First ATP Training Weekend Was a BUSY Weekend!

The Original Plan:

One student scheduled for an ATP program. We aimed to do some academics Friday night along with happy hour looking over the water at the Hurricane Bar. Saturday was scheduled as a leisurely 10 a.m. showtime at the airport for a walk around and aircraft familiarization. We would fly 3 hours Saturday afternoon and 3 Sunday afternoon. Monday morning would have been an early wakeup for a practice checkride, then the real checkride at 9 a.m. By Monday afternoon my student would have an Airline Transport Pilot certificate on his airline application.

What Happened:

Things changed Thursday night. I got a call from a buddy that three of his fellow fighter pilots had booked another school. They traveled from the northeast to the south for a program and the school couldn’t deliver. I told them to fly over to Hilton Head and we would make it happen.

We compressed the schedule and I did some extra flying. The students worked in pairs, one flew while the other one observed from the backseat. This was a HUGE advantage! Once I put the guy who had six hours in the backseat, within a couple hours he was ready for the checkride. On Saturday evening I planned some approach practice with the guy checking on Sunday. It was 800 OVC when we took off. It was 700 OVC when we returned to Hilton Head. Approach minimums were about a hundred feet below that. The applicant said “so, I have two hours in this airplane and I am going to do a night minimums circling approach.” Yep. It went great. I doubted the examiner would throw one of those his way.

The first applicant checked on Sunday afternoon in Florence, SC. It was a thorough check. A one hour ground evaluation and a two hour flight. The flight included three engine failures and a partial panel VOR-A approach. The applicant and examiner walked into the FBO after the checkride smiling and laughing. I knew it went well. It did, the examiner said the ride was “excellent.”

The second applicant checked Monday Morning in Summerville, SC. The third Monday afternoon. The examiner said “those were the two best prepared applicants I have flown with.”

The fourth checked on Tuesday back in Florence. The examiner said “it went great!”

I flew the last leg home. The Duchess flew 34 hours in five days and was going strong. I dropped her off for some routine maintenance to get ready for the next two applicants this weekend. One of the student’s let me fly his V-Tail Bonanza home, what a beautiful ride!