So, if you are in a situation where you didn't get your ATP before the change, here is some helpful info.
I looked into several offerings in numerous locations. I ended up choosing the ATP-CTP course taught by DELTA Airlines on the same campus in Atlanta where all new hire, platform specific intial, refresher and sim training is done. I ran into several Hornet bubbas I knew from the fleet who were in training. It was cool running into guys from the fleet that had made the jump. All were willing to talk about there experience from app to interview to jet selection and training. That being said, if you have a question I don't cover, ask away.
So, why this course.
Benefits:
VA Certified
Taught by DELTA Captains and other DELTA employees.
Taught at DELTA facility in Atlanta.
Specific DELTA gouge (more later).
Getting your foot in the door at DELTA (if it interests your you)
Guaranteed priority app review by DELTA pilot hiring
Applying was super easy. DELTA added more classes as they were booked for the year. I looked into it at the end of July and was able to get into class in first week of Sept. They offer classes where you can take the ATP written at the end, or pay $300 ish less and you can take the ATP written on your own. I decided on the latter as I can take the test for free at an AF base nearby. Saved a little bit of money this way, but in the big scheme of things it's a wash. Nice to have the option though. You can email herndon.edgerton@delta.com for class availability if interested.
Getting there: For me it was a 5 hour drive. If you can drive, I recommend it. It was nice having a car. That said, about half of our class had a car. I decided to stay at the La Quinta hotel. Pretty sure that's Spanish for not the Marriott. Was a nice hotel. Way better than the boat and was walking distance to DGS. Room was around $84 a night and includes free breakfast. Clean hotel, safe, secureish parking and other food nearby. There are a bunch of other hotels nearby ranging in price from $50 to $150 per night.
Six guys in my class, 4 military. Military guys were Navy 60/T6 guy, TACCAMO/T6 guy, AF A-10 bubba and I was the only Hornet guy. One civilian guy flies for DELTA Private Jet, the other was from SA and flying caravans.
Class covers the standard CTP stuff that everyone complains about. There is really only enough stuff for 2-3 days. So, where other companies have guys sit around and BS, DELTA does it a little different. In between topics, we got to do extra stuff. Doing this made the days longer than a normal CTP class, but it was well worth the extra time. We got to talk to a couple of new hires. Hear about them, there careers and what worked IRT getting hired by DELTA. We also got to see DELTA's OCC. 'This is like a MOC or battle watch. It's a huge room, football field size, that basically overseas everything they do operationally. One guy in Charge of it all with, Maint reps, dispatchers, weather guys and gals, current and future ops, etc. Hell, they even have people there scouring social media and replying to stuff "on the line". Really cool to see how they run operations there. We also ended up talking to a FEDEX pilot. Very cool to hear about FEDEX but I thought it was awesome we could hear from him at a DELTA course. How many other companies would do that? That alone showed me a lot about DELTA. The biggest thing I learned/saw was how DELTA seemed to value their employees. Made me realize what's been missing in my career the last 24 years.
I looked into several offerings in numerous locations. I ended up choosing the ATP-CTP course taught by DELTA Airlines on the same campus in Atlanta where all new hire, platform specific intial, refresher and sim training is done. I ran into several Hornet bubbas I knew from the fleet who were in training. It was cool running into guys from the fleet that had made the jump. All were willing to talk about there experience from app to interview to jet selection and training. That being said, if you have a question I don't cover, ask away.
So, why this course.
Benefits:
VA Certified
Taught by DELTA Captains and other DELTA employees.
Taught at DELTA facility in Atlanta.
Specific DELTA gouge (more later).
Getting your foot in the door at DELTA (if it interests your you)
Guaranteed priority app review by DELTA pilot hiring
Applying was super easy. DELTA added more classes as they were booked for the year. I looked into it at the end of July and was able to get into class in first week of Sept. They offer classes where you can take the ATP written at the end, or pay $300 ish less and you can take the ATP written on your own. I decided on the latter as I can take the test for free at an AF base nearby. Saved a little bit of money this way, but in the big scheme of things it's a wash. Nice to have the option though. You can email herndon.edgerton@delta.com for class availability if interested.
Getting there: For me it was a 5 hour drive. If you can drive, I recommend it. It was nice having a car. That said, about half of our class had a car. I decided to stay at the La Quinta hotel. Pretty sure that's Spanish for not the Marriott. Was a nice hotel. Way better than the boat and was walking distance to DGS. Room was around $84 a night and includes free breakfast. Clean hotel, safe, secureish parking and other food nearby. There are a bunch of other hotels nearby ranging in price from $50 to $150 per night.
Six guys in my class, 4 military. Military guys were Navy 60/T6 guy, TACCAMO/T6 guy, AF A-10 bubba and I was the only Hornet guy. One civilian guy flies for DELTA Private Jet, the other was from SA and flying caravans.
Class covers the standard CTP stuff that everyone complains about. There is really only enough stuff for 2-3 days. So, where other companies have guys sit around and BS, DELTA does it a little different. In between topics, we got to do extra stuff. Doing this made the days longer than a normal CTP class, but it was well worth the extra time. We got to talk to a couple of new hires. Hear about them, there careers and what worked IRT getting hired by DELTA. We also got to see DELTA's OCC. 'This is like a MOC or battle watch. It's a huge room, football field size, that basically overseas everything they do operationally. One guy in Charge of it all with, Maint reps, dispatchers, weather guys and gals, current and future ops, etc. Hell, they even have people there scouring social media and replying to stuff "on the line". Really cool to see how they run operations there. We also ended up talking to a FEDEX pilot. Very cool to hear about FEDEX but I thought it was awesome we could hear from him at a DELTA course. How many other companies would do that? That alone showed me a lot about DELTA. The biggest thing I learned/saw was how DELTA seemed to value their employees. Made me realize what's been missing in my career the last 24 years.