ffejdraga

Well, at the time I went it was 39k and I took out 10k more for expenses and such things. Yeah, I have nothing but good things to say. I do believe they are unique in that the price is the price, no messing around. PanAM and Riddle end up charging more initially, then you run out of training dollars, you need to take more loans. The way ATP works is when you are done, you come back and be an instructor for them, and 6 months or so later you have enough time for the regionals, and all of it is multi. But that was not for me, I had the house and wife thing, so it wouldnt work out. ATP is great, get it all done, and start a flying career. In the end, it doesnt matter what school you go to, just what ratings you have, and how much TT and multi you have. jeff D-16906

I hear you man, a school loan is a hard pill to swallow. Save your money go slow, build up time when you can. Or, get a school loan, go through a pilot mill, walk out of there with 250 hours and every rating: Commercial, single, multi, instrument, CFI, CFII, MEI. That is exactly what I did. It cost me exactly 5k for my private then a little flying, then the rest of school was 50k. The school I went to was ATP. Three good things separate them from other flight schools: 1. The amount you pay is fixed, and doesn't go up. 2. The program is geared to give you the most multi-engine time (140 hours) where all that training is done in a piper seminole. 3. It lasts 3 months, and all you do is fly fly fly for those three months. I gathered from another post that youa re down in NC someplace. There is an ATP location in Raleigh Durham, or there is one in Richmond VA. But, housing is included at each location in local apartments. So, if you go, pick the location where you want to fly...you are only going to be there for 3 months anyway. 91 schools are the way to go. ATP FLIGHT SCHOOL ATP and other schools are setup up to plug you into the airlines, starting off with the regionals. I cannot handle making less money than I doflying jumpers, so I decided not to go that way. So I got out, and got my first flying job with MINIMAL hours, with fresh ink on my commercial certificate flying jumpers at a small cessna dz, where I was also doing AFF and Video. After a while, when the primary pilot had enough, they would let me fly a couple of loads at the end of the day. Then I worked my way into to flying there fulltime. Since I had my CFI ratings, I started doing that to subsidize the crappy pay I got from flying jumpers, but the cool thing about being a CFI is you can charge between $35-$50 to guys who own their own planes and are happy to pay. I became sought after because I had a bunch of time in a 182, and there weren't a lot of instructors who did, so I was the man for a bit with 3 guys who owned their own 182s. $50 an hour adds up, and my little niche is getting people their instrument ratings in their 182s. In the meantime, i have been flying with the dz, and building as much time as I quickly could. Just yesterday I hit 1000 hours total time. Now I am looking for a more "real flying job" that pays a little more than flying jumpers. I have 1000 TT, 250 hours multi, 110 hours turbine. And, I should be able to continue with the freelance flight instruction. Those are the numbers that matter. Total Time, Multi, and turbine. That is, of course if you want to pursue a career in flying. Now is a good time to be a pilot, and especially to be a pilot with a decent number of hours. Lots of jobs are opening up. However, the road to a good flying job (aka you are making 50k plus a year) is long and filled with a definite period of dues paying and rung climbing. I finished my schoolling at ATP in April of 2005, and just now have crossed into the realm of "marketable pilot" So 2 years of basically slave labor (flying jumpers) and not a lot of money, plus a 50k loan I have to pay monthly. And I am not done, still a long road. But I am happy, and I have found my career path. Now, anyone have a need for a pilot in the PHX area? The key or you is what you want to do with flying. If you just want a private license to be able to fly freely, then go at it, and go slow, enjoy every second. If you want a career, start now, and in five years, you should be making some good money and flying some nice aircraft. Five years is going to pass anyway, get on board and be a pilot, if that is what you want. PM me if you want more info or have questions for me. jeff D-16906

Have you ever watched the movie Groove? It is cheesy, and full of some pretty shitty acting, but good music from Digweed and Polywog are featured. It is kind of like what Cutaway is to real skydiving though... jeff D-16906

Yep yep, it is going to be good. Off we go in about 3 hours. jeff

Ok, I'll bring it back on track. I couldn't agree more. it is great music that ebbs and flows, complete with fantastic layers of sound and soundscape. It is even better when one is, ....enhanced. Oakenfold anytime, Sasha, Digweed, Tiesto, Sandra Collins. Those are my most played. jeff D-16906

Donnie Darko was a great movie. I really enjoyed the way it twisted your mind around. I love movies like that. Other great twists and stories are: Butterfly Effect The Game Fight Club to name a few of my favorites. Donnie Darko is right up on that list. Maybe if you watch it again you will like it more. jeff D-16906

Something about cheese... jeff D-16906

They must have used our training device: Helicopter trainer unlike THIS GUY who clearly didn't train with us!! jeff D-16906

There is a company i know of called Purrgonomics.com They have created a product that totally solves the cat scratching issue for furniture. They make a post that is sort of a 2 in 1...it wraps around the end of a couch or corner, and also you can just use it in the center of the room. It works totally sweet, and keeps the furniture safe. They do not have a product to keep the cat from scratching babies, though don't declaw. jeff D-16906

Yeah man, exactly! It is a mantra! jeff D-16906

I hope not Steve! but, one of these days, i will fly a real helicopter, and it shouldn't be too hard. jeff D-16906

I flew some more, now working on my pinnacle landings A cooler makes a nice pinnacle for RC. too much fun, just thought I would share with you all. jeff D-16906

I have'nt heard it, but I have most of the stuff he has done. By far, one of my favorite Albums is Global Underground 007 New york. Both discs are great. Some say he is a sellout, but he creates such a good groove. Other than that, Tranceport and Another World are great Cds. Oh yeah, and Ibiza, and Great Wall, Creamfields. It is funny, I was just looking in my itunes library, and it turns out that i do have A Lively Mind....I guess I will have to give it a listen jeff D-16906

Steve, Don't believe it. That is my neighbor's house jeff D-16906

hey sounds like you could use what we have. let me know, we'll build one for you for $300. jeff D-16906

No doubt, and I can't wait to do it. But until some money comes flowing my way, I will have to stick to the little cockpit and RC. There is no subsitution for the real thing, but in the mean time, I am doing what I can. I am coming up on 1000 hours fixed wing, and adding a rotorcraft rating will not be too hard or too expensive as all I need to do is learn the heli specific stuff. I can't wait. But I have to. jeff D-16906

My burning desire is to fly helicopters. One day I will get there, but in the mean time I am building up my time in fixed-wing. Helicopter training is expensive, and to me RC doesnt cut it because using your thumbs is way different from using all your limbs. So, my neighbor, who is a very gifted design engineer, built a cockpit for flying RC helicopters with a cyclic, collective, and anti-torque pedals. He built it to the specs of a Robinson R-22 Beta. It uses real air and real controls. I am just starting out with it (about 1 hour or so total), and it is probably not ideal for 3D flying. But as far as simulation, muscle memory, and getting used to all limbs for controlling a device, I think it is a great tool. The real test will be once I get good enough to get in a Robinson and see if I can hover it. Helicopter folks tell me the hardest thing to do is learn to hover. So I figure i will get the hardest thing out of the way, for free. I put a video up on Youtube HERE Sorry about the low quality, and shakiness of the video, but it is enough to get the idea. We chose an E-flite Blade CX, but the way this thing is designed, any radio for any helicopter can be integrated. This thing is so much fun! let me know what you think jeff D-16906

Snack jacks! yep, many good times were had back in the day landing there. For about 6 months I worked as staff at Skydive Daytona beach, based at the Flagler airport. It was a great time, I loved doing tandem videos onto the beach, there was nothing better. Oh, actually, there was. THE most memorable jump I ever made. It was new year's eve 1999. Keith Larrett and Fred Brown organized to have an otter for the midnight jumps. We made a practice jump at about 10pm, then packed up, and did the exact same thing, leaving the otter at exactly 11:59:40, 12/31/1999. Our group was a 4way, we launched a 4way HeadDown Round, held it the whole time, yelled Happy new year to each other, and then broke off. As we were tracking there were fireworks below us off the pier. We opened up, landed on the beach, where we were greeted to open beers and hard cider! it was great, and there were a lot of other great memories around that place. Flagler beach holds a special place for me. jeff D-16906

Barcelona over madrid, definitely. Consider Seville too, which is the capital city of the south of Spain. Very beautiful. I spent my last semester in college in Seville, and travelled all over Spain and Europe while I was there. Madrid has some nice museums with really good art, but otherwise it is similiar in feel to NYC. Barcelona is very modern nicely put together city. Gaudi's architecture is all around, makes it neat to look at. Enjoy it! jeff D-16906

Perry: Look up idiot in the dictionary. You know what you'll find? Harry: A picture of me? Perry: No! The definition of idiot. Which you fucking are! best line, great movie! jeff D-16906

Yeah, I have heard nothing but good things from the friends of mine who used Rosetta Stone. It is expensive, but easy to use and fun. But anyway, start here: ya ee saam sen mmm lo tup bah go sup. Oh shit, that was one to 10 in cantonese...phonetic spelling sorry can't help you. Good luck, jeff D-16906

Hey, feel free to come by our house if you need home cooked meals and a free place to stay, and I'll even throw in some free photography help/critiques. We (my wife and I) are about 5 hours south of the grand canyon, 3 hours south of Sedona, and most importantly 10 minutes away from Skydive AZ. What trip through the West would be complete without stopping in at Eloy? We have 2 extra bedrooms in our house, often home to wayward skydivers. let me know WHEN you are coming by. jeff D-16906

Yeah, I gotta agree. However, at least they found the best use for Diet Coke. Nasty stuff. 251 less bottles in the world. jeff D-16906

I made the mistake of watching the first episodes, then got sucked into the void that has dragged out far too long. It is a good show, but come on, call it a project, a series, and be done with it FOX. Please let us go!! They jsut want to hold people for 2 hours on Monday, instead of the usual 1 they get with 24. jeff D-16906

Was that picture taken at the RubberBall Boogie ? Hey man, I have one of those Rubber Balls. jeff D-16906