Four Days In Phoenix

I’ve just spent the last four days earning my multi-engine add-on at ATP in Phoenix. I took advantage of the 4-day multi-engine special that they offered and in the end I now have 9.5 hours in a Seminole. Over those three days I got four flights (5 counting the check ride) and about five hours in the Frasca. The instructor assigned to me had a lot of multi-engine experience and really knew his stuff. I’ve heard both good and bad things about ATP but in my case it was an enjoyable experience and would highly recommend for someone wanting to earn an advanced rating in a short amount of time. One caveat though, you’ll need to be capable of learning to fly all of the PTS maneuvers in three days and potentially the operation of an unfamiliar airplane. As an example there were a lot of airline fo’s here for their two-day ATP rating. For these guys it would be analogous to a private pilot moving from a Cessna to a Piper.

The rating doesn’t come easy as I spent many hours preparing for the intense 4-days of training by reading the provided Seminole supplement from ATP and reading several texts on multi-engine operations. One of my favorite texts was “Transitioning to Twins”, which has excellent diagrams explaining multi-engine aerodynamics.

The first day we spent the morning in the Frasca going over flows and PTS maneuvers. This sim time made my first actual flight in the Seminole that much easier, and for someone who has never flown a multi engine airplane I needed all the help that I could get. After that I flew a single flight the first two days and two flights on the third day. The time in between was spent covering Seminole systems and multi engine aerodynamics. When my instructor wasn’t around I had time for self study and unlimited access to the Frasca’s.

The check ride went smoothly and the examiner understood that I only had eight hours in the airplane and wasn’t that familiar with all the position reporting for the practice area South of Gateway airport (KIWA), so he helped out with position calls and some of the local operations in the interest of safety.