Fast Track Program

[Rick]

Hey, has anybody heard about whats going on with the Fast Track program??, has the first class finished already?

[rausda27]

If you are referring the the ASA program, it is up and running and a class is almost done.

[PlanoPilot]

I'm in the first ASA Direct Track class. We started on June 7, and we are scheduled to finish up on August 13. There are six pilots in my class. A new class of two started this past Monday, July 12.

I've heard that ASA is interviewing now for an August class at FlightSafety, but I don't know that for sure.

Does the FlightSafety ASA program and Comair Academy's program pretty much take you to the same place?

[Doug Taylor]

What place?

FO for delta connection.

[Doug Taylor]

Suggest looking into a flight school for an education first and foremost, and leave the 'fast track'/marketing for the PR department.

[Tim]

Doug does ACS school of hard knocks and aching back count also..

I saw on the FlightSafety package they sent me that an hour of flight instruction for PPL can cost as much as $140 an hour. For that much I might as well go to a local flight school.

[cime_sp]

Brian,

FSI is not that expensive when compared to the rest of the country. A perfect example is the FBO I work at in NY. They charge $105/hr for a carbeurated 172 and $44/hr for an instructor. That is a little more than FSI.

I went to FSI and got my private license in 38 hours, and know many other people who did the same....people at my FBO are much closer to the national average of about 65-75 hours. So, by that math it could cost close to twice as much at your local FBO. The hourly cost does not always tell the whole story!

[casey]

[ QUOTE ]
Brian,

FSI is not that expensive when compared to the rest of the country. A perfect example is the FBO I work at in NY. They charge $105/hr for a carbeurated 172 and $44/hr for an instructor. That is a little more than FSI.

I went to FSI and got my private license in 38 hours, and know many other people who did the same....people at my FBO are much closer to the national average of about 65-75 hours. So, by that math it could cost close to twice as much at your local FBO. The hourly cost does not always tell the whole story!

[/ QUOTE ]

those prices are going to vary widely regionally. I did my private at an FBO in Austin, TX (KAUS). Rented a 172 for $65/hr wet, $35 for an instructor and did my ppl in 43 hours. Ended up spending a lot less than the various academies charge for a PPL. Perhaps thats just the other extreme, but not every FBO is high priced and milking thier students for hours.

[cime_sp]

Casey,

Yes I agree that those prices will vary widely regionally. NY is one of the most expensive areas and there is not a ton of competition here either. Those FBO's that are here though all charge about the same price. There is a few dollars difference but they are all pretty similair.

If you look at the Florida area that Brian lives in, it is also VERY expensive. I know the other two FBO's on the field at VRB (Sun and Paris Air) charge comparable prices for comparable equipment. I have not flown out of Ft. Lauderdale, but it is considered to be a lot more upscale and therefore probably more expensive than most other parts of the state.

Also, we do not "milk" our students as you put it. I have never given my student's extra training in order to get hours. In fact, I along with the majority of other instructors that I know, get rewards and bonuses for having students pass stage checks and checkrides rather than getting a certain number of hours out of them. Most FBO's have figured out that they make more money by having a good reputation and people spreading good word-of-mouth than by trying to "milk", having students take longer, and many times giving up. If they have a good experience they will usually stay with the FBO, rent more, pursue additional ratings, etc...An extra few hours of "milking" is not worth it.

As far as how long it takes students to get their time, that is up to them. Some fly once a week, some less, some every day. Obviously the more often you do something the better you become at it. A place like FSI allows you to train to full time...they don't offer anything else. Training at your local FBO can very easily become too relaxed...if you let it, leading to more time to get your ratings. Nobody is saying that it can't be done at an FBO, and I do not want to start an academy vs FBO debate, but each person needs to make a decision based upon their own needs, desires, current situations, etc...

I just get a little frustrated when people make blanket statements like "this is the only way" or "the way I did it was better" etc... The correct solution always comes down to what is best for you

[casey]

crime_sp,

i didnt meant o accuse you or your fbo of milking students, but rather a general statements, as i have seen flpaces doing that. Im talking places that end up with 80-90 hour ppl's and wont solo students until a set hour regardless of them being ready earlier, etc. I've seen some shady practices.

As for florida, im new to the area but did stop by FLL and its not surprising to hear the instruction is high priced (stopped though the jet center there for a couple days).

Wasnt saying my way was better, just giving another view. In all likelyhood hes going to be somewhere in the middle.

[Snow]

>Does the FlightSafety ASA program and Comair Academy's program pretty much take you to the same place?

Um, well they are different airlines you know [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] As far as I know ASA is the largest and best paying regional in the US. I haven't heard many good things about working for Comair.

Also I got my PPL in 35hrs on the dot.

[foztofly]

I've actually heard the opposite, however both airlines have good reputations.

Comair:
http://www.comair.com/news/index.html?id=272


ASA:
http://news.delta.com/article_displa...rticle_id=9326

According to the companies, ASA has increased it's passengers 5.4% year to date vs. last year, while Comair has increased 27.6% from last year, while exceeding ASA passenger totals. But like I said, either airline is a great airline to work for from what I have read.