I'm from Vancouver Wa and am a 600+hr private pilot.
I'd like to get my commercial, ifr, and CFI endorsements this spring/summer.
Do any of you know of a good training center on the west coast, WA, OR, CA, NV, ID, UT, that offers accelerated courses?
I know that I'll probably pay more going this route, but time is the hardest thing for me to find.
I see some people advertising in NC and MI, and may end up going that route if I cannot find something on the western side of the country.
Thanks!
Aaron
Looks like a couple of people have mentioned ATP. I did their program and it was ok. When I was deciding where I wanted to do my training, they said I could be done as fast as I wanted to be; they said three months from instrument to CFI/CFII/MEI was completely doable. This was the biggest factor that made me start their program. I won't bore you with all the details, but it's definitely not doable to be done in this timeframe due to how they schedule and DPE shortages so don't buy into the "however fast you want to be done" sales pitch.
Not trying to brag, but I finished my PPL at 40 hours exactly and soloed at 10 (different school) so by no means was my slow progression a lack of skill, studying, or weather since I was in the desert. When I started to put pressure on them to get me on the schedule more since I wasn't going to meet the three month timeframe, I got a lot of feedback that was "we know what we're doing, stop bothering us, etc." I ended up finishing my CFI initial right at the 6 month mark and left the program to finish elsewhere. Further, they said they would not offer me the guaranteed job due to "lack of professionalism." Was this driven by me getting upset with them? Of course. But I was upset because they said I could be done in 3 months if I wanted to be and that date was way overshot.
Did they get me done quite quickly? Yes. But if I could do it over again, I would research other options and not buy into the timeframe they provide. I think other local schools could have gotten me done just as quickly. But, more importantly, I think the quality of instruction was somewhat poor. Often times, I would ask why we do a procedure or how something works and the feedback generally was, "just follow the checklist." Not much of an understanding as to the "why."
Further, given your experience, there's going to be a lot of lessons and flights they require you to do that can be done much quicker than the syllabus calls for. The way their program is structured, you pay for the certificate, not the hours. So, if you finish instrument much faster than their syllabus calls for, you pay the same amount regardless; and once you're on the schedule for a check-ride, you can't use ANY of the hours that you have remaining in that course.
I think the program (even with its flaws) is a great fit for lots of people, but given your experience and how fast you want to get done, I would search for a different school. There's gotta be something better in the six states you mentioned. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! I'm just across the river in Hillsboro!
In short:
pros: nice airplanes, convenient locations, great/lots of cross country flights (you probably don't need the xc time, but you'll still have to pay for it), make a lot of great friends
cons: not done as quickly as they say, poor knowledge base, "don't bother me, you're just a student" attitude, can't use any excess hours during the three week waiting period for a check-ride
