Who's taking the ATP written in July??

Signed up for tomorrow. I really hope this goes well.
 
Just finished taking the test after prepping with the Sheppard software. Ended up getting a 95 and studied for maybe 20 hours over two days. I feel like a tard for not getting 100. If you use the Sheppard software then the key is to memorize the gouge sheet, then prepare to wear out the ALT+A and ALT+N.
 
Similar to the guy above.

Two days of studying, passed with a 93.

I'm just glad its over. Now, I need 1,200 hours.
 
I'm probably the opposite of many here but I have had the time requirements for a while and was beginning to think I'd just be a commercial pilot forever. 4 type ratings and flying nothing but Part 91 ops, I never really felt the need to upgrade. Plus with the job and 3 kids at home it was impossible to study using that Gleim book.

I decided to purchase Sheppard Air on the iPad a couple of weeks ago and it worked perfect. 99% on the test and I was done in about 70 minutes. However, I will fully admit that of the 90 questions that were on my written, about 70 of them I had marked as needing review on the Sheppard program. I could not believe it. It was almost like the testing center downloaded my "marked questions" file from my iPad and made it the test. I literally was in the parking lot of the testing center reviewing those questions before I went in.

Now I just need to go back for a recurrent and take the Checkride.

Good luck to all of you needing to take the test and to those of you who have passed and need the time!
 
83%. Glad that's over. No more writtens for me!
 
GCA319 said:
The W&B questions are the worst (and hardest to memorize :wink2:)
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Pfft. Even WS low*, odd WS mid*, wt 3,4,14 low, wt 2,7,8,15 high, rest are mid. That's about the only thing I managed to remembered from the Sheppard pdf :D
94% taken today. ERAU testing center packed with people taking ATP. There was no-one taking anything else when I was there

PS Don't quote me on those * items, might be the opposite :D
 
A good friend had very little time to study due to work demands but he managed to squeak by with a passing score. Our test center ran til 9 pm tonight and was booked solid. I wonder how many ATP knowledge tests have been accomplished in the last week? I know our test center has set records for their operation.

Now, hopefully the Twin Comanche we've got a line on comes through for our ride prep.
 
I can tell you that it normally takes ERAU system <30sec to download the test from the server. With today's workload, we sat there for a little over 8 minutes waiting for it to show any signs of life.
So I'd say today was a record day for many test centers.
 
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Well....Did anyone who was looking to take it miss the deadline? The sky falls in 3 hours and 9 minutes...
 
I hung out at the flight school these past couple of days. I saw 4 fail the test by one question. Two retook it and passed. The other two failed again. No word on their outcome. The majority passed with scores in the 80's.

I was bummed with my 93 because I wouldn't be able to get a refund. I was kinda looking forward to it.
 
If you don't have it done by now... Doomed!!!
 
Did I miss something? Was I supposed to take a test? Will there be a do over?








Oh wait, I did the ATP ride 11 years ago.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
I hung out at the flight school these past couple of days. I saw 4 fail the test by one question. Two retook it and passed. The other two failed again. No word on their outcome. The majority passed with scores in the 80's.

I was bummed with my 93 because I wouldn't be able to get a refund. I was kinda looking forward to it.
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The closer to the deadline, the higher the fail rate at our location. As of mid-day yesterday they'd slipped to about 80% pass with a lot in the low 70s. One poor fellow got a 59 and was cramming for a retake, although the testing slots were all full. I didn't hear if they were able to get him back in.
 
Really no reason to wait until the last minute since it is done by calendar month. You could take it July 1 and it is good until July 31, 2016. Went the Sheppard Air route, studied for two days and got a 94. Went in 30 minutes after two guys who didn't use Sheppard, finished in 20 minutes and walked out 20 minutes before one of them came out. The layout of Sheppard isn't pretty, and there are some things about the practice test I would change in the software, but I feel the main reason for choosing Sheppard is the memory aid sheet. The bulk of that 20 minutes was for the 10 validation questions on the CRJ and Q400 just cause I wanted to see if I could actually do them. Should have the hours for the checkride by late Sept.
 
There was a line "out the door" (translation: the rooms were totally booked) for the ATP test at my FBO.

Best of luck to all of you who were taking the test.
 
Gucci Pilot said:
Really no reason to wait until the last minute since it is done by calendar month. You could take it July 1 and it is good until July 31, 2016. Went the Sheppard Air route, studied for two days and got a 94. Went in 30 minutes after two guys who didn't use Sheppard, finished in 20 minutes and walked out 20 minutes before one of them came out. The layout of Sheppard isn't pretty, and there are some things about the practice test I would change in the software, but I feel the main reason for choosing Sheppard is the memory aid sheet. The bulk of that 20 minutes was for the 10 validation questions on the CRJ and Q400 just cause I wanted to see if I could actually do them. Should have the hours for the checkride by late Sept.
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The 135 exam didn't have any validation questions.

I think as far as failure rates go it can be a real crap shoot as to what questions you're given. You may get 78 fairly easy questions and 2 horrible W&B questions, or you may get 45 horrible W&B questions.

I'm interested to see where it goes from here. I'm glad I got it done, who knows if I'll get the time though. I'm hardly flying these days :(
 
Z06_Mir said:
The 135 exam didn't have any validation questions.

I think as far as failure rates go it can be a real crap shoot as to what questions you're given. You may get 78 fairly easy questions and 2 horrible W&B questions, or you may get 45 horrible W&B questions.

I'm interested to see where it goes from here. I'm glad I got it done, who knows if I'll get the time though. I'm hardly flying these days :(
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I thought the W+B questions were, so long as you knew the Low / Highs and the FLL formula, some of the easiest to remember. Some of the regulations and weather questions on the other hand...
 
Z06_Mir said:
The 135 exam didn't have any validation questions.

I think as far as failure rates go it can be a real crap shoot as to what questions you're given. You may get 78 fairly easy questions and 2 horrible W&B questions, or you may get 45 horrible W&B questions.

I'm interested to see where it goes from here. I'm glad I got it done, who knows if I'll get the time though. I'm hardly flying these days :(
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Transpac is hiring if you're interested in full-time instruction-the pay is decent as far as CFI gigs go and you would get your time. I applied and heard back a few weeks ago, but ended up taking a job in OK instead.
 
bartmc said:
What was the rush?
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Starting Aug. 1, 2014 you would be required to attend a class of roughly 20-30 hours on things ATP related like weather, large aircraft systems, part 121 rules, and have at least 10 hours of simulator time in a Level C simulator that represents a jet of at least 40,000 lbs(I think). All of this before you are even eligible to take the written. So as long as you got it done in July, you have two years to get the checkride done and that class and simulator nonsense doesn't apply to you. If you fail the test and don't do the retake in time, or you let the written expire, you are gonna have to go back and do the class and sim before retaking the written.

Z06_Mir said:
The 135 exam didn't have any validation questions.

I think as far as failure rates go it can be a real crap shoot as to what questions you're given. You may get 78 fairly easy questions and 2 horrible W&B questions, or you may get 45 horrible W&B questions.

I'm interested to see where it goes from here. I'm glad I got it done, who knows if I'll get the time though. I'm hardly flying these days :(
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I still don't understand why people take one test vs. the other?:dunno: Are there some 135 operators out there that require you take the 135 test? Once you get the ATP they wouldn't be able to see what test you took anyways.

With Sheppard Air, the more W&B/flight planning questions you got, the better. Because those questions took the least amount of time. If you were able to regurgitate the memory matrix on paper(which takes literally an hour to memorize) you had the answer to all the numbered questions.
 
I chose the 135 because I was more familiar with the regs. Obviously I didn't use Sheppard air. But nice I'll never flu 121 and might actually fly 135 I figured I could learn more of the regs that could apply to me in the future.
 
Z06_Mir said:
I chose the 135 because I was more familiar with the regs. Obviously I didn't use Sheppard air. But nice I'll never flu 121 and might actually fly 135 I figured I could learn more of the regs that could apply to me in the future.
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I was going to go that way since I fly 135, but everybody talked me out of it, and for some reason I listened... I'm sure it would have been much easier taking the 135 since I already know those regs.
 
HighFlyingA380 said:
I was going to go that way since I fly 135, but everybody talked me out of it, and for some reason I listened... I'm sure it would have been much easier taking the 135 since I already know those regs.
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If you were actually trying to learn the regs, you were doing the entire ATP wrong. It's rote memorization, nothing more, nothing less.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
If you were actually trying to learn the regs, you were doing the entire ATP wrong. It's rote memorization, nothing more, nothing less.
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Agreed, spend a week studying the test, take it and move on. Everyone says, "But you should learn the material since you will be flying 121." By the time someone goes to an airline interview, they will have already forgotten duty time limitations and how low an inexperienced pilot can go on an approach.
 
You guys know the date?

Not sure why people are still talking about this, if someone hasn't passed the ATP as of last Friday they are hosed anyway.
 
I'm interested in how the folks who need over 1000 hours who try (and some succeed, most will fail) to cram them into two years, skew the flight hour data making GA look healthier than it is, and how that'll have unintended consequences for those not paying attention.

Meanwhile, it'll probably make renting a light twin look like it's a profitable venture on paper for a while, then the bottom will fall out.
 
denverpilot said:
I'm interested in how the folks who need over 1000 hours who try (and some succeed, most will fail) to cram them into two years, skew the flight hour data making GA look healthier than it is, and how that'll have unintended consequences for those not paying attention.

Meanwhile, it'll probably make renting a light twin look like it's a profitable venture on paper for a while, then the bottom will fall out.
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They better get their CFI right away and start hustling up some students. It's possible to do it, but it's a lot of time at the airport.
 
I've started glider training and I'll be going after my CFI rating too. Items that have been on my to do list for a long time, but now I can no longer wait.
 
Have the hours. Just wasn't high on my priority list until now.
 
Gucci Pilot said:
Have the hours. Just wasn't high on my priority list until now.
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You must be about the only non-ATP in the world with a DC-10 type rating...

And lucky for you, all the type ratings get automatically upgraded when you get an ATP-level type! That was a surprise to me in learning the material for the ATP written.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
You must be about the only non-ATP in the world with a DC-10 type rating...

And lucky for you, all the type ratings get automatically upgraded when you get an ATP-level type! That was a surprise to me in learning the material for the ATP written.
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You would think the FAA would just give us Air Force guys the ATP. Considering our annual checkride consists of everything on the ATP PTS plus some, and the tolerances are tighter.:dunno:
 
LDJones said:
They better get their CFI right away and start hustling up some students. It's possible to do it, but it's a lot of time at the airport.
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Hustling sounds like the right word. Where's the pile of primary students to fill that demand void?

Not gonna happen. No demand.

A co-worker asked the obvious questions the other day ... How much to get your Private license? Where can you go? How much to fly from here to Chicago? Etc.

After answering all his questions truthfully, he said, "So I'm way better off buying a ticket on Frontier then?"

Yup. You either just love doing it or you're on the cattle car. You can't pitch personal transport at current fuel prices and GA light aircraft speeds.

And for most, that's what they want. To go somewhere.
 
Plenty of hours already in the logbook, I opted not to do this via the SheppardAir route (with which I have had previous great success). Thought about it, for contingencies sake, but a week at the beach with college friends was more important. YMMV.
 
catmandu said:
Plenty of hours already in the logbook, I opted not to do this via the SheppardAir route (with which I have had previous great success). Thought about it, for contingencies sake, but a week at the beach with college friends was more important. YMMV.
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In the end, it's only money, and $15K worth of Big Sim time could be fun. :yesnod: I just didn't wasn't to spend the $$$.
 
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