USA / Florida full time ATPL ground school

[flow rider]

Hi guys,

Looking to get going on this and know of Naples and OFT who do residential courses. What other options are there please / any recommendations?

Thanks...

[timeforclarity]

Stay clear of OFT. Do a search on here for more information about them.

They have tried to rebrand as ACA to hide from bad press and comments about the OFT name and when they used to be owned by Cabair.

[pudoc]

Definitely do not check out LMU. They had a good rep until recently. Stay away.

[Fanor]

What is wrong with ACA?

Whats with all the bad press?

[flow rider]

Thanks for the info so far. Are there other schools out there that you recommend. I understand EFT is a possibility. Are there just 3 options in Florida?

[Anunaki]

Fanor,is as easy as looking one page back to professional flight training and scroll down to ACA pro-pilot thread....!A lot has been said.We ,or shall I say I,don't get anything for bad mouthing that place,is just that I would hate to see another student getting cheated by them again like I did:ok:

[Fanor]

Well I did my PPL flying there with Cabair before they went bust and I found it to be quite a nice place with nice friendly instructors. Only thing wrong was that a few planes went tech there over 3 months or so. And Im now going back to hour build with them as I found them good the first time.

[Pitch+Power]

After all, going for Florida marks you out as a bit of a canny character.

Interesting, care to elaborate? ... gotta love these sweeping statements.

[Pistonking]

I was an instructor at ACA and like most places, your experience will depend on your effort and your relationship with your instructor. If you have an understanding of the syllabus for each rating/licence and you know the 'skill level' that you should be at, at each stage, you should be able to get through in the minumum cost and hours.

PM if you need anymore info

[Anunaki]

Since they made the changes,the last chief pilot was a Spanish guy,nice fella who looked after the students,I think he was there for 5 months or so,replacing the old chief,the "dragon"and his dog(yes,he would bring his dog everyday into the office)then,the bad one came back,and the first thing he did was to bully the nice one out of the job,sacked one instructor and the others left after that...plus a few secretaries and assistants who just couldn't stand the guy,matter of a fact,I'm yet to know any student who liked him except of his sidekick(this english guy,very young but walks around the school with 4 bar epaulettes,I think he is his new assistant/instructor).Anyway,at your own risk,Like I said is not a place I would recommend due to lack of professionalism,safety etc..

I feel that in the EU,standard is a lot higher!

Maybe what G-RICH meant was,correct me if I'm wrong G-RICH,but what I felt was that most of the guys who went to Florida were looking for the easiest route.A lot of the Italian guys cheated examinations and passed FAA oral exams when they couldn't put a sentence together,hold a normal conversation..never mind speaking on the radio so something to ask Mr.Chief Pilot...
Also,NONE of the schools have a entry assessment,if you have the cash,you're in,and you would see people that shouldn't be allowed to ride a bicycle,never mind fly a plane.

At the Flyer professional Forum at LHR they were told to take they banners out,the ones claiming that their students got jobs with major airlines and they were displaying the airline logos without authorisation from them.
As far as I'm concerned,only a couple of guys who graduated since 2010 are flying,one is prostituting himself at Lion Air and he really regrets it, the other failed the Ryanair assessment so decided to become a instructor.Every one else are on the dole.

Pistonking is right when he says that if you're at the required level you can make it,but to be honest the level that they are putting the students to test is very low. I honestly think that the FAA PPL for example isn't as thorough on knowledge as the JAA,and all that study you will do for the JAA PPL 7 exams will give you an intro into the ATPL. I did the FAA and had to study twice as hard as I didn't have the right foundations,something the CGI at ACA agreed with me,he hated the way the flying side of the school was set up.The ground school is a week long with a guy from the Caribean who will teach you F%$£@,he will sit there texting while you watch Air crash investigation on the screen...and that costs you $1000.You get one written exam of 60 questions that is a joke,I've seen guys just memorising the questions or using their iPhones to get their answer's,you fly less and the skills test was a walk in the park.The JAA bit that ACA used to offer(since they aren't authorised anymore) was taught by instructors that didn't held a JAA license so it was difficult.I didn't do my CPL/IR there,only PPL/Hour building but I know people who did and they weren't happy.

If you wanna go there on a Holiday/training,the go man, Floridian girls are beautiful and that's the only good thing I have to say:O

[Fanor]

I agree with you that that Old CFI was not a very nice chap. And also the italians flying there didnt know any english. When I was flying there they took ages on the radio trying to string together a sentence.
On those aspects I didnt like the school. But I had a great instructor and a great time there. So It really does depend on who you have instructing you and whether you are competent or not.

I know several instructor that are now working for regional airlines and one for cathay pacific. So it is not all bad there.

[Anunaki]

Fanor,

I know,but I mean't the students,not instructors!The good ones all left,if you go back there you'll be surprised trust me.
There was some nice guys,my PPL instructor was alright too.But I heard from a mate that still there that since the old CFI was back(3 weeks ago)about 5 instructors left in the same week.
My ppl instructors now flies the CRJ,I know a couple more on Regionals.But end of the day you're the customer,my comments are regarding the experience I had as a customer there and they weren't good per se.This CFI nearly got me dead so I have my reasons..there was a lot that was said in the other thread,subject is well beaten now!People should do what they feel like doing I guess..

[James78Au]

Hi Flow Rider.

I'm thinking to goto either Naples or EFT for full time ground school.

Have you made a decision about your ATPLs?

PM me if you want to disuss more

[BroCode]

PTC run full time ATPL groundschool in Melbourne FL. I don't think they advertise groundschool only (usually part of integrated/modular courses they offer) but i'm sure if you were to contact them they would advise you what they could offer.