a link to a thread on the Ariben forum that you might find helpful.

http://forums.jetcareers.com/showthread.php?t=30114 (Pro course now $36,000)

T_Hudson · October 19th, 2006, 18:30

I too am in the same boat as boomer. I am currently taking lessons for my private, and then I will probably get my instrument. They offer commercial here, but its a little cessna with retractable landing gear. I don't suppose that matters.

Anyway, after all that, I hope to attend ATP to get alot of my other ratings. I'm still not exactly what all ratings I need to best suit me in finding a job flying.

I'm not sure which school is best, and what all I actually need. I just need to hire me a mentor =)

I dont have the money, I barely have enough to do what I'm doin now. So I'm trying to save alittle here and there to attend a school to get all my other ratings.. no idea what those ratings are... I just hope to God I can get some financial aid so I can be in debt until I'm 60! But that'll be alright as long as I love my job.

DE727UPS · October 19th, 2006, 18:43

"They offer commercial here, but its a little cessna with retractable landing gear. I don't suppose that matters"

HAHA. Little Cessna's don't have wheels that come up. I've got a 152, now that's little. You're probably thinkin' of a 172RG for the commercial. It's no twin but it's a lot bigger than a 152.

"I just need to hire me a mentor =)"

You just did by coming to JC. And it's free...

October 3rd, 2006, 01:11	#1
boomer81 Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 26	ATP or Ari Ben Hey all, My first post here and I am very curious to know which you all would prefer/recomend to me. Any and all information is helpful. Thank you in advance.....

October 3rd, 2006, 01:35	#2
DE727UPS Old Skool Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6,517	Re: ATP or Ari Ben Do you have military VA benes you want to use towards flight training? If so, I believe ATP is out. Why limit yourself to only these two schools?

October 3rd, 2006, 02:06	#3
boomer81 Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 26	Re: ATP or Ari Ben sorry, I was being a little vague in my question. I was considering the Mesa MAPD program, then decided that it was way too much money. So my second option was to get all of my ratings and possibly go through Mesa's Pace program. I was going to finish my ratings through a school that was going to take me about a year and a half. To me, that is way to long. So, my dad found some info on ATP and told me to look into it, so I have and it seems pretty good. IN the process of looking into it I stumbled upon Ari Ben and it also seems pretty good. You ask why do I limit myself? Is there something else out there that you recommend? If you have any other advise on schools please let me know. Thanks. Oh and for what its worth, I'm 25 just finishing my 4 year degree-non aviation related.

October 3rd, 2006, 13:18	#4
DE727UPS Old Skool Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6,517	Re: ATP or Ari Ben Check out Mazzei, www.flymfs.com and Skymates, www.skymates.com and White Air, www.flywhiteair.com These schools, in addition to ATP and Ari Ben, have a folks who attend, or attended, that are active at Jetcareers. Also, some of these schools advertise at JC which means they are approved by JC management. Check out local schools where ever you live at. You might be able to save some money by doing your private and IFR nearby while saving some of the advanced ratings for a larger academy. I can't see a reason why a smaller school couldn't work with you to fly every day if you want to attack it full time. Weather can sometimes be a problem, depending on where you live. Though the big academy websites don't want you to know about this, you can be quite successful in aviation by sticking with the smaller schools. That's how almost everyone I personally know did it.

October 3rd, 2006, 13:33	#5
Captain_Bob Old Skool Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: DFW, based in ONT, wishing I was in Maine Posts: 3,869	Re: ATP or Ari Ben If you want to get it done quick with twin time, a guaranteed price, and within a defined time frame... then ATP. If you are more flexible in the time frame, don't need or desire the twin time, and don't mind being flexible with your pay structure... then like DE says... check out the smaller schools. Either way... keep your options open, visit the schools, ask the same questions across the board to each one of them so you have a firm base of information to compare them all to. Asking in one forum which school is better will definately get you jilted results. Instead... like you have already partly done... you should list your situation, experience, and goals along with specific questions relating to flight training. That will keep the "Flight School Wars" down. Everyone has an opinion and most times we all think ours is best. You'll see that come up quite often, (as you already have in here). What matters most though... is YOUR opinion. The more you know... Bob __________________ My head is in the clouds and my heart is still in Maine... but my devotion and love belong to my wife and children. Pics!

October 3rd, 2006, 16:26	#6
boomer81 Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 26	Re: ATP or Ari Ben Thanks for all of your input, I really appreciate it. Also, for the record I do have my PPL. I did go to my local FBO and wasn't all that impressed with them. They weren't really sure how they were going to do their ground schools. One option they were thinking of was to do a crash course on the instrument for two weekends. But, they were still not sure. So I ruled them out. The other option is to finish at one of UND's satellite campus'. Only the aviation portion. But that is going to take another year-year and a half. Plus it will run about 25 grand for instrument to multi. I'm not against going there, it's just the time it will take. My original plan was to do this and then do the Mesa Pace program. Then my dad called and told me about the ATP. I am trying to do all my homework on these places, which is why I am here as well. There seems to be a lot of good information. Thanks for your help

October 4th, 2006, 10:41	#10
Florida_Flyer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: FL Posts: 166	Re: ATP or Ari Ben I've been involved with both schools. Ari Ben Aviator is just a cheap, Chinese copy of ATP. Both are about the twin time and the instructing job after you're done. ATP costs a bit more but is the real deal and will have you done three times as fast. Planes are better equipped and better maintained but instruction standards are no better, at best. Also the owner of Aviator is a little prone to temper tantrums; be careful! Overall, if you have the money take ATP, if not Ari Ben will get you where you want.

October 7th, 2006, 12:00	#13
trvlr Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 15	Re: ATP or Ari Ben I don't know how many of your have reviewed the Ari Ben web page but, spelling and punctuation is horrible. I can't believe a school that uses a vehicle, such as a web page to introduce themselves, can be this unprofessional. I'm sure they provide fine flight training but, for a perspective student I would personally use a keen eye when reviewing their business structure. -Adam

October 10th, 2006, 22:11	#15
robair73 Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chi town Posts: 519	Re: ATP or Ari Ben I say neither to all of them. Save yourself the trouble and do something else besides flying for a living. It's horrible, I hate it, I can't wait to retire! __________________ Cream Pie

October 11th, 2006, 10:19	#17
Florida_Flyer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: FL Posts: 166	Re: ATP or Ari Ben Well SIUav8er, you probably wouldn't believe some of the stories I could tell you. I was at the school from 05 (Aviator) until part way through this year. Several students had made genuine criticisms of the school on JC and I was one of them. The owner put up a wanted poster in the dispatch area offering $5000 for any student that would turn me in. Various people knew who it was but there were no takers. I spent the rest of my time at the school a worried man. If he'd caught me, I'd have got my head ripped off. Check out my earlier posts, it's true. Bottom line is that the Aviator, is just a Mom and Pop version of ATP. But remember Pop doesn't just pop, he explodes! And Mom? She keeps an urn on her desk with "the ashes of problem students" written on it! Honestly, it's true. Not exactly customer friendly huh? I moved over to ATP and things got more expensive and the training might have been a little too fast at times. Things moved quickly though when at Aviator I'd have been bogged down in the MEI which seems to take guys forever. Best part of ATP was no friction with management. Looking back Aviator, wasn't that bad but if I did it again I'd have started at ATP.

October 11th, 2006, 12:34	#19
robair73 Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chi town Posts: 519	Re: ATP or Ari Ben I think "Jerk off" sums it up __________________ Cream Pie

October 11th, 2006, 14:16	#21
robair73 Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Chi town Posts: 519	Re: ATP or Ari Ben Who me? I'm from Philly - I'm supposed to be an @$$hole. __________________ Cream Pie

October 11th, 2006, 21:40	#22
Maximillian_Jenius Old Skool Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: KPHX, KFFZ, KIWA Posts: 18,878	Re: ATP or Ari Ben ...Tradewinds!!! __________________ Rear Admiral www.gayviator.com Maximillian Pegasus

October 19th, 2006, 16:51	#23
Florida_Flyer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: FL Posts: 166	Re: ATP or Ari Ben For those of you that are interested in this thread, I've posted a link to a thread on the Ariben forum that you might find helpful. http://forums.jetcareers.com/showthread.php?t=30114 (Pro course now $36,000)

October 19th, 2006, 18:30	#24
T_Hudson Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pearl, MS Posts: 52	Re: ATP or Ari Ben I too am in the same boat as boomer. I am currently taking lessons for my private, and then I will probably get my instrument. They offer commercial here, but its a little cessna with retractable landing gear. I don't suppose that matters. Anyway, after all that, I hope to attend ATP to get alot of my other ratings. I'm still not exactly what all ratings I need to best suit me in finding a job flying. I'm not sure which school is best, and what all I actually need. I just need to hire me a mentor =) I dont have the money, I barely have enough to do what I'm doin now. So I'm trying to save alittle here and there to attend a school to get all my other ratings.. no idea what those ratings are... I just hope to God I can get some financial aid so I can be in debt until I'm 60! But that'll be alright as long as I love my job. __________________ Tyler Hudson

October 19th, 2006, 18:43	#25
DE727UPS Old Skool Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6,517	Re: ATP or Ari Ben "They offer commercial here, but its a little cessna with retractable landing gear. I don't suppose that matters" HAHA. Little Cessna's don't have wheels that come up. I've got a 152, now that's little. You're probably thinkin' of a 172RG for the commercial. It's no twin but it's a lot bigger than a 152. "I just need to hire me a mentor =)" You just did by coming to JC. And it's free...

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