Going to AriBen

blakman7 · May 25th, 2006, 11:49

Alright ladies and gentlemen,

I have finally made my decision to go to AriBen Aviator. Hopefully I can start in August. If there is anyone out there who got a loan, could you share some info with me about how to go about getting the money and if it is hard to get the loan and whatnot. I have had bad luck getting someone to cosign with me and I hope that I don't need it this time around even though it is probable. What are the pros and cons about AriBen? If I am approved for the loan, how much should I take out to cover everything like housing, the course, checkrides, books, food, and etc.? Basically, any info that you all can give me about the school would be great......more importantly info on how long the course takes, can you get an instructing position, do a lot of people get hired soon after instructing, is the course worth it and so on. Thank you so much for those who take out the time to reply to such demanding requests. Lol.

USMC-SGT · May 25th, 2006, 13:54

you can find the answer to every one of these questions in this same thread that you posted this to with very little effort. I would try the "search" feature as it will speed up your process.

Killtron2000 · May 25th, 2006, 19:10

The course costs 34,000
Check rides 2500-2800
Books 450
Food how much can you eat in 6 months?
Rent 1500-2000
So you're looking at about 40 g's and 6 months give or take. Can you qualify for a federal loan that would be best. You will probably get offered an instructing position right after but it's hard to say how busy you will be. As for getting hired at a regional again that is hard to say, you will have a bit of multi time when you're done so that will help but don't expect to get hired within a year or so. I'm going to check out the school on Saturday so I will post something about what I see.

Mountain Flying · May 26th, 2006, 18:33

And by a bit of multi time you mean a lot, theres a few regionals who have came here in past 2 weeks looking for aviator students...

TexasFlyer · May 26th, 2006, 20:58

Here is my AriBen Analysis:

Save up this amount or borrow it and I know you'll make it through without running short on cash. This is how much I figure I would need to start today to have peace of mind (I have a similar analysis for all schools I am considering since I will only attend where my inflated estimates keep program cost under $100 since I'll save up $50K - $60K in cash and take out no more than a $40K loan since I feel anything more than a $40K loan MAXIMUM is asking for financial trouble real fast in this indusrty).

All costs below are rounded to be easier numbers on the eyes...

Professional Pilot Program (all ratings): $40,000
Books, Supplies, Testing: $ 6,500
Housing at $800/month*: $11,200
Utilities at $350/month**: $ 4,900
Transportation at $150/month***: $2,100
Personal expenses at $300/week****: $18,200
------------------------------------------------
Very solid estimate of total costs: $82,900 *****

* Housing is calculated at 14 months for worst case scenerio and at $800/month for me since I would move with my girlfriend which would require us to be in a cheap apartment (hence not take advantge of their housing which I beleive is a great deal at $500/month).
** Monthly utilty estimated for 14 months are cell phone ($70), High Speed Internet & Cable ($110), and electric ($170) = $350/month.
*** No car payment, but I do have a car and motorcycle to keep insurance on and I won't sell them since they are paid for and I know I'd not be able to replace them making CFI and FO pay (so I know it's worth the money to hang onto them).
**** Yes $300/week is quite a bit compared to others I seen, but this includes food, gas, bath, and any other item I may possibly need for any circumstance that is not accounted for here (hopefully I could be more thrifty and save some of this each month to pay on whatever loan I take out).
***** If you plan for this, you should come in well under your budget since I would hope you'll be a CFI in well under 14 months. And that will save a good portion of the living expenses. But I beleive you should plan for an extended stay since you can't predict a mental struggle, a bad hurricane season, or other things that can etend training past the 8-10 month range I hear is a good estimate before you begin to make some kind of income as a CFI.

For those who are curious, here are the estiamtes based on a similar analaysis for all schools I do my best to keep up to date on. Maybe this will help someone? (costs based on current prices for May 2006 and on the analysis breakdown above):

ATP: $75,750 (free housing on ATP analysis only)
OFT: $78,875
AriBen Aviator: $82,900
Skymates: $85,700
Phoenix East: $86,400
Falcon: $89,900
Flight Safety: $107,900
Pan Am: $107,900
Air Safety: $110,900
RAA: $118,400
Delta: $121,900

I like to notice the gap on my spreadsheet once you get past Falcon and especially once you get to everyones favorite school on this board (sarcasm)... dig a finanical grave since this is all of course based on the estimates the schools give for training, so don't dare go over thier estimates by too much or you can add another 10-20% to all the figures!

SteveC · May 26th, 2006, 21:27

Nice analysis. The numbers all look like good estimates to me - better to be on the slightly conservative side and beat the numbers than to be an optimist and fall short. Smart.

Those comparative numbers are a great resource for prospective students. Thanks for publishing the results of your work.

Florida_Flyer · May 27th, 2006, 10:18

SteveC is right; be pessimistic. Where most people go wrong is to run out of cash and end up working for MC (school owner) at $10hr to try and pay the living costs and for the rest of the training. There are dudes here that have been around for years at this place because they ran out of cash. By now they should have been regional airline Captains. The personal expenses, housing and utilities expenses are probably budgeted too high though. At Ariben, if you are staying in school accomodation they are cheaper. Also, don't overestimate the money you will be making when you are instructing; I'm not covering my living costs right now. Regional pay is not much better, FO less than $20,000pa at Colgan and Captain $40,000pa. Other regionals ain't much better. In short, you won't make good money any time soon so it's loss of potential earnings that will hurt most. The advantage ATP, has over Ariben is that they can get you done faster and get you back into paid work sooner. I think their instructors are busier and move to regionals faster. However, I'd question if they are cheaper in terms of training costs, like your analysis says. Also, some guys find their methods are just too fast. I don't think anyone ever said that about the Aviator!

May 25th, 2006, 11:49	#1
blakman7 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 116	Going to AriBen Alright ladies and gentlemen, I have finally made my decision to go to AriBen Aviator. Hopefully I can start in August. If there is anyone out there who got a loan, could you share some info with me about how to go about getting the money and if it is hard to get the loan and whatnot. I have had bad luck getting someone to cosign with me and I hope that I don't need it this time around even though it is probable. What are the pros and cons about AriBen? If I am approved for the loan, how much should I take out to cover everything like housing, the course, checkrides, books, food, and etc.? Basically, any info that you all can give me about the school would be great......more importantly info on how long the course takes, can you get an instructing position, do a lot of people get hired soon after instructing, is the course worth it and so on. Thank you so much for those who take out the time to reply to such demanding requests. Lol. __________________ Asking what a pilot thinks about the FAA is like asking a fire hydrant what it thinks about dogs.

May 25th, 2006, 13:54	#2
USMC-SGT Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: East Posts: 1,173	Re: Going to AriBen you can find the answer to every one of these questions in this same thread that you posted this to with very little effort. I would try the "search" feature as it will speed up your process. __________________ .....i have two speeds, walk and kill

May 25th, 2006, 19:10	#3
Killtron2000 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Prime Universe Posts: 1,638	Re: Going to AriBen The course costs 34,000 Check rides 2500-2800 Books 450 Food how much can you eat in 6 months? Rent 1500-2000 So you're looking at about 40 g's and 6 months give or take. Can you qualify for a federal loan that would be best. You will probably get offered an instructing position right after but it's hard to say how busy you will be. As for getting hired at a regional again that is hard to say, you will have a bit of multi time when you're done so that will help but don't expect to get hired within a year or so. I'm going to check out the school on Saturday so I will post something about what I see. __________________ This is a signature, fear it.

May 26th, 2006, 18:33	#4
Mountain Flying Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 95	Re: Going to AriBen And by a bit of multi time you mean a lot, theres a few regionals who have came here in past 2 weeks looking for aviator students...

May 26th, 2006, 20:58	#5
TexasFlyer Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 384	Re: Going to AriBen Here is my AriBen Analysis: Save up this amount or borrow it and I know you'll make it through without running short on cash. This is how much I figure I would need to start today to have peace of mind (I have a similar analysis for all schools I am considering since I will only attend where my inflated estimates keep program cost under $100 since I'll save up $50K - $60K in cash and take out no more than a $40K loan since I feel anything more than a $40K loan MAXIMUM is asking for financial trouble real fast in this indusrty). All costs below are rounded to be easier numbers on the eyes... Professional Pilot Program (all ratings): $40,000 Books, Supplies, Testing: $ 6,500 Housing at $800/month: $11,200 Utilities at $350/month: $ 4,900 Transportation at $150/month: $2,100 Personal expenses at $300/week: $18,200 ------------------------------------------------ Very solid estimate of total costs: $82,900 *** * Housing is calculated at 14 months for worst case scenerio and at $800/month for me since I would move with my girlfriend which would require us to be in a cheap apartment (hence not take advantge of their housing which I beleive is a great deal at $500/month). Monthly utilty estimated for 14 months are cell phone ($70), High Speed Internet & Cable ($110), and electric ($170) = $350/month. * No car payment, but I do have a car and motorcycle to keep insurance on and I won't sell them since they are paid for and I know I'd not be able to replace them making CFI and FO pay (so I know it's worth the money to hang onto them). ** Yes $300/week is quite a bit compared to others I seen, but this includes food, gas, bath, and any other item I may possibly need for any circumstance that is not accounted for here (hopefully I could be more thrifty and save some of this each month to pay on whatever loan I take out). *** If you plan for this, you should come in well under your budget since I would hope you'll be a CFI in well under 14 months. And that will save a good portion of the living expenses. But I beleive you should plan for an extended stay since you can't predict a mental struggle, a bad hurricane season, or other things that can etend training past the 8-10 month range I hear is a good estimate before you begin to make some kind of income as a CFI. For those who are curious, here are the estiamtes based on a similar analaysis for all schools I do my best to keep up to date on. Maybe this will help someone? (costs based on current prices for May 2006 and on the analysis breakdown above): ATP: $75,750 (free housing on ATP analysis only) OFT: $78,875 AriBen Aviator: $82,900 Skymates: $85,700 Phoenix East: $86,400 Falcon: $89,900 Flight Safety: $107,900 Pan Am: $107,900 Air Safety: $110,900 RAA: $118,400 Delta: $121,900 I like to notice the gap on my spreadsheet once you get past Falcon and especially once you get to everyones favorite school on this board (sarcasm)... dig a finanical grave since this is all of course based on the estimates the schools give for training, so don't dare go over thier estimates by too much or you can add another 10-20% to all the figures!

May 26th, 2006, 21:27	#6
SteveC Modulator Join Date: May 2003 Location: GRR Posts: 8,788	Re: Going to AriBen Nice analysis. The numbers all look like good estimates to me - better to be on the slightly conservative side and beat the numbers than to be an optimist and fall short. Smart. Those comparative numbers are a great resource for prospective students. Thanks for publishing the results of your work. __________________ . If life gives you lemons, throw 'em into a quart of vodka. ~Red Green

May 27th, 2006, 10:18	#7
Florida_Flyer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: FL Posts: 169	Re: Going to AriBen SteveC is right; be pessimistic. Where most people go wrong is to run out of cash and end up working for MC (school owner) at $10hr to try and pay the living costs and for the rest of the training. There are dudes here that have been around for years at this place because they ran out of cash. By now they should have been regional airline Captains. The personal expenses, housing and utilities expenses are probably budgeted too high though. At Ariben, if you are staying in school accomodation they are cheaper. Also, don't overestimate the money you will be making when you are instructing; I'm not covering my living costs right now. Regional pay is not much better, FO less than $20,000pa at Colgan and Captain $40,000pa. Other regionals ain't much better. In short, you won't make good money any time soon so it's loss of potential earnings that will hurt most. The advantage ATP, has over Ariben is that they can get you done faster and get you back into paid work sooner. I think their instructors are busier and move to regionals faster. However, I'd question if they are cheaper in terms of training costs, like your analysis says. Also, some guys find their methods are just too fast. I don't think anyone ever said that about the Aviator! Last edited by Florida_Flyer; May 27th, 2006 at 11:50.

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