This was a great write up of your experience! I know it took you a minute to write it all out.😅 Sorry to hear that you went through so many issues, but it sounds like you're a career pilot now and on your way to bigger things!

@@AndyPateVlogs I got picked up locally, RedRock flight school, and will be building my hours there. My individual instructors at ATP were great and I still talk with some of them. It was just such a corporate grind and nobody was really happy.

Thanks for that @michaelbeaudoin9814 I'm in my mid forties, job expires in 2 years and I was considering a career change (always wanted to fly) with the end of job bonus they provide. ATP has a location close by, my family doesn't want to move anywhere. Your summary suggests it wouldn't be the best choice, regardless of proximity. @AndyPateVlogs thanks for the detailed (and work intensive) summary of these 2 choices.

@@goodburbon1 No problem!!

@@goodburbon1 Not to throw a wrench in it, but something else to consider. When you get to the CFI portion or your training, you are grouped together with students from other parts of the country. (At least that’s how it was being done when I was there late last year.) It did seem to be dependent on the location you came from as to how positive or negative your experience was. Those from smaller locations seemed to have a better experience and were happier. The flip side to that was CFI academy was a huge slap in the face as the stress level gets really ratcheted up at that point. Of the 8 or so students in my group that came to my location, 4 or 5 just dropped out , mostly due to the high stress, and one or two were let go for lack of performance. You essentially have three flights to learn how to do all the maneuvers from the instructor seat. If you aren’t getting it done, they boot you. (I have no idea if places like UND or CAU are similar in that regard.) NONE of the students in my group were planning on working for ATP when they got done and to my knowledge, none of them did. For comparison, where I was doing my training, there were something on the order of 20 planes. At some of the smaller locations, they may only have 5. Looking back, I wish I would have done more research and watched videos like this. The fact you are here is good.

I'm glad you liked it! It just seemed that every time I found a source to talk about how to choose a flight school, it was too vague or didn't really go over a lot. I figured I would try to save people's time and consolidate as much of my research into this video.

Of course! I’m glad you found it helpful! 😁

Woah, I'm really late on replying to this 😅 I'm glad you liked it and I hope it was helpful!

Thank you! I'm going to do what I can to try to post weekly videos of my experience at Blue Line, but school might be too much for that 😅, so those might not get posted until after graduation. I will have my Fluffernutter Live show uploaded every week though and I'll be talking about my experience for that previous week in it, but it's far from anything fancy 😂😅

I've actually never instructed before this 😅. I did help people build businesses, so maybe that's where it comes from? lol Either way, I appreciate the kind words though!

Of course! Glad you liked it man!

Thank you so much! 😊 I truly appreciate this comment. Just a heads up, I’m working on a new one. I’m not sure when it’ll be done, but nonetheless I’m working on one. Thanks for subbing! 😁

DID YOU GET TO FINISH YOUR COURSE

I'm glad it was helpful! I figured I would try to reduce the chaos of researching flight schools as much as possible 😅

I’m glad you liked it man!!

I'm glad you liked it man! It fried me making this video 😅

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

Just a heads up, Blue Line moved into their new facility about 40 minutes south of RDU.

Of course! I'm glad it could be helpful! I hated how overwhelming all of the information there is to absorb to figure out what flight school to choose, so I figured I might be able to make it easier for others if I consolidate it into a single video :D

Thanks Mason! I genuinely appreciate it 😁

I’m glad it was helpful!

@@AndyPateVlogs Much appreciated. Andy, you mentioned in your video that you had initial interest in 20+ flight schools. Do you have any helpful information about Skyborne Flight Academy in FL?

@@JUSTseattle They sound familiar, but there were a lot of schools who didn’t make my list of 20 schools right off the bat. I feel like it’s because they have more of a concentration on international students, but I might be thinking of another school. Just briefly looking at them though, their program is way too long. Over a year to finish only 5 certs/ratings? Blue Line finishes 7 certs/ratings in half that time. Plus, absolutely not wearing an airline uniform during training, especially in Florida 😂

@@AndyPateVlogs Oh boy! Good catch about the uniform...I didn't catch that. I appreciate your response, thank you and take care!

I'm glad it helped! It was definitely overwhelming when I was doing my research, so I did what I could to help with the process.

Thanks Eric! I really appreciate that! I have met quite a couple students so far who have come to BL and visiting the school is what won them over, so I highly recommend visiting all the flight schools you can! I'm waiting to see the GI Bill actually work, which I won't be able to tell until after flight school is done, but you can supposedly cover the cost of the Instrument and Commercial portion of the program, as well as Checkride and Written Test fees. The amount of coverage depends on the type of GI Bill you're using and the coverage you get from that GI Bill (so for example, and this is simplifying it, my GI Bill will cover 60% of the Instrument and Commercial portion, and supposedly 100% of the Checkride and Written Test fees). I will make it official in my future videos that I will be posting after I graduate.

Andy Pate Awesome to heat dude, I’m almost done with my PPL here at Kadena so hopefully I’ll have that and some hours when I get there. Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Maybe you’ll be teaching me next year when I get out!

Thanks!! 😁

Thanks Bob! I'm glad you liked it. I'm hoping to do an updated version at some point.

Of course! I'm glad it helped! 😁

Of course! The information seemed so spread out, so figured I would try my best to consolidate it!

No problem! If you haven't already, make sure to check the description. It has some updated notes about the GI Bill.

No problem! I hope it can provide soem level of insight!

No problem!

Uhhh, I hate KZfaq notifications. Sorry for such a late reply. For me it was aviation related Facebook groups and friends of friends type stuff. Almost all of the pilots I talked to were from that!

I don't know how I'm just now seeing your comment but I appreciate you not skipping 😂😂😅

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

I'm glad it was helpful Jonathan!

Im glad you’re enjoying the videos! As of today, it sounds like we might be moving in on Nov. 1st.

Thanks man!

Of course!

Nice to meet you too man! 😁

Thanks Emmanuel! I really appreciate that!

Thanks!

Make a decision on what school you want to go to yet? 😉😂😂

Andy Pate ya I think so😂 at least I hope so, because Blueline is stuck with me ether way😂

That's crazy! I hadn't heard about 90 days. I was familiar with 6 months though. The response I received was the extension is to compensate for the traffic they are taking in.

I would definitely agree. Try to have DPE availability in-house that is tied into the school's scheduling. Blue Line has internal DPE's, but they also have relationships with external DPE's who adapt to Blue Line's fast paced schedule. The end goal is you don't want to have to wait to for your checkride when you're ready to take it.

No problem! It’s a little old, but the categories can still be applied to find out up to date details 😁

I'm glad you liked it! Paragon wasn't one of the schools on my checklist (there are so many flight schools in Florida alone). What I would do is compare them the same way I compared Blue Line to ATP, with the same categories, and see who comes out on top for you! 😁

I am also trying to decide which school to go to between paragon and blue line. Which school did you decide on and how was your experience?

@@KonnorFeil Hey I did not get to complete school because COVID lockdowns hit two weeks before I was suppose to start. From my visit to Paragon, they ran a tight ship with respect to training that was customisable on your schedule. They're a student first school. It can be accelerated as much as blue line if you come with your written done and the ability to fly a lot per. day

Thanks Brad!

Thanks!! 😁

I'm glad you liked the video! It definitely wasn't easy for Blue Line to get through COVID, but it managed to get through it all. Blue Line pushes completing the program within 6 months, but they shoot to have you done well before then. This buffers for any delays, such as weather. Blue Line doesn't guarantee an instructor position, for the reasons I mentioned in the video. They assess their students for the instructor position prior to hiring, rather than hiring and assessing them after receiving the job. This maintains the quality of instruction that Blue Line puts out. That being said, Blue Line has been hiring non-stop, and we just hired 4 new instructors.

glad the video was helpful!! Blue Lines financing covers everything but personal expenses, so it doesn’t cover food, personal bills, etc. The only exception is housing, as financing covers that. Some save up for any remaining expenses, and some get a personal loan either through another bank or family. I just made a video for Blue Line (on their KZfaq channel), that THOROUGHLY breaks down flight school costs. There’s even a PDF you can download to use as a checklist that’s in the description of the video. I accumulatively spent days making that video and checklist. Video is called Flight School Costs: Your Ultimate Guide.

I really appreciate that! 😊

There are too many variables to be definitive with saying that moving will even out the costs. This is why I harp on crunching your own numbers to see what fits. For me, I was saving $23k by not going to ATP, and that was with the consideration of moving to NC for Blue Line. On the other hand, I’ve met someone who crunched his numbers with the considerations I mention in the video, and he couldn’t do Blue Line because he was settled with family in a house he owned. Going to a local flight school saved him a couple thousand.

@@AndyPateVlogs exactly. I live 20 min from fxe. So makes sense to go to atp there for me. But your vid was awesome. Watched the whole thing. Even looked into blueline in NC. I could relocate, but born and raised in South florida.

@@americantrailrider7031 I’m glad you liked the video 😁

I wish BL was in Florida when I was first looking!

Is the one here in Winter Haven a new location??

@@kipali1471 Yeah, it’s so new they are still in temporary buildings as of right now, but they are fully operational.

Oh cool! Their newest location is in Florida. Is that what you mean, or do you live near the NC facility?

For me, I wouldn’t go to either, but it doesn’t really matter what I would choose. I put this video up for people to take the information as a template of what to look for in a flight school so they can choose the right school that suits them.

Thanks! I think if you use my video as a guideline of what to look for in a flight school, you should be able to go into that school with all the confidence that you chose the school that suits you best.

@@AndyPateVlogs indeed.

I’m glad you watched the whole thing 😂 I would check out Florida. They have a bunch of international flight schools, but they won’t be as fast as BL.

Blue Line’s multi-engine aircraft is the DA42 😁

@@AndyPateVlogs Thank you Andy.

I’ve never flown side stick, but between the Cessna I flew and the Diamond, I would prefer the Diamond’s stick.

Yeah, I've heard some have great experiences, and others not so much. I guess it's like any large company, it depends on who you get. $120k is at the high end assuming that covers the training, housing, student supplies, checkride and test fees, etc.

Appreciate it! Your question is a little confusing because I'm not sure if you're asking how many hours you graduate with, or how many hours instructors get, but I'll answer both! For students, most graduate with around 200 hours. Instructors get anywhere between 50-80 hours a month training, and they typically stick around until they get to their 1500 hour mark. Also, I think the program is more now. I believe it's $93k, but we have better financing options now than when I was going through. They'll cover the training, housing, supplies and test fees, just won't cover personal stuff like food, cell phone bills, etc.

@@AndyPateVlogs I was focused on the student's hours. Thank you for taking the time to answer. Keep up the good work with your endeavors!

Thanks Ernie! I took a position with Blue Line to do their marketing, with part time availability as an instructor 😎

There's talks about a 2nd location, and it is supposed to be in Florida.

It’s definitely not as cheap as it used to be!

Haven’t heard that yet, but wouldn’t be surprised.

No problem! Most pilots I have talked to have said that it's best to go to a fast track school (like Blue Line) and then do college while you're an instructor making up hours to get to the airlines. That way you're getting into the industry sooner (seniority is everything) and you're knocking out a degree on your path to an aviation career.

@@AndyPateVlogs yes sir. thats what im going to do. im follow your insta as well

@@josephcarter3759 Thanks man! I'd appreciate the follow!

Thanks! 😁 You have to be 18 for ATP and Blue Line.

@@AndyPateVlogs thanks for the reply, one last question, do you know if a 529 savings account can be used towards these schools but primarily blue line?

@@vickalus8126 I’m actually not sure. You’d need to talk to one of Blue Line’s training advisors for that.

@@AndyPateVlogs Thanks man, looking forward to more content from you and I’m glad I found your channel! 😀

@@vickalus8126 I’m glad you’re enjoying it! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask 😁

I mostly made this video for people to have a foundation to research from, essentially taking the categories I mentioned and using that to find what flight school suits them. I would love to do more of these comparison videos but this took A LOT of work to make. Second note, smaller flight schools aren't always necessarily cheaper, especially when looking at the long term cost. Some even consider the opportunity cost of time missed having a job in the aviation industry because of how much longer it takes other schools to get you your ratings.

Thank you so much for such a quick response.

@@natespielberg88 of course!

I highly recommend watching my ATP vs Blue Line video. It's long, but it will give you all the necessary tools to make sure you choose the best flight school for you. I ended up going to Blue Line and I'm glad I chose them.

I still graduated on time even with weather and COVID delays. I instruct at Blue Line now and it's crazy how efficient Blue Line is with scheduling to keep students on track. I'm definitely glad I chose Blue Line 😊

I'm glad you liked the video! To answer your questions (some of these I'm just going to recommend that you reach out to Blue Line and talk with their training advisors for more accurate info): 1. Will his recreational hours apply to ATP 1500? I'm a little rusty on what hours would transfer, but I feel that they would transfer. A Blue Line Training Advisor would be able to answer that more definitely. 2. Should he take all of his writtens prior to training? The 6 writtens that should be done are PAR, IFR, CAX, FIA, FII, FOI. If time permits for him to finish all writtens beforehand, definitely do it. Software like Sheppard Air will help him finish those tests up. I was able to knock out three writtens in a matter of 2 weeks with Sheppard. Those writtens will not make him a well rounded pilot or anything, but what it will do is when he gets into training, things won't be as unfamiliar. He'll have moments of "oh yeah, I remember studying about that" rather than everything being absolutely new which can be stressful. 3. Is it possible to do all of those writtens beforehand? Absolutely. Blue Line students do it all the time before they get there. Fun fact, IFR and FII use the same test answer database. What this means is after he has studied for the IFR written, he can schedule the IFR written and schedule the FII 2 days later. What this will do is if he takes the IFR written and passes, there is a very huge probability he will pass FII just two days later while it is still fresh in his mind, because the answers are the exact same for both tests. If he doesn't pass the IFR written, that will give him time to cancel/reschedule the FII written without having to worry about a cancellation/rescheduling fee. 4. Does he get reduced tuition for paying for written training software before he signs up? I'm pretty sure they do deduct that cost from the tuiton cost. I would touch base with a training advisor though just in case. 5. Is a 529 college plan applicable to BL or ATP? I'm not sure. That's a question for a training advisor.

I've spoken a couple times on my live show about it (it's called Fluffernutter Live and they get uploaded here to KZfaq). I have been trying to create a post graduation video talking about my experience at Blue Line, but being hired on as an instructor here has left me no time to really create content like this video. It took me a REALLY long time to make this comparison, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to posting content. 😊 The general consensus is I am really happy I chose Blue Line. It was tough, but once I graduated, it seemed odd that any other flight school lasted any longer than 6 months. If you have any questions, you can message me on Instagram (@AndyPateVlogs).

I mention my choice at the end of the video (and why I chose it), but I went with Blue Line. I have already graduated from the program and now I instruct at the school 😁. COVID didn't really affect my timeline that much and still graduated around 6 months.

@@AndyPateVlogs, Yes I found your Instagram account and I’m getting all caught up. Congrats!!

@@davidoneill4859 Thanks David!

Hey Roman! As of now you can’t use the GI Bill for any of the program, but they’re working on it that with the VA. Some of the checkride and written test fees are still reimbursable though (so that’s about $2k you can get there).

Thanks man! It's made of copper and I had my logo engraved on the front, and a quote on the back 😁 I'm pretty sure I got it made on Etsy like years ago!

I'm glad you liked the video! Let me breakdown your questions and comments. Point 1: My Choice And My Biases - I did choose Blue Line. This is stated at the end of the video, in the Conclusion chapter (and seen in future videos on my channel since this was posted). I purposely did not mention my choice until the end as I didn't want my choice to taint anyone's perspective throughout the video (assuming they chose not to skip to the end). There wasn't really anything said around 21:33 to convey who I had chosen. As for engagement with staff and your stance on it being subjective, I ask you to refer to the 1:30 timestamp. Point 2: Instructor Flight Hours - I'm not sure what you're asking. 95% of any flight time for an instructor would be with a student. The remaining 5% would be miscelanious business flights (i.e. maintenance flights, moving aircraft to different locations, etc. As for FAA flight limitations, we refer to this as pilot duty days. Yes, restrictions exist, but it's a complex subject. In the end, the FAA monitors flight schools on this subject, so it is safe to say that most flight schools are giving instructors every available hour possible within their legal possibility. It benefits both the flight school and the instructor. ATP is known for some of the worse pay for instructors, but that is hear say. Point 3: ATP's Program Length - This video was made in 2019, and the 7 month program is a recent option. That being said, I don't know if they are still having CFI class backup issues (which is what was causing everyone's training to be extended). Point 4: Location - I'd disagree that it's too detailed, but once again, I refer to you timestamp 1:30. Appreciate the feedback and good luck on your endeavors to become a pilot!

This is 100% an option, but it's not necessarily cheaper all the time. I'm actually going to take your comment as an opportunity to lay out a few responses I have provided people over the past couple months about this route for others to see (Some of this is typed directly to you, but the majority was copy and pasted from my responses to others). If this is TL;DR, my bad 😅. I have talked with several people who have gone that route and spent $10k to $20k more than I am with BL and took them several months longer. I have also met people who have spent that much less than me too though and knocked out all of their ratings in 8-9 months. What it really comes down to is personal preference and what you expect of your time through flight school. The following things are considerations that should be made when it comes to choosing a flight school: - Total Cost. This would be an accumulation of associated training costs, test and checkride fees, personal expenses while going through flight school. If you buy your own plane consider not only operational costs, but also maintenance costs, insurance costs, etc. - Opportunity Cost. The argument here is lets say you go the buy a plane and hire a CFI route. Talking with multiple free lanced CFI's, they tell me it usually takes between 12-18 months, and that's for those who are working part time and doing flight school part time. Blue Line's program is 6 months long at max. If we both started at the same time, I would be able to take a job in the aviation industry 6 months sooner, meaning I am not only getting paid sooner, but I'm also building seniority sooner (and much faster if you get into an accelerated flight school because it's much easier to rack up tons of hours if you land a job with that accelerated flight school). This one is really variable as it really comes down to your level of dedication. Most fall into that 12-18 month group. - School Structure. If you buy your own plane and hire a free lanced CFI, you are going to want to build your own "syllabus" for all of your ratings. If you go to a CFI, and end up not liking him or her, you don't want to be reliant on that CFI's structure. This can take a considerable amount of time away from you having to familiarize yourself with the FAR/AIM and all associated FAA publications and handbooks to make sure you are ready for checkrides and doing it all legally (believe me, the FAR is not an easy thing to tackle alone, and expensive to have a CFI verify you are structuring your syllabus correctly). If you choose to rely on your CFI providing your syllabus and end up not liking them, that can take a considerable amount of time from you having to re-familiarize yourself with a new structure when you go to a new CFI. At a flight school like BL, the structure is in place and is proven to be effective, so no wasted time building said syllabus. If you don't like a CFI, you switch, and the structure stays the same. - Recency. Relying on one or two CFI's to be available for you can affect your recency/proficiency. At BL, there are a bunch of instructors available all the time. As well, because it is accelerated, you don't really get the chance to fall behind on required hours to practice your certificated privileges, nor do you forget what you were just recently learning. It's awesome going from Private to Instrument to Commercial so seamlessly because Private happened so recently, less information fades away once you go into Commercial and have to re-utilize all of that information from Private (or Private to CFI, or Instrument to CFII, etc.). - Accountability. This comes down to your level of discipline, but learning aviation isn't easy and for me, I want to be put into a structured system where I don't have a choice but to move forward and study because dead lines have been put in place for me, and instructors are there making sure I am staying on the accelerated path designed for me. - Checkride gouges. One thing I've noticed about being in an actual flight school is the ability to be really prepared for a checkride. This is due to the fact that you can take a fellow student in your flight school who just did the checkride you're about to take with a specific DPE and get all of the information you need to make sure you pass a checkride specific to that DPE's likings (DPE's have standards to abide by, but they also like to see different things during checkrides). This reduces the chances of having to pay retest fee's which range from $300 to $650 for each retest because you're not surrounded by a community of people are are doing the same tests with the same DPE's as you. This is still possible with the route you mentioned, but it's much easier in a flight school environment as you have multiple sources for Checkride gouges. I'm sure there are more considerations, but this is way too long already lol. There truly are benefits to the route you have mentioned, and the majority of the time the reason someone goes that route is because they want to achieve their certificates and ratings at their own pace while still working a part time or full time job. This video is directed to those who don't fall into that category. For me, let's say I save $10k by buying my own plane and hiring a CFI, I would rather pay the extra $10k for the effectiveness and efficiency of an accelerated program (As well as the things mentioned above). You can kind of see why choosing the path on how to receive your ratings can be such a complicated and heavy decision. It takes a lot of consideration of personal preferences and goals. In the end, there are so many paths to choose from, but all that matters is you choose the path that best suits you. P.S. To answer your air conditioning question, once again, this is totally a preference. From my experience of being in aircraft without air conditioning, it is a much more enjoyable flight with AC, and it's a MUCH easier learning environment. When you don't have AC, you are playing the balance game of staying hydrated on hot days and not hydrating too much where you are having to land every hour just to go pee (I say this from experience lol).

@@AndyPateVlogs 10k more and they have their own plane already 😅 but what you do with it after Graduation?

It ultimately comes down to knowing yourself and if you feel that you would thrive in an accelerated training environment. If you’re not sure, you can always complete PSEL at a mom and pop school and then join an accelerated school later.

What do you mean by easier?

Pay and bonuses have definitely gone up since this video was posted 😅 That being said, something to consider is this was made pre-COVID (more than three years ago). I assume what the airlines pay carry little weight into their program pricing, and is probably more impacted by rising operational costs of everything due to inflation and how much it is being messed with. Even so, another perspective to take is they both could technically charge even higher prices, and the ROI is still worth it (especially now that no major US carrier requires a degree anymore, which is even more money saved along the way to the airlines).

Hold your horses, news of blue line is opening in Winter Haven, FL.

@@Ryan-ix5dgSeriously!

You won’t be denied into either school for being in the guard, but both could potentially deny you because of how far away your drill base is. I would not recommend flying in and out every weekend. Not only would that be extremely extensive, it would be tiresome, stressful, and there are HUGE chances you’ll experience delays with that kind of commute. I would go up the chain and see if there are any options for you for what you’re trying to do (I.e. temporarily freeze your contract, transfer to a different guard unit, etc.). You’d be surprised what options might be available. In the end, if there are no options for flexibility, I would honestly find the nearest accelerated flight school to you in NY (a normal commutable distance) and time it to start your training in the part of the year that has the most consecutive months of favorable weather for flying.

I haven't kept up to date with it, but when COVID hit initially, they stopped guaranteeing the instructor position all together. I can't with confidence say what they do now.

I enjoyed my time at Blue Line! Instructors and fellow students were awesome as we are all in it together, in one of the most stressful training environments for pilots. Most students at Blue Line start with zero experience. You’d have to talk to a training advisor at Blue Line about being international. That’s its own series of complexities that I am not familiar with.

That’s kind of a partial truth. I’ve engaged with a lot of airline/cargo recruiters and they’re not necessarily hiring military over civilian. It’s the level of experience they are shooting for, which usually comes hand and hand with military aviation. An alternative perspective though is if they are approached by two pilots, both have 3k hours, one is military and the other has been doing charter work/flying corporate, there is a large chance they would take the civilian because they already have experience in the civilian side of aviation. There is a cultural and operational transition that the veteran has to go through. Now with the current pilot shortage, not much competitive edge is needed and being military is negligible in this case because they’re borderline taking everyone they can.

100% agree. It would definitely be unreasonable to expect CEO (or any officer actually) availability due to ATP's size. I moreso make that point for those who may prefer a more intimate connection and availability with the upper management of their flight school.

Agree to disagree.Let’s forget about CEO, ATP couldn’t give a proper tour. What are you talking about...

Appreciate it. There is definitely a comparison though (hence the video 😅). A lot of people have messaged me saying they ended up going to other flight schools other than ATP because they realized that the alternative was better for them due to a multitude of reasons. There’s a lot that goes into choosing a flight school. I have a bunch of anecdotal engagements/reach-outs from former ATP instructors too that can carry opinionated weight in this message, but that’s hearsay, so I want to tread carefully with providing info like that lol.

Prior to your comment, nothing. Just briefly looking at them, they would have dropped off my list pretty quickly. I don't see anything they provide that other schools couldn't provide at a faster and/or cheaper rate without the sacrifice in quality of training. 56 weeks is too long, and for personal preference, would hate to have wear that uniform in training aircraft lol.

😂 Honestly, I haven’t posted in over a year now I think…

@@AndyPateVlogs 😂

There are several ways to approach the affordability of flight school: 1. Work On Bankability - This is dependent on your credit score, as well as Debt to Income ratio, but if you work on this and look good in the eyes of lenders, you can get financing to cover the costs of flight school. Example is Blue Line now has financing that covers the ground and flight training, housing, test fees and school supplies. You would just need to have the money for living expenses (food, cell phone bill, etc.) 2. Find flight schools that accept scholarships or financial programs. Typically these programs only cover a portion of the flight school, so you'll want to qualify for as many scholarships or programs as possible. 3. Pay as you go at Mom & Pop flight schools. From my experience, if 1 and 2 don't work, most go this route. They'll go to their local flight school and work out a schedule that works out around their work schedule. This will take the longest (usually 2+ years to get all of the ratings that BL provides), but you will get there without any worries about loans. 4. If you have your bachelors degree (in anything), join the military. That's as free as flight school can get (besides the cost of having to get your bachelors lol).

It depends on what career path you take, but the thing to remember is it's not always necessary, but advantageous.

Blue Line ATP Thrust Lift I don’t recall the 5th

@@AndyPateVlogs Hey boss, I just wanted to ask you a question because I'm also considering Thrust, how come it ended up in your third place instead?

@@whosthis1230 I believe at the time they cost as much as ATP, so if BL wasn’t an option, I would have just gone with ATP. There were other more minor things, but I’m not sure how they stand now against ATP.

@@AndyPateVlogs Ah alright, I’m just asking since I’ve heard and seen pretty good things about them instruction wise and all and those three flight schools are around the same costs currently. I appreciate your information. One more thing, what do you think about the Florida location now compared to NC? Also, where are you currently in the aviation world after gradating from Blue Line?

I graduated in 6 months, and that was with COVID hitting right at the beginning of the program. We just had a student complete the entire program in 5 months, but we also had a student graduate in 7 months. It’s definitely possible to finish in 5.5 months, and usually comes down to the students commitment. As for your 2nd question, I don’t completely understand it. Are you still talking about the timeline or a macro perspective about flight school?

​@@AndyPateVlogs Mostly timeline. The longer the program, the more it will cost in some programs. So what certs did you get in those 6 months? Was that just to CFI or CFI-I or MEI or...? I understand that ATP will get you all the way through ATP-R, but I don't think they're the right fit for me, either.

You'll receive PPL, IFR, CSEL, CFI, CFII, CMEL and MEI. The initial cost of ATP's program doesn't include taking you to the ATP certificate (and restricted is only if it is applicable to you). They'll provide guidance on receiving the ATP certificate, but it is a separate cost, as it would be through most flight schools (I say most flight schools instead of all because I'm not sure if there are any flight schools out there that also include it into the initial cost of training).

@@AndyPateVlogs WOW you did all that in 6 months! You beast! Thanks for the truly excellent advice. If only there was a Blue Line near me... Airlines have alliances. Maybe flight schools could band together so students have a more uniform idea of what to expect. Just a thought.

Completing grounds prior to the start of your training is highly recommended. The goal is to complete 6 writtens (PAR, IFR, CAX, FII, FIA, and FOI). Using tools like Kings School and Sheppard Air will help get you through those writtens and have a basic understanding of things prior to the start of your training. I have not heard of any discrimination towards anyone that is trans in either school. I know that we currently have a trans student now at Blue Line, so you may be able to reach out to a training advisor and ask if you can connect with that student.

I’m super happy with Blue Line. You actually end up graduating and wondering why other flight schools take as long as they do 😅

It’s weird because once you graduate, you don’t really understand why other flight schools take as long as they do 😅 It was definitely stressful, but also very doable. You just need to be disciplined. Being that Blue Line has 141 programs, they’re required by the FAA to maintain an 80% pass rate, but last I checked, we’re in the 90 percentile.

I talked to the blue line early December, just to give you an idea in my situation I only have 2 months left of the post 9/11 benefits because I have a MS degree in IT. Basically they say depends on the amount of benefits you have, so for me they say I have roughly 14K to cover. In your situation, It can be substantially more but it won't cover the entire program only a portion of it more than likely. The good thing is that they help you out with the housing and they waive some fees to have you on board with them. Again you have to talk and negotiate with them. The reason I didn't go with them is because the loan company they want me to start making payments while taking classes and that was deal breaker for me. I qualified for an 8.99 interest with automatic payment they gave me 8.75 for the 84 months. In the end, they are making roughly 20k to 30k in interest on top of the 60k tuition. So the best way to afford flight school is to save for at least 2 or 3 years so you can be more prepared financially and not drown into debt. Hopefully this helps to give you an idea.

Sorry for the late reply. I'm having to constantly go back on all the comments of all of my videos to see if I have received any new comments 😒. KZfaq notifications are horrible. As for the GI Bill thing, this is a video that is at the top of my list, but I wanted to wait to see how the VA would actually handle my claim for reimbursement, which has yet to be completed (due to the VA, not Blue Line). The problem with this subject is it is dependent on so many variables (i.e. Were you active, reserve or guard, how long did you serve, do you have Post 9/11 or Montgomery, etc.). Let's break this down into two separate subjects here that the GI Bill is split into: CHECKRIDE AND TEST FEES Any fees regarding Checkride fees and Knowledge Test fees are done by the individual, not Blue Line. I actually have a written out process for how to go about this, but I am still experimenting with the VA on this, as I have only received a portion of my test fees back so far. The VA seems to have "lost" my other reimbursement claims for checkride fees and test fees, so those were re-submitted and now it's a waiting game. PROGRAM REIMBURSEMENT Receiving reimbursement for the program is done by Blue Line. The $14k that Luis mentions above is the max that the VA will cover for any individual seeking reimbursement through the GI Bill, but once again, this is very dependent on each person and their status with GI Bill reimbursement. Example would be that because I was Air Force Reserve, and because I use Post 9/11, I can only receive up to 60% of that ~$14k back supposedly. As to how much of the program is covered, the VA will only cover Part 141 courses, which in this case would be the Instrument and Commercial portion of the program. CFI, CFII, CMEL and MEI are all Part 61, so those programs aren't reimbursable. Private is 141, but the VA won't reimburse for a Private Pilot License. I hope this answers your question, and I intend to post a video once I'm 100% sure how the VA actually handles reimbursing 141 schools based on my own experience. Side note: Due to COVID, the VA is severely understaffed in the department that does reimbursements, so this is why there is such a wait for reimbursement (or proper guidance on how they handle reimbursement).

I'm not sure about what the 500 dollars is for at blue line

@@destinnewlon1957 Hey Destin! This threw me off when I was first doing my research but here is how it is broken down when I spoke with ATP. It’s $800/month to live in student housing. When you go to ATP’s Sallie Mae financing page, you’ll see something there that states an $800/month Living Expense Stipend. All this means is that ATP is allowing you to roll the expense of student housing into your loan if you didn’t want to pay out of pocket or through an entirely separate loan. For BL, the $500/month is for student housing as well, but the option to roll that into your loan is not available. Most students here either have saved the money or have rolled it into a separate personal loan. I hope that makes sense.

@@AndyPateVlogs oh ok I get you im still doing research but I watched your whole video but I dont have an option between those 2 schools because I dont have the means to move so I'm looking into everything I can about ATP

@@destinnewlon1957 That's a message I definitely try to get across to everyone that there isn't one school suited for everyone unfortunately. If it's possible for someone to move, it can be quite difficult to top Blue Line, but when you have to stay where you are, other options have to be considered. I just recommend taking the categories I list in this video and talk to ALL flight schools around you. You'd be surprised what the underdogs can provide to you over bigger national brands.

@@AndyPateVlogs so far haven't found anything else that I like in the area waiting for my cosigner to decide if they're going to help or not

It definitely is! If you wanted to go to the airlines, you'd have to wait a little bit as they have a minimum age of 23, but by the time you turned 23, you would have a bunch of experience at such a young age, and the airlines will love that!

@@AndyPateVlogs but like it’s a fast track program so let’s say I finish when I’m 19 would I literally live off of flight instructor salary for 4 yrs

Is that even possible? And I could definitely finish a degree at a community college so maybe I could even go to the majors

@@DaveedNation You would most likely use your instructor time to build up some experience for maybe a year or two, but after that, you could start looking into Part 135 jobs (think private jets) and build some turbine time and experience in a commercial environment.

They can only do it through either having U.S. citizenship, or by a co-sign from someone with U.S. citizenship.

Ok