The nerves are starting to kick in. My mind is consumed with thoughts about my ATP entrance exam this coming Saturday. You may ask, do you need an entrance exam for a flight school? The answer is yes. This school is not your average fly by night operation that will take any Joe off the street. There are numerous requirements to be accepted into the Airline Career Pilot Program (ACCP) at ATP.
For starters, you need to meet the flight requirements. For the program I am applying for, you need to already be in possession of your Private Pilots License (PPL), with at least 85 hours of flight time. This may not seem like a lot, but when you factor in that each hour was between $100 and $200 (depending on the plane you flew, and if you took an instructor along), a significant amount of money has been invested up to this point. In addition to having your PPL, they have requirements about what type of flying you have done up to this point. They want applicants to have a certain number of “cross country” (a term used in aviation to describe flights at least 90 miles from your original airport) hours. From ATP’s perspective, this “cross country” requirement ensures that they are bringing students into the program that have flown their 85+ hours in a variety of environments, not just around their local airport.
In addition to the PPL requirements, applicants must have a First Class Medical Certificate. There are a variety of levels of medical certificate pilots can obtain, but the first class is the PhD of aviation medical certificates. This is the same level of certification that airlines pilots MUST possess. To obtain this, I had to slap $100 down to an aviation doctor here in Vegas who gave me the complete once over. Imagine taking your car to your local mechanic and saying, “I’m going on an around the world journey, and I need to make sure nothing is wrong with my car.” If you can imagine that scenario, you can imagine what getting the first class medical was like. Surprisingly, this was the most apprehensive I’ve been up to this point in Nick’s Great Aviation Adventure. Something simple like bad vision, high blood pressure, or the fact that you are currently taking a banned (by the Federal Aviation Administration) prescription medication, can shut down your dreams of becoming an airline pilot at the snap of a finger.
The above two requirements are needed to get in the door at ATP. But, before they let you toss down a check and start flying, you have to complete the process I am going to go through next Saturday. Now I applied and was accepted to the Bachelors, Masters, and PhD program at UNLV, and I’ve never seen an entrance exam/interview like this.
Saturday morning I am scheduled to arrive at the North Las Vegas airport location for ATP. What’s actually going to take place is a bit fuzzy, but from talking to current students and reading message board after message board, I think I have a good idea. Basically, there is going to be a face to face interview. From what I’ve gathered, this is where they tell you a little about the program and ask you “HR” type questions. These questions could range from tell me something good/bad about yourself, to a reason I want to become an airline pilot. I assume they want to make sure you have a good head on my shoulders. Then, once the interview is complete, I will take a written exam. The exam is short, but just about anything related to flying up to this point in my career is fair game. For the most part, up to this point, all the information I need to know I learned when I got my PPL, and am required to still know to stay current. For example, they could ask what the take off distance of the last plane I flew was. They could ask me what the emergency procedures are for a single engine aircraft if you have to abort take-off. In addition to everything related to the PPL, I will also be tested on the Piper Seminole (the multi-engine plane I will fly in Riverside) information. Now I won’t be tested on all the information, but I must be able to accurately explain things like the electrical, fuel, and braking system. In addition, I will need to know the applicable speeds for the aircraft such as the stall speed, cruise speed, and even the never exceed speed.
Once the test is completed, I will be put into an aircraft simulator. Granted, this is nothing like the ones the airlines have, but it’s a BIG step up from Microsoft Flight Simulator in my bedroom as a child. The folks at ATP want to see if I can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. You may do great on the exam and in the interview, but if you can’t fly the airplane, you are in trouble. From what I’ve heard, they understand that you may not be perfect in the simulator (especially since most have never flown a simulator, let alone a multiengine one), but they want to see that you are trainable. This is what will make or break people in the intense 90-day program at ATP. Can you be trained how to fly the airplane proficiently to the standards of airlines in 90-days. The picture below will give you some idea what the simulator is like.
For starters, you need to meet the flight requirements. For the program I am applying for, you need to already be in possession of your Private Pilots License (PPL), with at least 85 hours of flight time. This may not seem like a lot, but when you factor in that each hour was between $100 and $200 (depending on the plane you flew, and if you took an instructor along), a significant amount of money has been invested up to this point. In addition to having your PPL, they have requirements about what type of flying you have done up to this point. They want applicants to have a certain number of “cross country” (a term used in aviation to describe flights at least 90 miles from your original airport) hours. From ATP’s perspective, this “cross country” requirement ensures that they are bringing students into the program that have flown their 85+ hours in a variety of environments, not just around their local airport.
In addition to the PPL requirements, applicants must have a First Class Medical Certificate. There are a variety of levels of medical certificate pilots can obtain, but the first class is the PhD of aviation medical certificates. This is the same level of certification that airlines pilots MUST possess. To obtain this, I had to slap $100 down to an aviation doctor here in Vegas who gave me the complete once over. Imagine taking your car to your local mechanic and saying, “I’m going on an around the world journey, and I need to make sure nothing is wrong with my car.” If you can imagine that scenario, you can imagine what getting the first class medical was like. Surprisingly, this was the most apprehensive I’ve been up to this point in Nick’s Great Aviation Adventure. Something simple like bad vision, high blood pressure, or the fact that you are currently taking a banned (by the Federal Aviation Administration) prescription medication, can shut down your dreams of becoming an airline pilot at the snap of a finger.
The above two requirements are needed to get in the door at ATP. But, before they let you toss down a check and start flying, you have to complete the process I am going to go through next Saturday. Now I applied and was accepted to the Bachelors, Masters, and PhD program at UNLV, and I’ve never seen an entrance exam/interview like this.
Saturday morning I am scheduled to arrive at the North Las Vegas airport location for ATP. What’s actually going to take place is a bit fuzzy, but from talking to current students and reading message board after message board, I think I have a good idea. Basically, there is going to be a face to face interview. From what I’ve gathered, this is where they tell you a little about the program and ask you “HR” type questions. These questions could range from tell me something good/bad about yourself, to a reason I want to become an airline pilot. I assume they want to make sure you have a good head on my shoulders. Then, once the interview is complete, I will take a written exam. The exam is short, but just about anything related to flying up to this point in my career is fair game. For the most part, up to this point, all the information I need to know I learned when I got my PPL, and am required to still know to stay current. For example, they could ask what the take off distance of the last plane I flew was. They could ask me what the emergency procedures are for a single engine aircraft if you have to abort take-off. In addition to everything related to the PPL, I will also be tested on the Piper Seminole (the multi-engine plane I will fly in Riverside) information. Now I won’t be tested on all the information, but I must be able to accurately explain things like the electrical, fuel, and braking system. In addition, I will need to know the applicable speeds for the aircraft such as the stall speed, cruise speed, and even the never exceed speed.
Once the test is completed, I will be put into an aircraft simulator. Granted, this is nothing like the ones the airlines have, but it’s a BIG step up from Microsoft Flight Simulator in my bedroom as a child. The folks at ATP want to see if I can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. You may do great on the exam and in the interview, but if you can’t fly the airplane, you are in trouble. From what I’ve heard, they understand that you may not be perfect in the simulator (especially since most have never flown a simulator, let alone a multiengine one), but they want to see that you are trainable. This is what will make or break people in the intense 90-day program at ATP. Can you be trained how to fly the airplane proficiently to the standards of airlines in 90-days. The picture below will give you some idea what the simulator is like.
Once all that is complete, I then have a phone interview with the director of admissions for ATP. And of course, he can ask me anything!!!
I think I am well prepared for Saturday and the phone interview, but after reading this, hopefully you can see why my nerves are kicking in just a LITTLE.
-Nick
*Note: Since I am interviewing at the Las Vegas location of ATP, you may ask why I am going to Riverside, CA for my training? Simple, the 90-day ACPP is not offered at the Vegas location. ATP offers a wide variety of programs in addition to the 90-day.
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