Be careful what you apply for. The ERAU CAPT program is excellent training in excellent aircraft. That's about the only upside to the entire scheme.
The downside is that it does not guarantee you a job in the end, in fact I graduated from Embry Riddle without going through that program and I have gotten pilot employment much faster than the CAPT graduates.
In the end its a big investment and if you want the comfortable experience of going through a whole start to finish course at ERAU I would recommend it only from the training side, which is excellent.
However if you want peace of mind afterwards with lots of money left in your pocket, most employers wont care if you flew a Diamond DA42 or a Piper Seminole during training. All they care is that you have the qualities to be a good crew member and pilot in that company.
Good luck.
Ladies and Gentleman,
This is my first post to this forum and I am here to introduce myself to you all. I am a graduate of the program that you are referring to. The Commercial Airline Pilot Training Program based out of X47 in Flagler, FL. This program USED TO BE under the Embry-Riddle banner, but it was discontinued to due its lack of productivity and performance requirements set forth by Embry-Riddle. The press release announcing this was made this past February. It has recently been purchased by a company called Flight Training Services International (FTSI).
I am here to tell you that you do NOT want to consider this program for flight training. I graduated from this program in October 2005. I was promised the program to complete in 10-12 months in the ab initio training program. I started in early June 2004. My class was not the only class that suffered from the extra months of training (which translates to extra cost of living, etc.). Many classes ahead of me and behind me also suffered this. They also promised guaranteed interviews with regional airlines and at the time when I enrolled, they actually had ZERO agreements. They verbally told me they had 7-9 agreements. Today, word on the street is that ASA is not hiring from CAPT currently. I also heard that Pinnacle is not hiring CAPT anymore. Their agreement with Focus Air has expired since FTSI bought the program. Put it simply, there is nowhere for graduates to go today. While this may change in the future, you have to ask yourself if spending all that money is worth taking the risk when there are other programs out there that have a LONG history of placement success and stability.
This program will say anything to try to get you into their program. And it wasn't until they recently received an influx of money from FTSI that they are trying their failed business model again. To-date, only 80% of their graduates have jobs with airlines. One may think this is a good thing, however, about half of these people were hired by Focus Air, a start-up cargo carrier that was NOT a flying job. Therefore, their pilot placement to a flying position is actually about 40% of total graduates. I unfortunately fall in the 20% of the folks that did not get job placement assistance and support. Since I'm new to this forum and you may not know of my story, let me assure you that I am not disgruntled because I didn't get a flying job. CAPT hung me out to dry and they did very little to help my class with post graduation placement support which they promised. To-date, 50% of my class is still not working with an airline.
I have told my story and my warning to people about this program on other forums and I will start to warn people away from this program here as well. I will tell you MY story and MY experiences. And it will be truthful to the best of my ability.
I warn all of you now, those who are considering this program, to seek flight training elsewhere. They may have received 30 Cirrus SR20's on their ramp, but pretty new airplanes will not help you get a job at the airlines. They peddled the same strategy with the DA40's when they were hot on the market and a bunch of us bought into their used car sales pitch and the lies and promises that never came to fruition. These are sly business people with no honor and are fundamentally dishonest.
If you plan to visit their facility, be warned. They are well training in marketing their program and will say everything you want to hear and impress you with their interview process to make you think they have their act together. In fact, this is far from the truth. Don't be charmed by their pretty new planes while you're there. Everyone wants to fly new airplanes with glass avionics. However, the airlines don't care what you trained in as long as you have the skills, knowledge, and certifications and ratings, and most importantly, flight hours of experience.
CAPT will tell you that the airlines will hire you with 225 hours of total flight experience. That flight experience to my knowledge does not provide you with 100 hours of multi-engine time. The industry today is looking for 1000 hours of total time with 100 hours of multi-engine time. This may increase in the future. So, what can you do with 225 hours if CAPT does not help you or can't help you with placement? YOU LOSE. Like me, you will sit on the side lines with over $100K in debt at 8.5% variable rate over 15 years. My monthly payments today is currently $970 per month. I emplore you to do some math on what you take home from your first few years with a regional airline vs. what you bring home after taxes vs. what you need to survive on. At the end of 15 years, IF interest rates don't increase, I would have paid over $175K back for my loans. Scary.
Someone here posted that CAPT wants $85,000 for their ab initio program today. Please, for your own peace of mind, do some financial calculating and compare other training options. Remember, the DC-9 type rating that you will get from CAPT will NOT help you in the US. And the MD90 EFD is not even flown (to my knowledge) in the US! So if your goal is to get a regional pilot job, that type rating will only tell the airlines hiring you with low time that you are trainable...maybe. Keep in mind that others have succeeded before CAPT appeared and people are continuing to succeed without CAPT today. Airlines care about one thing: flight experience. 225 hours of flight time is simply not enough. If you step on someone's toes during your stay with CAPT, you would have seriously decreased your chances of success. While I can't prove it, my past observations as well as my personal experience have made me to conclude that they exercise preferential treatment of their graduates. In other words, if you are not liked, you're doomed.
With all this said, please, do your research. Don't jump on CAPT because they have pretty new airplanes and a level D simulator. CAPT is very expensive and you can better spend your money elsewhere with more success.
While I realize that most of you would take my word with some skepticism, I am open to anyone who wishes to ask me questions. I will answer them honestly and hopefully advert you from making a terrible mistake by going to CAPT. Today, I do not have a flying job. I am paying back a huge debt. And I have suffered mentally for over 6 months. I don't want to see anyone end up in my situation. And I am not the only one in this situation out of CAPT.
I'd hate to see good people with a dream take a chance with CAPT and experience the anguish, depression, and financial ruin that is my life today because CAPT didn't fulfill their promises to me. I am here to provide my experiences with the CAPT program and help you realize you have other options.
Be WARNED: CAPT is NOT the place to train!