How “You Get What You Pay For” Applies in Advanced Flight Training

Ever heard the old adage “you get what you pay for”? The reason it’s an old adage is because it’s a true one.

advanced flight trainingThere are a lot of schools who offer type ratings and advanced flight crew training. AeroStar is one of about a dozen schools approved to provide type ratings under FAR 142. However, not all these schools are built the same. Unfortunately, most are not focused on helping your career dreams take flight.

It’s sad that many of these schools prey on the passions and career aspirations of aviation enthusiasts for selfish reason.

Many schools care only about their “bottom line” rather than their customer’s career success. One key way to help you identify the school’s motivations is to look at the qualifications and background of the people who own them.

Are they pilots? Have they ever been professional pilots? Do they really know anything about training pilots? How can they help you achieve what they themselves have never accomplished?

Most type rating schools are owned by career business people and some by aerospace engineers. These owners have never pursued the dream of being an airline pilot. They have never experienced what it’s like to train to airline standards nor do they have a proven track record of successfully flying airplanes.

To learn about the school’s owners check out their website, call and ask or inquire via e-mail.

Sure they deliver what their customers pay for but all too often this is nothing more than the bare minimum. These companies share an unspoken motto to get training done cheaply and get clients in and out as quickly as possible – the cheaper the better. To them a marginal pass rate is good enough. To them their clients are just numbers and dollars not fellow pilots.

If you’re looking for business advice, talk to a business man. If you want really cool aviation software, talk to an aviation software engineer. However, if you want to train to be an airline pilot then enroll in a school founded and operated by career pilots – pilots who care about your success, pilots who have a proven track record of helping others fulfill their career dreams.

No, AeroStar is not the cheapest. Our programs frequently cost more than some while less than others. Why? Because we care enough to offer the best training at the best value! Our fee structure has allowed us to price competitively while recruiting and retaining the best instructors, offering the best simulators, deploying the best learning tools and creating the best courses. Our pricing reflects our belief that quality and experience matters. It reflects that you get what you pay for and that the customer expects a return on their investment.

AeroStar Training Services, LLC was founded by career airline pilots with thousands of hours of flight experience. They created their unique and highly successful training programs to help others succeed the way they had.

At AeroStar we don’t create software nor do we build simulators, we train professional airline pilots. Our organization utilizes the best training tools available to deliver the best training experience. Each AeroStar instructor has been hand-picked based on his/her experience, talent, and a passion for teaching.

Our bottom line is that we care about the customer’s success. Our motto is to “help your aviation career dreams take flight.”

Florida Tech Offers Two New Pilot Training Courses

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology announces two, new advanced airline pilot training courses to be presented in conjunction with Aerostar Training Services of Orlando. The courses, Jet Transition and Commercial Type Rating, are aimed at upper-division students who plan careers with commercial airlines.

Florida Tech Pilot Training CoursesThe offering is unique in that it allows students to use regular electives in their bachelor’s degree program to prepare fully for a career flying a large transport jet. Although private pilotjet transition and type rating courses are available on the open market, no other college or university offers this program as part of its academic degree.

“We are very excited to make this opportunity available to our students in the College of Aeronautics,” said Dean Winston Scott. “The courses will prepare them well and provide all the ratings necessary to go directly to a major airline. This is a significant step forward, and represents the gold standard in collegiate flight training.”

Although most colleges and flight schools offer commercial multi-engine ratings in propeller airplanes, type ratings (required for all turbojets), have not been offered for academic credit. The type rating check ride is beyond the commercial certificate: it is conducted to airline transport pilot standards. “This is truly innovative and reinforces Florida Tech’s excellent reputation for flight training,” said Scott.

According to Peter Dunn, program manager, assistant professor and faculty adviser, there has been much talk in the industry about the looming pilot shortage in the United States. “At Florida Tech, we decided to do something about it,” he said.

“Recently, the U.S. Congress has mandated airline pilot standards for first officers. We are responding to what the new law intends. We want to give our graduates the ability to compete for major airline jobs. Having this credential is a huge step in that direction. Airline recruiters understand the value of a type rating.”

A type rating, according to Dunn, proves that pilots have the “right stuff” to pass the rigorous airline initial training. This program is designed to enable Florida Tech students, with additional flight hours, to bypass the regional carriers and get a job with a desirable national carrier.

“At this time, we will offer the A320 and B 737NG type ratings so that students can target the airline of their choice. We also plan to offer a summer school program, so students from other colleges may also take these courses,” said Dunn.

Florida Tech, teaming with Aerostar Training Services of Orlando, will offer a three course sequence: Flight Observation Lab (already available), Jet Transition and Commercial Type Rating in either the A320 or b737. Students may take any or all of these courses.  To enroll, prospective students may call Nick Galli, Florida Tech College of Aeronautics, (321) 674-7369.

 

About Florida Institute of Technology
Founded at the dawn of the Space Race in 1958, Florida Tech is the only independent, technological university in the Southeast. PayScale.com ranks graduates’ mid-career median salaries in first place among Florida’s universities, and lists Florida Tech among the top 20 universities in the South—both public and private. The university has been named a Barron’s Guide “Best Buy” in College Education, designated a Tier One Best National University in U.S. News & World Report, and is one of just nine schools in Florida lauded by the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges. The university offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs. Fields of study include science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education. Additional information is available online at www.fit.edu.

AeroStar Sponsors NIFA Awards Banquet at FIT, David Santo to Speak

The National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) is a professional organization that provides a forum of competition and learning for aviation students from colleges all around the United States.

NIFAOfficial NIFA Mission Statement “The National Intercollegiate Flying Association was formed for the purposes of developing and advancing aviation education; to promote, encourage and foster safety in aviation; to promote and foster communications and cooperation between aviation students, educators, educational institutions and the aviation industry; and to provide an arena for collegiate aviation competition.”

AeroStar will be the primary sponsor for the awards dinner for the Southeast, NIFA Region IX. on Saturday, November 12. This is opportunity to recognize top aviation students.

This sponsorship is just one more way that AeroStar helps aviation career dreams take flight!

Watch for reporting from the event – we may have photos and video!

AeroStar Training Services to offer Flight Training Courses through Florida Institute of Technology

Melbourne, Florida

flight training AeroStar Training Services LLC has signed a contract with FIT to deliver three courses to students for college credit. This is the first program of its kind in the industry to provide advanced type rating training  to students toward a degree. When a student enrolls at FIT he or she will actually choose from the course catalog one of three specially designed AeroStar programs, (labs) leading to FAA type rating certification in either the Airbus A320 aircraft or the Boeing 737NG aircraft incorporated into their flight and degree curriculum.

“We have worked closely with FIT over the last year and are thrilled  to be part of this very unique program, that will enhance the students’ aviation education, and career opportunities to help these young aviators’ careers take flight!”

A320 Takeoff Checklist

This is a tiny sample of our PC courseware for the A320 programs. Every light, switch and dial is in the proper place.

In our programs, we combine:

  • This software on your PC (with which you can spend an unlimited amount of time practicing scenarios!)
  • Our state-of-the-art simulators where you get to test your skills for yourself.
  • Instructors who are experienced airline pilots who know what a great takeoff is supposed to sound and feel like, and how to respond to real problems and issues.